Do Bears...

[Peter Wolf]

 If the winner was inspired by Brian Haw who has been protesting in Parliment Sq for years then he should get some of the prize money.

[Funt Solo]

::"Why not just officially give it for the anti-war thing?"

It was some red-tape malarky - those short-listed are supposed to display their work somewhere specific, but re-creating the anti-war thing in that specific location was problematic (because of the physical shape of the place) so he did the bear thing instead.  And, basically, what the commentators are saying (politely) is "the bear was shit - everyone knows this is for the anti-war thingy".

[Peter Wolf]

 The chicken run thing was one of the runners up.

[Tweak72]

"It was some red-tape malarky - those short-listed are supposed to display their work somewhere specific, but re-creating the anti-war thing in that specific location was problematic (because of the physical shape of the place) so he did the bear thing instead. And, basically, what the commentators are saying (politely) is "the bear was shit - everyone knows this is for the anti-war thingy".

Hummm, still smacks of self-congratulatory Bull crap to me.

[TordelBack]

What funt said, it just wasn't practical to display the specific piece, and the Turner Prize rewards the artist's recent body of work - the Bear thing isn't bad either, although I have a personal dislike of video installations.  Plus, if the anti-war installation doesn't count as art, I really don't know what does - taking suppressed and partially state-confiscated material and recreating it as an exhibit in a national art gallery is about as close to genius as I can imagine.  In my view, art should challenge and comment as well as comfort and inspire.

I spent a marvelous 15 minutes slap-bang in front of Van Gogh's Sunflowers last month, virtually undisturbed (does nobody go the British National Gallery anymore?), and it was just awesome.  Which is by way of saying that I love representational art and the painter's craft as much as the next person, but that's just not all that art is, or should be.  Forward the shark-slicers!

[Peter Wolf]

 I just find that these modern conceptual artists are just full of themselves and lack humour and i also think that they have a kind of intellectual superiority about themselves over everyone else.Its as if to say that i am too stupid and dont understand the"concept" yet they can.They are all just a bit too up themselves.

 The whole industry is up itself and so are all the  writers ,critcs,and broadsheet articles.They all believe their own press as well.

 Its all too Media driven the modern art scene and self congragulating.


 They would all get excited about a box of cornflakes if it was an entry for the prize.


 Why couldnt the winner of the competition just make the acceptance speech having won without the dancing bear performance ? I think it detracted from what he was saying in his "art" .


 "Ah   but the dancing Bear is meant to represent us who all dance to the tune of the politicians etc"


 No its not .Its just a twat dancing round in a bear costume.



 It seems like its the concept behind the 'Art" thats more important than the "Art" itself .


 Its not really art in a way although its creative expression of a sort.I think either the meaning of art needs to be redefined or what is called "art" needs to be called something else.

 I just think that this Turner prize business just gets more ridiculous each year .The whole event is Media driven.

[Matt Timson]

So... what you're saying then is that the award is total bollocks because they gave it for something they didn't like because what they did like didn't fit the criteria for the award?

Hm.

[TordelBack]

Its just a twat dancing round in a bear costume.

That's the signifier, alright.  But what's signified?

Nearly all art has a concept, not all art requires the viewer to be aware of the concept to appreciate the piece, but a hell of a lot of it does.  Sometimes, it's interesting to view a piece without understanding teh concept - Michelangelo's (first) Pieta, for example.  If you didn't know that the woman was the dead man's quasi-divine mother, what would you make of her serene expression and youthful face?  Isn't it a bit weird?  Does it really represent a bereaved mother unless you know the special circumstances that form the concept behind the piece?

This is not to equate in any way Michelangelo's incredible skill and vision with a guy putting on a bear costume, except that in both instances, the concept is important to the piece.

[Peter Wolf]

 There were those Tesco Greetings cards that were posted on the links thread today.

 I honestly couldnt tell if they were actually real or if they were some sort of artistic statement or concept.

 If they werent actual Tesco cards then they were an artistic statement.I mean imagine sending a deepest sympathies card that had Tesco on it or a Valentines card unless you were being ironic.


 " Sincerity Guaranteed "


 Its sort of a bit like pop art in a way.


 Also i thought that it was a statement about how Tesco is all pervasive in peoples lives and does everything for them.

 Thats how i saw it and knowing nothing about them thats what i thought the concept behind them is amongst other things.

 I thought they were quite clever.


 In a way i am saying that i am not against conceptual art as long as i think its saying something and has real meaning in my own opinion.


 I just dont like that Turner Prize "scene" very much.

[worldshown]

About eight years ago in work, I was watching the guy sat next to me sketch a brilliant portrait of an old man from memory.

"That's brilliant," I said, "You should've done an art course."

"I did, well, two years of one anyway." he replied.

"Yeah? Why did you quit."

At this point he picked up his stapler and threw it to the floor scattering staples everywhere.

"Apparently, THAT says more than my pencil ever can," he said.

The Turner Prize seems to make this point every year since.

[TordelBack]

"Apparently, THAT says more than my pencil ever can," he said.

In one way, there's no arguing with that.  But it's a bit like saying that because Premier League footballers earn obscene amounts of money and tabloid inches, there's no point in being an Olympic sprinter.  Because one small branch of art is rewarded and promoted, doesn't mean that the rest of art (the great majority) is meaningless.

[Funt Solo]

::"So... what you're saying then is that the award is total bollocks because they gave it for something they didn't like because what they did like didn't fit the criteria for the award?"

No, that's just what you're saying.

[JamesC]

"Apparently, THAT says more than my pencil ever can," he said.

In one way, there's no arguing with that. But it's a bit like saying that because Premier League footballers earn obscene amounts of money and tabloid inches, there's no point in being an Olympic sprinter. Because one small branch of art is rewarded and promoted, doesn't mean that the rest of art (the great majority) is meaningless.


 I don't think it's always the case that traditional art goes unrewarded. I once won a Blue Peter badge for a picture of the Beatles I did.

[Peter Wolf]

Because one small branch of art is rewarded and promoted, doesn't mean that the rest of art (the great majority) is meaningless.

 Thats definatly right. There is no shortage of art  that hangs on walls.There is plenty of it on sale so its not going into a decline in any way.A lot of artists like painting on canvas or drawing.


 Conceptual A rt was the description i was trying to think of earlier.Its a completely different thing to "Normal" art and it shouldnt be confused with it or be categorised or labelled as such.


 I can understand it better under that definition.Its really just an art movement that has its own definition of what art is.


 Its a shame that Art schools have let it take over other things like drawing or painting for example.I dont think thats a good thing .


 

[vzzbux]

This is what conceptual art should be, not an unmade bed.



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