Schwarz
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After the Avant-garde Sylvère Lotringer
One thing about the avant-garde is that it's mostly humorless. Dada is the glaring exception, but it never was a group to speak of; there were too many holes everywhere. Dada never took itself seriously, didn't even capitalize its name. Andre Breton and his men, on the other hand, capitalized on everything. Breton published the famous Anthology of Black Humor although had no sense of humor to speak of and was color blind. He was a totally uptight little man. Didn't he say that he would never show himself naked in front of a woman if he were not in a glorious state of erection? No wonder he kept his hair long and wore a cape. I don't think he would have ever dropped his pants in front of the Academy as Kafka's chimpanzee did. Kafka's monkey obviously had nothing glorious to show, or to prove, all he wanted was finding a way out , certainly not a way in. He'd been wounded and captured, so he copied human ways as monkeys do in order to be let out of his cage. He couldn't care less about the Academy, just repaid them in their own coin, showing them his ass in lieu of his wound. This is what the avant-garde is supposed to do, drop its pants in front of academies, and not lick their ass.
The avant-garde never monkeyed their way out of their cage. On the contrary, they tried everything to be admitted to the club . Why otherwise would they spend all their time abusing everybody around, like the Situationists? It wasn't exactly the way to keep their distance. The avant-garde wanted everyone to pay attention to them, especially those they attacked. In reality, they became the watchdog of the art world, its most indispensable appendage. It is not surprising then that it was rewarded posthumously. It was all a con-game. They were the bouncers of the art club, standing at the door and keeping the others waiting in the cold. The most exclusive and nasty they were, the more seductive. That's also what happened to French Theory in America. Everyone begged to be let in, terrorized at the thought that could be left out. And then they moved on to something else. They couldn't care less what it was all about and it didn't change anything in their lives. All they cared for was their glorious erection.
The Academy had no way of knowing whether the chimpanzee was candid or pulling their leg. That's what I like so much about humor - it remains imperceptible. The chimpanzee was playing with the code upheld by the Academy and they were too uptight to admit it, or even know for sure that he was challenging them. The real challenge that humor raises is its very existence. And even if it is recognized for what it is, there's nothing much one can do about it. You're damned if you do and damn if you don't. But this is what gets people thinking.