Everybody's a critic...
Being as how I'm all cultural and that, I thought that I'd share my opinion on non-representational art.
Most of it is crap. Despite what its perpetrators would tell you, most of it doesn't mean anything. However, some of it is aesthetically pleasing.Years ago in Melbourne A Bloke made a 'sculpture' which had some high falutin' name, but which everybody called the Yellow Peril. It was a few bits of flat yellow steel plate leaning against each other. According to the 'artist' it meant... something. Dunno what. Neither did anybody else. It caused probably the biggest kerfuffle in the history of the universe (next to the disgruntlement felt by Swans supporters when the Blues swapped Simon Minton-Connell for Greg Williams). Eventually it was banished to a wasteland under a bridge. I liked it.
Now New Yorkers are going through the same thing. This Christo character made his name wrapping stuff. He started small, with cans and bottles:
This is called, funnily enough, 'Wrapped cans and bottles', 1958 - 1959
Then, in the tradition of, well, traditions, Christo decide that size does matter, and proceed through wrapping architectural scale models to larger outdoor jobbies like this one, entitled 'Dockside packages, 1961, Cologne Harbour'.
I'm not going to labour the point, or overload dial-up browsers with slow-loading photos, but Christo and his Good lady Jeanne-Claude (apparently they were born on the same day) have been wrapping stuff ever since, including, in 1969, 2.4 kilometres of Sydney coastline in Little Bay.
I wonder if any of the dyna bolts are still there? Of course, Christo didn't just wrap stuff, sometimes he stacked stuff, too. This one is called 'Iron Curtain', it was erected in Paris in 1962 and consists of 240 oil barrels.
Now he's progressed to 'the gates'. Once again, as with the 'Yellow Peril', I like it. Doesn't mean anything, but still...
I am reminded of the story about the first public performance of Ravel's Bolero. When the music stopped there was absolute silence for several seconds then a woman stood up and hissed at Ravel "You are insane!"
Ravel replied "Madam, you are the only one who has completely understood the work."
Most of it is crap. Despite what its perpetrators would tell you, most of it doesn't mean anything. However, some of it is aesthetically pleasing.Years ago in Melbourne A Bloke made a 'sculpture' which had some high falutin' name, but which everybody called the Yellow Peril. It was a few bits of flat yellow steel plate leaning against each other. According to the 'artist' it meant... something. Dunno what. Neither did anybody else. It caused probably the biggest kerfuffle in the history of the universe (next to the disgruntlement felt by Swans supporters when the Blues swapped Simon Minton-Connell for Greg Williams). Eventually it was banished to a wasteland under a bridge. I liked it.
Now New Yorkers are going through the same thing. This Christo character made his name wrapping stuff. He started small, with cans and bottles:
This is called, funnily enough, 'Wrapped cans and bottles', 1958 - 1959
Then, in the tradition of, well, traditions, Christo decide that size does matter, and proceed through wrapping architectural scale models to larger outdoor jobbies like this one, entitled 'Dockside packages, 1961, Cologne Harbour'.
I'm not going to labour the point, or overload dial-up browsers with slow-loading photos, but Christo and his Good lady Jeanne-Claude (apparently they were born on the same day) have been wrapping stuff ever since, including, in 1969, 2.4 kilometres of Sydney coastline in Little Bay.I wonder if any of the dyna bolts are still there? Of course, Christo didn't just wrap stuff, sometimes he stacked stuff, too. This one is called 'Iron Curtain', it was erected in Paris in 1962 and consists of 240 oil barrels.
Now he's progressed to 'the gates'. Once again, as with the 'Yellow Peril', I like it. Doesn't mean anything, but still...
I am reminded of the story about the first public performance of Ravel's Bolero. When the music stopped there was absolute silence for several seconds then a woman stood up and hissed at Ravel "You are insane!"
Ravel replied "Madam, you are the only one who has completely understood the work."
posted by Dirk at 2:54 am
4 Comments:
I'm quite taken with the Iron Curtain. The wrapping never really caught my imagination though. But there's many things I just don't 'get' in art. I'm hoping I will continue to have more 'ah haaaa!' moments, but then, what does it matter I suppose, as long as I know what I like... blathering. Bye. :)
i wonder if i can use that line :-) (madam you are the only one who has understood....)
Apparently Hitler, also had Ideas on art especially "Decadent Art"
But as I tell one of the Art teachers at the skool “you lot will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes”
Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder
What I don't get about this guy ia that once you've done a trick, it's done. Why keep repeating it?
Rat, give it a try and let me know how it works, I might have a crack myself.
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