“The investigation of the truth is in one way hard, in another easy. An indication of this is found in the fact that no one is able to attain the truth adequately, while, on the other hand, noone fails entirely, but everyone says something true about the nature of all things, and while individually they contribute little or nothing to the truth, by the union of all a considerable amount is amassed.” – Aristotle i

The truth can be liberating to the artists making, however the

truth can also be a false utilitarian, if the artist has chosen

to remain faithful to their truthfulness. Over the history of

Western art, power to the truth is often a repercussion of

visuality investigated in art history discourseii. Since the

breath of the Enlightenment period, the Orient has been mystified

into the artifice of translating the picturesque images of

Orientalist paintings as misguided representation. By contrast

the work of Gerome and Delacroix can be studied as two

juxtapositions disseminating the truth of studying the other and

being studiediii. Both artists are pinnacle to the understandings

of responsibly enriching the European knowledge of censorship in

their Orientalist paintings, debated over their truthsiv. Though

Orientalism remained a style, Artist such as Goya and Duchamp

challenge the status quo of their subjects being represented. These

artists chose to turn their back against their environments and

prove that truth to power is key as artist as producer to their

desire. However, desire of the artist does not always mean

representing the truth in relation to the artist. Artist such as

Jeff Koons invests to ingrain the truth of his ideas to stay in

the ivory tower. Defenseless to observe the public appreciating

Koons work as highly valued art, his hegemony of art covers up

the institutional networking’s of his company, unquestioning the

banalities of his public sculptures, changing the artist,

controlling the truth through his own criticv. This distancing

can also remind of biographical and historical truths expressed

simultaneously by Aboriginal artist, Vernon Ah Kee and Michael

Cook. Both choose to differ to remain different showing

difference. It

becomes apparent of Australia’s fall from grace that the power to

truth is built upon the Artists behavior emphasizing their

environment.

Orientalism has categorized romanticism, desire and most

importantly segregation of contrasting superiority between the

subjects of the painting. The fault of engaging the truth

projected from Delacroix’s way of working is reproduced by

similar artist who study the archaeological objects of the Orient

and use perspectiva (see fig.1)l, figurative and classical

conventions of painting to create an abstract scenevi. The

problem of power to the truth is when pluralism is the cause of

Orientalism. It is often misread how educational purposes of

these paintings map out accurately. If we look at the work by

Gerome (see fig.2) who has produce paintings from his nomadic

journey to the Orient, the content of his paintings in contrast,

may not seem as far, considering that he has experienced what he

has painted. So the power to the truth in this case is power of

hybrid form, taken action into the eyes of European buyers,

pleasure to their truthful understanding of the Orient. Even after

the post-colonial waves, the Artist as critic with power to fuel

the Western avant-garde continues to oppress the majority of

Artist to remain faithful to their truthfulness in practice. For

example, Artist during the Impressionist and Cubist movement can

be often be seen as Europe’s forerunners of Art and politics.

Little to know that, the truth which is read in Western literacy

there is muted information about the diaspora and international

artists such a, Kuroda Seiki (1866), Asai Chu (1856) and

Tsuguharu Foujita (1886) who remain in the absence in mainstream

literacy of avant-garde power.

Not all Western Artist that remain in the

grey areas of revised history, Goya and

Duchamps works remind us the importance

of the artist playing the fool to reveal a

reflection of the piece in all its subtly

and truthfulness in power. The status of

these artists have been highly regarded

as the fore runners of modernity.

Particularly to Goya whose style is

reminded as an allegory of classical art infused with a timeless

qualityvii. Often portraiture in painting is the patent truth of

the artist being in contact with the subject and proves directly

what is observed. Royal portraits in European classicism are

linear to the truth in that, representations of the reproduced

subject are modified however the existence of their glory and

wealth directs back in history of the family name in narrative

(see fig.3). In 1800, Goya began his commissioned painting of

Charles IV of Spain and his family. Amongst the royal members of

the family, they were seen as inferior to their entitlement, and

the public did not grow fond of the Monarchy as well. It is

FIG.2

interesting to see how Goya paints to emphasize the honoring of

their wealth and distorts their face in a character style, in

reflection to the general lament of the family. Within this

commissioned painting, Goya is situated behind the subjects,

which contradicts the perspectival and also subtle humor in

presenting both the power of the family, and the power of the

truth presented by Goya, without consequence.

Duchamps story can also follow another tongue and cheek, in

paying homage to Goya’s technique of sustaining a piece of truth,

then exploiting it in its entirety. Infamously known for his

fountain sculpture, which cause scandal the artist was revealing

if certain checkpoints are met in the white-cube, people will

believe what is presented. Though, these works have been convened

in the basis of Art economics through critic, the minds behind

market can also lead a false impression.

FIG. 3

If the Orientalist remained in the hegemony of high art, and if

the avant-garde deflected this idea of bourgeois, it is

interesting to see artist like, Jeff Koons who plays both the

critic outside the public bringing a weight of believing his

planed and factory produces of high art. Often Koons work has been

highly criticized in the art world, however his institutional

network of his company invests to create works, which are made

for the Art marketviii. Therefore, for the general public to

understand that it is a object of value and should believe that

it not a trick. The truth to power by artist can exploit the

inferiority but that’s not to say, it is not easy to create

distance from Koons’ balance of producing art value to the public

feeding them into the system of believing what the shaping of the

modern Art is. If Koons’ ideas remain as origins of truths in his

creative process (truths as an idea to be prophesied) the

question is where and how he makes it to critique out not within

the public, mystifying a truth by Koons that is rarely

considered. However, the character of Koons himself remains in

the American art institution a key figure of mainstreaming the

culture of museums and festival. This year, The Whitney curated a

solo retrospective of his work. Which is questionable to see how,

again debates about his institutional creative process and his

worth of his art (In 2013, Koons’ Balloon Dog sold for $58

Million dollars, see fig.4), becomes a fault of the public

believing in the extremities of signifying an art value of an

object. So in this study case, the artist as producer, who

envisions and abstracts it out may not accurately present an

object of valued art, instead a produce made to believe the

commercial gains to the artist, which in return effects the

grounding values of high art presented to the public.

Artist and their environment almost go hand in hand, in their

visual process of making and to most, history is an important

factual allegory to biographical artist, Vernon Ah Kee and

Michael Cook (see fig 5 and 6). These two artists share common

FIG.4

interest in Colonial and Post colonialism up until todays

modernity. They still use the past as a reminder of critiquing

Australia’s minimal progression with the Indigenous populationix.

Having to touch very sensitive topics, their works can come off

as a rhetoric image because the content they put in their work

has highlighted a strong failure of Australia’s miscegenation and

undignified treatments that sadly as the viewer who feeds on the

power of truth by these artist, most stand as bystandersx. So

even though the truth can present in its genuine visual language,

historically referencing and politically activating, playing both

grounds of critic and witness, truth as power, can only go so far

in action in the field of the public.

In this discussion as the artist as producer of truth, there are

points of the economical inventions of art being blurred in

understanding the foundations of the makings. However, as

observed in the humorous sides of subject being portrayed by the

artist, there is a seriousness of presenting the artist as the

joker, as one who can create truthfully on both sides of the

opposing relationships of the Artist environment. Though the

Orientalist may stand to be traffic of subverting the image,

questioning its inaccuracy is a practice, of what should be

accepted as the truth to mythologies with the truth of the

producer remaining faithful to their truthfulness in making. Even

if all truthfulness is presented, the issue of the truth being

power could result as a rhetoric image, which might question the

silence where the involvement of the public critic is engaged.

FIG. 5

FIG. 6

Books

Clark, John Japanese Exchanges in Art 1850s-1930s. Sydney. Power Publications: 2001

Holly, Ann Michael Past Looking: Historical imagination and the Rhetoric of the Image. Cornell University. New York: 1996

Lippard, Lucy in Hilary Robinson, ed., Feminism-art-theory: an anthology1968-2000. Oxford, and Malden Mass. Blackwell: 2001

MacKenzie, John Orientalism: History, Theory and the Arts. Manchester University Press. New York: 1995

Néret, Gilles Delacroix. TASCHE. Los Angeles: 2004

Nochlin, Linda, from The Politics of Vision: Essays on Nineteenth-Century Art. New York. Harper and Row: 1989.

Raobrecth Vanderbeekenn, Drunk on Capitalism. An interdisciplinary reflection on Marekt Ecnomy, Art and science. Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg. London: 2012 pp 53

Summers, D., “Representation”, Robert S. Nelson and Richard Shiff(eds)Critical Terms for Art history, University of Chicago Press,1996, pp. 3–16

Sontag, Susan Against Interpretation. Penguin. London: 2013

Walter, Benjamin in Brian Wallis, ed., Art after Modernism: Rethinking Representation. Moma. New York: 1984

Winther, Bert “Indigenous American Orientalism” Japanese after 1945: scream against the sky, Harry N. Abrams, New York, Incorporated: 1994

Yves Bonnefoy, The lure and truth of painting: selected essays on art, Richard Stamelman, Chicago Press, Ltd. London: 1995

Journals

Brogan, Walter A The battle between Art and Truth, Philosophy today, v.28no. 4, (1984-01-01) pp.349

Ray, Gene Little Glass House Of horrors, high art lite, the culture industry and Damien Hirst, Third text, vol. 18 no.2, 2004 pp 119-133

Mitchell, W. J. T., “What do Pictures Really Want?” October, no.77, Summer (1996): 77

Websites

Huffpost, Marc Lamont Hill and Alicia Menendez May 10, 2013 http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/jeff-koons-new-york-magazine/518a95382b8c2a6c7e0000d9 (accessed 23 July 2014)

Forbes, Kathryn Tuller 25 July, 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryntully/2014/06/25/jeff-koonss-whitney-retrospective-expensive-art-is-important-art/ (accessed 23 July 2014)

The Telegraph UK, Davie, Lucy, Is Jeff Koon Having a Laugh? 18 June 2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9329136/Is-Jeff-Koons-having-a-laugh.html (accessed 23 July 2014)

Keeping History Alive, Art History Wednesday: The Family of Varlos IV March 23, 2013 http://keephistoryalive.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/art-history-wednesday-the-family-of-carlos-iv/ (accessed 26 July 2014)

Michael Cook, http://www.michaelcook.net.au/ (accessed 26 July 2014)

Herald Sun, White Fellas in the black 21 August 2009 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/white-fellas-in-the-black/story-e6frfifo-1225764532947?nk=25c6a9b983d1e9f9901bb6edc23333cb (accessed 26 July 2014)

Appendix

Fig. 1

Eugène Delacroix, The death of Sardanapalus, 1827, Oil on canvass, 392X496cm, Lourvre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sardanapalus (accessed 26 June, 2014)

Fig. 2

Gerome, Jean-Léon, Slave market 1866, Oil on canvass, 84.8C63.5Cm, Williamstown Clark Art Institute http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_Jean-L%C3%A9on_The_Slave_Market.jpg (accessed 26 June, 2014)

Fig. 3

Goya y Lucientes, de Francisco, The family of Carlos IV, 1800 Oil on canvass, 280cmx336cm, Museo del Prada http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain_and_His_Family (accessed 26 June, 2014)

Fig. 5

Jeff Koons, Ballon Dog (orange) 1994-2000, Stainless steel, 307.3cmX363.2cmX114.3cm) http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/sculptures-statues-figures/jeff-koons-balloon-dog-5739099-details.aspx (accessed 26 June, 2014)

Fig. 6

Vernon Ah Kee, Austracism, 2003 Prints, ink; paper. 120X180cm, Nation Gallery of Australia http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=129593 (accessed 26 June, 2014)

Fig. 7

Michael Cook, Majority Rule, Memorial, 2014, inkjet print on archival Hahnemüle photo rag paper, 140X200Cm, Sydney Biennale 2014

http://www.biennaleofsydney.com.au/19bos/artists/cook/ (accessed 26 June, 2014)

i About.com, “N.S. Gill 2010”http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/aristotleworks/a/121610-Aristotle-Quotes.htm (accessed 26 June 2014) ii MacKenzie, John Orientalism: History, Theory and the Arts. (NEW YORK, Manchester University Press, 1995), 84

iii Néret, Gilles Delacroix.( Los Angeles, TASCHE, 2004), 12

iv ibid.:44v The Telegraph UK, Davie, Lucy, “Is Jeff Koon Having a Laugh? 18 June 2012 ,” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9329136/Is-Jeff-Koons-having-a-laugh.html (accessed 23 July 2014)

vi Mitchell, W. J. T., “What do Pictures Really Want?” October, no.77, Summer (1996): 77

vii Clark, John Japanese Exchanges in Art 1850s-1930s (Sydney: Power Publications, 2001), 44

viii Walter, Benjamin in Brian Wallis, ed., Art after Modernism: Rethinking Representation. (New York: MoMA, 1984) pp. 300

ix Huffpost, Marc Lamont Hill and Alicia Menendez May 10, 2013 http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/jeff-koons-new-york-magazine/518a95382b8c2a6c7e0000d9 (accessed 23 July 2014)

x Herald Sun, White Fellas in the black 21 August 2009 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/white-fellas-in-the-black/story-e6frfifo-1225764532947?nk=25c6a9b983d1e9f9901bb6edc23333cb (accessed 26 July 2014)