Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
This video was embedded at the end of Ripps's Livejournal post and shared on YouTube. It's impossible to miss. Yet, Gawker's criticism that we learn "nothing else" about Jay and Brooke suggests that they did. Both participants clearly explain their artistic choices to Ripps—"You know why I did the 16? It's a tarot number," says Brooke at one point—in between candid banter about their day-to-day lives. The video's effect is a humanizing and revealing—if somewhat voyeuristic—glimpse into who these people are beyond their Craigslist usernames.Ripps says he was careful to make the video because "I knew [vilification] would be a possibility if I didn't document it. But I thought I made it clear that everyone was consenting." He also says that he was surprised by how ready people were to speak for others. (The irony that his detractors have accused him of the exact same thing is not lost here.) "I find this really dangerous," he adds. Near the end of our conversation, Ripps reads us an off-the-record email from Jay that (to us) sounds overwhelmingly supportive.Jay and Brooke's consent is at the heart of what Art Whore is really about. Just as they appear willing and enthusiastic about participating in the project, Ripps, who heads up a creative agency called OKFocus, eagerly sells his cultural savvy to brands like Nike, Google, Red Bull, and even Kanye West. Consent is another subject that's been dominating our conversations of late—thanks to new affirmative consent laws, "yes means yes" is the new "no means no." Art Whore has been criticized by Rhizome for not reminding the viewer of their complicity in this perpetuation of inequality. But I think he does—by forcing us to re-think what "yes" really means. Everyone involved in Art Whore gave their consent, but the glaring imbalance of power and agency remains. This is the most troubling part of Art Whore. But, as a work of art, that's also what makes it so effective.Follow Michelle on Twitter.Additional reporting by Annette Lamothe-Ramos