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Such discussions about such a loaded, nebulous term like ‘pretentious’ could fill a book.
Enter Dan Fox.
Coming from a didactic working-class family, as well as being an art critic for the last thirty odd years, Fox is in a prime position to discuss how dreamers with delusions of grandeur have shaped the world in which we live.
Beginning with the history of the term, which comes from the Latin terms prae and tendere (‘before’ and ‘extend’ respectively), Fox quickly gets to the conundrum that exists when discussing the proper usage of the term:
Calling a person pretentious can be a way of calling out the trappings and absurdities of power. It’s a way of undermining the authority that they have positioned themselves with. It is also a way of warning them not to get too above their station. Used as an insult, it’s an informal tool of class surveillance, a stick with which to beat someone for putting on airs and graces.
Going on to discuss Greek theatre, ordinariness, authenticity, pop music and the art world, Fox makes a case for those who wanted to do something a little different are operating in a world of contradiction and that, out of these, can come art that changes the world for the better. This really hits home in the final chapter where Fox reminisces on growing up in a household where the world was not some abstract concept, but one to be explored and enjoyed either through foreign travel or vicariously through books, music, art and photography.
It’s certainly enjoyable and thought provoking. His impassioned defence of the art world (which has been repeatedly tarred with the ‘pretentious’ and ‘elitist’ slurs) will certainly make the reader question their own biases even if, ultimately, they don’t accept Fox’s argument.
Similarly to Owen Hatherley’s The Ministry of Nostalgia, there are discussions on the notion of ‘authenticity’ and how this appeals to a middle class mindset that one is not indulging in consumerism by overpaying for avocado and toast, but rather is experiencing an authentic experience due to advertising terms like ‘You’re worth it’ and ‘organic’. So, Fox concludes, taste making “…is not always a top-down process, administered by the shadowy ‘cultural elites’ that conservatives like to tell ghost stories about” but is often driven by working class culture.
While undoubtedly true, this example of how capitalism adapts, consumes and ultimately sets the agenda is a tad bleak in the face of the notion of working-class dreamers wishing to push the boundaries.
Having been written and published before Brexit, I suspect Fox’s view of the traditional working class who don’t share his global outlook has changed in the last decade to a less charitable one. Certain sections about experts and cultural elites would probably have much more venom attached to them had the book been updated for 2024
Having said that, reading this will inspire you to reconsider the idea of pretension and whether it can be used to describe you as much as others.
Dan Fox, 2016, Pretentiousness: Why it Matters. Fitzcarraldo Editions ISBN-13: 978-1804270936
⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist.
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