This NYT writer "put together a collection of 25 objects that reveal something special about us" (gift link).
Just as the relics of ancient Mesopotamians provide insight into their way of life, who we are, as a culture, and as a nation, can be uncovered by sifting through our giant piles of stuff....
Speaking of 25 things, on the same day, the NYT has "The 25 Sculptures That Define the Modern Age/Four artists and a curator debate the most important works since the end of World War II" (also a gift link, lots of photographs).
The first list of 25 is definitely more fun. The second is likely to annoy you. Quite a lot. Especially if you think you'll be seeing Henry Moore and that kind of thing. No, you'll be seeing Lygia Clark"s “Bichos” and Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby" and Melvin Edwards's "Lynch Fragments." That kind of thing.
Meanwhile, on the first list, you've got rotisserie chicken and bedazzled Crocs. That kind of thing.
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75 comments:
As always, my first thought is what this says about the journalism priorities, and the business strategy of New York Times Co., than about what is on todays lists.
‘…in lieu of a functioning healthcare system…’, meaning single payer. Clearly an economics textbook didn't make the list…
…I expected full on leftie hate but the first list is not bad. Some hits some misses, but a good effort where there’s no guardrails…
Twenty-five is too long. Edit it to five and you might lure me in.
“Oh my God, not at all! I think “Maman” is just too well known and very commercial”
…and then they hit us with Christo. Diversity hires…
What would comparable lists from the Altoona Mirror or Fort Smith Southwest Times Record look like?
Notes from remulak
I never feel more American than being served a bottomless basket of chips and salsa...in a strip mall Mexican joint...where the furniture is over the top, and the margarita globes require two hands.
Diversity hires speak diversity language to each other, not only to the general diversity-eager public.
(I may have worked for a few years behind a cube wall near people who forgot I was there...they may speak the same way in private...)
“ Unfortunately our cars are also destroying cities, clogging our lungs and polluting the environment.”
Just one example of the political and leftwing garbage the NYT selected. Plenty of indirect swipes at Trump.
Miller: What do we think of Eva Hesse?
Katrib: I think Eva Hesse is important.
Shechet: So important.
That was great.
Some of the objects had no pictures and forced us to use our imaginations. Whatever happened to "show, don't tell"?
"the American urge to tame the wilderness by transforming it in our own image is hard to deny."
I deny trying to make my lawn look like me.
The civilizing effect of works of art is due less to the aesthetic value than to the ethic of aesthetic work. - Don Colacho
Busy, productive people use COSTCO to minimize driving and the times they shop per month. Their eyeglass and hearing aid centers must by law be open to non-members: I save about 75% using them as I can't afford private insurance for such things. Perhaps not a fact known to usorious boomers. The Sierra Club should give them a medal for efficient lack of over-consumption. Second, nobody who knows NASCAR imagines their car is anything like a NASCAR car.
I stopped reading there. Ignorant, dull garbage.
"That’s the thing about solving problems: Often, you end up creating another. See also: The Vietnam War, the internal combustion engine, the internet, Prop 13."
The cheeky smug knowing urban ignorance. Gets me every time.
How about the John Deere Tractor. Tesla. Coca Cola. Carhartt.
What listicles say about modern journalism and marketing?
No book of Mormon. List fails.
Somehow I came away with the idea of an ex-mormom utah influencer touting Paltrow swag wearing a tree print hat and crocs.
I think I want a sweatshirt that says USURIOUS BOOMER.
What font should I select?
Chevy Impala???? When was this list put together, 1971?
Re: The sculptures, where was the banana duct-taped to the wall? Perhaps I am a Philistine, but that whole list left me cold. But then, I'm not a black or a woman or a New York hipster.
You know, this is a features article, not a news article. There always have been features articles in the overwhelming majority of newspapers. No one, absolutely no one, is saying this is a news article. What's the big deal about a newspaper, any newspaper, doing features? I don't know what newspapers you all were reading growing up, but all the ones I read featured as part of the package...wait for it...features articles. No one makes you read them if they annoy you.
Sculptor makes giant sugar sphinx with big ol' tiddies:
"Báez: ... And the fact that you could go in there, into this place with such a strong history, and people were posing under the breasts trying to catch the nipples. You saw the facile way people consumed this very heavy history.
Shechet: I think she reveals a lack of sophistication in us."
Apparently so.
Goop Yoni Egg is 'Americaness'?
Let's take the New York Post, for example. It has a variety of articles as part of its content. There are news articles, what used to be called news analysis and news features, and a wide variety of features articles (technically speaking, Sports, for examples, straddles all of them). It's the nature of the beast.
Now, I do decry the blurring of lines between some of these categories, because I'm a bit of a stickler and more old school. Still, I don't confuse feature articles with news articles!
Speaking of "Americanness" in sculptures/objects, it caught my attention as an afterthought about several articles and polls regarding the DSA and the sudden dramatic shift toward socialism/communism. The essence of the surprise is in the assumption that it's a departure from long-term "American" thinking and values.
Well, as the great Homer(Simpson) once observed, duhhhh. The implied assumption is that these are "long-term Americans" saying these things and voting this way. Silly gooses. After years of importing, hiring, elevating, and even enabling the voting of massive numbers of people from places and cultures that are hostile to (and some at war with) American values and beliefs, why would one assume that "American values" are changing?
Maybe they are being replaced. On purpose. (Things to ponder while on hold.)
What makes you an American is agreeing to the Constitution, in particular you can draw the prophet. If you can't agree, you're not an American.
If you agree to the rules you're an American even if you're not. See Britain speech rules. Your attitude towards them might make you an American.
"Chevy Impala???? When was this list put together, 1971?"
I used to drive a 1961 Impala convertible (to high school). Seafoam green.
"LOVE MY CHICKEN FROM POPEYES!
That first list was fun! I wish they had photograph displays for every item. I think they did a pretty good job of capturing the American spirit, warts and all. Probably should have added a small church on a beach. In many ways we're a religious society, with 99 flavors and a lot of freedom.
All that said, I'm not all impressed with the list itself. Some items I hadn't actually ever heard of before this. (Of course, that might be more of a comment on me than on the objects.) A couple of them prompted a laugh of recognition (Costco rotisserie chicken, and the personal injury lawyer billboard--I live in Central Florida, and honestly, there are more of those here than in every state I've ever lived combined). But mostly, I didn't find them very insightful.
As a feature article, I'd give it a C-, at best and only because I'm being magnanimous.
Did you happen to notice that in the "classy" article they celebrate sculptor-murderer Carl Andre? And any one of us could easily produce or oversee the production of most of this stuff.
It isn't art. Murderers should be remembered for their victims, not their lincoln log *art.*
Totally agree with barbecue being a big thing, but I don't think the Foreman grill is the much of thing these days. I could be wrong, of course!
I had a small Foreman grill decades ago. I much prefer my Ninja Foodi grill, which I've used and loved for almost a decade. Highly recommend.
I agree with whoever mentioned John Deere.
What, no slave shackles??
Argghhh.... the Pretension, it buurrrnnnns !
My favorites at the first link were the personal injury lawyer ads and the inflatable dancing tube man. I always get a kick out of those when I see them while driving. Here's my favorite personal injury attorney lawyer billboard (and how it's evolved):
https://www.beaconjournal.com/picture-gallery/news/2025/02/27/attorney-tim-misnys-billboards-line-highways-in-akron-and-beyond/78979806007/
All you have to see now is a billboard with his eyes and you know what it's about.
The 25 objects made me smile. The 25 sculptures evoked no reaction other than "meh."
"I used to drive a 1961 Impala convertible (to high school). Seafoam green."
OK, that's just braggin'.
You might as well just fill the sculpture list with the products of industrial design. What modern sculpture says about our age is that our age is an age without art. That may be too harsh a verdict about our age, but so far as sculpture is concerned, the shoe fits.
I'm sorry, but the statue of the black kid holding something was just an altered Big Boy statue. Like Lazerous said. Most of it could be found in dis-assembled form at the dump. It was heartening to see that one persons welding improved as his assemblies became mor intricate. They have a future.
Sorry, I couldn't finish the cunty review of American kitsch.
Right off the top of my head:
American English, guns, cars, freeways single family homes, ribeyes, apple pie, ice cream, the supermarket, movies, jazz, rock and roll, abstract expressionism, protest movements, political assassinations, rocket ships, the jet airplane, Superman, Batman, nuclear weapons, napalm, The VFW, the dive bar, baseball basketball football.
The panel looks......as expected.
I skimmed through both articles a hour ago and now I can't remember much about either. I do remember that it was was observed that there were some sculptures that had an unpleasant smell. That's something new. Perhaps it will catch on. Opens the doors of perception and gives one a new appreciation of what the artist is trying to convey. Maybe the work should have built in speakers that play fingernails on blackboards--not too loud, but enough to discomfit the hearer. A lot of artists just try to create a visually unpleasant object. There's so much more to be done and so many more ways to do it to offend the viewer. Creative people will find ways.
Ha! One of the lawyer ads is from a local guy. Call Joel Bieber!
"Temujin said...
Goop Yoni Egg is 'Americaness'?"
I'd replace it with a metal butt-plug with a red heart on the bottom. Just for inclusiveness' sake.
This stand-up on the George Foreman grill is hilarious
@Howard: And BBQ. And rodeos.
Its annoying that the article talks about "We" and "Us" when its obvious the NYT's and its readers don't think of themselves as Americans.
Anyway, the mentions of "Dude Wipes" and "Gas Station bathroom key" certainly gives "us" an insight into "their" mind.
Dave Begley said...
[“ Unfortunately our cars are also destroying cities, clogging our lungs and polluting the environment.”]
"Just one example of the political and leftwing garbage the NYT selected. Plenty of indirect swipes at Trump."
It ever about what they say it's about. They don't want the proles to drive, or have freedom to travel independently.
Dogma and Pony Show said...
"What, no slave shackles??"
There are “Lynch Fragments” in the sculpture article.
Probably the most "American" thing around here is the large numbers of Tex-Mex restaurants. Not just "Taco Bell' but middle income restautrants and bars which all serve the type of fake "Mexican" food Americans seem to love.
That and Pizza. What could be more American then Pizza? Its replaced the Hamburger as the all-american food. The hot dog seems completely forgotten along with bacon and eggs for Breakfast or Campbell's soup.
Listicles.
Honestly, I was expecting more genitalia in the 25 sculptures list.
@ Biff
That's because they didn't show you the back view of Kara Walker's "A Subtlety" in the article. Pictures found via Google Images show that it was anatomically correct.
Exactly, Aggie. Whatever it is about what makes America so American, it makes soccer hooligans from around the world to be on their best behavior.
Seafoam green- I’ll see your drive an Impala to schoola and raise you a Pontiac Grand LeMans Safari station wagon in seafoam green- inside and out. Simulated wood paneling stickers on the sides. Somehow I still had girl friends…
I was totally prepared to be annoyed by the 2nd list. But, instead, I was captivated and entertained. By the choices and by the fussy, insider discussion of them. Really enjoy people who know something really well talking about that thing. There were a few choices that felt like they had to do it, but not many. The only confusing piece was the Committee against the War because I couldn't figure out what the actual art was and they mentioned Judd but did not make it clear that it was his work. It sure doesn't look anything like his stuff in Marfa. Overall, that was an A-. Quite enjoyable.
Howard said...
"Sorry, I couldn't finish the cunty review of American kitsch."
Good description, Howard. The infusion of negativity in almost every item description reveals their inherent dislike of Americana and Americans.
I suppose it reinforces their feelings of superiority. Works for their readers too.
Two one-finger salutes to the American Middle Class.
I know Calder’s work is called “kinetic sculpture,” and no doubt it’s the bourgeoisie in me that believes “sculptures” that move are not sculptures at all. Besides which, the untitled Calder mobile in the National Gallery of Art is better than the piece they chose as #25.
Look at that "Panel of Experts"!
For all the ridiculous, repurposed junk in the second story, I am still inspired by the feller's temple to the stars out there in New Mexico - Star Axis. The artists in that story look like kind of anemic: Air-conditioned, heavy smoking urbanites. He looks like a man weathered by an inner purpose of expression. That's art.
American-ness things? Does that list include, for instance, Yellowstone or Yosemite? The Saturn V? A F-150? Hula-Hoop? The Boeing 747?
Yellowstone or Yosemite? How about Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny?
My 1976 Chevy Impala, a metallic blue four door sedan with two full sized sofas for front and back seats and a trunk that James Gandolfini would have loved, ran until 1992, when a garbage truck made the passenger side doors both inoperable and very, very bent out of shape. We sold it to a guy who wanted to use the engine and transmission in his old International Harvester Scout from the 1960s, which was due for a new engine after only 30 years. Of such memories is disdain for modernity maintained.
“NYT has "The 25 Sculptures That Define the Modern Age”
When in 100,000 years (or maybe only 100, who knows?) alien archaeologists excavate these things, they’ll say, “Aha! This is where they went wrong!”
“I'm sorry, but the statue of the black kid holding something was just an altered Big Boy statue.”
Pretty sure he was holding a watermelon.
My husband just added a miniature dancing tube to our household. I had no idea such a thing existed.
We saw Richard Serra's massive plates of rusted iron sheets in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Quite a sight! If you haven't seen it, google it.
Jupiter said...
Look at that "Panel of Experts"!
Oh, look! A panel of experts!
Tractors. Tractors are American. Muscle cars and restored old cars are very American. Hardware stores. Especially rural hardware stores. Bake sales for neighbors. Chinese restaurants in any town greater than 15,000 people.
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