Fame

Fame is odd, it is unusually common, and relative. At least in this society that I know.
Warhol is quoted as saying; "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 mins".
He was quite right.

When I was an artist in residence a few years back a friend, a painter, used to ask: "What do you want more fame or money?"
I could not answer the question, too hypothetical for me. He wanted staying power, he wanted his work to last after he was dead.
I suppose I agreed over time over our dinners of constant discussion.

Yet as I am here at home and at work all I really want is to be able to do my work, and make a living, a modest living, i.e. being able to pay my bills and help causes and others if I wish to.
To do the work that makes me happy and to live from it. Is it too much to ask?

In any case back to the subject fame.
I went to Frieze the London Art Fair last week and saw no sign of the "recession"! Money and art were changing hands before the fair had even opened, some stands/stalls in the market were already sold out. Barnaby Furnas for example who had made a series of works on paper on the subject of John Brown. Really nice work as well.
I saw some art I liked but mostly it was a crazy quilt of stuff which did not grab me or speak to me in any way. Unfortunately.
An art fair is not always an indication of what is going on in art, only what dealers believe they can sell.
I enjoyed a film by Stephen Sutcliffe and an installation by...Dang!

Famous folks were out in droves for the champagne reception e.g. Grayson Perry, Tracey Emin, Isaac Julien, Nicholas Serota, John Baldessari, Peter Kennard,...of art world fame, and then the popular fame was represented by Lily Allen and Lily Cole! I am certain there were many many more fames there but I would not have known, since I don't even know what they look like.
My ignorance is either bliss or boring!

The Pommery champagne flowed and so did some Kentucky smoothe bourbon in the form of mint juleps or bourbon champagne with apple sparkle. That was good and treacherous! The people watching was phenomenal and especially because many had made such an effort in their dress. Delicious. I sat and indulged my senses in the haze of slight tipsy-ness.

The great thing for me about Frieze is going on the hunt, the big safari of finding work I like. It is a marvellous challenge and the grid of the fair site is much like Manhattan cross streets and then all the Avenues, and neighbourhoods like the Village etc.
Going to Frieze has become a tradition that my friend Paul and I do every year and we enjoy it as long as we do not get depressed about the art world! I think the endless champagne is the best thing about it though.