Tuesday, May 18, 2010

How to Use Traffic Lights and Other Stories

I trust you all have mastered the art of supermarket shopping by now. It's very difficult, of course, and some of the slower (and more inbred) of you may still be struggling with the finer aspects- using a credit card is particularly bothersome. As a reminder, you use a credit card by passing it through a small slit on a machine with numbers. If you have enough "money" on your "card", one will be able to press "OK" and purchase what one wants.

Anyway. I wanted to talk about a couple of other things today. First of all, appreciation of photography. Many of you have been writing me letters telling me how much of an artist Terry Richardson is, and what a swell fellow he is, really. It's often the practice of the rich to determine the tastes of the rest of the world in art. The Medici's were particularly good at this. We now have people like that advertising fellow- the one who was married to Nigella Lawson (the food pornography actress). Saatchi. There's also that awful investment banker- the one who bought Damien's shark. What an investment banker knows about art, well, I don't know- the general consensus is that money equals art, and the more money something costs, the more art it is. Here's a system for you to use, which is what all the big art buyers use. It is called "Is it Art (By Awful Investment Bankers International)". If something costs between $50,000 to $100,000 it is minor art. The leeches- I mean, the art dealers, will term it "work by an interesting up and comer". If something is between $100,000 to $250,000, it is major minor art, to which the art dealers will declare "A very strong work by an unappreciated artist". And on it goes, until we get until the millions, where the work will be undoubtedly a Work of Genius. 

This is all very well and good, except that from you newly bourgeois, formerly wealthy people to whom I'm addressing this post don't have millions to spend on Art with a capital A anymore. Meaning, by your system, you can't declare Terry Richardson's work art. It never was art anyway, you dull-witted Armani-suit-wearing morons. What is it? Well, it's misogynist porn that doesn't turn me on. Do you know what turns me on, hm? Dishwashers. I love the sound they make as they churn around and around. But that's not the point- my point is that Richardson's work is half the problem, because it's inherently misogynist, made by a creep who enjoys taking photographs of women on the toilet. It's an absolute indictment upon the fashion industry that magazines like Vice, Vogue, Purple, etc continue to publish this predator's work. Here's Vice magazine proving it's run by people who probably make rape jokes all day long and have the taste of a insurance salesman turned tax collector turned realtor who has been doused in the sweat produced by executives rubbing their hands together in glee as they go to murder a batch of kittens. My Coco, haven't you done well, Vice. (Also, here I'll point out that Vice published an interview with me a couple of months ago by a sycophantic...creature who asked incredibly boring questions).

What I am doing is giving a good spanking to all those in the fashion industry who have encouraged this charlatan and given him work. How pro-women of you, hm? How responsible of you, placing Mr. Richardson in power, hm? And that's not to mention the photographers "inspired" by him. How original- having a penis in a woman's mouth, no? That hasn't been done before!

In case you didn't read the above because you're illiterate and only read twitter: If you support Terry Richardson, you are anti-women. If you publish his work, you are anti-women. If you think him using his position of power to rape women is chic, you are anti-women. For an industry that makes an awful lot of money from women, it's not exactly a profitable stance, hmm?

That is the first thing I wanted to talk to you about. Secondly, I would like to give you a guide on how to use traffic lights, as you'll surely encounter these when you attempt "walking".

Now, "walking" is support the ordinary prole participates in daily, often with other proles. They do this on "streets". A street is a place which has buildings and a road. You will be familiar with these, as you probably had to climb out of your luxury automobiles and cross a "street" in order to get to the Chanel store, or something similar. (Of course, you won't be going into Chanel stores anymore, but you needn't worry for me. We have plenty more clients where you came from.) A traffic light governs the space between the cars and the people. They are very tall and have three lights on them. The colours are yellow, green and red. Yellow is a useless light and nobody knows what it means, so it's best to ignore that light if you see it. If you see green you can walk across the road. All the cars will stop and if they keep going you will be okay, because the green light will protect you (or so I'm informed). If it is red, you must wait for it to go green, because crossing the "street" on a red light will result in immediate vaporization.

Finally, to use a traffic light one must press a large metal button. This "activates" the traffic light and it knows you are alive and so on. The large metal button is the most important part, because if you don't press that the traffic light will never know you are there. 

Once the traffic light turns green, do the "walking" we have practiced and you will get to the other side. There is an old German joke that my nanny used to tell me:

Q: Why did the formerly rich bourgeois person cross the road?

A: Because TIME magazine did an article on it, and the New Yorker also did an article on it, and their neighbors were doing it, so they wanted to see what it was all about and they heard it'd won an Oscar too...and one of those Nobel prizes, whatever they are. It seemed pretty reputable and they have a greatest hits album coming out. 


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

well said, karl. well said

Jack said...

Karl, you are my favourite- not that an expression of affection such as that would matter to you. Actually, sorry if it irked you.

Just Another Londoner said...

how very ironic that my word verification is 'ringtru'. because that is what this post does (both parts). and now i shall hide my face in shame for having made such a truly awful pun.

Oki said...

dear mr karl your blog music makes me sleepy but i like it.

Anonymous said...

chanel tattoo, hot or not?:

http://barbie-is-a-bitch-darling.blogspot.com/2010/05/chanel-tattoo-hot-or-not.html

HelsBells said...

I know that the opinion of a prole such as me is not important, but this is a great post, on both topics.

larapollinare said...

hmm yes, dishwashers are quite soothing, like a seashell held gently to one's ear, or a massage from a particularly good-looking baptiste or prostitute.

i've got it, a grand idea that will solve all our problems and make millions:

terry richardson, signed in sharpie head to toe: "DAMIAN WAS HERE" and "LEGALIZE L.A." floating IN a tank of formaldehyde wearing naught but a gold lamé bikini top and tall stripy socks.

it will be "edgy" and "capture the zeitgeist" like f. scott! it'll go in the tate! millions will flock to see the photo-taker who made them covet t-shirts in every colour, captured by the rich famous animal-pickling man! it will probably even win one of those prizes for commenting on the state of the world or somesuch, or at least a bit in that little 'time magazine' mentioned.
brilliant, no? prestige! and the best part, the pearls on coco: the photo-man can take no more of those utterly tasteless pictures while suspended in the hirst brine! the bird/stone ratio is really quite wonderful.

so yes, dear uncle, i agree:
yellow traffic lights are quite useless.

Unknown said...

well said. have you got twitter by the way?

Anonymous said...

Well put Karl. You previously compared Richardson to Newton, here I think your argument becomes even more clear. Newton made nudes that made women appear powerful. The heel was the penis, they were flaunting their dominance over their bodies as well as their sexuality. Very Madonna. Richardson, doesn't "get" that. He does what all the faux I-want-to-be-a-famous-artist-so-I'll-try-to-show-something-shocking try-hards do. In my opinion very few people in the fashion world can be considered artists, most of them are just designers for commercialized luxury. Needless to say...you know where you stand.

Unknown said...

Great post. You really are amazing Karl.

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Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Blue Floppy Hat said...

Bless you for saying this, Karl. I think you and this lady http://www.godammit.com/2010/03/22/cunt-of-the-week%e2%84%a2-terry-richardson/ might have common ground on this one.

Unknown said...

Thank you Karl for bringing these matters to light (including the review on supermarket shopping and traffic light usage for those newly-Bourgeoisie who are still having trouble adjusting). I agree with you,for Richardson truly is misogynist in his portrayal of and treatment of women. It hardly-NO it CANNOT be-considered art at all. I must say Karl that his photography is the work of a demode one who wishes to dethrone true Art from its Chanel-clad seat.

בלוג אופנה - Blonde Bleach said...

Oh,I love (also) your writing style and how you share the things with your readers.
:)

Have a great week!

Unknown said...

Karl ........I really admire your photography skills.

But why is Terry such a misogynist...has he had too many women in his life that now he degrades women to the worst levels

Unknown said...

Oh thanks Karl I just loved your remark.....definitely encouraging. Just finished a design workshop in Himalayas...still got that superb freshness in and around me. ;-)