of visual language, because almost every- body can read. so as a self-congratulatory medium it was very good- also, i like or- ganisation, and newspapers thrive on this like a weed in nice grass. i could also tell about an individual different opinion, just like in art, but without the hassle of dirty hands (except when we printed on loose newsprint and we got inkyprints. ) i started to analyse at this point the things that i liked and didn’t like so much about art. art has its very good points, and it took me a long time to discover these because they are hidden under so much convoluted stuff its hard to see them when you expect it to be clear. before i found these good things, 1 found the bad things, because its easier to find bad things. youcan argue about bad things, and people will be im- pressed, but people think it’s easy to be talking about happy things. bad things i found include: art=educator- art isn’t an educator in the way that art history class told us it used to be. churches no longer needwant iconic imagery to tell the whole story ofjesus and his friends because lots of the population can read the bible now and/ or listen to the preacher on channel 23 and try to understand the message of the lord. when i look at communication under a microscope i see that it has many different channels, for really “””’smart””” small part of the population who know all about the signs and the history of languages, and then there’s the people who want to know this information, but are restricted because their t.v infected minds won’t let them remember and think in terms of abstract reasoning, and then there's the people at the bottom of the thinking rungs, who have an inner wisdom that the people at the top can’t possible have, and this is a rough hands, guts or glory, tough life type of thinking that is closer to natures ways than anything else. but we don’t glorify this, because we think the only education worth having is one that takes long hours and frames filled with calligraphied pages that say how smart and how long you had to study. anyway, back to the types. these types are very separate, and take with them specific characteristics. if we are to generalise, the ‘simpler’ things of life, slow walks and working on the land and family love and grunt emotions sometimes violence and representing a big portion of crime statistics are put on the lower class part of society. most of the middle class fulfills the needs of the upper class and try their whole life to be like them, but also take great pride in saying they’re not like them at all. all the faults of society are passed from one rung to the next, and most people blame the upper class, but these people wield the power, only at the expense and with the tools of all classes below them. but really there’s noladder, no rungs, no top. but we don’t understand. we direct our arts at a high and upper middle class audience. art-iconic imagery doesn’t apply to lower class as society de- fines it, because chances are (not in a bad way mind you) they don’t get to learn about reuben or christo or other signifiers of art. this is generalising, but so is art, so i'll keep going. post secondary education is either trade school, where we direct lower middle and lower class so that they'll fulfill our needs for lower class ranks car wash- ers dishwashers electronic fixers gro- cery store ownersand mechanics and farmers or it’s pushed at teenagertypes that it’s college for middle class so they can fulfill the needs of upper class assistant managers and computer store own- ers engineers to build bombs and buildings and corporate takeovers and magazines. university is for these people too, but also for upper class who sometimes go to special expensive schools to learn how to control using the classic methods of roman times or even legal cases that have happened. people who don’t go to school make up many smaller groups of stories- working for lower class store owners, or filling positions as work- ers in all fields, or trying to go to school sometimes these people make great myths when they go from rags to riches to insanity, and this inspires some other people to not go to school or dropout. and sometimes students don’t follow these paths, but the paths are there beside and around them. what am i getting at? i’m reiterating the confusion that sociologists have reiter- ated over the years. i’m expressing my frustration that art is serving the needs of the upper and upper middle class of society. understanding art takes brains that are trained through history, or psy- chology. (or you can become an artist and learn from experiences good and bad all about art) no, art is not only for these brain-trained people, but these are the people who say they like it, and buy it, and know about the opera, and go to the galleries. art as educator cannot learn from experiences good and bad all about art) no, art is not only for these brain-trained people, but these are the people who say they like it, and buy it, and know about the opera, and go to the galleries. art as educator cannot happen, because artists need to eat, andif they make art that explains the abe’s of art, then nobody will buy it, especially when all the galleries are frequented by either artists, middle class who may actu- ally enjoy it and can get prints for 40 dollars framed even, and upper class who say they enjoy it, and buy it real and fresh to prove it. this is some of my complaint about art in society and the whole world and art soci- ety asitiscontinually propagated in books, coloured and not. eccad has a library that contains books about art. this is art school, iagree. but whatis the role of the artist? the romantic comic book hero told me that artists are nerve ends to society, or maybe a mirror of society. allisee here is art and artists, and noinformation besides artinformation. we have no books of fiction, except about art. i have to say that this school doesn’t help the idea that art is reflecting art, and not outside life anymore. —we are encour- aged to go and see as many shows as we can, but not to read as many books, or witness political events that change and move many people. we are pushed some- times to work out our inner feelings, when in eastside of van. there are people fighting and homeless and starving. west end kills places of culture veryfast like they were dirty flies on a clean, white wall. we are asked, sometimes to criti- cise society’s evil ways and here we sit on the yuppified soil of granville island— whose sole function is to further the needs - of greed— beside a cement factory that people want to get rid of even though its the only original bldg. standing near us except maybe a garage that used to be something else too. a new bldg. is being built, and it will be really nice, but why not Mohammad Salemy take the money for bldg. and move to commercial driveor chinatown or someplace real people are, so we can live near school and learn about hardship first hand, not living in downtownwestend eat- ing gelati going for espresso taking ferry to work. where in the real world is it like granville island, except maybe other granville islands? i have learned lots about hypocrisy here. that’s for sure. i was told about artists as demonstrators, purveyors of good, volun- teers, angry people who try tomakechange. i see fellow students and teachers that i know who like drinking out of styrofoam and winning pepsi promotions to ski on whistler. i see president and a bursar driving around in shiny white expensive cars and waste of chemicals down the ~ drain or many photocopies instead of one. political things occur and we don’t move hardly at all: a gulf war happened, and five people sat in a vigil to protest it; a student union election gets one nominee; nobody cares about striking teachers or hour cutbacksand nobody goes to see their fellow-student art shows. i can see the caring; that 48 = there. (ike supportofsupportstaff & ask a-queer- a-question-information-day) but when i ask people to write about horrible hap- penings for the planetnewspaper, to enlighten others, the people say no, or worse, say yes and never submit their ideas, i don’t know what to say. beauty pageants get cancelled (a reason for cel- ebration) montreal massacre anniversary rolls by, constitutional changes are hap- pening, KKduKe tries to be usa presi- dent, trash television quickly polluting the minds of those that artists were hop- ing? could be their audience- all this with no visible anger— a peep to our or any other newspaper, or any art about it, or letters to television or prime minister. i am very sad, disheartened, disillusioned. i was told a very bad lie- that all artists want to make a change. i found out that they are mostly interested in helping them- selves- doing art that reflects feelings and not the world that is quickly killing itself by drinking its excrement. very sad. you see, chris, these lies i was told have hurt me deeply, because they were told to me by teachers and students and media and everybody who says they know. when i find out that art school is just as self- indulgent as everywhere else, i am very angry at the powers that be. 1 want tu make change, and i don’t think that wav- ing my camera around is going to do it. sure, i can talk about me as a person and how i feel and how my relationship is going, and i can protest by making some art and throwing it, flaming, at some poli- ticians house, ori can make a big name for art by pissing on a plastic religious iconograph and further damning art in the public’s eye. don’t get me wrong. i think art should exist. it is a base need for all humans like air and water and even food. we need to see art, and make art, in order to cleanse out impurities and thoughts about evil many times because they’re older, but continued next page of visual language, because almost every body can read. so asa self-congratulatory medium it was very good: also, i like or ¢ganisation, and newspapers thrive on this likea weed in nice grass. icould also tell about an individual different opinion, just like in art, but without the hassle of dirty hands (except when we printed on loose newsprint and we got inkyprints,) i started to analyse at this point the things that i liked and didn’t like so much about art, arthasits very good points, and it took me a long time to discover these because they are hidden under so much convoluted stuffits hard to see them when you expect it to be clear. before i found these good things, i found the bad things, because its easier to find bad things. youcan argue about bad things, and people will be im- pressed, but people think it's easy to be talking about happy things. bad things i found include: art=educator-art isn’t an, ‘educator in the way that art history class told us it used to be. churches no longer needwant iconic imagery to tell the whole story ofjesusand his friendsbecause lots of the population can read the bible now and/ or listen to the preacher on channel 23, and try to understand the message of the lord when i look at communication under a microscope i see that it has many different. channels, for really “”"'smart””™ small part of the population who know all about the signs and the history oflanguages, and then there's the people who want to know thisinformation, butare restricted because their tv infected minds won't let them remember and think in terms of abstract reasoning, and then there's the people at the bottom of the thinking rungs, who have an inner wisdom that the people at the top can’t possible have, and this is @ rough hands, guts or glory, tough life type of thinking that is closer to natures ways than anything else. but we don't glorify this, because we think the only education worth having is one that takes long hours and frames filled with calligraphied pages that say how smart and how long you had tostudy. anyway, back tothe types. these types are very separate, and take with them specific characteristics. if we are to generalise, the ‘simpler’ things of life, slow walks and working on the land and familyloveandgruntemotionssometimes violence and representing a big portion of crime statistics are put on the lower class, part of society. most of the middle class, fulfills the needs of the upper class and try their wholelifetobelikethem, but also take great pride in saying they're notlikethematall. all the faultsofsociety are passed from one rung to the next, and. ‘most people blame the upper class, but these people wield the power, only at the expense and with the tools of all classes belowthem, but really there's noladder, no rungs, notop. but we don't understand, we direct our arts at a high and upper middle class audience. art-iconicimagery doesn't apply to lower class as society de- fines it, because chances are (notin a bad ‘way mind you) they don't get tolearn about reuben orchristo or other signifiers ofart this is generalising, but so is art, soi keep going. post secondary education is either trade school, where we direct lower middleand ower class othatthey/l fulfill ourneeds forlowerclassranks ear wash- ersdishwasherselectronic fixers gro- cery store ownersand mechanicsand farmers or it’s pushed at teenagertypes thatit’s college formiddle classsothey can fulfill the needs of upper class assistant managers and computer store own- ers engineers to build bombs and buildings and corporate takeovers and magazines. university is for these people too, but also for upper class who ‘sometimes goto special expensive schools to learn how to control using the classic methods of roman times or even legal cases that have happened. people who don't go to school make up many smaller groups of stories- working for lower class store owners, or filling positions as work- ers in all fields, or trying to go to school sometimes these peoplemake great myths when they go from rags to riches to insanity, and this inspires some other people to not goto school or dropout. and sometimes students don't follow these paths, but the paths are there beside and around them. whatam i gettingat? iim reiterating the confusion that sociologists have reiter ated over the years. i'm expressing my frustration that artis serving the needs of the upper and upper middle class of society. understanding art takes brains that are trained through history, or psy chology. (oryou ean becomean artist and learn from experiences good and bad all about art) no, artis not only for these brain-trained people, but these are the people who say they like it, and buy it, and know about the opera, and go to the galleries. art as educator cannot learn from experiences good and bad all about art) no, art is not only for these brain-trained people, but these are the people who say they like it, and buy it, and know about the opera, and go to the galleries. art as educator cannot happen, because artists need to eat, and if they make art that explains the abe’s of art, then nobody will buy it, especially when all the galleries are frequented by either artists, middle lass who may actu- ally enjoy it and can get prints for 40 dollars framed even, and upper class who say they enjoy it, and buy it real and fresh to prove it. this is some of my complaint about art in society and the whole world and art soci- etyasitiscontinually propagated in books, coloured and not, ecead has a library that contains books about art. this is art school, i agree. but whatis the role ofthe artist? theromantic comic book hero told me that artists are nerve ends to society, or maybea mirrorof society. alli see hereisartand artists, and noinformation besides artinformation, we have no books of fiction, except about art. i have to say that this school doesn’t help the idea that artis reflecting art, and not ‘outside life anymore. —we are encour- aged to go and see as many shows as we ‘an, but not to read as many books, or witness political events that change and move many people. we are pushed some- times to work out our inner feelings, ‘when in eastside of van. there are people fighting and homeless and starving. west end kills places of culture veryfast like they were dirty flies on a clean, white wall. we are asked, sometimes to crit cise society's evil ways and here we sit onthe yuppified sol ofgranvilleisland— ‘whose sole function isto further theneeds of greed— beside a cement factory that people want to get rid of even though its the only original bldg. standingnear us except maybe a garage that used to be something else too. a new bldg. is being built, andit willbereally nie, but why not take the money for bldg. and move to ‘commercial driveor chinatown or someplace real people are, so we can live near school and learn about hardship first hand, not living in downtownwestend eat- ‘nggelati going forespresso taking ferry to work. where in the real world is it like granville island, except maybe other granville islands? i have learned lots about hypocrisy here that’s forsure. i was told about artists as ‘demonstrators, purveyors of good, volun- teers,angry people who try tomakechange. i see fellow students and teachers that i know who like drinking out of styrofoam and winning pepsi promotions to ski ‘on whistler. i see president and a bursar