Rewind Fastforward

In response to basketball's March Madness, an art blogger is running Art Madness. Its existence was brought to my attention by a tweet then its dubious contents were further highlighted by attention from other artists I follow on twitter. What bothers me the most about it, is the question.

March Madness is according to howstuffworks.com:

" is a phenomenon that grips the national sports psyche from the first week of March through the first week of April. March Madness is the moniker that is given to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. These tournaments determine the national champions of college basketball."

Art Madness this year according to the art blogger is "What’s the greatest work of art that’s been made since World War II? ". Note of the 64 works of art selected by esteemed art professionals, 3 were by women.

Using the hype method around basketball to gain hype and interest in art is an interesting strategy. Art and sports metaphors resonate for me. I especially like Bad at Sports as you probably know from reading this blog. From reading Mind Gym, I like to use sports comparisons for issues around failure, talent, and goals.

If this strategy were employed well, the Art Madness question would be different. The parallel art world question in the USA would be have to liken itself to the question of basketball: what college basketball team is going to be the national champion of college basketball. To pose a similar question of the USA art world, perhaps a literal direct correlation would best, using MFA thesis shows as they are still in the academic setting and at the same career level as the basketball players; exhibition against exhibition using the previous years thesis shows to make the madness come to life.