if you see clay
Ponyism, Shoneyism, Joniism: A closer look at three art movements of 2008
a.k.a. The Act of Drinking Beer With My Friend Sara Is the Highest Form of Art
Ponyism
The idea: two art students make work solely about... ponies. For one whole semester. No other subjects allowed.
Denial of deeper meaning or metaphor is crucial. Observe the effect this has on fellow classmates and instructor
as the semester wears on. Observe the effect this has on gradepoint average.
(click image)
Shoneyism
Art about the restaurant Shoneys. After considering Ponyism for a while (2 minutes to be exact) we came to the realization
that Ponyism is possibly not as confining at it would at first seem. In fact, 2 college students could easily come
up with a lot of art about ponies, and it was sort of depressing (note the My Little Pony with the cash register in
one of the above photos).
Every good art history student knows that each art movement (ism) inevitably leads into the next. Why waste time with
Ponyism just to be left in the dust by the next big thing. A derivative of Ponyism, Shoneyism was conceived 2.5
mintues after the conception of Ponyism.
Joniism
Again, it's hard to make art within a "movement" when all you are really doing is biding your time until the next one.
Joniism is, of course, an art movement based upon Shoneyism. Joniism rhymes with Ponyism (and Shoneyism) and this is
important as it immediately refers to all its unborn children-isms. Joniism is in fact about this unending supply
of isms and demonstrates this by offering an infinite supply of Joanies, Joans and Jonis to make art about.
Because it has already referenced its antecessors, we can officially declare these movements dead-ends.
In conclusion, I plan to keep a lookout for artwork about ponies, shoneys and joanies. Now that I am aware of the zeitgeist of 2008, I
expect to bump into more artists who are (perhaps unknowingly) taking part in these important art movements.
Let me know if you find any.