Adam Simon donated the $300 painting to Momenta Art for a benefit auction, but it disappeared before it could be raffled off. “I work hard on them," sighed Mr. Simon. "I feel bad that it was a benefit and a person has taken it.”
Momenta Art and Mr. Simon are trying to recover the painting, clearly not agreeing that this is like daring somebody to punch you in the stomach and then calling the cops when they do. The message isn't meant to be taken literally, Mr. Simon declared, helpfully explaining what the painting is supposed to mean. “It’s a challenge to myself. It sets something in motion in the viewer, the train of thought of actually taking something, and it’s more interactive. The relationship between the art object and a viewer is what interests me.”
Sadly, Mr. Simon doesn't realize he's created an incredible artwork, only to totally fuck it up by crying. His painting urged an action, and some peppy viewer followed through with it. Isn't that the Circle of Life? Heck, it put a smile on my face knowing that there are people in Brooklyn who will comply even if an artwork dares them to do something nuts.
Apparently Mr. Simon doesn't recognize how silly he sounds. Thinking about taking something is "interactive," but actually taking the thing isn't? And isn't there a stronger relationship between an art object and a viewer if the viewer actually sneaks the painting out of the gallery under his coat?
When one hears this painting is the thirtieth version Mr. Simon has generated, though, the curtain falls on any hope for his career. His whining serves only as ironic commentary, considering the first faux-"Fuck the system!" artwork was on the wall of a paleolithic cave, and his complete inability to either create or recognize art makes one yearn for the quiet integrity of other, more impressive works, like "All Employees Must Wash Hands."
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