Air guitar: totally enjoyable. Pretty much all of Dave Hickey's essays were cute as hell, with a satisfactory level of cynicism and just a whole bunch of wit. I especially enjoyed his defensive tirade for the art world told via run-in with an episode of 60 minutes. "...I was cool with Safer's Jibes. It's a free country and all like that, and who the hell watches '60 Minutes,' anyway, unless they're stranded in a highway in the middle of America?" (200) Hilarious! Go for it, Dave! And though his sentiment is adamently pro-establishment, it breaks downs not only the stones lobbed at art's front window but also the breathless "Is not!" invariably lobbed back in defense. So, is the art world worth defending? Does the art machine work as well as its maintainers insist? To the former, of course, and to the latter, definitely not. There's ample room for positive change, but it seems that "the art community" (202) (quaint, Hickey's subtle denial of art's insular exclusivity) progressively finds comfort in sets of cliches. The role of the gallerist becomes roleplay and the artist is expected to play along. It makes me think of when James Harris came in and casually proclaimed that showing at a crafts fair absolutely ruins anyone's chances of ever landing a show in his hallowed white room.  So much is dependent on appearances: the dealer asks, "Is this art totally cool enough and completely devoid of any cheesiness that might make my gallery look pedestrian?" Very little fits that criterion, because that criterion is so totally vague that it basically doesn't exist. Of course, we are talking about art, so, naturally, appearances--whether contextual or aesthetic--matter a great deal. But that doesn't change the fact that being a famous, big-time, absolutely kickin' artist is basically impossible. One's chances of "making it" in art are hilariously limited, and false steps are only forgiven if they are precluded by innumberable perfect ones. So, as a soul-crushing result, "making it" means something different for the artist scorned than it does those not yet given the chance to fail. Charming!