There had always been images of saints. I never wondered why it had been so. An evening prayer had always been in front of an image. In fact, it had been a prayer to an image only, an image which could either be cheaply bought or had been given away on any occasion. Similar images are ever-present in my life to this day.
Idealized ladies and gentlemen are virtually everywhere. I am surrounded by images. They include a promise of a new, better world, which can be obtained in exchange for a couple of pieces of silver. Not a high price to pay for the entrance into the commercial sacred. But, by doing so, will I regain the peace of mind? Will I become a better man?
Or perhaps it is only for a short while? Perhaps the portrayed “saints” want me to surrender to objects of temporary worship? I am already theirs and setting myself free will not be easy. Surely – socially, it will prove positive. My faith will become more focused on successive “indispensable” goods. With each act of buying, I fuel the economy, hence I am a cogwheel in a huge machinery. Is this the foundation of contemporary faith? Are we to become operated by advertisements, the media, the society or the government? Is this our ideal world conveyed by commercial images?
Today’s images do not promise happiness in another life. It can be bought here and now – all I need to do is to pass through theft detectors and enter the “sphere of the sacred of a shopping mall”. After all, this is where we find all that is needed for our temporal salvation. For the time being! When the new season comes, new attributes of “salvation” will have to be bought. Money must always be circulating. Indeed, just as the Earth revolves around the Sun, we revolve around money.
the Texas Biennial, has appointed Ryan N. Dennis and Evan Garza as curators of the seventh edition of the exhibition
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Dealer Simon Preston, Who Ran Acclaimed Manhattan Space for a Decade, Heads to Pace as Senior Director
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The Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University in Houston has named Ylinka Barotto and Frauke V. Josenhans as associate curators.
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Mary Anne Carter has been confirmed as the chairman for the National Endowment of the Arts
London Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad, Scion of a Powerful Collecting Family, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His Girlfriend
Gagosian Grows New York Empire, Taking Over Former Mary Boone and Pace Gallery Spaces in Chelsea
Billionaire Collector Ronald S. Lauder Reveals Himself as Owner of $25 M. Collection of World War II Memorabilia in Lawsuit
Whitney Museum Promotes Curators Jane Panetta and David Breslin
London Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad, Scion of a Powerful Collecting Family, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His Girlfriend
Portuguese Authorities Seize Blue-Chip Art From Embattled Mega-Collector José Berardo to Settle His Colossal Debts
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Names Amy Smith-Stewart Senior Curator
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The Art Institute of Chicago’s James Rondeau on Why He Wants to Wager Tens of Millions of Dollars on the Unknown Future of Art
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David Smith Estate Names Jennifer Field Executive Director
Bart van der Heide, Chief Curator of Stedelijk Museum Under Beatrix Ruf, Named Director of Museion in Italy
Public Art Fund Promotes Kellie Honeycutt to Deputy Director, Daniel S. Palmer to Curator
David Zwirner Gallery Will Open Paris Space
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Anne Ellegood to Become Director of Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Victoria & Albert Museum Director Tristram Hunt
Kayne Griffin Corcoran Has Added Jamie Goldblatt Manné as Director
David Zwirner Hires Thor Shannon as Director
Getty Foundation Names Joan Weinstein Director
Jamie Niven to Phillips, New Fridman Gallery Director
Christian Rattemeyer Appointed Director of New York’s SculptureCenter
Former Serpentine Galleries CEO Yana Peel Resigns from Board of Para Site
Candice Hopkins’s Curating Lets Indigenous Artists Do the Talking