It started with my Instagram feed blowing-up with strange pictures of art world luminaries beingserenaded by someone who looked amazingly like Jay-Z.I thought what is this must be a performance artist sarcastically mimicking Jay-Z in a gallerysomewhere in Chelsea,(it was Pace Gallery)but then as more pics scrolled in,I realized this wasn't a joke,or an appropriator doing a performance piece,but a real stunt,with a real Jay-Zperforming behind a tiny wire rope.(like the once you see in front of great works of art in a museum)
Remember that TV episode on Happy Dayswith Fonzie and a Shark?That hit me immediately and it was right then that I thoughtWow, the Art World had just"Jumped the Shark".
How on earth could Laurence Weiner and Maria Abramovic,two huge figures in the art world,well respected and groundbreaking in their practices, sit there with a straight face as a rapperperformed for the cameras to film his next music video?Really?To me there was something very disturbing and sadabout this crass and blatant exploitationof art world heroes(and they weren't the only ones, even critic Jerry Saltz got in on the action)to justify a performer's search for even more dollars.(like he needs them)I'm not a writer or a critic,so I will let others dissect this spectacle for what it really was,and god knows this has been a long time coming,but something just isn't right,and I fear that after this "jump"it is only gonna get worse.And for those of you in the Design Worldwho think we are immune, remember that Kanye West performed at Design Miami/Basel.(which I saw and was freaked-out by too)Weird, all of it,and not in a good way in my opinion.Sad really,really sad....

UPDATE:
Read Guy Trebay's commentary
in the New York Times.
Photo via Rolumatt via Artists Space