Thoughts on the debate

On Thursday the debate on whether or not blogging was a valid platform for art criticism was held. I was in the debate with four other speakers, and a moderator. The debate was mostly in Dutch, and I followed along as best I could before responding in English (sadly my spoken Dutch is not really up to snuff yet).

I won’t dwell on the underlying absurdity of the panel, because let’s face it, asking if a blog is a proper platform for art criticism is an unanswerable question on the level of “what is art?”. Despite this, the panelists were informed and felt strongly about their positions, which varied along a continuum of a one panelist likening blogs to diarrhea to me waving my smartphone in the air and quoting comments from my friends on Facebook.

Talking points

KAdE

As I strolled around with a mug of red wine (you read correctly, a mug of red wine, the VIP lounge was out of glasses) at the opening of the Art Amsterdam fair, a series of talking points came to mind. I decided I could use these points as a framework to guide my coverage of the fair this year. I’ve been to many art fairs, ranging from the tiniest, most local of the local affairs (Art on the Fence in the hamlet of Ameliasburgh, Canada might be the smallest) to the really blue chip biggies (Frieze Art Fair) and so I feel like I come to Art Amsterdam with a broad perspective. While taking in the festivities of opening night, I decided I would start by investigating:

– Who and what is really selling here?
– Are there any big transactions happening, or is being here mostly just about visibility?
– Do the non-selling aspects of this fair (the No Holds Barred section, the debates, et cetera) provide enough justification to visit (and ponying up 20 Euro for a ticket) for the non-buying public?
– Is having a presence at Art Amsterdam worth it for these players who are not there to sell?

On that final point, I stopped by the KAdE booth and had a chat with a very friendly and helpful woman named Adinda. I was drawn to the beautiful objects on display (pictured above) and Adinda explained that these eye-catching objects were a small sample of an exhibition concept they had devised, inviting architects to come up with cases for 18th Century porcelain objects. Was it worth it for a non-collecting, non-selling institution based in Amersfoort to come to the Art Amsterdam fair? The answer was a resounding yes, with Adinda telling me they had generated a lot of interest in the show by being there, and that as a young institution (KAdE was founded in 2008) it was essential to take all opportunities for visibility that they could.

I continued browsing: