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# Occupying Art Things Has Officially Jumped the Shark
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/occupy-art-things-jumped-the-shark/
- Published: 2011-10-24T15:50:39.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:02:32.000Z
- Description: Leave it to the art world to make everything about them, a tendency that has become crystal clear over the past few weeks since the Occupy Wall Street movement began last month. First the race of anonymous Twitter handles, then it was museums, now it's (of all places) Artist's Space with the compuls
- Author: Hrag Vartanian
- Tags: Opinion, #image-position-hidden, Artists Space, Occupy Wall Street, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-17 09:23 (2009-2011)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2011/10/takeartistsspace-600.jpg)

A graphic posted on the action’s tumblelog (via artistsspaceoccupation.tumblr.com)

Leave it to the art world to make everything about them, a tendency that has become crystal clear over the past few weeks since the Occupy Wall Street movement began last month.

First the race of anonymous [Twitter handles](http://www.artfagcity.com/2011/10/05/afternoon-links/?ref=hyperallergic.com), then it was tilting at windmills [museums](https://hyperallergic.com/is-occupying-museums-misguided/), now some artists temporarily occupied Artist’s Space (and, of course, there was an accompanying [tumblelog](http://artistsspaceoccupation.tumblr.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com)).

As Bucky Turco at Animal New York [writes](http://animalnewyork.com/2011/10/artist-leads-failed-occupation-of-art-space/?ref=hyperallergic.com), people are wondering:

> **…** why a ‘radical’ artist would lead a coup against a radical art space.

I have no explanation.

http://twitter.com/#!/ANIMALNewYork/status/128274929899671552

There’s also some confusion about the whole thing in Facebook’s [Occupennial group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/wallstreetoccupennial/307720425909115/) and one person writes:

> **…** for the record OWS didn’t ‘take’ Artists Space, it was invited, even treated to free pizza and beer.

If you want to occupy something people, how about a blue chip gallery or an auction house? Maybe a politician’s office who is infamous for not supporting the arts or cutting arts funding?

I’m not the only one confused, [Andrew Russeth](http://www.galleristny.com/2011/10/group-occupies-artists-space-in-soho/?ref=hyperallergic.com) is too, so is [Steve Kaplan](http://post.thing.net/node/3520?ref=hyperallergic.com) and [Paddy Johnson](http://www.artfagcity.com/2011/10/24/is-artist-take-artists-space-a-juvenile-critique-of-occupy-wall-street/?ref=hyperallergic.com) seems just as befuddled, though I think Turco [says it](http://animalnewyork.com/2011/10/artist-leads-failed-occupation-of-art-space/?ref=hyperallergic.com) best:

> Perhaps Georgia Sangri and her merry band of self-described anarchists should start anew by occupying the Anthony Reynolds Gallery, a posh art space in London that still sells her work.

 Ouch. Raise your hand if you’re feeling art occupation fatigue? Or are you eagerly anticipating MTV’s reality tv show, *[True Life: I’m Occupying Wall Street](http://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/mtv-to-launch-occupy-wall-street-reality-show.html?utm%5Fsource=dlvr.it&utm%5Fmedium=twitter&dlvrit=36761)*?