Notes on Controversial Art

Kant thinks that our response has to be disinterested—independent of its purpose and the pleasurable sensations it brings about.
Freeland, Cynthia. Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction.Oxford U Press: New York, 2001.

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Francisco Goya Y Lucientes (1746-1828) was supporter of modern democratic values. Appointed official painter to the King of Spain in 1799, Goya is well know for his images of noblemen and ladies.His controversial Naked Maja brought him to the Spanish Inquisition.

Goya witnessed tumultuous political events when Napoleon’s army invaded Spain; he painted many scenes of battles, revolts, and assassination, such as his famous The Executions of May 3, 1808, where innocent civilians are gunned down by Napoleon’s soldiers.

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According to the Greek philosopher Democritus (460-370BC) we live as a CULTURE by means of convention while seeking happiness as the ultimate existential goal both individually and collectively. For Democritus we are nothing but atoms that attain this happiness by finding stability in moderation, equanimity and the absence of disruptive desires that disturb such particles. Reaching this ultimate goal in existence could imply the use of force to impose a set of rules as the best way to establish order out of chaos.

SKAM is an intellectual device created to measure the potential economic and historical success of a cultural piece of communication. It comprises four main factors that could vary depending upon the context where the final piece is applied. S stands for Shock Factor, K for King. A means Archetype, or symbolic perception of an image, and finally M means the chosen Media to support the piece existence.

Shock factor-It is defined as the level of impact that an image (visual and audible) presents to the society. It is directly connected to moral values and ethics conducts in a particular given society. It may vary from culture to culture nonetheless every culture has an established code.

King Factor- This is defined as the most important factor of them all. Without a high level K, there is no impact or public and historical transcendence whatsoever. It is based on the The Emperor’s New Clothes Danish Fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen (1837.) This factor establishes the success of a product depending upon the support, lobbying, or leverage of the mediator between the artist and the public which also serves the function of funding source.

Archetype Factor- An archetype is the extreme iconicity of a person or thing that has been imitated and overused to the achievement of universal recognition, a somehow "fixed" perception had developed as a result.

Media Response- Media happens, "it is the Message" according to Marshall McLuhan; the way we apprehend meaning to make it ours through a complex chain of classifications and comparisons with our individual life experience. By default artists, designers, musicians, dancers, etc are media aware consciously or subconsciously. It could also be argued that the MEDIA is the context and it is precisely the context the supporting skeleton, flesh and blood of an exhibition or performance. This factor becomes even more important when it works in unison with a Public Relation person. It is most effective when the Media has been previously and carefully selected along with the context. There is no point in creating controversy if the context and the media are not going to render the efforts true and tangible.

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