Gelegar (Boom)

Goenawan Mohamad · 2003-10-12T00:00:00Z

Essay talked about ontological and epistemological reasoning. How ontological thinking can be dangerous, whereas epistemological thinking can help to critically question everything - from what is art to what is holy. Writer started off by bringing up the polemic on Stockhausen commenting 9/11 being the biggest artwork for the entire cosmos, asking the question of what makes art? Taking example from Marchel Duchamp's fountain (1911) and Danarto's blank canvas exhibited at TIM. Writer explained that there are institutional and geographical factors which give artists authority to declare what is art. However, what should be of concern is not if the people with authority are deserving of power, it is ontological reasoning (reference to Thinking Past Terror: Islamism and Critical Theory on the Left (Susan Buck-Morss, 2003, Verso) which could lead to validation and glorification of everything from violence to bomb explosion.