Author: admin

There are ideas, concepts, places or objects that are fixed defined in our mind in order to be easily recognized. How should be a glass to be recognized and defined as glass, how should be a hug to be recognized as hug or how should be an store to be recognized as store. But when we move, add or remove pieces that conform a definition in our minds then we are in a dilemma of recognition. We are almost not quite sure if it is or not, even that confusion makes us sad, angry or happy. We are curious of that material or immaterial thing that is between in our confidence and our insecurity. The place where that emptiness live to create a new something is what brings purpose of my work: The Gray Area.

In many cases and in our first view, things in Gray Areas does not looks like it has a practical use or with a form or with sense. Simply they born and be, because if they born is because they has a purpose. Finding out that purposes is one my interests and goals of my research. But I could speculate that one of them is to help society be more conscious of himself, it is their reflexion as in a mirror. Making an analogy of what those gray areas are, they are like crazy people walking and living in the street, going nowhere, we see them as something that does not fit in the landscape of our neighbourhood and in our normal behavior. Sometimes we try to fix or help them giving them a coin or calling some organization to offer them help.

Thinking in the gray areas and the art world, I could dare to ask: How should be a drawing to be barely recognized as drawing?, how many people has to say “yes, this is a drawing” that the others will said “of course this is a drawing” or maybe is the one who should said “this is a drawing” like an “important curator” or “important museum”?. Apparently out of the box recognition is also political, needs the backup of “important people” and/or the support of the masses. But also fixed mechanisms are part of the art world like the art market and then we see that art world is not so flexible as we think. So when we move the art market to a gray area what would happen? For example to leave the prices of the art works and their speculation mechanism to a democratic process.

Bringing “gray area things and mechanisms” into the daily life of the people is a political process. Gray areas are produced by the society itself and this is the reason why most of my works are participative or placed in semi public spaces. Bringing acceptance (or votes) of those is a way to expand the comfort zone of the society we live in order to improve it.

Social mechanisms work as authomatic machines that allows our society and individuals function in a more or less structured and organized way obtaining what they need when they want. They normally works in the subcouncious of the society and is very confortable to have them there because it save us a lot of effort in regards of communication and time, everybody knows them and knows how they works step by step. But this is a double side weapon, from one side is a very easy and confortable tool that can be used anytime when someone needs, but for other side are dangerous ways that people get use to use it, creating addiction and because exist in the blind side of the society nobody question their procedures and their existance, slowly create damages in some parts of the society and later in a big part of it.

1. Is understood as social mechanism a flow of linked entities, actions, procedures or events (X) that give as a consequence, in certain circumstances, another event, object or entity (Y) in the realm of human social relations.
2. Social mechanisms are used by the society and human mind to structure the way to reach a goal or understand the functionallity of a system.
3. There are many social mechanisms used daily in common life. The observation and understanding of those mechanisms can help artists to create art works / art projects.
4. Social mechanisms can be used, copied or appropiated totally or partially to create art works / art projects.
5. Artists should define cleary witch social mechanism is used, copied or appropiated to create a mechanitist art work / art project.
6. A mechanitist art work / art project can be used as a vehicle to reflect behaviors or critize systems, etc. A mechanitist art work / art project has to have a mission or goal cleary defined by the artist.
7. Can be used any media or art form material or immaterial to create a mechanitist art work / art project. It could last from one moment to many years.
8. A mechanitist art work / art project does not harm any life form in any way to reach their purpose, goal or mission.
9. A mechanitist art work / art project can be inserted and exist or coexist in real environments of the society and not only restricted to exist in the boundaries of the art world.

Art market economy
In ODBK we point out that today, the art market plays a key role in the definition of the contemporary art world, and has a direct influence what future generations will recognize as the art of our current time. We recognize that the current economic model of the contemporary art market is built over a manipulative and speculative system that should be changed in order to have an equal distribution of the income, attention and opportunities for all participants in the art world.

Proposal for a democratic and equitable art world
In ODBK we see there are important decisions in the art market that affect the global art world and it should be regulated by a commission and laws.

Art market decisions
In ODBK we point out that there are two important factors that directly affect the behavior of the current corrupt art market and that should be regulated. First the importance of the artists is largely affected by the reputation of the spaces. And second the prices of the artworks. ODBK proposes that these important factors in the art market / art world should be based on the principles of the „Participatory Economics“ (created by Michael Alberts) that read „the decision making is in proportion to the degree one is affected by the outcome of a decision“. In the case of the art market / art world we consider that the parts are equally affected by the decisions of the institution, the artists and the art lovers. These three parts should conform the Art Market Regulation Commission.(AMARC)
The decisions taken by AMARC are:

• Which artists should participate in the spaces: public museums, public art spaces, non-profit organizations spaces, AMARC certified private spaces.
• Top prices of artworks in primary and secondary market
• Distribution of public funds for visual arts

Law proposal
ODBK proposed a law that every country should add in their tax regulations book. For every art work sold, in the primary or secondary market, above 50 thousand USD a percentage between 10 and 20 should go to a public fund to support emergent artists. The decisions of this fund should be taken by the AMARC.

Active participation of Art lovers
Art lovers are a very important sector of the art world but are not considered in the decisions made by the contemporary art market. In ODBK we believe that any person can make a valuable contribution to the contemporary art world. Then any person should have the possibility to receive the education / knowledge to understand contemporary art for free. In ODBK we work to increase the number of people who understand and engage with the contemporary art. And to become active participants in defining the importance of the artists and the quality and prices of the artworks, disregarding gender, nationality, social status, sexual preferences or income. Then we support and create ideas, projects and initiatives that allow any person to affect the decisions in the art market.

Non-Institutionalized Spaces vs. Institutionalized Spaces
In ODBK we consider non-institutionalized Spaces regulated by the AMARC as important as the institutionalized spaces.