David Byrne, Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg on the outsider art of Arthur Russell(faroutmagazine.co.uk)
faroutmagazine.co.uk
David Byrne, Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg on the outsider art of Arthur Russell
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/david-byrne-philip-glass-allen-ginsberg-on-arthur-russell/
16 comments
Whenever I'm out walking around NYC and it starts raining I put on "World of Echo". It's a great accompaniment.
For any disco fans out there, Arthur Russell and David Byrne collaborated on this[1] track.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O92UBBaiI4
[2] A better mix (without Byrne): https://soundcloud.com/fattyfattyphonographics/kiss-me-again...
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O92UBBaiI4
[2] A better mix (without Byrne): https://soundcloud.com/fattyfattyphonographics/kiss-me-again...
davidro80's [dead] comment seems to be factually accurate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Ginsberg#Association_wit...
The comment was not flagged. That account was hellbanned after its 3rd comment, three months ago.
I think davidro80's comment was too black or white and an attempt to shut down discussion. Those type of comments usually get downvoted on HN. I can admire Ginsberg's "Howl" without approving of his personal life, but I understand some can't get past it.
"outsider art", like a lot of labels for artists (or labels in general?), is pretty fraught with issues. But that doesn't take away from how great a lot of Arthur Russel's music is. "I never get lonesome" is one of the most fascinating takes on an aspect of the human experience, words about something I have felt so strongly but never heard put to paper. His voice is wonderful.
"Outsider art" rubs me the wrong way because defining it seems like an exercise in gatekeeping. What is the wall that divides the two? Social connections, maybe educational background. Acknowledging something as outsider art is fundamentally condescending. It says that while the work has artistic merit, can be recognized as art, it nevertheless must be qualified as coming from outside the anointed clique.
>What is the wall that divides the two? Social connections, maybe educational background.
So? Any definition is based on a wall that divides the thing defined from other things...
>It says that while the work has artistic merit, can be recognized as art, it nevertheless must be qualified as coming from outside the anointed clique.
Well, that's factual (it does come outside the anointed clique). And as many other things, it can be useful to know, when placing the artwork in perspective.
So? Any definition is based on a wall that divides the thing defined from other things...
>It says that while the work has artistic merit, can be recognized as art, it nevertheless must be qualified as coming from outside the anointed clique.
Well, that's factual (it does come outside the anointed clique). And as many other things, it can be useful to know, when placing the artwork in perspective.
Zen and the art of motorcycling. Can Quality be described or is beauty in the eye of the beholder, maybe more, if your in the pecking order of domestication it applies.
"must be qualified" is subjective, not factual. Nothing bad will happen if artists simply abstain from calling other artists outsiders.
>is subjective, not factual.
That's fine, it still doesn't mean "anything goes". Not all subjective things are "just personal taste".
That's fine, it still doesn't mean "anything goes". Not all subjective things are "just personal taste".
Yeah, outsider art's dictionary definition would imply Russell has no formal training (like, e.g. Wesley Willis), but that's not really the case. I wish colloquially we more strongly enforced a difference between this and using "outsider" as an easy way to say something isn't "in", either commercially or critically.
Bizarrely, I was turned on to Arthur Russell's music via random Pandora dice-rolling (I think via the completely unrelated Penguin Cafe Orchestra). His music is definitely both personal and idiosyncratic.
He may be the most influential musician from Iowa ever.