What to Make of Morley's Musings

Now that the alpha dogs have had their fill of the carcass, I imagine it's acceptable for we "smug, semi-informed" pups of the blogosphere to shyly sniff around it for scraps. :-P

The carcass I refer to of course is the barely warmed-over update to his 1993 hit piece on the art market that made closet watercolorist and TV journalist Morley Safer a force to be reckoned with (or not) in the contemporary art scene. Having spied him traipsing around Art Basel Miami Beach this past December, camera crew in tow, most art world insiders were anxiously awaiting the reappraisal.

To understand why the update has been such a relief-producing flop, though, it helps to revisit the original:

In his now-infamous 60 Minutes story "Yes...But is it art?" Safer took on artists, dealers and critics of the 90s with equal gusto. The artists, he said, make mostly "worthless junk," or better yet, hire craftsmen to make it for them. Dealers, he said "lust after the hype-able." Critics write in a language that "might as well be in Sanskrit."

Indeed the original was truly controversial because it hit a number of bulls-eyes that sting still today. How lame the defenders of contemporary art looked next to its detractors back then was mostly a matter of stagecraft (detractors were comfortably seated in what looked like offices of power absent only the pipe and smoking jacket, whereas defenders were literally forced to think on their feet) and poisoning the well before the defenders were able to speak (Safer ensures we agree with his position on Koons by insisting his answer is "shaky" before we hear it). But lame they did look all the same.

In the update? Not so much.

Partly, that's because of a shift in collective values. In 1993 it was still widely assumed that it was a valid position to take that crass consumerism was bad. Today, consumerism has been not only equated with capitalism but virtually with patriotism throughout most of the first world. So the 2012 response to Safer's 1993 question "What makes it art?" is an unquestioned (even by Safer) "Look how much it's gone up in price."

But it's also because of a shift in power. Back in 1993, "60 Minutes" had the power to shape opinions. Today, many people are surprised to learn it's still on the air. Moreover, back then, the mainstream media in general was feared (look at how Koons accepts insulting question after insulting question and still pants like a puppy dog for more). That has greatly changed. In fact, Larry Gagosian never bothers to stand up when Safer approaches him in his Basel Miami booth, making it crystal clear who has the power now.

Partly, though, it's because art history has done its job and sorted out a few things in the past two decades. Watching Safer mock Twombly in the 1993 piece, it's easier to dismiss his position today. Being a fan of Twombly, that pleases me. Not being a huge fan of every other artist he mocked in the first piece, though, I'm a bit less self-satisfied.

And so, Safer's highly anticipated revisit to his infamous smack-down comes and goes, not with a firestorm, but with barely a whimper. It's hard to imagine we're not all the worse for it though.