Pissed Off Artists Allegedly Urinate on Kruger Art

Pissed Off Artists Allegedly Urinate on Kruger Art
Installation

A group of artist protesters calling themselves "The
Infinity Lab" were arrested Thursday after witnesses
reported acts of vandalism on the new Barbara Kruger
Installation commissioned by University of California
San Diego's Stuart Collection.

The protesters chanted, "Another formulaic Kruger",
as one of them allegedly urinated on the
installation's floor text. Campus police arrested the
3 protesters as they continued to mock the
installation.

Thursday's protest may have inspired another
disturbing act of vandalism this time reported at Los
Angeles County Museum of Art on Friday. Apparently, a
protester threw bags of fecal matter at Kruger's mural
in the Eli Broad Collection.

Due to the two acts, there is elevated security
around all of Barbara Kruger's public artworks. So
far, Kruger has not been available for comment.

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Comments

, Judi Collins
, Rui Pedro Fonseca

A protest against art that protest??

Why don´t you protest against sexism, war, enviornmental issues, politics, entertainment, etc.??

Ah, ok you just want to be "cool" and protest against an activist work.

I know, is cool to be "cool"… yaaack!

, Joe Edit

well it is interesting when a modestly talented (graphic) artist like Kruger gets the mainstream attention of museums and art institutions.
It all looks pretty suspect.

, Rui Pedro Fonseca


So what sould be the criteria to get the mainstream attencion of museums and art institutions?

At least Barbara Krugger in her work deals with serious subjects that concerns people (like gender and other political issues).

In this "egocentric" artistic production I see her work as one of the exceptions.

, Joe Edit

It also looks like careerism riding on the back of legitimate protest.
If these issues are real concerns to her, then she should intervene.
This is like talking at hats and getting paid for it.

, marc garrett

Whether it is Kruger just paying lip service, or artists finding an easy opportunity to get themselves known - it all feels a little cheap really.

, Rob Myers

Cheap and about twenty five years late. Just as much music seems currently to be a pastiche of the worst cheese of the 1980s, so it would seem much artistic activity is

It's also sexist (why Kruger and not an equally deserving male artist?) and a bit pathetic (they could only reach the floor?).

Rather than feeding the oxygen of publicity to Kruger's picture post pastiche issue porn couldn't they just try Pissing In A River?

, Rui Pedro Fonseca

Krugger is feminist and uses her work, in form of publicity, as a protest against patriarcal imaginary. If people don´t like feminism is because they don´t acknowledge its goals, its their right. Bringing the discussion here is arguing gender equality on inequality. She has the right to express her self as a women.

There is one thing she isn´t for sure: an egocentric, self centered artist like the majority of those whose who work, or try to work, in art institutitions.

What people need is more ethical art production who makes people think about its values system, its culture. We see art production to animate and create spectactle in every galery, museum, or street corner.

But, can someone tell me why did those people protest against Krugger work?

, marc garrett

>There is one thing she isn´t for sure: an egocentric,
>self centered artist like the majority of those whose
>who work, or try to work, in art institutitions.

You seem to know her well :-)

So if one does not agree with a female 'famous' artist suddenly one becomes an anti-feminst?

Although, the issue is not whether Kruger is a feminist or not.

I actually respect some of her early work. Although, I'd value her contribution more if she explored challenging the structures that she works within - may she does, I'm always happy to be educated more.

What I really dislike is shallow idiots who presume pissing is a form of 'art' protest - it's easy and gets one in the gaze of the spectacle quicker than actually doing anything interesting.

marc

, Judi Collins

I also read that they were protesting her involvement with the Whitney's GAP T-Shirts and GAP's involvement with suing sweatshops and other human rights violations.

But I don't know if any of that is true.

, Judi Collins

sorry, USING Sweatshops

, Judi Collins

They've done it again. This one is insame.

The Infinity Lab's "Piss Kruger"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8pUQbZhhU


, Judi Collins

Alright, this time they took it one step further:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8pUQbZhhU

The Infinity Lab has imitated Andre Serrano and done a Piss Kruger sequencer.

Information from their YouTube page:

Inspired by the media and the events following the release of the faux "urination on Barbara Kruger installation" hoopla, The Infinity Lab was forced to take it one step further.

The outcry from the public can be likened to the response Andres Serrano received after he photographed the figurine of Christ soaking in urine.

Is Barbara Kruger the Jesus Christ of the Art World? We say, YES. And we've built a shrine to her and pray to it nightly.

, G.H. Hovagimyan

And the pissing contest continues!!!

[flash]http://www.youtube.com/v/zwqtbAODCM0&hl=en&fs=1"[/flash]

, Judi Collins

re:
>It's also sexist (why Kruger and not an equally deserving male artist?) and a bit pathetic (they could only reach the floor?).

That quote from Rob Myers is almost as ridiculous as the video they did to parody Fritz Haeg a while back.
Sexist? Because she was a female artist? That's like saying that I am sexist because I am attracted to women?

Ridiculous statement!

Fritz Haeg video:
http://theinfinitylab.com/fritz.html

, Marcie Uderin

It always insulting to have these things happen: insults, protests; I feel sorry for Barbara. Still, when damage is permanent, and costs thousands to repair, it's another story. Allan McCollum's five sculptures "Allegories" in Montpellier (cast in marble dust and pigmented polyester resin, sanded and polished) were vandalized and covered with oil-based silver paint by an art student in 2006, as an "art project." The statues were created in 2000, for the children of Montpellier. It will cost thousands to remove, as the polyester resin surfaces will be etched and damaged however the silver paint is removed, and the surfaces will need to be completely re-cast.

But what is most disgusting here is that the student's professor, Jeff Rian, at l'École nationale supérieure d'arts de Cergy-Pontoise (http://home.att.net/~artarchives/ensapc.fr/), published a promotion of the vandaliasm as an act of "admiration" for the artist, and glamorizes the action in order to creat journalistic drama in Purple Fashion Magazine, and the magazine's public web blog. See:

http://www.purple-diary.com/post/92236005/dear-allan-mccollum-a-very-interesting-art

The student (his name is Orion Giret) and Jeffrey Rian wrote the artist (McCollum) an insulting and sardonic letter, describing the vandalism as a "compliment" to his work, which improved it, claiming many people liked it "better" after the vandalism.

On top of that, when asked to comment, the well-known critic/philospopher Rene Denizot, who is the director of the school, claimed that the school has no responsibility, because the student did it on his own time, and professor Rian published his promotion on his own time; so it has nothing to do with the school!! Even weirder, the City of Montpellier, after discovering how costly the repairs would be, actually invented a story for the public that the artist (McCollum) said he didn't mind if the statues remained vandalized – an absolute lie. So the statues have remained in their vandalized condition for well over three years.

Read these creepy articles in the French press:

http://home.att.net/~artarchives/artdolly/denizot.html
http://home.att.net/~artarchives/Montpellier-negligence1.html
http://home.att.net/~artarchives/Montpellier-negligence2.html

What is it with the French academic world? Do they think everything is "conceptual," and they are "above" considering financial or legal ramifications of anything? This is my impression. McCollum mentions in his response to the blog that he has rwritten dozens of po=eople in the culture establishmnet of France – and no response from any official operson anywhere – just responses from journalists looking for stories.

I'm French myself, born there, and I'm ashamed and disgusted.






, Marcia Uderin

For those interested, the Jeff Rian promotion of the vandalism on Purple Diary has been archived, at:

http://home.att.net/~artarchives/orion_giret/orion_giret.html

, Poderiu -

"Pissed off Artists" are pisted off with Kruger because they don´t have nothing decent to do or say.