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Please try and explain to me why this is art.

181 replies

PCPlumsTruncheon · 05/01/2019 13:41

I don’t claim to understand art at all and I am totally not in the ‘all modern art is rubbish’ camp. I love Tracey Emin’s stuff and I try to be open minded about cultural stuff.
I went to the Tate Modern yesterday and saw this. My immediate feeling was ‘Why the fuck is in one the world’s most visited art galleries followed by ‘I could do that’.
I’m not looking to be persuaded that I should like it - there was stuff that I saw that wasn’t my thing but I could still appreciate it IYKWIM

Please try and explain to me why this is art.
Please try and explain to me why this is art.
OP posts:
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PerspicaciaTick · 05/01/2019 14:43

Most people probably could do that. But they didn't.
Just like most people think they could invent a cat flap, expect they didn't only the inventor had the idea and the drive to turn it into reality.

WatcherintheRye · 05/01/2019 14:47

Haha! Which Ladybird (?) book is that from, Merry? I think that's the point. The 'Art' is in the concept. We could all have painted a single coloured dot in the middle of a blank canvas, but we didn't think of it........😁

CakeBiscuit · 05/01/2019 14:48

Well it's evoked feelings in me, feelings of despair at how that shite can be art!!!

Haha, me too Kindle

MyGastIsFlabbered · 05/01/2019 14:50

A think a lot of art is 'emperor's new clothes'...nobody wants to come out and say it's a load of old shite.

CakeBiscuit · 05/01/2019 14:53

Most people probably could do that. But they didn't.

Well, quite. Most people haven’t got the inclination to waste time producing utter shite.

supergrains · 05/01/2019 14:58

Think you need to research the artist / their body of work and you'll probably discover why they have earned their place in the Tate.
Art isn't for everyone all the time.
Context is really important in the history of Art.
I love art and its my livelihood.
I can't get excited about video games for example, but I appreciate the craft, talent and tech that goes in to them, but do I want to play them/talk about them, never, not interested even 1%.
You can't appreciate everything, but sometimes things are out of your understanding/taste and they are still valid.

PuppyMonkey · 05/01/2019 14:59

We also went to the Tate some years back and one of the exhibits was a light switch with a sign saying “this is not a light switch.” DD was Grin for ages after.

donajimena · 05/01/2019 15:02

supergrains I know you absolutely didnt mean it like this (I hope) but when something is labelled 'outside of your understanding' it implies that the rest of us outside the art world are of a lower calibre.
I do realise that this is a ridiculous way to feel but.. but. Grin

Racecardriver · 05/01/2019 15:04

Because the art world is increasing home to members of our less capable aristocracy and offspring of the intelligentsia. If you can’t lead the UN but think you’re too good to have a corporate job the obvious avenue to a meaningful life is through art (even if you lack artistic ability, the intellect to grasp aethetics or the humility to question why others should find meaning in something purely because you say it’s there). Art just isn’t what it used to be because people with real intellect do more important work these days. Art is no longer a noble pursuit for the betterment of humanity as it once was.

Racecardriver · 05/01/2019 15:07

@superhraibs you last statement is outside the context of art history itself. Until very recently art was held to be above that. It wasn’t a question of taste but of truth and purpose. Art without philosophy is mere indulgence.

Racecardriver · 05/01/2019 15:10

@perspicaciatock but the cat flap has a purpose. What is the purpose of that? Ruskin said that the purpose of art was to help humanity see truth and god. Wilde said that the purpose of art was to be beautiful because beauty is enough in and of itself to be meaningful. Purpose is a prequisite to meaning.

BeholdTheNewTablecloth · 05/01/2019 15:12

I wanted to say OP are you sure you're not in the cloakroom Grin but then took the time to read the description....it is a shame I cannot see any black melted distorted shapes at the joints (I did look) because the idea of melting pigs intestines and dolls to bring attention to drug trafficking isn't the worst thing I've heard - I just can't see any of that on the frame.

Clawdy · 05/01/2019 15:15

I went to the Finals exhibition at a prestigious art school. One much admired exhibit was a red velvet cushion with a square of lard in the middle. It's name...."Lard On A Red Velvet Cushion." Grin

Acopyofacopy · 05/01/2019 15:17

I took my dcs to the Tate once. Ds asking “are you sure this is art, mummy?” nicely sums up our visit.

BeholdTheNewTablecloth · 05/01/2019 15:19

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Salcedo

I just looked her up and looked at the crack in the floor then looked at the hand sewn poppy shroud.
None of it does it for me personally but if you know why she is making what she is making and the materials she is using then it is a political statement even if it is not very accessible to plebs like me.

PCPlumsTruncheon · 05/01/2019 15:20

I had a really close look and I couldn’t see the dolls.
I am really broke at the moment and am pondering how I can make some money from this art caper.

OP posts:
EBearhug · 05/01/2019 15:25

Maybe you'd have to be studying art or interested in discussing/arguing art to find this stuff pleasing.

I dunno. No one seems to worry too much if they don't like or understand a piece of music or a book or something. I think if you liked every piece of art you see, then you can't have any critical abilities at all. There are so many different styles out there, it wouldn't be reasonable for every piece to suit everyone - we are all different, we all have had different education and experiences, and we all have different tastes. There will be things you don't like, and that's fine.

Of course, knowledge of the history behind the artists and times a work was created in can give you a greater understanding of it. There are works you can appreciate for the skill in creating it, or the idea, but sometimes, even knowing that, it's not going to click with you. This one probably has worked in that we're discussing it with a thread on MN.

I think visual arts are often different from music or literature. We tend not to see novels until we get the finished product - edited and refined, draft sections rewritten and thrown out. Similarly with music, you mostly don't hear rehearsals or trying stuff out, unless you're actually part of it. Generally, we hear the final recording, or a well-rehearsed live performance (unless you watch BBC4 late on Fridays...).

But with the visual arts, these days, we seem to see lots of sketch books and doodles where people were just practising, trying out ideas and stuff. It was never intended for display. It is often interesting to see the process, but I think there can be pros and cons to it, when you get every scrawl an artist has ever made, just because it's Picasso or someone. Although he was so important to 20th century art, maybe it's understandable that people want to try and work out every thought he had.

In any case, this work isn'the all the preparatory drawings and plans. It's the end product. And in the end, even if you have read all the curtain notes and so on, and still think it's a load of bollocks, that's okay. It's made you think about it and talk about it, so it has had some value. You're going to remember it - I'll bet there were other works you don't remember having been in the gallery at all. So was it completely worthless, even if you don't think the artist achieved what the notes say, even if you don't like it or think it has any merit?

It does look like a cattle crush, though.

BeholdTheNewTablecloth · 05/01/2019 15:26

You can't - 'starving artist' is a phrase for a reason. You need a patron.
Ask Meghan to sponsor you Wink

Vitalogy · 05/01/2019 15:28

It's to make you laugh amongst other things Smile

What fun we had, me and my son visiting the Tate Modern. Favourite bit The Crack! It was a while ago so not sure if it's still there. There was a Pile of Bricks too. Also gave us a laugh. There were probably some great pieces that took skill but the overwhelming memory was the fun of it.

Oliversmumsarmy · 05/01/2019 15:31

I went to art school. It can be symbolism, meaning, expression, to evoke feelings

My first thoughts and feelings were,

Can you get that in Ikea it looks like a really good hanging rail

EnidButton · 05/01/2019 15:39

itsallabout so it's like poetry but in physical form? Trying to understand.

LittleKitty1985 · 05/01/2019 15:45

If you're interesting in this then I recommend Banksy's mockumentary "Exit Through The Gift Shop" about the value of street art, it's funny and thought-provoking!

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/01/2019 15:51

I have to agree with this episode
of "Adam Ruins Everything" about the art market being - well, a scam.

I recently was looking at an installation which involved four Roomba-type machines wandering around some MDF. I can't remember what it was supposed to be about, but I found myself admiring the machines not falling off the MDF and wondering about their sensors. I am a philistine (and I don't care).

DustandRubble · 05/01/2019 15:54

The longer description of it on the Tate website is actually quite interesting. I wonder if it lost the dolls heads due to the pig intestines decaying? I feel like you could say something profound about that as an art form in itself. www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/salcedo-untitled-t07836

BeholdTheNewTablecloth · 05/01/2019 16:03

www.wmagazine.com/story/doris-salcedo-mca-chicago

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