Comments on: Calling London! Free Ann Lee from The Tate! http://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/ New York art news and reviews. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:20:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: tom moodyhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-187600 tom moody Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:17:25 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-187600 Pierre Huyghe anticipated pedrovel's criticism by saying in an interview "we bought a virgin." In other words, the buying of the character was intended as a metaphor for sex trafficking, among other things. It's good to hear someone is writing a book addressing the project's flaws (and other topics, I hope) but fear the controversy only adds to its aura. Annlee graced an Artforum cover 5 years ago, attracted a private collector, and obviously the Tate thinks she's still important. Pointing out that Huyghe's work has logical or conceptual errors is mostly lobbing spitballs at a castle. You can't bring down an artist's cult once it's built, except, I think through apathy. Pierre Huyghe anticipated pedrovel’s criticism by saying in an interview “we bought a virgin.” In other words, the buying of the character was intended as a metaphor for sex trafficking, among other things. It’s good to hear someone is writing a book addressing the project’s flaws (and other topics, I hope) but fear the controversy only adds to its aura. Annlee graced an Artforum cover 5 years ago, attracted a private collector, and obviously the Tate thinks she’s still important. Pointing out that Huyghe’s work has logical or conceptual errors is mostly lobbing spitballs at a castle. You can’t bring down an artist’s cult once it’s built, except, I think through apathy.

]]> By: tom moodyhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-317554 tom moody Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:17:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-317554 Pierre Huyghe anticipated pedrovel's criticism by saying in an interview "we bought a virgin." In other words, the buying of the character was intended as a metaphor for sex trafficking, among other things. It's good to hear someone is writing a book addressing the project's flaws (and other topics, I hope) but fear the controversy only adds to its aura. Annlee graced an Artforum cover 5 years ago, attracted a private collector, and obviously the Tate thinks she's still important. Pointing out that Huyghe's work has logical or conceptual errors is mostly lobbing spitballs at a castle. You can't bring down an artist's cult once it's built, except, I think through apathy. Pierre Huyghe anticipated pedrovel’s criticism by saying in an interview “we bought a virgin.” In other words, the buying of the character was intended as a metaphor for sex trafficking, among other things. It’s good to hear someone is writing a book addressing the project’s flaws (and other topics, I hope) but fear the controversy only adds to its aura. Annlee graced an Artforum cover 5 years ago, attracted a private collector, and obviously the Tate thinks she’s still important. Pointing out that Huyghe’s work has logical or conceptual errors is mostly lobbing spitballs at a castle. You can’t bring down an artist’s cult once it’s built, except, I think through apathy.

]]> By: pedrovelhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-187343 pedrovel Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:24:16 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-187343 Heather Warren Crow, an artist based in Milwaukee-- I think --has been working on a book that will include the most complete analysis of Ann Lee and the flaws of it.Also, one can't help but notice how young the character is and how a pack of macho men have been pretty much selling her off in the street...but more dramatic is the fact that the one collector who moved all of Miami to keep little Elian Gonzalez in the US now owns the rights to derivative pieces of slavery. Heather Warren Crow, an artist based in Milwaukee– I think –has been working on a book that will include the most complete analysis of Ann Lee and the flaws of it.

Also, one can’t help but notice how young the character is and how a pack of macho men have been pretty much selling her off in the street…but more dramatic is the fact that the one collector who moved all of Miami to keep little Elian Gonzalez in the US now owns the rights to derivative pieces of slavery.

]]> By: pedrovelhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-317553 pedrovel Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-317553 Heather Warren Crow, an artist based in Milwaukee-- I think --has been working on a book that will include the most complete analysis of Ann Lee and the flaws of it.Also, one can't help but notice how young the character is and how a pack of macho men have been pretty much selling her off in the street...but more dramatic is the fact that the one collector who moved all of Miami to keep little Elian Gonzalez in the US now owns the rights to derivative pieces of slavery. Heather Warren Crow, an artist based in Milwaukee– I think –has been working on a book that will include the most complete analysis of Ann Lee and the flaws of it.

Also, one can’t help but notice how young the character is and how a pack of macho men have been pretty much selling her off in the street…but more dramatic is the fact that the one collector who moved all of Miami to keep little Elian Gonzalez in the US now owns the rights to derivative pieces of slavery.

]]> By: Art Fag Cityhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-187322 Art Fag City Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:22:14 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-187322 Yeah, I noticed Hayley's criticism while I was there but hadn't realized she'd been so completely redrawn. I'm not sure why this piece receives as much attention as it has, though it might be a good idea to repost both comments. Yeah, I noticed Hayley’s criticism while I was there but hadn’t realized she’d been so completely redrawn. I’m not sure why this piece receives as much attention as it has, though it might be a good idea to repost both comments.

]]> By: Art Fag Cityhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-317552 Art Fag City Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:22:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-317552 Yeah, I noticed Hayley's criticism while I was there but hadn't realized she'd been so completely redrawn. I'm not sure why this piece receives as much attention as it has, though it might be a good idea to repost both comments. Yeah, I noticed Hayley’s criticism while I was there but hadn’t realized she’d been so completely redrawn. I’m not sure why this piece receives as much attention as it has, though it might be a good idea to repost both comments.

]]> By: tom moodyhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-187321 tom moody Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:21:09 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-187321 Judging from your photos, it looks like some artists used the sad big eyed Annlee and others used the 3D extraterrestrial Annlee. How is that a "brand"? One wonders how the museum's (precious, concept-defying) copyright is supposed to cover all the interpretations of Annlee that don't even look alike. What we need is a super-wealthy picture-taker willing to take this to court and demolish the museum's claims. Judging from your photos, it looks like some artists used the sad big eyed Annlee and others used the 3D extraterrestrial Annlee. How is that a “brand”? One wonders how the museum’s (precious, concept-defying) copyright is supposed to cover all the interpretations of Annlee that don’t even look alike. What we need is a super-wealthy picture-taker willing to take this to court and demolish the museum’s claims.

]]> By: tom moodyhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-317551 tom moody Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:21:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-317551 Judging from your photos, it looks like some artists used the sad big eyed Annlee and others used the 3D extraterrestrial Annlee. How is that a "brand"? One wonders how the museum's (precious, concept-defying) copyright is supposed to cover all the interpretations of Annlee that don't even look alike. What we need is a super-wealthy picture-taker willing to take this to court and demolish the museum's claims. Judging from your photos, it looks like some artists used the sad big eyed Annlee and others used the 3D extraterrestrial Annlee. How is that a “brand”? One wonders how the museum’s (precious, concept-defying) copyright is supposed to cover all the interpretations of Annlee that don’t even look alike. What we need is a super-wealthy picture-taker willing to take this to court and demolish the museum’s claims.

]]> By: tom moodyhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-317550 tom moody Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:13:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-317550 From an '04 rant about the Annlee project (http://www.digitalmediatree.com/tommoody/?25277): "According to [Philip] Nobel, Huyghe 'slightly redrew' the character [purchased from the Japanese anime image clearinghouse Kworks], which is true if 'slightly redrawing' means removing her pupils, tilting her eyes the opposite way, giving her a perm, stripping off her clothes, and turning her into a robot ET. Huyghe then asked 14 artists to interpret this 'open source Annlee' for a group show that traveled to major museums. Once he created the 'freeware' prototype, the artists were stuck drawing her that way, that is, like his digital puppet and not the Kworks original (Nobel refers to the show's 'many identical video avatars'). So what's the purpose of buying the brand, bringing the 'empty sign' to life through multiple interpretations, and then transferring the copyright back to the character, as Huyghe supposedly did, if you're going to make the brand unrecognizable before the interpretation process even starts? The work has a superficial frisson of commodity art but fails as a meme-propagating business model, parodistic or otherwise." From an ’04 rant about the Annlee project (http://www.digitalmediatree.com/tommoody/?25277):
“According to [Philip] Nobel, Huyghe ‘slightly redrew’ the character [purchased from the Japanese anime image clearinghouse Kworks], which is true if ‘slightly redrawing’ means removing her pupils, tilting her eyes the opposite way, giving her a perm, stripping off her clothes, and turning her into a robot ET. Huyghe then asked 14 artists to interpret this ‘open source Annlee’ for a group show that traveled to major museums. Once he created the ‘freeware’ prototype, the artists were stuck drawing her that way, that is, like his digital puppet and not the Kworks original (Nobel refers to the show’s ‘many identical video avatars’). So what’s the purpose of buying the brand, bringing the ‘empty sign’ to life through multiple interpretations, and then transferring the copyright back to the character, as Huyghe supposedly did, if you’re going to make the brand unrecognizable before the interpretation process even starts? The work has a superficial frisson of commodity art but fails as a meme-propagating business model, parodistic or otherwise.”

]]> By: tom moodyhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/10/12/calling-london-free-ann-lee-from-the-tate/comment-page-1/#comment-187320 tom moody Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:13:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=10716#comment-187320 From an '04 rant about the Annlee project (http://www.digitalmediatree.com/tommoody/?25277): "According to [Philip] Nobel, Huyghe 'slightly redrew' the character [purchased from the Japanese anime image clearinghouse Kworks], which is true if 'slightly redrawing' means removing her pupils, tilting her eyes the opposite way, giving her a perm, stripping off her clothes, and turning her into a robot ET. Huyghe then asked 14 artists to interpret this 'open source Annlee' for a group show that traveled to major museums. Once he created the 'freeware' prototype, the artists were stuck drawing her that way, that is, like his digital puppet and not the Kworks original (Nobel refers to the show's 'many identical video avatars'). So what's the purpose of buying the brand, bringing the 'empty sign' to life through multiple interpretations, and then transferring the copyright back to the character, as Huyghe supposedly did, if you're going to make the brand unrecognizable before the interpretation process even starts? The work has a superficial frisson of commodity art but fails as a meme-propagating business model, parodistic or otherwise." From an ’04 rant about the Annlee project (http://www.digitalmediatree.com/tommoody/?25277):
“According to [Philip] Nobel, Huyghe ‘slightly redrew’ the character [purchased from the Japanese anime image clearinghouse Kworks], which is true if ‘slightly redrawing’ means removing her pupils, tilting her eyes the opposite way, giving her a perm, stripping off her clothes, and turning her into a robot ET. Huyghe then asked 14 artists to interpret this ‘open source Annlee’ for a group show that traveled to major museums. Once he created the ‘freeware’ prototype, the artists were stuck drawing her that way, that is, like his digital puppet and not the Kworks original (Nobel refers to the show’s ‘many identical video avatars’). So what’s the purpose of buying the brand, bringing the ‘empty sign’ to life through multiple interpretations, and then transferring the copyright back to the character, as Huyghe supposedly did, if you’re going to make the brand unrecognizable before the interpretation process even starts? The work has a superficial frisson of commodity art but fails as a meme-propagating business model, parodistic or otherwise.”

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