Art in the art world and culture in general are branches of the media which produces our political and social thinking climate.
Artists and art institutions have to learn how to play hardball. A democratic society needs a democratic art and we have a right to demand it.
Art-making is just another part of the consciousness industry.
A liberal public is interesting to have as an audience. It is for that very reason that corporations make such an effort to ally themselves with cultural institutions.
When works of art are presented like rare butterflies on the walls they're decontextualized. We admire their beauty and I have nothing against that per se. But there is more to art than that.
The artist's business requires an involvement in practically everything... The total scope of information he receives day after day is of concern.
A standard line promoted by people like Clement Greenberg is that politics contaminates art and Manet is often cited as an example of art for art's sake.
An artist is not an isolated system. In order to survive he has to interact continuously with the world around him... Theoretically there are no limits to his involvement.
Museums are not normally presenting the works on the walls as provocations to work. It's more like going to a Jacuzzi.
Trivializing the Holocaust is the last thing I want to do.
Whenever the medium of photography is useful for a particular task I use it. If another medium is more suitable I use that.