.
It was the Friday before Frieze and London was, well what is London doing? Conforming more than ever? Playing the indifference card? Not bothered enough to play any card? And every West End gallery press releasing the hell out of everything, come to this breakfast reception, come to this opening, come to this Mayfair gallery night, come come come, East End Sunday are you ‘aving a giraffe? .
And what of the alternatives? Where once we at least had flawed attempts in fume-filled car parks almost alive with a hint of defiant potential, a hint of an offer of something more, now all we have are the Gutless breed of new gate keepers happy to ape the big dogs and conform to the rules, to their games. The e.mail in box is clogged full of the tedious press releases from this new breed of Frieze world wannabees, their properly formal notices about who they now represent, all properly done like mummy paid for them to do degree in how to be a proper grown up rule obeying art gallery. And here comes the weekly Friday morning Artlyst newsletter, jammed packed with the business of art and hardly a thought for art itself. Do we really want to know about who’s prices are going up? Is the fact that French Billionaire Bernard Arnault Faces Money Laundering Probe really the best you have to offer on a Friday morning?
And what of Frieze itself, opening this coming Wednesday. Well as we do say every year, at least they’re honest about who they are and what they’re about, no pretence with the great big monster of an art fair that Frieze is. Can we be bothered? We go every year, we write extensively about it every year, we take hundreds of photos every year, we sneer every year or at least wear our cynical smiles, can we really be bothered again this year? Or shall we spend Frieze week trying to see if there’s anything else? Surely there’s got to be more than this? Watch this space or maybe don’t bother? Frieze week is upon us….
Previously on these fractured pages….
THE ORGAN 
Leave a comment