The Old Dog Asks: If It's Presented As An Art Exhibit Does That Make it Good?
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In my previous article I wrote about the astounding works of the 19th century sculptor Vincenzo Vela. His colossal, beautifully crafted pieces adorn the entire ground level of his spectacular villa.
However, Vincenzo Vela wasn't the only artist to have his sculptures on display in the museum that bears his name. The entire first floor of the villa, which comprises many large and magnificent rooms, was home to an exhibit by the contemporary American artist Lawrence Caroll.
I'm not sure what to make of this. A scrap piece of plywood, poorly cut with a few screw holes and paint stains!
About The Artist
- Born in 1954 in Melbourne Australia he was raised in California.
- He has held many shows worldwide.
- He taught at the IUAV University in Venice from 2004-2013
There Was One Problem With His Exhibit.....Ugly Stuff!
I didn't like his works of art but I'm willing to take the blame for it. In an attempt to broaden my horizons I'd like to raise the following questions:
- Do I need to know more about art in order to appreciate these pieces?
- What about these pieces make them worthy of a place in a gallery?
- Some of these pieces appear to require no ability or talent. Am I wrong about this?
- Do people say that this is good art because of peer pressure?
Here Are Some More Pieces From This Exhibit
The artist worked for 4 years on this exhibit spent in close contact with the space which necessitated several periods of residency. The exhibit's title "I Have Longed to Move Away" is taken from a poem by Dylan Thomas. You can see more pictures here.
Poorly cut discs of composite wood, stacked and haphazardly painted. Those are my glasses to give it scale. The pedestal on which this sculpture sits is about waist high and is placed in the middle of the room!
This "sculpture" consists of tarps which have been neatly folded, stacked and "painted". Again, this sculpture sits in the middle of the floor in room with one large painting. I wasn't sure how long to look at it before I'd begin to appreciate the "art". Apparently I didn't linger long enough! In case it helps you can see the entire room here.
There were many pieced of this nature. An old wooden crate, partially covered in canvass which is held on with staples and then painted. This could grow on you...I guess.
Some patchy canvass stapled onto a wood frame, painted and with 2 paint stained rubber shoes nailed to it. Oh, and the shoe on the left has a couple of textured balls sitting inside it.
To be fair I imagine that these might look "nice" in certain settings.
In Summary
Looking at the exhibit as a whole I can appreciate the use of texture and shading on some of the pieces but in many ways this exhibit recalls to my mind the famous short story by Hans Christian Andersen "The Emperor's New Clothes."
Here Are My Questions Again
- Do I need to know more about art in order to appreciate these pieces?
- What about these pieces make them worthy of a place in a gallery?
- Some of these pieces appear to require no ability or talent. Am I wrong about this?
- Do people say that this is good art because of peer pressure?
I hope that you enjoyed this article about an unusual art exhibit!
Until next time,
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
Remember, if you up vote my post and leave a comment I will up vote it with some of my 41,000 plus Steem Power!
You are not alone in your musings. I am an avid fan of works from the Baroque and Renaissance periods. Every time I brave the Modern wing of a museum, it feels to be hit or miss. Some works are truly fascinating and innovative. Others, like the ones you describe above, cause me to question the judgement of curator. If we still operated where income from art only came from patrons, I wouldn't be surprised to see this type of "art" disappear as the "artist" pursues alternative employment.
Cheers!
Once art is funded by "taxation" in a "democratic" society, or the free market is removed from a command economy, the road to mediocrity and then depravity in art has been taken.
That is exactly how I see this exhibit. It looks to be some old banged up wooden items made to look like scraps, and then painted.
I feel like these pieces are what would be in an artists backroom. Random pieces of wood and cloth and crates, potenially covered in some paint throughout the years. If they had said the theme of this was "artist's backroom supplies" or something I can see how it would make sense, but it isnt very interesting to the masses because they probably cant imagine many thoughts for it.
Yes and no. Certain types of art require for it to appeal to the masses (TV/film) and thus need to be mediocre-- and thus the mediocrity is created BY the (free) market...
Thanks so much for your comment. I like your way of thinking!
I am an art lover but I agree with you - it's not very appealing
but perhaps in the past it was :)
The pretentiousness is hard to bear.
Dire Straits - In the Gallery
Here is the truth about modern art, and I totally agree with that.
Watched the whole thing. Totally agree and find comfort in this video.
That was great. Thanks!
Thanks for the link! I love that song and it was on my mind as I was contemplating what I had seen!
This isn't art in my opinion, this is pretentious crap - if this is art then I should be the next da vinci
It reminds me of a sketch on "harry and paul" called "I saw you coming"
I love those sketches!
I wish they were still making episodes, Harry and Paul were an amazing pairing.
Yeah harry and paul are excellent, love the sketch in the cafe with the Polish waitresses too:)
I tend to agree with you but how is it that this exhibit is in a historic and respected gallery. Thanks for the funny link.
I think maybe the gallery's attempt at staying "current"? I guess art can be what ever you want it to be but whoever started the crazy idea of putting random bits of tat in the room is either an idiot or a genius.
I mean why spend hundreds of hours painting or sculpting when you can go into your garage and take the contents to the gallery instead^^
Artist tends to work with what they have. It’s clear some of these people were starving more as an artist then others. I always find it crazy when they get a detail imagen scan of the more famous art works out there and they find it was whitewashed over a few times. With there being many paintings under them. All of which we consider today to be great work. At the very least much betters then anything in the photos here.
That's so true about what you write about the paintings under paintings. Saving canvass and material.
Well said!
🤔 I really liked your perspective in this article. IMHO, art is very subjective and depends on how one interprets it. Modern art is perhaps one which is open to several interpretations. Each time you stare at it, you get a different meaning out of it according to your own changing perspectives. Sometimes ambiences too make a difference. A huge posh building may become a bit boring to some after some time and when they suddenly face some very ordinary thing they would appreciate it. I’ve seen many rich tourists from developed countries visiting my country are happy to spend quite a good money for a rural tour where they would be introduced to the lifestyles of poor people, they will be accommodated in some hut with almost no facility, will be served food cooked over burning coal or woods, in earthen ware, ride a bicycle on a kaccha (unpaved) road, pulling out drinking water from a well etc. All these are very normal and ordinary chores for the poor but ultra-rich enjoy those bizarre things. Perhaps their very bizarreness & oddity drive them there. But no person who is regularly living that kind of life is enjoying it and wishes to come out of it. So, it’s a human nature to appreciate a change for a while (in any direction). But it’s not the same with everyone 🤔.
Thus most art (poems, songs, music, paintings etc.) rely heavily on the intelligence of the viewer / reader / listener and not everyone can appreciate them …in fact they are not meant for everyone.
Just as you take a guide along with you when visiting a historic monument, you should avail the services of an art-guide who can make us understand the importance of these artworks. Every art work has some story behind it, without a context it’s difficult to understand. And perhaps the first picture you posted here is incomplete without a similar artwork placed in the same room. Sometimes, their placing makes a lot of difference. E.g. when you put down your glasses for the second picture here, it enhanced that art and gave some intensity to its meaning. 😇 And you were very artistic in putting down your glasses to give some serious meaning to that art. The way you placed your glasses, it’s direction, it’s angle, it’s closeness to discs, it’s contrasting color etc. are just perfect and it can’t be done so beautifully in any other way 😇 😇. So you are an artist which the world hasn’t yet recognized.😊😊😊
And I’d like to add that you can interpret this comment of mine only if you are smart enough. Did you know anything about the etymology of art? The word “art” was derived from the word “smart”. After putting aside some mind (sm), what you were left with was “art”. And sculpting is just an extension of the word “skull” …it’s an effort to add up some meat back! So don’t make it too complicated. Art is very simple, if you know what simplicity is. 😉 😉😉😉😉
🎹 🥁 🎷 🎺 🎸 🎻 I’m trying to use a lot of emojis here to
Celebrate the World Emoji Day this week. Are you? 🎊 🎉 🎉 🎉⛄️
You are fast becoming one of my favorite commenters. What you wrote about travelers enjoying the tough lifestyle for a short period of time really hits home.
Well done @xyzashu you deserve much success and joy here on Steemit!
Your sense of humor about my glasses is also much appreciated!
Art is a word that can have a lot of meanings. Personally I tent to respect and appreciate the kind of art that required a good amount of ability (maybe acquired in hours of practicing) and/or a good amount of work to be done. Maybe the kind of art showed here required too a good amount of time, and has a meaning behind. But the fact that I have to question myself about it makes it really hard to appreciate.
We also have a beauty sense, that may vary a lot from one person to another.
Art is upposed to be beautiful or meaningful. But personally I will never take this as a refernce!
Moreover I remember @rtdcs wrote a funny article about an interesting museum about ugly art in Boston! Here's the link:
https://steemit.com/art/@rtdcs/this-museum-only-exhibits-ugly-arts-because-there-are-things-so-ugly-that-they-can-not-be-ignored
Thanks for your comments from the perspective of an artist. I also think of art as something that should be beautiful which you rightly say is relative. I have read comments here that art doesn't need to be beautiful but to provoke a response. That seems more likely to me to be this artist's goal. My respnse...it's ugly!
Thanks for the link. I checked it out and I prefer those pieces!
I wonder what the artist wanted to say to the world with this piece:
Some modern art is just trash. Literally.
Funny thing is that there are people that buy this kinda 'artwork'.
Now let's compare it to something like his:
Or this:
I don't know man. I'm no art connoisseur but I kinda find it insulting to put Mona Lisa in the same category (art) with a toilet or a piece of poorly cut plywood.
What did the artist have to say? I get the impression he was an alcoholic who spent most of his time over a toilet; thus, created what he knows best.
I do know some hoarders who would just love that seconded one! Why it would fit right in if they found the room for it.
Funny!
Great points and thanks for the photos!
I guess some people consider this art too....
That's hilarious
I guess to some people it's comedy but for some people it's not funny and it's not art
I have heard about this. The mental health system is needing a major overhaul!
Pretty scary stuff!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if enough people say its art, it is to them
.but I'm with u, that shits ugly
Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a dissolute and depraved eye is going to find some real crap to be "beautyful."
On the other hand, I have seen some really magnificent works commissioned by some very cruel and depraved people (the Meidicis for instance) and the relationship between art and suffering is tenuous, complex, and hard to define, but very real.
Art never has to look great. For me its more about the emotion it projects than anything else. I find some of the more “beautiful” pieces of art work out there rather boring, and filled with emptiness like the soul of the artist was sucked out .
Good questions !
Frankly speaking I do not see much of a work of art in those pieces of wood but this exact questions came to my mind many time so far when visiting museums. A lot of work of art did not seemed to be as being really that great but I always thought that I need more education into art to understand some of the paintings and objects that were so much appreciated by others. Going further for example, the wood frame, painted and with 2 paint stained rubber shoes nailed seems quite expressive to me and this looks really as a piece of valuable work of art. Anyway, what I think is that the value of a piece of art is given by the specialists in relation not only to its look and appearance, but also in relation to the artists reputation and career. Having that said, I think there are a few more other things that are considered and we might not know about them, like for instance the size of artist's market and his overall quality.
Art is way much complicated than we can imagine, and sometimes maybe only some of us have the gifts to understand it. In any case, this was a great article and I am going to follow you for more. Keep them coming !
Thanks so much for your very fine comment. You bring up some good points and ideas which I will explore further.
Thank you ! We'll keep in touch then.