Customer Reviews

Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dave Hickey, cuts loose and speaks to the reader in vibrant tones and tempos in his collection of essays on life,drugs,art, and an ideal democracy. Be it a recollection of his childhood growing up with Jazz and joints, his academic years, with Brakhage and Warhol flicks, or his "dealing" days trading a piece of paper with a signature on it for another, Hickey somehow relates the residue of everyday life to Art and Democracy. At times his seductive writing can become so subconciously numbing, that one may want to pinch themselves once in a while to make sure they are not simply ingesting his information as fact...yes his writing is that good, but beware, and be critical!

"Air Guitar" is Hickey's characterization of critical writing, it's direct relationship to its subject(s) being of approximately equal import as a person playing air guitar in his living room is to a rock concert. In the words of Vladimir Horowitz, the concert pianist, it is "the words without the music." That being said, it's damned interesting, all the same, especially when approached this way. Hickey's favorite technique is to take two seemingly disparate things and to discuss the way in which they inform each other, all the while examining the net effect on his life as your basic, educated, ambitious Joe trying to fill the "great gap of time" between birth and death with a mind boggling array of interesting experiences. In this way, they're more 'think pieces' than academic essays. I'll admit, there were moments when my brain hurt; but most of the time, I was enjoying his company and his facility for mental gymnastics -- and the obvious pleasure he took in it personally. I heard of this book on a radio interview (Fresh Air? Diane Rehm Show?) and bought it specifically so that I could have my own personal copy of "My Weimar" -- a spectacular, 'where am I in the grand sceme of things now' type touchstone. Reading the whole book as a part of a recent essay jag, I found it all equally challenging, equally enjoyable.

This book is a collection of essays which demonstrate how art functions in American society on a day to day, experience to experience way. Each essay is written in a conversational tone, as to invite the reader into the story through personnal experience and avoid the frequent erudite, elitist, and exclusionist text commonly associated with art theory. Each story is easy to relate to and encourages one to think about everyday incidences as a form of art and its relation to formal art. This book represents the thoughts of an artist both in what it says and how it says it. It is a thoroughly enjoyable read and educational tool for artists.

OK, granted, this is this first thing I've read by Dave Hickey, so I may not be giving his overall legacy a fair review. I know he's been around for awhile and has made numerous contributions to many top-notch magazines and journals. This book was recommended to me by a guy in a Williamsburg bookshop, and despite the pretentious accusation of 'genius' slapped on the front cover, I glanced through the book (spotting some obviously great writing) and bought it on the spot.
I was really taken by his unabashed, intimate style for several chapters of the book, until he began his defenses of art dealing and art criticism and his pompous attacks on 'spectators' versus 'participants' (are critics participants?) in his version of the art world. Sorry Dave, this doesn't wash and you know it --- simply announcing that 'Art is not a commodity' simplifies a huge can of worms best dealt with by Debord or even Hakim Bey, not by an art dealer aspiring to belong to this community, rather than getting dirty in the spectating and profiteering himself. When I hit the end of a couple of these verbose defenses of his history of 'dirty occupations', I was left thinking, 'Is it that important you were an art dealer?', or 'Who really cares that you're an art critic?'.
I simply want to be regaled with tales of Sigfried and Roy, or stomp in the boots of Hank Williams, or read Dave's ridiculous opinions on Chet Baker and, most importantly, laugh (or even smile out loud). This is where he is at his best, and consequently where the book shines. It is great writing, indeed, but too bad Dave feels it's necessary to namedrop and pontificate to purge himself from the sea of soulless art critics. Just do what you do best, and write!

I to was assigned to read this for a college course and picked up the book with the usual lack of excitement that goes along with reading an assigned text. I was surprised to find myself half-way through the book in one night and having to make myself put it down to continue on with other assignments. The author vividly describes scenes from life in a way that takes you on a journey into someone else's life. You can hear the saxaphones, smell the cigarette smoke, touch the flowers...it's really unbelievable the way the author picks you up and takes you away. It's also nice to have a book of short essays...great for people who get bored easily and enjoy a change of subject and scene. The book sets up a new image and feeling with each essay. You never find yourself stuck on the same topic or bored with the content. The book keeps you moving and thinking from start to finish. Loved it.

This book made me want to call everyone I knew and tell them to read it--and better yet, it made me laugh! alot! "Air Guitar" is an optimistic and witty book about one man's parallels between art and life. Hickey writes brilliantly. I admit I skipped the commentary, but it was few and far between. This is a really good, optimistic book from one of the only influencial people involved in the visual arts who actually has his head on straight. If you skip this one, you're missing a refreshing group of essays and a very, very well-written book.

A chain of family and friends recommended this book to me--first my niece, then a younger brother, then an older brother, an age range of more than 25 years. I'd like to have a box of the books by my front door so I could give one to everyone who comes and goes, including the Fedex man, the mailman, friends and door-to-door salesmen. It is wonderful, intoxicating, and hilarious. Sometimes too wordy, but when it is, it is a little like Moe slapping Curly and then poking him in the eyes. Hickey always brings you back to earth after zooming around the clouds. The book should be required reading for academics and artists alike--you'll never think about what you do in the same way after reading this book, which in some ways might be characterized as a love song to life. Utterly delightful. I drove my wife crazy raving about it, now I have to get her a copy, since mine is all marked up with exclamation points.

this book is intelligent and accessible. It made me jealous of his grip on things.

Hickey is a champion for everyone who loves art for what it is and not it's bourgeois role in society. If you appreciate art, or you art an artist, but you've felt slighted, jipped, disenfranchised, or disillusioned with the "artworld" and it's sanctimonious modus operandi, then Hickey is your champion. He knocks down dealers' and curators' houses of cards wherever they exist.

As a child I've always enjoyed making and looking at art. After going to art school I felt tremendous pressure to be "in" the artworld and conform to it's dogma. This book breathed new life into my endeavors and helped me find a place for my work sans artworld. If you can relate at all, give this book an honest go for your own good.

Dave Hickey has a regular column in the Art in America magazine, which I discovered quite by accident. My first impression was that he was wacko, but I was intrigued. I kept going back to the article and rereading bits of it. Eventually what he was trying to say sunk in. Brilliant and insightful would be understatements. I started looking forward to each issue of Art in America and the chance to read (and reread) his essays. Then, somewhere or other, I ran into a reference to one of his books.

Reading Air Guitar is a bit like perusing an unofficial autobiography. We get a look at Hickey's interesting and unconventional childhood; through which Hickey then holds forth on art and democracy. Reading the book reinforced my first impressions of his writing. He sometimes comes across as completely wacko, he is always intriguing, and his obtuse intelligence can leave me prodding my synapses for some action. When understanding sinks in, it is always worth the work.

This book should be on the reading list of everyone making an effort to understand (or change) American culture. I found the essay "Romancing the Looky-Loos" to be particularly instructive. He explores "participants" and "spectators" as related to music and visual arts. This spurred quite the discussion around the cottage here, extrapolating these ideas towards politics, ecology, and climate change. Folks, it looks pretty scary--there are lots of looky-loos out and about. To quote Hickey, " . . . spectators invariably align themselves with authority. They have neither the time nor the inclination to make decisions. They just love the winning side--the side with the chic building, the gaudy doctorates, they seek out spectacles whose value is confirmed by the normative blessings of institutions and corporations." (Page 148) This is pretty chilling. Consider the facts: spectators are in the majority; institutions resist change; corporations are legally obligated to maximize profits for their share holders. Hang on to your hats; it looks like we are in for a wild ride.

But I digress, well, at least a little bit. While Hickey takes a long and critical look at mainstream culture, he is in many ways a part of that culture (and I suppose that could be said for many of the rest of us). He is clearly centric, although where his centricism lies is a little hard to define. He states that the only music is jazz and rock and roll; implying that they are the only types of music that inspire culture and democracy. Um, hello? What about hip-hop, rap, indigenous music, world beat, and so on? A die hard city boy, he repeats someone else's earlier claims that "nature imitates art" and implies the real world consists of the neon lights of Las Vegas. A centric city boy is hardly distant from the mainstream, but his view and voice are certainly unique and articulate.

This book illuminates many of the cultural and commercial trends of the past fifty years. It can be a bit difficult to read (you might want to keep a dictionary handy) but it will keep you entertained while it expands your mind. While the view may be a bit to the left of some reader's perspectives; this slant is well advertised in the introductory quote from Keith Richards "Let me be clear about this: I don't have a drug problem, I have a police problem." I highly recommend this book for activists and others who hope to save the world. We need to understand what we seek to affect before we can hope to be effective.