Accidental Cleanliness Destroys $1.1m Art Installation

[TheRundownRabbit]

I said I'd laugh when this happened to modern...uhh "art", so...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

I consider Fechin's art far more significant artistically than Duchamp's urinal. But that's because I care about Art, not Art History.

Somebody has flipped a switch in many educated brains, and told them over and over again that art history is more important than art.

And the educated say, yes master, whatever you deem important to the art history you prefer... I will agree that such is the true history of the art. And whatever pictures are important to tell your story of art, well... by golly, those pictures must be great art because only history matters. Only what I am told matters, matters.

Because it has all been a progression toward the shining light of the perfect cultural future. Get in line. Obey the progress.

Look there! History is made again: A giant Middle Finger made of mucous... Hallelujah! This is the promised land!

The above quotation was taken from a similar topic on an art forum I visit once in a while.

Well to quote Oscar Wide, "All art is quite useless".

Not sure what sort of point you're trying to make. While the ice-cream stick fence thing isn't art, it is most certainly useless.

If you really think about it, all art really is quite useless. Art isn't a daily necessity. You don't need art to live. However, art is something that makes life more bearable. It allows you to escape from the daily drudgery of life and nurtures hope to an extent.
Or at least the part about making life more bearable was part of the definition of art before a few ponces came along a century ago and told people that they themselves were right and everyone else could suck it.

True enough, that quote just came to mind when I saw the picture of that piece of "art".

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Cleaning staff is instructed to maintain a distance of at least eight inches from all art installations.

Anyone getting an Aperture Science vibe from this particular directive?

One of my temp teachers at school was some crazy modern artist. She said she had created a piece she called "Unfinished business" which was basically a toilet filled with cornflakes and an oversized spoon perched on top. No idea what that was a "commentary" on...

"The world has lost a valuable, irreplaceable piece of art", no it definitely has not. If your "art" is indistinguishable from trash, you are a failure. You are a drain on society and a waste of space. Go get a real job loser.

Pretty much this...

Hell, if the cleaning lady doesn't appreciate it as art, why the hell should anyone else, right? How about we get some video game concept art up in those galleries instead, there's a whole load of people with actual talent out there that don't even get recognised.

 

[Micalas]

And people who haven't even seen the piece start commenting about how modern art is trash, typical.


Perhaps you guys don't realize this, but YOU'RE NOT THE CROWD THAT IT'S AIMED FOR.

Compare a lot of modern to games like limbo. Notice how stylized the game is, to the point where everything is completely abstract and seen only as shadows. That conveys a lot of meaning, but at the same time, principal one of modern arts is:

1. The more abstract the art becomes, the more meaning it can convey, but the more difficult it is to discern the meaning of the piece.


This is true to the point where some pieces intended to convey many layers of meaning are complete gibberish. This is the point where people can sneak bullshit in as "art". Since this is the level where telling the difference between something that has many layers of meaning that are simply difficult to discern and having no meaning whatsoever requires a significant art education, this is the level where people can give meaningless pieces to rich people who like being opulent.

Of course I'm not the target audience! I'm not a gullible **** with millions of dollars.

 

[Elyxard]

Can't say I entirely blame the lady. It's silly that went near the exhibit at all, but that dirty bowl doesn't even look like it's part of the exhibit at all. It just looks like it happened to be lying there. It's a shame that lady will likely be fired for cleaning something that was dirty.

I've had plenty of experience in the liberal arts field, and the subject of the qualifier for art certainly comes up a lot. As much as I hate to say it, condemning this piece to be "not art" only justifies it when other people condemn our own medium as "not art". I may not "get" this piece, but someone out there does, and that's all that really matters.

The million dollar price tag is completely crazy though.

 

[Wolf Hagen]

I usually would kinda don't blame modern art for itself, but the only thing the cleaning women made gone, where scale stains on the buclet that was underneath it.

When people try to defend it as some kind of art since it has a clear theme going on.... wel..

But I saw botched central heating installments, wich would make a better artistic statement then... a pile of sticks with words written on it, nailed together like a sideways fence....


Seriously!?

Next time I have to build off a Kitchen, I'll cut out the part with the sink, let it rot a bit controlled and call it "when the husband forgot to use Silicone" and let it stay at a gallery to redeem my depts (via Junk that Artzis think is true Art.

Until then: Thanks cleaning Lady, I hope your boss didn't brief you, so you cant be blamed.

 

[Cyberjester]

but it has also gained proof of the existence of a working class hero who will stop at nothing to eradicate filth. That's gotta be worth something, right?

Were you in politics.. You wouldn't be.

But I laughed, so well done on an amusing piece.

with an equally bollocks motivation behind the piece.

which displays man's inhumanity towards man in a generic-insults-on-a-bit-of-canvas sort of way.

I cut your quote in pieces to highlight the conflict within. You understand what makes art, but you do not know how to truly create a piece.

The answer is,

"A piece detailing the relationship between artist and viewer from the point of view of an angry person who has grown up in a hard area". You could extend that of course, but it would go for at least $10,000. It's not so much what it is at what it appears to be.

Sure, it's a painting calling you a prick, but it's so much more than that to your mind, so it transcends the coarseness and becomes art.

Personally I think that's bull, but firm viewer in "beauty is in they eye of the beholder" at the same time.. Doublethought, it's fun. Passes the time anyway


Edit: It's like how child porn is "exploring the sexuality and life of a child as they're going through puberty", even if it's just a photo of a naked 7yr old girl. Call it art, waffle on a lot. Profit. No further steps needed. Unless setting up a credit card transaction point, those are annoying.

 

[KarlMonster]

What really stinks is that it sounds like this fancy German museum contracted a cleaning service that uses immigrant labor. There's nothing wrong with that in itself.

What irks me is that *if* this is one of those disreputable 'low bidder' firms that gets minimum wage jobs for questionably legal Eastern Europeans. Then the particular custodian in question may have lost her job and been shipped back to somewherever just for doing her job.

This is killing my illusion of Germany as a solid and conscientious bulwark of... something.
Dammit.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I'd like to be a realist art vigilante going around to modern art exhibits and replacing them with realist paintings and sculptures, a la Banksy. That'd show the buffoons.

LET'S DO IT! We could create a large selection of sculptures, paintings, and computer graphics that are aesthetically pleasing with inherent commentaries and meaning, and then break into the Tate Modern in London and hang them around everywhere.

That act of art vigilante-ism will get us massive publicity, turning us into instantly famous established artists. Then we will screw the pooch by producing dribble like this every year or so and make millions with no effort whatsoever!

Finally we can come back into this thread after a decade of successful post-modern art sales and personally insult all the people arguing "If it's so simple why don't you do it?" Because that wouldn't be petty at all.

 

[Pharsalus]

Good, sounds like a proper slap in the face of the pretentious git who made the "art" in the first place.

 

[ILikeEggs]

LET'S DO IT! We could create a large selection of sculptures, paintings, and computer graphics that are aesthetically pleasing with inherent commentaries and meaning, and then break into the Tate Modern in London and hang them around everywhere.

That act of art vigilante-ism will get us massive publicity, turning us into instantly famous established artists. Then we will screw the pooch by producing dribble like this every year or so and make millions with no effort whatsoever!

Finally we can come back into this thread after a decade of successful post-modern art sales and personally insult all the people arguing "If it's so simple why don't you do it?" Because that wouldn't be petty at all.

Damn straight.

I'm just surprised that no one has attempted something of similar magnitude as a "statement piece" or some such nonsense.

 

[MrJoyless]

This is what happens when you hire outside contractors rather than having actual employees who...

A. Would probably cost a hell of a lot less than paying a contractor 25$ an hour to pay someone 10$ an hour to clean your floors.

B. Have enough knowledge and familiarity with the museums exhibits to not do a million dollars in damage to its "art".

 

[ProfessorLayton]

If you can't tell the difference between a piece of art and a mess, it's not a piece of art.

 

[Muphin_Mann]

Art...you know...like...that trashcan...its...a commentary on trash. Its art really! Give me a million dollars.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Meh. We have concept art hanging on the walls here by Craig Mullens that's worth about $10k a piece, I'm guessing they took at the most a few days to paint each. They're not worth that much because of the quality of the work, but because of his reputation. The whole set could pay one of our artist's salaries for a year. Even outside of fine art, that's just how art works.

 

[darkbshadow]

Hint if your art piece makes a cleaning women think. "Hey what a stain i must remove it..." Your doing your it wrong.

 

[mew4ever23]

I agree, if you can't tell art from trash, you have failed as an artist.

The tragic part is that the poor woman probably got fired.