The Art of Despair

The Whitechapel Art Gallery in London's East End chose to mark 7/7 by opening an exhibition by the German King of Anti Art: Albert Oehlen - I Will Always Champion Good Paintings, an ironic title if ever I saw one. Oehlen is obviously so paranoid about being accused of chocolate-boxy art that he has contrived a "deliberately ugly anti-aesthetic". In other words he paints depressing tripe. The above illustration connects with my previous 7/7 blog in three ways. 1) It shows the decadent West, despairing of ever achieving great art, disappearing up its own rectum in search of the ultimate futility, just like Al-Ghurabaa does. 2) It makes me feel alienated from my own culture, just as Fundamentalists are alienated from it. 3) It presents a sad picture of wasted human life: Oehlen will never fulfil his repressed desire to become a great painter, just as members of Al-Ghurabaa will never fulfil their repressed desires to become gay. Shun this offensive, mentally sick tripe at all costs.