In Brideshead Revisted, one of my favourite novels, the following exchange takes place:
‘Charles,’ said Cordelia, ‘Modern Art is all bosh, isn’t it?’
“‘Great bosh.’
“‘Oh, I’m so glad. I had an argument with one of our nuns and she said we shouldn’t try and criticize what we didn’t understand. Now I shall tell her I have had it straight from a real artist, and snubs to her.'”
Evelyn Waugh, himself an artist, probably would not have predicted the level of bosh to which modern art would eventually sink. Here is an exhibition of invisible art currently on display in London:
It looks like the aftermath of a museum robbery.
But this empty sculpture stand is in fact the main attraction at a leading British gallery – and punters will be charged £8 a head to see it.
The ‘work’ was created as a stunt by Andy Warhol and will form part of an exhibition of ‘invisible art’ at London’s Hayward Gallery.
Visitors will be asked to look beyond ‘material objects’ and ‘set their imaginations on fire’ by looking at the empty gallery spaces.
Also included in the 50 ‘invisible works’ will be an empty piece of paper, an empty canvas and an empty space.
Asinine as it is, it may be preferable to this less than appetising portrait of Stephen Harper:
It’s a horrible painting, the proportions are all wrong. Nobody would be paying it the slightest attention if it wasn’t of someone famous.
I’m reminded of the “work of art” in another London art gallery, the Tate Modern, which, to all intents and purposes, is a glass of water on a shelf. However, the “artist” insists that it’s a tree unless and until he says otherwise. I dread to think how much the Tate paid for that…
er, “the Tate …” = the taxpayer, us. I thought we were supposed to be in a deep recession, hard up, and our masters had said “we’re all in it together”.
I wonder if the Hayward will accept invisible money?
Here’s another one that I saw in the palace of Versailles in 2008. It was an exhibit by Jeff Koons; the curator I spoke to was disgusted by it, but hinted that the only reason for the exhibit was that Koons was friendly with a local politician.
That’s a photoshop. Right?
No it’s real – I saw it with my own eyes. Here’s another – a suspended lobster:
What are they made of? I like the huge balloon animal dog, actually.
I think the balloon dog is steel.
It at least required imagination and craftsmanship – unlike Voice of Fire (which our art gallery paid too much for).
I guess this is evidence that the emperor, once and for all, really does have no clothing.