Keeping It Real Art Critics – KIRAC (8) The Art of Stefan Simchowitz, Portrait of A Los Angeles Art Dealer + Adam Schrader – Simchowitz Running for US Senate, No, Not Performance Art

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KIRAC (8) ‘The Art of Stefan Simchowitz‘, Portrait of A Los Angeles Art Dealer

Gepubliceerd 2 jul 2017

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KIRAC (8) The Art of Simchowitz‘, A Film about the Los Angeles Art Dealer Stefan Simchowitz. In his Own Unique Way, Artist Stefan Ruitenbeek observes Simchowitz’ Daily Life, Capturing his Movements through the Colourful Biotope of Millionaire Art Buyers in Los Angeles.

KIRAC? About A Year Ago, Keeping It Real Art Critics was First Heard of When A Mysterious Video Project Surfaced on YouTube. A Short Film in which the Creators Stefan Ruitenbeek and Kate Sinha used A Well Constructed Yet Playful Argument to Annihilate the Work of Award Winning Artist Saskia Noor van Imhoff. Further Episodes have Popped Up Since, Each One Showing the Careful Dissection of A Specific Case Related to Either Art or Artist. A Throng of Die Hard Fans Now follows this Process with A Mixture of Pleasure and Horror.

KIRAC is In Search of Love, in the Form of Truth. It Uses that Sincerest and Most Pmpossible Enlightenment Fetish of All, Dialectics. In Other Words, the Belief that the Truth can and will Emerge Only from Reasonable Discussion. The Belief, Therefor, that Discussion and Criticism is Always Permitted, and that in the End, Each Opponent is Really an Ally in This Overriding Search for Truth. An Impossible Ideal, for People don’t Want Reason, People Want to Win, and the Truth will Always Serve this Purpose. KIRAC is No Exception. In Lieu of Real Adversaries,

KIRAC has Become Proficient in Building Imperfect Enemies into Nearly Worthy Opponents. Episode (6) on Renzo Martens, the Artist Who Wants to Gentrify the Jungle, is A Good Example: in 45 minutes, Renzo’s Character is Wildly Overrated and Then Thoroughly Crushed on that Very Premise. The Real Renzo is A Lot Less Impressive than the KIRAC Episode would have you Believe. KIRAC’s Continuous Goal, Then, is to Go Above and Beyond the Art It’s Discussing, Leaving the Viewer with More than Just A Deconstructed Work of Art. Meanwhile, Its Enemies Grow Bigger and More Advanced and the Stakes are Ever Higher. Only Time can Tell if KIRAC will Succeed in Transforming Fiction and Belief into Reality.

‘KIRAC (8) The Art of Simchowitz‘ is A Film about Friendship and Loneliness. About Trying to Befriend A Successful Art Dealer by Harshly Criticising his Taste in Art. Stefan Simchowitz Turns Out to Be A Force to Be Reckoned with, an Antagonist Who Both Seduces and Disappoints, as Expected, Of Course. He’s Charming and Intelligent, Enjoys Letting his Guard Down and is Impervious to Criticism. SIMCO is Chaos and does Not Believe in Dialectics. Stefan Ruitenbeek Understands he Must Watch and Observe. The Film is an Intimate Portrait of an Extraordinary Man Who has the Rare Talent of Truly Believing in Himself. Ruitenbeek observes Simchowitz’ Daily Life,Ccapturing his Movements through the Colourful Biotope of Millionaire Art Buyers in Los Angeles. KIRAC is Supported by Paul van Esch & Partners Art Advisory.

“KIRAC is One of the Most Promising Projects in Recent Years. Rebellious, Perversely Funny and Crazy Independent. Exactly What the Art World, Which Suffocates Itself Following and Examining its Own Codes, Needs. Watching those Same Codes and Sources be Questioned So Exactingly is Painful and Hilarious at the Same Time. KIRAC has the Potential of Growing So Much Bigger and Evolving into A Great and Profound Work of Art on the Psychology of our Time, Using the Art World, the Artist, the Work and their Environment as Metaphors. These are the Only Art Films I Watch through to the End. The Fact that this Film has an Art Dealer as Its Subject is an Added Bonus.”
Paul van Esch

Reacties
https://youtu.be/dK5zh8ZTKO0?si=kCP8CDKo7ETCJTKl

Gallerist Stefan Simchowitz is Running for the US Senate, No, It’s Not Performance Art

Politics

Simchowitz is running as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by Dianne Feinstein.

The headline making California art dealer Stefan Simchowitz is running for the US Senate as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.

“I’m not making an artistic statement. I’m making a statement and the statement is that this country is in deep trouble and we need every person to make it better,” Simchowitz said in a phone interview. “No, this is not a joke, this is not some stupid art performance. This is a real thing.”

Stefan Simchowitz, the owner of Simchowitz Gallery in Los Angeles and once branded the art world’s “Patron Satan,” announced his candidacy in an Instagram story, as reported by Annie Armstrong. He has joined a crowded field of Republicans, 15 so far, who are vying for the seat. Democratic heavyweights including Republican. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter are also running for the Senate.

The gallerist said he doesn’t think of entering politics as a professional transition. “I think it’s additive. I don’t know if it’s helpful or not helpful to my art career, I have no idea. I haven’t really sort of equated that but I think it’s part of an art career because I think people in art should be interested in everything.”

When asked about whether he intends to champion any art related policy, he answered “I don’t think so, frankly.” He said he is more considered with broader policies and problems facing the country, such as increasing “the ability to live in a vibrant city full of people and not have all your wages garnished.”

“This country has always had inequality and poverty. But living in California, being assaulted daily with the homeless and unhoused populations and increasing unaffordability of everything, it’s something the artists I work with deal with and the people who work with me deal with,” said Simchowitz, who was born in South Africa. “What I want to effect affects everyone.”

Simchowitz is primarily focused on domestic monetary policy, having always had an interest in how the federal government operates fiscally, he said. In this matter, he said he is most impacted by a recent book he read by Stephanie Kelton titled The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy. Kelton is a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University.

“Modern monetary theory is central to my candidacy,” Simchowitz said. “We do not believe the federal deficit is a deficit. We believe it is just an accounting of how much money is in the system.”

Highlighting his other policies, he said he also doesn’t believe in student debt which he called “terrible for the population,” often sounding more like a Democrat than a Republican throughout the interview. “I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I’m a pro choice Republican,” he added.

Simchowitz said he decided to run as a Republican to promote a more centrist platform, and outlined how it is more difficult to enter politics as a Democrat while his campaign manager, Jack Kimball, added, “Independents aren’t taken seriously.” There are three Independents in the US. Senate Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Angus King of Maine, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

“We need to stop thinking of ourselves as a part of this or a party of that, but as a branch of government that can come together for the good of the people,” Simchowitz said. “We’re so far away from that.”

Simchowitz indicated he might have an advantage over other candidates vying for the seat because of his background in art.

“I deal primarily with younger artists. And those artists come from very poor and diverse backgrounds. Someone like me would not necessarily get an opportunity to hang out with such diverse people,” he said. “I think this has helped me understand the stresses of what regular people face. It enabled me to have a window into the lives of workers and laborers.”

Simchowitz said that Congress doesn’t necessarily need creative people to function, but he said artists and those in the art world “can help Congress understand what the needs of the people are.”

“When You’re around Artists, You realize They Come Up with Unusual Solutions with Limited Resources, that’s What Artists Do. Solutions that are Not the Orthodoxy, I think, are Fundamentally Important in American Politics and Policy Making,” he said. “Theres an Orthodoxy that’s Hurting the Country. We need Creative Thinking in Government. We need entrepreneurial action in government.”

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Adam Schrader
News Reporter

Artnet News, , January 3, 2024