SWEET and SOUR: But is Mountaintop Removal Art?
One of Vivian Stockman’s photos of the devastation of mountaintop removal mining, now on view at the Taylor Books Annex in Charleston, WV
Sweet and Sour are Gazz art bloggers who canvas the local and regional visual art scene. They’ve been around the scene a long time, on and off, in and out of the state. They sent in some thoughts on some local visual arts exhibits and goings-on. They wandered Capitol Street in downtown Charleston this week and had the following spirited discussions about some visual art displayed there. We’ll start with Taylor Annex. About some of the exhibits Sweet and Sour had a “split opinion:”
Vivian Stockman’s photos of Mountaintop Removal at Taylor Annex.
Sour: “But is it art?”
Sweet: “It’s not supposed to be art. It’s a visual documentation of environmental issues impacting the state. Plus, the photographs aren’t bad.”
___________
Sour: “Let’s say they aren’t horrible.”
Sweet: “The point is to document and draw attention to the massive impact on the W.Va. environment of Mountaintop Removal/Valley Fill Coal Mining, which has been called ’strip mining on steroids.’”
___________
Sour: “That’s what the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition calls it in their ‘literature’ copiously strewn throughout the exhibit. Hippies. Vivian Stockman is an employee of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. Makes the show a bit one sided. Being a Friend of Coal myself, I’ll use the term ‘Mountaintop Mining’ to describe the process. You know Friends of Coal pump in more money to this state and the art scene than anyone else. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
Sweet: “They pump more money out of state to the absentee land holders. A tiny fraction comes back to the state and most of that is to buy politicians. Sour, you are only a ‘Friend of Coal’ if they are thinking of buying some of your art or funding one of your events.”
___________
Sour: “And the alternative is…………?”
Sweet: “Diverting small amounts of money to the arts doesn’t make mountaintop removal/valley fill right. It’s dirty, guilt money. Plus Friends of Coal only fund the high-end art buildings and established organizations. Virtually all the boards of trustees for the big time arts organizations are filled with Friends of Coal.”
Vivian Stockman photo from Taylor Books Annex show
Sour: “Any money to the arts is good money. We have to be realistic. Rich people serve on boards (except for a few token real people here and there) and coal is the black diamond highway to Oz for getting rich in W.Va. You might not like it, but that is the way it is. You’ve got to be at least an ‘Acquaintance of Coal’ if you are going to sell any decent amount of art in WV. On a similar subject, I remember when the Friends of Coal sponsored the Pop Art show at the then new Clay Center. I cracked up at the invitation — Andy Warhol and the gang sponsored by Friends of Coal. Obviously, the staff kept from the board fundraisers the actual subject matter of the show. That was one of the most hilarious unintentional performance art happenings in the past decade.”
___________
Sweet: “Sour, you are being hypocritical and opportunistic. Can you agree that these photographs by Vivian Stockman deserve to be shown in an established gallery?”
Sour: “Of course I’m being opportunistic and hypocritical. I’m an artist trying to make a living. Yes, I agree these photographs should be shown. The state is constantly bombarded with the other side, the pro-coal position. Think of the recent “hoes of Coal Bowl” at MU a few weeks ago. The title made even me want to puke. I also think Ann Saville is very, very brave for showing this side of the controversy. When most of the people in this state who can afford to buy the art in her gallery are at the most three degrees of separation away from being a Friend of Coal, she feels the Anti-Mountaintop Removal folks deserve to tell their side of the story. Very brave.”
September 21st, 2007 at 9:28 am
Mountain Top Removal Mining is a disgrace and ugly. Destroying Gods creation for coal that could be deep mined is shameful. Lots of innocent animals are being killed. Communities are being destroyed, water. Its not a work of art at all its just a way to use less men to work, when you compare the number of men it took to deep mine the coal.
September 24th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
[…] newsletter « previous post […]
September 24th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own. - Andy Warhol
September 28th, 2007 at 10:42 am
The sad truth may be this: Friends of Coal can support “opposition art,” such as it is, because it’s safe.
FoC likely perceives, in this exhibit, little or no threat to WV mining in the big global marketplace.
As one donor once told me: “Shoot. I’ll give ‘em $5,000 just to go away.”
September 30th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I have to agree these photos are art, they just may be a harsh reality that the people of WV don’t want to face. I know we need the coal but what is WV without our beautiful mountains.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Mountain top removal is a critical part in the economy of WV. It provides work for many families and not to mention “it keeps the lights on” how is it a disgrace? were would this state br without coal? These photos should be displayed as art. They depict the hard work of the men and women in WV that dedicate themselves in providing coal not only to us but many other states as well. Dont worry about the beautiful mountains , WV is 70-75% forrest anyway.
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:38 pm
I definitely agree that these photos should be allowed in the exhibit. The display of these, to me, shocking pictures does not necessarily support mountaintop removal, but raise awareness about this environmental issue.
October 4th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Many artists in the past have used art to call awareness to political and social problems, and I believe these photographs are an attempt to do the same. The striking effects of brown and grey in what could be a world of green should create an emotion of disgust and anger in the viewer. I haven’t lived here as long as many people I know, but I still hate to see a beautiful mountain chopped to bits.
October 9th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
These pictures say it all “Friends of Coal” they use that to sound as if they are not doing nothing wrong. Yes it keeps the lights on, but gee you would think we could come up with a better way of having light then destroying the earth. It is important these pictures are being shown in a gallery destroying yet art in itself. Maybe someone will admire the this work and find a solution!
October 14th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Andy Warhol also said: “Land really is the best art.” Even though he does not specify what kind of land he is referring to or what it should or should not look like, his other memorable quotes suggest that he was very supportive of the environment.
October 17th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
I partied with Andy Warhol and crowd at the Factory and Studio 54 back in the hey days of the 70’s. Grace Jones and the Duchess of Windsor and I would always go together, and sometimes Liza Minelli if we were getting along with her. Those were the days! Nearly depleted my trust fund, however. Eventually had to sell the flat on 5th avenue and move back to WV where my father is a coal baron. People just don’t know how hard it is to live on a trust fund these days!
October 18th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Art is a matter of perception. I personally do not percieve these photos to be art. I do feel that these photos are a fantastic way to communicate the level of destruction thats going on here in WV. Anyone who takes a payoff from the coal industry should be forced to hang these photos in their offices, and studios.