Dear Editor:

Elaine Wolff’s Do ya feel lucky? is very well written. Her setup of thenotion of Fortune is engaging and interesting, spurring one to know more aboutthe specifics she mentions which read like a litany of No No from the Gospelof Po Mo. Honestly, her piece is extremely thought provoking regarding variousnotions of democracy, the distribution of wealth, the open society, fate, karma,on and on --- the list of intriguing avenues to consider is endless and the factthat her ideas are not presented in a linear manner makes for a very pleasure-filledread. She loses her focus however when she makes a leap of ill logic from Gordy’sintent to Linda’s award, as if to say his “joy and sincerity” mustcertainly be ironic since he means to give Linda an award for being a Paragonof The Arts (as if she doesn’t deserve it). The implication is that hecan’t possibly mean any of it, since clearly he can’t mean that.Problem is, he does mean it. Gordy joins a growing phalanx of artists who areimpatient with or completely done with the hypocritical nature of Post Moderndiscourse which claims the equivalence of all values while simultaneously claimingthe ascendancy of its own. Furthermore, Do ya feel lucky?, is written as if unawareof the simple fact that Gordy’s honest intent to honor Linda is also linkedto his desire to sell the piece to one of Artpace’s many patrons and donatethe entire $3000 to the future of Sala Diaz (see the list of works posted inthe gallery). Elaine’s implication that there is something servile in Gordy’sgesture is just plain wrong. He is only resourceful and generous (OK, and cheeky),and obsequiousness doesn’t at all rhyme with queasiness. Queasy rhymesbetter with easy and that is what her pre-parting shot is.

If I may also be permitted a closing: San Antonio does need critics and writerswho are not afraid to let their opinions rip. This role is necessary for anyreal conversation to take place. Right now, the best candidate for the job isElaine Wolff. She should be encouraged as long as she doesn’t let interpersonaldislikes color her views.

Hills Snyder, Director/Curator
Sala Diaz
517 Stieren
San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 695 5132

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