But is it Art? (in colloquial terms, WTF) part 12
We go to gallery openings because
1. We want to know what’s going on in the arts and culture scene. (Pag-uusyoso)
2. Some of the artists are our friends. (Chismisan)
3. Some of the gallery owners are our friends. (Sosyalan)
4. Free booze always tastes good. (Inuman)
5. We can go to dinner afterwards and have a lively discussion on the always-riveting topic, Is That Art? or in colloquial terms, WTF. (Balitaktakan, dakdakan)
On Saturday we attended the opening at Manila Contemporary in Whitespace on Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati. The gallery had been divided into studio-type spaces where the artists could work and the guests could watch them at work over the next month. So the works on view were not quite finished.
The first thing that caught my eye was this:
An arrangement of plastic toys. All together now: Is that Art?
Immediately I was drawn to this section of the display:
Rubber duckies! I love rubber duckies. And since I love rubber duckies, I like the piece whether it is art or not. (I offered to buy the ducks.)
Here are the rest of the materials that will be incorporated into the work.
Next door was this arrangement of gate, framed photos, and some kind of jug made of moulded foam. The listed price of the moulded foam jug is Php100,000. It was one of the items discussed at dinner.
“How about this,” said my friend. “If the price were Php15,000 we’d be saying, Why in hell would I pay 15K for a foam thing? But 100,000 pesos is so out there. The viewer would say, I must be missing something, there has to be something about that jug or it wouldn’t cost P100K.”
“Ergo it is a conversation piece.”
“Or it’s silently condemning the viewer for equating Art with money.”
This is me. “It’s a moulded foam jug!!!”
After I snapped a photo of the arrangement with my phone I took a picture of my foot by mistake.
Hey my sneaker looks good. Is it Art?
One of the studio spaces featured a cigarette vendor with her case of merchandise. I haven’t eaten those orange candies since I was a kid so I wanted to buy some. They weren’t for sale.
We liked this. It looks like a shower stall, but when you stick your head in:
Infinity!
April 4th, 2011 at 10:41
Real art will make you want to say “WTF!”
April 4th, 2011 at 12:20
Art according to a young black man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVFasyCvEOg
April 4th, 2011 at 13:01
I had this friend who was into painting. She was familiar with painting techniques. While looking at a painting in a museum, she began to ooh and ahh and embarked on a lengthy discussion on what the artist did to achieve a certain effect. I nodded my head for posterity’s sake since attractive people were nearby and I wanted to make an impression. Hahaha.
April 4th, 2011 at 14:09
i couldn’t understand modern art either.
i’ve been to Tate Modern once. and i was in one room where a string of used bars of soap was suspended on the ceiling, and also in one room where they were showing a video of a guy putting some sticky clayey substance on his face and then trying unsuccessfully to peel it off. and i was thinking, who needs to be an artist to be able to do these crazy sh*t?
April 4th, 2011 at 16:07
One way of figuring out if something is “art” is to create a sort of a grouping and then identify to which the piece belongs to. If I may dare create a grouping, just real quick, it would go something like:
1) Is it art according to: the art institution (may it be local or international) and/or the artists (established or just hanging about)
**we’re looking for a professional point of view or just a practitioner’s/creator’s point of view, because sans politics & business, what they say has weight
2) Is it art according to you, the onlooker. Has it successfully brought about in you a sense of displacement (if you can call it that) …has it altered your reality even just a bit? Enough for you to realize that what you’re seeing or experiencing is really not “normal”…in the aesthetic sense. It’s like it’s beautiful, but it’s not mother nature. You know that it’s manipulated by a human being (“normal or crazy!”) to either express, impress or both.
3) Is the piece promoted? Or just sitting about? I think when something is highlighted or being given the spotlight (like in an exhibition)…people tend to look closer and assign meanings that,you know, might not be there, had the piece been out of the spotlight.
4) Fourth would be, if you can get somebody who is just into opposing anything and everything – to say something positive about the piece…
I guess it’s safe to say that something is a work of art if it’s “yes” to all four…
-The authority
-The public/onlooker/you/personal preference
-The setting/deliberate or spontaneous
-The hecklers
April 4th, 2011 at 17:47
ceci n’est pas un commentaire
April 4th, 2011 at 22:32
LOL. reminded me of this post in regretsy
http://www.regretsy.com/2011/04/02/saturday-night-special/
April 5th, 2011 at 04:29
I know that Regretsy link. It’s very NSFW if you haven’t blocked the second image.