Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Does this controversial artist deserve a $15,000 award?

rockzilla · 03-04-2004, 07:48 PM

Taken from The Ottawa Citizen

The 'artist' who has Rideau Hall on guard
When Istvan Kantor comes here to collect his $15,000 Governor General's Award, he'll be under the watch of security guards. They want to make sure he doesn't leave another X-shaped 'gift' of his own blood.

Paul Gessell
The Ottawa Citizen

March 4, 2004

When Toronto artist Istvan Kantor comes to town, he has been known to mark a large "X" on the walls with his own blood. On other occasions, he inserts a vial of his blood into his anus, assumes an upside-down lotus position and lets the blood flow into his mouth. He has prepared and served food containing human blood. And then there are the masturbation performances.

So, needless to say, Rideau Hall and the National Gallery of Canada are nervous about Mr. Kantor's planned visit to Ottawa on March 10 to pick up the country's top art prize for a quarter-century of producing some of the most shocking and demonic (some might say disgusting and repellent) art in the world.

The Hungarian-born Mr. Kantor is one of seven artists receiving this year's $15,000 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Mr. Kantor is the only one of the seven who has been permanently banned from entering the National Gallery for decorating a wall there with one of his self-described X-shaped "gifts" of blood in 1991. However, he has been given special dispensation to attend a group exhibition at the gallery, opening March 12, of works by him and the other award recipients.

"They will let me in, but I will be under the surveillance of two security guards," the artist said in a recent telephone interview. (The gallery confirmed the arrangements).

Mr. Kantor can expect similar treatment at Rideau Hall when Adrienne Clarkson hands him his cheque March 10, even though Mr. Kantor says he has no "special plans" to leave a bloody "X" or other "gift" at the Governor General's residence. Parliamentary security guards will no doubt also be on alert when Mr. Kantor and the other six recipients are presented to the House of Commons on March 11.

"Although I did an 'X' recently at the Power Plant (a Toronto gallery), I don't do it as often as I used to."

The Governor General has no voice in deciding who will win the visual arts awards, which honour a body of work or a lifetime of work rather than individual works. The recipients are picked by a jury of artists and art experts selected each year by the Canada Council for the Arts. This year's jury included artists Micheline Beauchemin, Evergon, Edward Poitras, Tom Sherman and Takao Tanabe and arts consultant Ian Lumsden.

Mr. Kantor could be described as an art anarchist, or perhaps a guerrilla artist. He is certainly the first to admit that receiving the ultimate establishment art award is "contradictory" for someone who has made a career of protesting against the establishment, especially the art establishment, with his bloody "X"s on the walls of prominent galleries in North America and Europe.

"It's pretty contradictory, I guess, but it gives me a good occasion to talk about my work, so that is very good," Mr. Kantor said. "It won't change my work. It's just now I can reach a large group of people."

Mr. Kantor is a multi-disciplinary artist. His performance pieces are the most notorious. But his award, he says, is most likely for his work in video, robotics and new media.

Mr. Kantor estimates he has been arrested at least a dozen times. He is usually charged with public mischief. He says he has been branded a "subversive" by the United States government, has several convictions there and, especially since 9/11, has had problems entering that country.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York was particularily distressed in 1988 when Mr. Kantor splashed some of his blood on a Picasso painting. He claims he was just trying to do one of his "X"s. He was initially charged with causing $10 million in damage. After two years of court battles he was merely fined $1,000.

So, what is Mr. Kantor's art really all about?

"My philosophy is based on the equation that life equals art equals life. It's not really a scientific equation but it's useful. Everything is art; everybody is an artist. The greatest art is the people in the streets, the beggars, the prostitutes, the people in the offices, executives and secretaries."

That's a far more detailed explanation than Mr. Kantor normally offers when asked to define the art "movement" he created called "neoism." Here is how he replied to such questions in a recent interview with the weekly publication Montreal Mirror: "Well, no one is supposed to know what neoism is and I don't think anybody does, including myself. The success of neoism is basically in the question, 'What is neoism?' because everybody wants to know. There are millions of definitions and none of them are good for anything. But you could define it by saying neoism is what makes neoism more interesting than neoism. Or you could say that neoism is that which makes neoism obsolete."

Ottawa art lovers will have a chance to experience one of Mr. Kantor's videos, Jericho, beginning March 12 at the National Gallery's group exhibition of works by the seven award recipients. Jericho is owned by the National Gallery and, thus, is deemed to be one of Canada's art treasures.

Most of the 17-minute video contains wildly flashing images of Mr. Kantor in various costumes, ranging from a prisoner to a Ku Klux Klansman, screaming obscenity-laden, anarchistic slogans. In one segment entitled Testimony, a semi-nude Mr. Kantor is seen on his back, his knees to his chest, spinning in circles. A megaphone appears to be inserted into his rectum. "I am nothing; nothing to say," Mr. Kantor, or at least his bowel, repeatedly screeches.

In announcing the visual arts recipients this year, the Canada Council distributed essays written on each of the winners. The essay on Mr. Kantor was prepared by Daniel Baird, art editor of the New York magazine The Brooklyn Rail.

"The intent of Kantor's work has always been to disrupt closed systems of power, political and aesthetic, to lay bare the ways in which technology transforms human bodies and minds into elements of a vast robotic machine and to confront today's deadening systems of technological control," Mr. Baird wrote.

"Mr. Kantor's early neoist apartment festivals in Montreal were week-long, live-in collective events which included smashing furniture, performances, irruptions of music and meals cooked from a mixture of the participants' own blood."

Mr. Baird described Mr. Kantor's 1980 performance piece entitled Liaison Inter-Urbain this way: "He dug a shallow grave, inserted a vial of his blood into his anus, and contorted himself upside-down so that the blood flowed into his mouth." Mr. Kantor wants such performances to be seen as part of the cycle of life.

Images of Mr. Kantor on the Internet and in publications show him, at times, wearing a conservative business suit and, at times, with nothing but a robotic sex device attached to his privates. So, what will he wear to Rideau Hall?

The Governor General's people, he said, suggested he wear a tuxedo. He is considering wearing one that belonged to his grandfather. But, he adds, he loves the element of surprise and so, he might wear something less conventional.

"It's always a performance for me, of course."

- - -

I'll start by saying I'm no art aficionado. I have a hard time understanding Mr. Kantor's message, and judging from cryptic quotes like "neoism is what makes neoism more interesting than neoism" I don't think Kantor knows what his message is either, or if he does, he's not sharing.
The line between art and shameless attention grabbing is a very blurry one, to say the least. I suppose the artist has done his job by giving me something to ponder and discuss, but should Kantor be given a $15,000 award for sticking vials of blood up his ass? Seeing as how some of that government money came out of my paycheque, I vote no.

Some shots from one of Kantor's performances can be found here. (NSFW)

03-04-2004, 07:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
rockzilla Junkie Location: The Kitchen	Does this controversial artist deserve a $15,000 award? Taken from The Ottawa Citizen The 'artist' who has Rideau Hall on guard When Istvan Kantor comes here to collect his $15,000 Governor General's Award, he'll be under the watch of security guards. They want to make sure he doesn't leave another X-shaped 'gift' of his own blood. Paul Gessell The Ottawa Citizen March 4, 2004 When Toronto artist Istvan Kantor comes to town, he has been known to mark a large "X" on the walls with his own blood. On other occasions, he inserts a vial of his blood into his anus, assumes an upside-down lotus position and lets the blood flow into his mouth. He has prepared and served food containing human blood. And then there are the masturbation performances. So, needless to say, Rideau Hall and the National Gallery of Canada are nervous about Mr. Kantor's planned visit to Ottawa on March 10 to pick up the country's top art prize for a quarter-century of producing some of the most shocking and demonic (some might say disgusting and repellent) art in the world. The Hungarian-born Mr. Kantor is one of seven artists receiving this year's $15,000 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Mr. Kantor is the only one of the seven who has been permanently banned from entering the National Gallery for decorating a wall there with one of his self-described X-shaped "gifts" of blood in 1991. However, he has been given special dispensation to attend a group exhibition at the gallery, opening March 12, of works by him and the other award recipients. "They will let me in, but I will be under the surveillance of two security guards," the artist said in a recent telephone interview. (The gallery confirmed the arrangements). Mr. Kantor can expect similar treatment at Rideau Hall when Adrienne Clarkson hands him his cheque March 10, even though Mr. Kantor says he has no "special plans" to leave a bloody "X" or other "gift" at the Governor General's residence. Parliamentary security guards will no doubt also be on alert when Mr. Kantor and the other six recipients are presented to the House of Commons on March 11. "Although I did an 'X' recently at the Power Plant (a Toronto gallery), I don't do it as often as I used to." The Governor General has no voice in deciding who will win the visual arts awards, which honour a body of work or a lifetime of work rather than individual works. The recipients are picked by a jury of artists and art experts selected each year by the Canada Council for the Arts. This year's jury included artists Micheline Beauchemin, Evergon, Edward Poitras, Tom Sherman and Takao Tanabe and arts consultant Ian Lumsden. Mr. Kantor could be described as an art anarchist, or perhaps a guerrilla artist. He is certainly the first to admit that receiving the ultimate establishment art award is "contradictory" for someone who has made a career of protesting against the establishment, especially the art establishment, with his bloody "X"s on the walls of prominent galleries in North America and Europe. "It's pretty contradictory, I guess, but it gives me a good occasion to talk about my work, so that is very good," Mr. Kantor said. "It won't change my work. It's just now I can reach a large group of people." Mr. Kantor is a multi-disciplinary artist. His performance pieces are the most notorious. But his award, he says, is most likely for his work in video, robotics and new media. Mr. Kantor estimates he has been arrested at least a dozen times. He is usually charged with public mischief. He says he has been branded a "subversive" by the United States government, has several convictions there and, especially since 9/11, has had problems entering that country. The Museum of Modern Art in New York was particularily distressed in 1988 when Mr. Kantor splashed some of his blood on a Picasso painting. He claims he was just trying to do one of his "X"s. He was initially charged with causing $10 million in damage. After two years of court battles he was merely fined $1,000. So, what is Mr. Kantor's art really all about? "My philosophy is based on the equation that life equals art equals life. It's not really a scientific equation but it's useful. Everything is art; everybody is an artist. The greatest art is the people in the streets, the beggars, the prostitutes, the people in the offices, executives and secretaries." That's a far more detailed explanation than Mr. Kantor normally offers when asked to define the art "movement" he created called "neoism." Here is how he replied to such questions in a recent interview with the weekly publication Montreal Mirror: "Well, no one is supposed to know what neoism is and I don't think anybody does, including myself. The success of neoism is basically in the question, 'What is neoism?' because everybody wants to know. There are millions of definitions and none of them are good for anything. But you could define it by saying neoism is what makes neoism more interesting than neoism. Or you could say that neoism is that which makes neoism obsolete." Ottawa art lovers will have a chance to experience one of Mr. Kantor's videos, Jericho, beginning March 12 at the National Gallery's group exhibition of works by the seven award recipients. Jericho is owned by the National Gallery and, thus, is deemed to be one of Canada's art treasures. Most of the 17-minute video contains wildly flashing images of Mr. Kantor in various costumes, ranging from a prisoner to a Ku Klux Klansman, screaming obscenity-laden, anarchistic slogans. In one segment entitled Testimony, a semi-nude Mr. Kantor is seen on his back, his knees to his chest, spinning in circles. A megaphone appears to be inserted into his rectum. "I am nothing; nothing to say," Mr. Kantor, or at least his bowel, repeatedly screeches. In announcing the visual arts recipients this year, the Canada Council distributed essays written on each of the winners. The essay on Mr. Kantor was prepared by Daniel Baird, art editor of the New York magazine The Brooklyn Rail. "The intent of Kantor's work has always been to disrupt closed systems of power, political and aesthetic, to lay bare the ways in which technology transforms human bodies and minds into elements of a vast robotic machine and to confront today's deadening systems of technological control," Mr. Baird wrote. "Mr. Kantor's early neoist apartment festivals in Montreal were week-long, live-in collective events which included smashing furniture, performances, irruptions of music and meals cooked from a mixture of the participants' own blood." Mr. Baird described Mr. Kantor's 1980 performance piece entitled Liaison Inter-Urbain this way: "He dug a shallow grave, inserted a vial of his blood into his anus, and contorted himself upside-down so that the blood flowed into his mouth." Mr. Kantor wants such performances to be seen as part of the cycle of life. Images of Mr. Kantor on the Internet and in publications show him, at times, wearing a conservative business suit and, at times, with nothing but a robotic sex device attached to his privates. So, what will he wear to Rideau Hall? The Governor General's people, he said, suggested he wear a tuxedo. He is considering wearing one that belonged to his grandfather. But, he adds, he loves the element of surprise and so, he might wear something less conventional. "It's always a performance for me, of course." - - - I'll start by saying I'm no art aficionado. I have a hard time understanding Mr. Kantor's message, and judging from cryptic quotes like "neoism is what makes neoism more interesting than neoism" I don't think Kantor knows what his message is either, or if he does, he's not sharing. The line between art and shameless attention grabbing is a very blurry one, to say the least. I suppose the artist has done his job by giving me something to ponder and discuss, but should Kantor be given a $15,000 award for sticking vials of blood up his ass? Seeing as how some of that government money came out of my paycheque, I vote no. Some shots from one of Kantor's performances can be found here. (NSFW)