> Dwyer claims Granger’s act was akin to slashing someone’s tires to protest the oil industry.
Granger's protest was properly executed as you slash the tires of the oil trucks and oil execs - you strike the people peddling what you are protesting. So of course Dwyer is trying to downplay the significance.
“No, I didn't know about the exhibit before that day. And then I saw the Al piece and it was just—as an artist myself, it was insulting to see something of such little effort alongside all these beautiful pieces in the gallery. It shouldn't be acceptable for this "art," if you will, to be put alongside these real great pieces.”
What an impulsive fellow.
Finally, a proper example of direct action.
Really goes to say something about starving artists
As much as I wanted to roll my eyes, this did give me a chuckle.
Next he should go eat Sherrie Levine photographs. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/267214
Slightly tangential:
> He initially wanted to press charges because Granger’s act “violates the sanctity of the gallery,” but changed his mind
> Left: Graham Granger after his arraignment outside the court building
I was beginning to think "pressing charges" was a myth (popularised by TV shows like Law & Order) and this article didn't exactly change my mind about that.
Do US state attorneys actually give two shits about what the victim wants? Is it someone's job to read an email inbox and systematically approve/reject citizens' pressed charges? Do they even pretend to?
Ultimately there are some types of cases where if the victim does not want to cooperate, it isn't going to succeed.
Also, government attorneys can be elected officials. Spending time achieving nothing against a bunch of uncooperative screwball artists isn't going to be something to brag about on the campaign trail.
Usually the attorneys who handle this are not state level but county or city level. In general they have so many cases to handle that victims who don't want the case pursued will cause them to drop the case.
The police (not even the prosecutor) might have said "we are not even going to do the paperwork for this deliberately provocative act of eating some paper off your dumb wall", in which case the museum could have decided to sue for damages.
Participation of the victim makes prosecution easier. That's all pressing charges means, even if it isn't what many people understand it to be.
A performance artist criticizing an AI artist for low effort. Hmm
There are performance artists literally risking their lives to make political protest art.
Your stereotypes do not emcompass all of the world.