Sunday, August 15, 2010

SO WHAT IS ART?

Illustration by Donovan O'Malley

So what is Art?
Is art just pictures and sculptures in a museum? The safe bet?

A recent BBC program suggested that the largest galleries in the main capitals "decide" what is to be art in order to make money. Is a sheep cut in half and put in formaldehyde in a plexiglass case, art?
Would that sheep in formaldehyde, in the plexiglas, be considered art if it stood in an old barn close to other living sheep? With no one to view it except the living sheep and the farmer? Would the farmer be apprehended for cruelty to animals?

Or does the sheep in formaldehyde and plexiglas only become art when someone who specializes in finding groups of words to glamorize this "art" -- reassures us, the followers, the lemmings, and those with masses of money to invest, that this is indeed art, and yes, spend your money on this. And it might be a ticklish delight to be able to say that one likes art with animals in formaldehyde. One needs to set oneself apart. What to do when you own everything and there is no more room for tattoos.

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