Trillion Dollar Face (Trn$Face)
46" x 46"
Oil paint, rope and thread on cardboard
$1 000 000 000 000.00
Trn$Face
The Most Expensive Work of Art on Earth
"All men have fears, but the brave put down their fears and go forward, sometimes to death, but always to victory."
(Motto of King's guard in ancient Greece)
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to present to you a unique expression of the human mind - Trillion Dollar Face: The Most Expensive Work of Art on the Planet.
The Face, a visual collision of organic ideas and materials - recycled cardboard, oil paint, rope, thread and a broken paintbrush - is a complex symbol of unity, born from the ashes of the universe and combined with the wisdom of an artist.
The 21st century has been colored by war, economic uncertainty and a general sense of hopelessness. It is in this climate that the Trillion Dollar Face (Trn$Face) was conceived.
The trillion-dollar price is a rebellion against the current artistic conditions that force artists to sacrifice truth and beauty for marketable goods and financial gain. Quality for quantity. This unfair exchange results in an environment where quality is sacrificed; sacrificed for money in the bloated, bleeding belly of the market.
I believe that the current market has no solid roof under which artists can stretch their canvases. Instead, we must challenge the practices that have led the world to a recession and a future with little hope. Each one of us must set aside our fears and pursue all channels to circumvent the established system.
Today, technology provides us with the necessary tools to connect with people in almost every corner of the earth. We must employ these channels to convey our ideas directly to one another and encourage a new collective dialogue.
The moment demands that we establish a new standard that would allow art and artists to gain a greater insight into the intricacies of life. We must compose a never-ending play on nature's stage where we, the people, sing out loud: 'I think art, I build art, I breathe art, I believe art and I am art'.
We must observe nature's platform candidly. Like the Trn$Face, all art must convey a strong expression of truth and beauty with nature as its measure. If we fail to perceive nature, then we not only damage our natural environment but we will scar humanity. With a paintbrush and a gentle brush stroke, nature alters the course of life and in a similar way, we, the students of nature must produce eternal works that will change the landscape of today and of the future.
Art is nature. Art is truth. Art is beauty. Art is freedom. Art is the voice of men and women drifting in the lonely sea. Art is You. Art is all that we know and all that we know not.
Using technology, we must work collectively and candidly express our ideas through the veins of the Internet to everyone across this planet. Art is the struggle to be brave.
Art is Trn$Face, an expression of the 21st century modern man.
12 comments:
the world suffocated in a web of chaos and only small glimpses of light shine to present hope.
The universe holds all things: nature, art, truth, beauty and connectedness. The market packages emptiness and sells it under the branding of these words, explaining why our thirst for life appears to be unquenchable.
It is clear that during this period of evolution we need to harness our creative will and focus our resolve, collectively. We must move forward with intention and courage.
If Art is truly nature and Art is the air we breath, we must cease our erosion of what we know to be our life force.
I say break from the shelter and let us stand together for what is true.
www.musicfirm.ca
Haha, saw this blog passing by. I like the idea of art, working togehter and everything.
But come on, is he really serious? Never heard of this guy.
However, keep up the good work and wish you very luck with selling your piece of art:).
By the way, can I get a share? A million or something?;)
It is interesting that you started the manifesto with a quote about courage in the face of death. For the King’s Guard, who faced possible violent death every day, it was an inspirational quote to remind them that the fears they were experiencing were natural and that courage was a matter of overcoming fear as opposed to not being afraid at all. Considering that you are not a member of the King’s guard or any other occupation that carries with it the risk of violent death, I wondered why this quote was chosen as an introduction. Why was it, that as an artist, releasing a painting and a manifesto on a public forum, you drew a parallel between your situation and that of a professional soldier? As I read the rest of the manifesto, I began to understand why. You are presenting an idea and a work of art that are likely to draw widespread criticism. I can appreciate the depth and complexity of your artwork, but being more inclined towards beauty, colour and natural landscapes in art I can say that it doesn’t match the style of artwork that I typically enjoy. While I’m sure that many people will capture the beauty and meaning of your work, I feel that as least as many will not. Considering that, especially for someone who doesn’t read into art that much, it is not the most beautiful painting in the world; it is outrageous that you are charging a trillion dollars for it! How much does a t-bone steak cost? How much does a case of beer cost? Do you know how many of those you can get for a trillion dollars? So, my reaction is that this painting is not worth a trillion dollars, and you are inviting criticism by charging that much for the painting. I feel that you know this already, and for whatever reason, have accepted that you will receive opposition for this. I also understand from the manifesto, that the trillion dollar price is a way of separating art from money, effectively making your painting so expensive that it is not for sale, and can be appreciated as art for art’s sake, without being seen through the filter of economic appraisal. I’m not sure if it’s going to come off that way for most people though, at least initially. So I suppose that you do have some fears concerning this criticism but have decided to go ahead anyways. As for the manifesto itself I thought that you have identified some major problems that are so widespread in our society that we have ceased to notice them. People are more alienated, more selfish, more money oriented, more self conscious. And market forces in conjunction with technology are aggravating and even causing these tendencies. Still, I think your approach was a little negative. I mean, regardless of whatever comes people can still be happy, can still find love, people can still live meaningful positive lives, no matter what the market does. If someone has the right attitude, I think they can navigate the modern world pretty well and make a good life for themselves. It depends more on one’s state of mind then on social conditions. One thing’s for sure: I’m all for more interaction between people and for opening up channels where artists can launch their work, and can present their work to the world without using the market as an intermediary. The technology exists so we might as well use it on our terms and not on the terms of a CIA information gathering tool (Facebook). There needs to be a people’s forum, an artists’ forum, a place made by the people for the people with the purpose of the direct exchange of artistic works. The greedy eye of the market has spoiled art for the rest of us for far too long.
audacious!
I've been thinking of late, about the implications of the relativity of art as commodity, whether cultural or through capital. What occurs to me is rift between interpretations of art - whether by virtue of craft or of spectacle alone; that one person can be struck by their impressions of a piece that another might discount on grounds of 'artistic merit:' questions of technicity, rigor, and critical thought are brought to the fore. Ultimately, this is what [good] art challenges us to do; to reconsider our presuppositions and to develop new ways of seeing, understanding and perceiving. To that end, it's arguable that "Artist's shit," by Piero Manzoni, confronted this issue as much as the actual pieces of shit that litter Queen West, here in Toronto, but I digress.
To speak to the Manifesto, the scope and intent of the work is commendable. To have manifested a genuine criticism of the state of art in the contemporary circumstance is a brave act. Further, I agree with the some of the author's assertions - I agree about the necessity of a strong artistic movement in the 21st century, and for the critical role that networked content will provide [which the manifesto's author never addresses properly, applying, instead, the blanket term of 'technology,' which if it were so vague, would miss its mark]. However, I crave for greater clarity and definition of purpose. I hope that the author of the piece with recognize this necessity and follow suit!!!
I have always been hesitant to put a dollar value on my artwork. The artwork feels like an extension of myself and I would feel the same way if I had to measure myself in dollars. I usually feel a lot more comfortable giving my art to friends or keeping it in my home and allowing friends to view my paintings. I feel like the statement being made of a trillion dollars for a painting is that art is priceless and the value of a work of art cannot be measured in dollars and cents. I love the painting btw ;)
This is insane to say the least. I believe this is a brave act in the part of the artist. I truly appreciate his genius and creativity. Kandinsky comes to mind: " The horse bears the rider with strength and speed. But the rider guides the horse. Talent carries artist to great heights with strength and speed. But the artist guides his talent. This is the element of the "conscious," the "calculating" in his work .... The artist must know his talent through and through and, like a smart businessman, leave not the least bit unused and forgotten; instead he must exhaust, develop every particle to the maximum possible for him."
This project speaks to me directly & I hope that more people gets involved and "encourage a new collective dialogue" as the author indicates in his paper.
To the critics I say this: your questions are nothing but farts coming out of your mouths. You should encourage the artist in his quest.
Art is what people make of it. What one artist will call art, another will call junk. Everyone has the right to express their artistic virtue and allow others to absorb the meaning in a way that they feel fit. A trillion dollar painting may seem irrational to most, but price is merely the value that one accords to a particular item. I wish you the best of luck in getting your message across.
The worth of art and creativity in the twenty first century does balance between thrusting forward into a new consciousness, and a not so positive ending.
In the face of a recession and potential collapse of the financial system, we have already seen the importance of small independent local business and the communal support of local industry for survival, which I believe is a step in the right direction.
The general public is more aware now of what is going on around them due to the many channels of information via the internet and new media (i.e. Alternative online news, radio, and documentaries outside the mainstream blockbuster hits). This new awareness has led to the public being exposed to ideas that they would not have been open to in the past.
With this being said, I believe there is a strong possibility that the connection and contribution of the population to there own communities, along side the rapid availability of info via the internet and social networking sites, could be a recipe for a new creative consciousness.
So, the “Trn$face” author’s view in this statement, “current market has no solid roof under which artists can stretch their canvases…we must challenge the practices that have led the world to a recession and a future with little hope,” although somewhat negative, does express what is happening slowly at the moment. The most amazing movements in art have come out of impossible situations, and the fall of market looks to be one of these moments.
In his book “The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life”, by Richard Florida, he talks about this very movement and how it is already in motion.
A trillion dollars for the artwork Trn$face manifesto could arguably be spent elsewhere, but governments have recently spent this amount and more with little to nothing to show for it (if not losing track of it all together). Maybe this is not such an unfounded investment to truly get people thinking outside the box, or at least to push them over the edge to ask for real change.
Excellent depiction of today’s society and the downfall of today’s ‘sell-out’ artists. To sacrifice ones artistic self, ones true expression of the mind is all too common today. The step towards marketable goods is a step away from ones true self. I think this truly exemplifies the importance and value we as artists need to place of our art. The art one creates is priceless and invaluable to the artist. But as an artist we need to make the viewer feel the same, which you have done so in this manifesto. Congrats on your excellent synthesis of today’s artistic society and how we as artists should never give up who and what we are no matter what, value your art like you value your life!
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