A couple of days ago an art gallery up on K-Rd installed a piece of art that interested me. Usually this gallery displays a lot of incomprehensible modern rubbish…you know, the usual giant doll’s heads etc. However this piece caught my eye for a number of reasons.
First, the yellow shapes are from a common plastic children’s toy – one my own child has in fact. Second, the shapes are on ‘sprues’ – suggesting industrial mass production. Third most of the shapes are removed from the sprues and scattered around except for two stars.
Not sure who the artist is or what they’re trying to say, maybe a comment on the uniform nature of children’s toys, are all kids having the same ‘mass produced’ experience? Are we raising kids in an industrial manner with day-care and working parents? Seems odd to me that the stars remain on the sprue…maybe the kids that excel in our society are expected to fit a certain pattern? Is the artist saying society favours a narrow fixed role for it’s ‘stars’? Oh hell I don’t know, makes you think though eh?
Wonder what the work is titled? That might give you a hint of the artist’s intentions.
You can see some more of the artist’s work in the back of the frame, although urinals on a plastic sprue just seems like a slightly wanky reference to Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ to me… or are those toilet training seats?
For me, this is the sole criteria for ‘good’ art (or at least ‘good’ in my opinion). As long as it makes me think about it, whether that be “I think that’s beautiful”, or “I find that really puzzling/challenging” doesn’t matter.
‘Bad’ art (again, IMHO) is that stuff that just makes you go “Ick”, or “yeah, the artist is trying to be interesting, but in reality has just put a jumble of crap there”.
Or something.
I also like it because it’s all shiny and yellow!
You don’t think it appeals to you because of your unhealthy interest in things that come from sprues?
Well that’s why it initially caught my eye ;)…that and the fact it is bright yellow. Then I actually started thinking about what the hell it was supposed to represent…
Hey! ‘Unhealthy interest’! Ben you bastard! :)
Art
Stu has posted about an interesting piece of art. I must admit that I find it quite intriguing too. I’m no art critic, but as I commented on his blog: ‘good’ art (in my view) is something that makes you think about the context or message.
Hard …
Gotta be better then the Dunny that makes Donkey noises thats being send to represent NZ in Venice…..