February 27, 2007 at 3:11 pm · Filed under Critiques by Artists
Allow us to introduce ourselves, we are Type A. Around three years ago we began a website called Partick Mimran Is A Douchebag. “Inspired” by Patrick Mimran and his Billboard Project, their insipid aphorisms visually polluting the streets of New York City’s gallery district in Chelsea, we dedicated the site to criticism and venting. In creating the site, we learned that Mimran had rented billboards on 24th, 25th and 26th Streets (all between 10th and 11th Avenues) for approximately 5 years at an estimated cost of $20,000 per billboard per year (these numbers have not been confirmed). We also learned of Mimran’s other work both from his website and (Irony Alert!) advertised on the billboards that ostensibly criticized the art world’s crass commercialism.
While taking a juvenile tone, we sincerely hoped encouraging people to vent frustration at Mimran’s Billboard Project would create a groundswell movement culminating in the removal of the billboards. We even asked people to join Project: Douchebag, a web-based petition intended to be shown to anyone who could aid in the removal of the offending billboards. Alas, this was not to be. Basically, the site was under-promoted and under-attended, the majority of posts lacking in critical discourse (guess calling someone a douchebag doesn’t exactly begin a dialogue). It remained up and received few hits. Until…
November 2006 when Patrick Mimran’s lawyer sent us a cease and desist letter. We wondered why he might engage in such a litigious act at this time. He obviously had not been following the site (though we could only dream that were the case). Maybe it had something to do with someone completely defacing one of his billboards earlier that month. The best we could discern was that when anyone Googled “Patrick Mimran,” our site was listed third. 1. Mimran 2. Mimran 3. Douchebag.
Though we considered the site to be a remnant, we were now inspired to do something new. We finally called Chelsea’s Community Board 4 to see if there was some way to petition to have the billboards removed. No dice; the billboards are commercial. Then, we called Vista Media, the company that rents the billboards to Mimran. The man we spoke to was actually quite open to the discussion, even mentioned that ours was not the first phone call he received on the matter. When we found out that Mimran has a year and a half on his contract, we asked if there was anything that could influence Vista Media to cancel the contract and provide sweet relief. Sure we’d have to look at actual ads, but they would be well-designed ads that own up to the fact that they are selling a product. A little self-realization, if you will. While he told us that he would contact Mimran’s people (his words) and see if they could be influenced to improve the statements (again, his words) or, at the very least, use a more appealing graphic design (yup, his words). Problem is, we were told, Mimran is a paying customer with deep pockets. For what it’s worth, we have been able to determine that he and his brother Jean Claude were French food industry tycoons before they bought the floundering Automobili Lamboghini SpA company from a Bologna court in 1980 only to successfully rebuild it and sell it to Chrysler in 1987. The details of how he became a dharma loving, anti-elitist artist-of-the-people is not well documented (at least not on The Internets). But we digress…So, rather than settle on what amounted to name calling and (middle) finger pointing, we decided upon a new site, a new forum.
Which brings us to the new site.
Patrick Mimran Needs Help will be a site devoted to critiquing Mr. Mimran’s work. Everything from his Billboard Project to his painting and photography and music and… Ugh! Is there any medium this man has not maligned? We will offer our critiques as well as have guests offer their insights into the plethora of ways Mimran’s work could be improved. and while we have made our position on Mimran’s oeuvre rather obvious, we do hope someone will write something positive (written while trying to suppress giggles). Hopefully, Mimran will check into the site regularly. If not, we will send him an email to summarize the posts and announce updates.
Look, we’re just trying to help.
We’ll start it. We hope that you will add to it. Let’s improve the world, one artist at a time.
Sincerely,
Type A