Response to Hernan Bas by David Rohn

Comments: Response to Hernan Bas Work From the Rubell Family Collection by David Rohn

From: sandy lazar
Email: email withheld

How do we define the work of a gay artist or is it defined simply by saying he is "gay"?

could it be that we define "gay" by "freed" flaming fags on tv making bafoons of themselves. Should it be the weak and vulnerable dandy quoting lilies from an Oscan Wilde novela? Or is it a waffie guy strung out on heroin so sheek and expensive or exotic for all to gawk at.

These are made up realities as are some personas. So what of the art and what of its maker? Real estate and commerce rule in art and no one knows that better than collectors the Rubells and gallery owner Frederick Snitzer. Both who understand the necessity of greed and their trajectory can be found in the pages of the miami herald. What ever happened to Naomi Fisher or Bakti Baxter and Josh Levine? Their work had the support of the dealers, collectors and media and then it was the persona and finally it was gone from anything serious. So now we speak of a new therobread but this one is homosexual and so we define him as such. In doing we lessen the criteria of his work and simplify or cover the nuances his work so richly evoked when he first stepped into the coliseum. We should remember that there are extreme differences in words like "gay" or "fag" and "homosexual." They are as different as Fidel Castro and George Bush the 1st, 2nd and 3rd because the latter three are war mongers. But let's not stray from the topic of the day too much. David Rohn does expose the sad reality of being labelled and the harsh truth of being cannonized well before the rat race has comcluded. Maybe that is the reason to bet on the entire line up. It is not the art that is important here nor the artist but what they symbolize to a privileged few. The air is thin up there and no one is looking down except the shadows drawn from the harsh sun on the unsuspecting young artists. A letter to the puppy water still defining themselves by the magazine cover on cosmo and tracer. It isn't there that you find paradise or fame or money unless you put out. Turning tricks is a game for the dealer, collector and the rest of the real estate brokers. Let the beatings begin!!

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