USUAL SUSPECT
dear friend,
thank you very much for your e-mail I get a few days before,
today, with
my response I want to share with you a thought I had listening to your questions
recently in paris, it's the thought - I had before when listening to you but also
to other art-historians, its the thought, beiing an "Usual Suspect", but you must
know: I am an “Usual Suspect”! and I want to explain you why I am happy to be an
“Usual Suspect” and why I have – as an artist - to be and to stay an "Usual Suspect",
I
am happy to be an "Usual Suspect" because doing artwork is something suspect, its
beyond certainty, beyond security, beyond assurance of to be on the "good side”,
its beyond knowledge, its beyond consensus, its beyond "good taste" and its beyond
to do “good art”, to do an artwork – today – implies to be ridicoulous and concerning
me, I am not afraid to be ridicoulous, when I like the term of "headlessness" its
not only because georges bataille, I like it because I was always acting as such,
because I do know that “headless” does not mean stupid, silly or without intelligence,
headless does not mean to be ignorant, I am not an ignorant artist – because it is
better not be ignorant, as artist! of course – I love the beautiful book “The Ignorant
Schoolmaster” of Jacques Rancière and its fantastic enlightening title, but I am
not a schoolmaster – I don’t even teach art as you know – I am an artist and as such
I want to be a “headless artist”, I want to act – always – in headlessness, it's
something important to me, I want to make art in headlessness, “headlessness” stands
for: doing my work in a rush and with precipitation, other words for headlessness
are: restlessness, insisting with my work and insisting again and again, insisting
heavily, other words are acceleration, generosity, expenditure, energy: yes! - quality:
no!, self-transgression, blindness and excess, I want to rush through the wall, head
first, I want to make a breakthrough, I want to cut a hole, or a window, into the
reality of today, I never want to economize myself and I know that – as the artist
– I sometimes look very stupid facing my own work, but I have to stand out for this
ridiculousness, and I do know this can make me look suspicious - but its o.k.,
I
am happy to be an "Usual Suspect" because this term its not only composed by "Suspect"
but also by "Usual" - which means something we do already count with, something not
surprising, something normal, something "Usual" because its always the same thing,
the same person, which is beautiful, because the "Usual" of "Usual Suspect" links
me togehter with all other "Usuals", so it means that it is something “open”, something
non-exclusive, something universal, something I share with other people who are normally
the “Usuals”, also: there are so many suspects in the world today - all over the
world and for all kind of “reasons” people are suspected, that to think – me, as
an artist - I should not be suspicious, is obviously indecent,
I am happy to be
an "Usual Suspect" because I do refuse terms used today in contemporary art, I refuse
to speak of "political art" of "engaged art", I also do refuse - and never use this
terms - terms as "piece", "installation" or "show" and many other terms which I always
rejected because they are lazy terms as “Community art”, “Educational art” or “Participative
art” etc., what I want to do is – in contrary: inventing my own terms, I want to
invent my own terms in art, philosophers use words with preciseness and exactitude,
following their logic, philosophers are sculpting concepts in the strongest way they
can, the words they use are powerful and important tools in order to create new terms
in philosophy, philosophers are inventing their own terms, I - as artist - admire
that enormously, I can learn from philosophy and from philosophers and try to use
my own terms as well in relation to art, in relation to my work and to myself - as
an artist, this is what I want to do: to give terms to my work which makes sens to
me, perhaps only to me but to me first, because - as an artist – I have the possibility
to do it, I have the possibilitie to invent my own terms,
I am happy to be an "Usual
Suspect" because I refuse to obey a kind of “political correctness” – in the way
I am speaking about my work but also in my work itself, which is - of course - absolutly
crucial to do, its crucial because to obey is always “the end” and its crucial in
order to continue to do a work which wants to create a real "Critical Corpus", I
do understand “Establishing a Critical Corpus” as one of my missions, something important,
something positive and something new, and I know it can make me suspicious – but
its o.k.,
I am happy to be an “Usual Suspect” because I am generous, years ago,
a artist-colleague which at this time had much more exhibitions than me, told me
- explaining why it was so difficult for me: "thomas, you are incapable to take something
- you only can give something!" I understood immediatly that he was right with this
fact, but I understood also immediately that he was wrong about the truth of this,
he was wrong because this is the core – the hardcore of art - because the truth is
that art is a gift! and I decided to reinforce what others told me as a failure or
a lack, I always understood art as art is a gift, as a gift towards me – from other
artists, dead or alive, and as a gift from me, a challenging and unexpected gift,
a gift which – by its generosity – blows off any thoughts of calculation and economization,
this was why my colleague was completely wrong! I want to give everything, I want
to understand the form of my work as a gift, but the gift is not only the work itself
– the gift is – as well - the “doing it” and doing it that way, what I love about
the notion of “gift” is its offensive, demanding and even aggressive part, the part
that provokes the other to give more! it’s the part which implies a response, a real
and active response to the gift, the gift - or work - must be a challenge, this is
why “auto-destruction”, “masochism” etc. is unthinkable, also to me “self-cancellation”
is connected to narcissism, to tearfulness, those terms are not related to my understanding
of art as an assertion, an absolute assertion of form, as an engagement, as a commitment
to pay for, as a mission, as a never-ending conflict, as a strength and finally as
a position, in my work I assert forms that cannot be asserted and this is – really
– the assertion, this is the gift, I want to create a new term, a new form in art!
finally
I am happy to be an “Usual Suspect” because I am working with galeries, commercial
galries, that means I am confrontet about the money-question, the question about
the money to get for the production of my work but also the question of the commercial-value
of my work, I like to confront those questions – but not because I like to speak
about money but because I think today the question of money is the question related
to a kind of reality I also want to touch, its not “the reality” to me – but its
one of the realities of today - I do want to confront, a lot of people wants to avoid
the money-question in art (I am not speaking about art-fairs and the comments of
their circumstances) but I am speaking about the practice of an artist which is “in
production” today, because I know the importance of having the possibilities to produce,
I know how it is difficult to get the possibilities for, I know I have always to
figth for this possibilities, I do know how much the question of money can create
the conditions for the production of an artworks today, I know how this question
can influence or help the production of an artwork, and also I know how this question
is often delicat (I have a lot discussions about the money-question with my artist
colleagues – by the way – mostly on their initiative!) because - for different and
sometimes contradictory reasons - people does not want to speak about, the money-question
is important, its not crucial or essential or determinating an artwork but its important,
so because its important its better to not avoid speaking about money, because not
speaking about money does always help the kind of people which do not want to pay,
which do not want to engage or which do not want to be commitet with something, but
speaking about money can make me suspicious – but its also o.k.,
I do hope that
I could give you an enligthement about the question of happiness to be an “Usual
Suspect” and why to stay an "Usual Suspect" is important to me,
please forgive my
errors in english, take care – take care and say hello to your friend,
thomas