Warhol and Christo: The Path to Redefining Genius
By James Mellick
All artists who are concerned about real, material form, express their concepts by transforming raw materials into a significant form that catches the eye and "the heart" and is both intellectually and visually pleasing. At one time the term "Genius" was given to the artist who could create groundbreaking masterworks within the tradition of their time. Today, the term is given to the artist who is extremely talented in public relations, self-promotion and manipulating the system-the process of getting their highly esoteric ideas presented and seen. The artistic process and promoting their lifestyle is what's important while actual material art forms are secondary to the meaning of their work.
By today's standards, one can be certain to be a genius if they are known by one name. Christo and Warhol pioneered and laid the groundwork for this new definition of genius, but while the conceptual artists who followed would produce nothing marketable, tangible or lasting, they were still crafting art objects to support the process and image of themselves that was the real point of their art.
Some see the genius of Warhol as the ability (process) to manipulate the art market, to use and manipulate the druggies and avant-garde critics who flocked to his factory like sheep. Sure, he was prolific in his production of art objects but the historical significance of Warhol was the process of social manipulation to create the "cult of celebrity". He may not have been able to manipulate 900 followers to drink the poisoned Kool Aide (Jim Jones in Ghana) but he left a trail of broken spirits, a few drug overdoses and a few suicides has a part of his legacy. The real theme of Warhol's work was "celebrity", created by becoming a celebrity himself. As a master of self-promotion and media hype, he showed the way for the star-struck, conceptual artist wannabe's of today. What they are ignoring or forgetting, is that Warhol was prolific in making art and he had a good eye for design. Warhol did have artistic talent but was a deconstructionist of social mores. The young art students of today who want to be famous but lack the basic talent or skills to make art, buy into Warhol's lifestyle alone. They are deluded.
I think that Christo would say that the meaning of his environmental installations is the process of raising money and getting legal permits from government bureaucracies to wrap an island, run a fence across the countryside or wrap a historic building. His "umbrellas, curtains and gates" do offer a pleasing visual and environmental experience on a grand scale, but they are not permanent beyond the memory of the experience reinforced by souvenir shops and photo documentation. His work is most like the early "Happenings" of the 1960's which were combinations of "performance art" and outdoor installations. Like a real-time music performance, when it is over, all that a person can do is to buy a CD to remember the performance. I have to commend Christo for not living off the government teat for his exploits and there is permanence in selling working drawing prints to fund his projects.