Artist you just don't get

[turquoise]

Have we done this one?

Was just reading a very scathing crit of the Anthony Gormley exhibition in the paper and feeling very dim, since I quite like him. It's seems it's on a par with liking Pride and Prejudice in literary circles. I presume the attitude is similar with Ron Mueck, who I love.

So what makes one artist acceptable and another contemptible? Is it just ponciness?I love, for example, Jenny Saville, Kiki Smith, (if we're sticking to current artists) and think I 'get' the Chapmans, Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn even if I don't necessarily enjoy their work.

But I really really really don't get Rachel Whitread.

Whiteread

I don't know whether you mean this to refer to visual artists only, but Joanna Newsome makes me want to cut my ears off. Ooooh, stop the whiny buzzy noise!

Open to anything really. I was just started off on it because of Anthony Gormley, but looking at my spelling and grammar in the op perhaps I am just dim generally.

Never heard of Joanna Newsome, but on googling the BBC describes her voice as 'deranged' - which seems to back your view up!

don't get Sarah Lucas!

Damien Hirst

Sam Taylor-Wood - suspect she wouldn't be quite so succesful if she looked like the back end of a bus.

i dont get damien hirst...surely a taxidermist at best...
rachel whiteread..i never saw what the hoohah was about myself...

i need to look up some of the other artists you mention (smith / saville)..not keeping up with this as i used to....

i really like anthony gormley's work..probably critic has axe to grind or wants to be controversial as public like his work?...

interesting thread idea turquoise..

turquise I have the oposite way of thinkng, I don't think you have to get art...you just look at it and see if you like it. Works for me.

Alot of artist don't do it for peole to 'get' what they do. I am sure there are some that do it because it makes them happy, and are not bothered if others 'get' it or not.

Art is subjective

TnOgu - too true

[how art thee?]

[I'm very well thankee ]

whiteread and hirst are crap.

I went to art school, so I KNOW Im right about this!!! lol

don't like hirst or emin. apart from applying the criteria of whether i like something or not I frequently apply two criteria to decide if I think it's good: "could I have thought of it?" and "could I have executed it" if i get yes twice then it's crap.

I like Gormley. I read Searle's review and couldn;t actually work out what he was saying. I think the figures are genius. but I wish they weren't all male.

Agree about STW, rowan1971.

But I don't get Emin either, and she does look like one.

oh god. emin, she is the worst. I can think of better stuff than her any day, but like hers, its too feckin stupid to actually do.

Gormley isnt that complicated imo, he is a good, competent, classic sculptor, who produces enjoyable, mood-invoking work. We need more like him, actually.
There is a lot of good quality public sculpture in Germany, it is very nice to see.

I agree with you on gormley. competent - ie technically - and mood invoking is a good way of describing him.

Read something in "The Times" yesterday about Gormley's latest installation. Apparently it's a box filled with a dense mist so that you walk into it and cannot see at all. People outside the box see the silhouette of those inside walking about with outstretched arms, like sleepwalkers. It sounds really eerie. Have to give Gormley one thing - he always interests me.

"a symphony composed on the remaining three keys of a broken piano, combined with the random throwing of marbles at a urinal"

Vivienne Westwood on conceptual art. Sadlt true.

I don't 'get' any of the turbine installations at tate modern. The only one that worked was Anish Kapoors. which was frankly amazing and should have become permanent!