Collecting the Contemporary: Raúl de Nieves

This is the first video in our new Collecting The Contemporary series, in which we highlight recent acquisitions into MOCA's collection. Let's hear from Raúl de Nieves, a Brooklyn-based artist whose work UUU MEE was included in our 2019 exhibition The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA's Collection.

[@gapjin-art]

감사합니다
잘보았습니다

[@sunsetamor302]

Yes.

[@wizardgallery]

Amazing Video!

[@douglasmeyer724]

I still don’t “get it”

[@accountoftoma]

I like the work visually, but I don't like the words.
Why can't artists just say something like, "I glued a bunch of beads to my shoes and it looked pretty, and so I kept at it"
This isn't just a criticism of this artist in particular; I criticize the whole art world. There seems to be an all around pressure to defend the worth of an art object with words. It is as if, if there isn't an intellectual explanation of it, than the work is not valuable in its own right.
Why don't we just make work because it feels good, and we like it, and we like to show it in a space, and it was fun to make, etc. Perhaps because, when you put it in words like that, it seems naive and pointless. Perhaps it is. Perhaps artists need to come to terms with the idea that most art making is pointless, but we do it because we like it. But who am I to say?

[@aggonzalez8096]

I agree. I think artists should/do work unconsciously. It’s just like in sports when the athlete performs on pure instinct. Most artists typically work that same way. The message and meaning is left to the viewers. There’s a balance because I’m sure artists have their own interpretation after they create and they should share for sure.