I Love your description:” Find a certain point of view disagreeable? Then don’t acknowledge the existence of its proponent.” That, to me, is most of the artworld right now. Perhaps, especially Chicago, but most of it world-wide.

Politics: Controlling the composition of the UC panel, and structuring the manner in which panel members interacted, the host made likely a certain outcome.

Find a certain point of view disagreeable? Then don’t acknowledge the existence of its proponent. That’s fixing. That’s Chicago.

Five panel members reading prepared statements consumed 30-60 minutes [?] on the front end; shutting down audience members wasted the back end.

Mark, you would think that “the Chicago artist” was a mythical creature — like the unicorn — and they just couldn’t find one to trot out onto the stage…

MacKenzie did a better job with Waxman, Yood, and Hixson here:

http://badatsports.com/2008/episode-143-roundtable-fun/

[Roundtable-roundtable; star-star; Chicago-Chicago]

Nevertheless, some ~100 people were in attendance.

Sadly, I’m going to suggest the the attendees’ time was wasted. Wasted potential? Ironic — and appropriate — given the topic?

Even as a good number of “arts enthusiasts” made the effort to listen, the [five] panelists too made a good effort to speak. Everyone should be recognized, and thanked, for caring enough to contribute.

So what was the problem?

There was no discussion. Reading their prepared statements, the presenters wandered off [in speech] in their own directions. There was no structure. There was no moderation — no rallying cry to marshal the forces. Contrary assertions were made, but not challenged. No specific examples were presented; no direct questions put to the panelists e.g., “Given that Chicago has been associated with a rough-hewn but serious approach to the craft of making, is there an H. C. Westermann working in the City today? If not, why?”

Having written that, what was right?

1) C. Thurow’s observation that Chicago lacked a “big and rough” exhibition space.

2) L. Warren’s recognition of age-based perceptions; she put the number at “45″ years.

3) If I disagree with P. Klein about the fact that Chicago “IS NOW” a blue-collar city, certainly I do agree that it [Chicago] is haunted by the ghosts of its blue-collar past.

Maybe, 5-7 questions were taken from the audience? Two of the questions came from Shannon Stratton. No microphone was provided to audience members.

Awkward. Slow. Dry. Reinforcing the notion that the scene is fragmented: divided into ghettos of race, gender, sexual orientation, politics, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73059802@N00/3189871523/

Take two…

duncan.