Lauran Childs Art

Most artists I know in Miami, myself included, have had very little if anything to do with what’s been going on with Art Basel in Miami this week – excluding a few good parties, of course!

There are some good artists being given coverage in Art Basel – thank God – but the word is that some very disappointing/disgusting garbage has risen to the forefront yet again. What’s the garbage? Chopped up naked body parts of women – is this de rigeur? And pictures and sculptures of genitalia. Seriously. If you haven’t been around Art Basel before you might thinking I’m joking. But this is real.

Art is a serious part of humanity’s evolution – sometimes. It’s so sad to see crap dominate the art world yet again in this art fair, and good artists go unrecognised and unpaid. Literally. There have been artists working live in Art Basel and I very much doubt any of them got paid – I’d like to hear of any exception/s. I was lucky enough to see some graffitti artists painting live at Transit Lounge, and I very much doubt they got paid.

Somehow there’s a common belief that artists don’t care if they get paid. TOTALLY ridiculous. People often ask us to work for free as if we’re walking charities. Not. Allied to the common description of artists as ‘starving artists’ this is really surreal and absurd.

I would very much like to see the major resources committed to small parts of the art world going to WORTHY artists for a change.