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Arts Commentary |
December 2004 |
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There are two events in the art world that make us here at Lancette feel the necessity to respond in some form. First, there is the selection by a poll of 500 art experts of the Dada piece, 'Fountain', by Marcel Duchamp as the most influential piece of modern art. By that we take it is meant within the 20th century. The question we ask is, "Who are these experts," who have made this ridiculous choice. This piece of white porcelain, which happens to be a man's urinal, and so is not even by Duchamp but the brainchild of some industrial designer, was declared a work of art by him and placed in an exhibition. Surely, the urinal as art should be seen as an intellectual presumption, not a work of art by Duchamp We are supposed to be pleased that Picasso's Les Demoselles d'Avignon(1907), and Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych (1962) came second and third. We are of the opinion that Picasso should place ahead of anyone for the 20th century, that the abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock, should be ahead of Warhol. We do not, however, dispute that Warhol had a strong influence on art from the mid-1960s onward. As art expert Simon Wilson stated, "The choice of Duchamp's Fountain as the most influential work of modern art ahead of works by Picasso and Matisse comes as a bit of a shock. But it reflects the dynamic nature of art today and the idea that the creative process that goes into a work of art is the most important thing - the work itself can be made of anything and can take any form." Well, yes, someone can declare that art can take any form, including the strange case of the next subject to be commented on here. But, whether anything that someone has the presumption to declare art is art, is really rather doubtful. We cannot concur with the choice made by the list of 500. While the first piece of news has come out of London, the second subject for comment comes out of Berlin, but has a Canadian connection. It concerns one Istavan Kantor, who also uses the name Monty Catsin. This fellow, who has been banned from most major art institutions because he likes to splatter blood and the like over other people's works of art, and then calls that "performance art", has done it again. He tried to spray blood over Jeff Koon's Michael Jackson and Bubbles sculpture on display at Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof gallery. Kantor was allowed into the gallery because he has a video installation on display there. We are happy to report the man was arrested, though he has since been released. What his penalty will be we do not know, but knowing Germany's puny criminal laws, he no doubt will not receive much of a penalty. Kantor, who emigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1977, could afford to be in Berlin because he received a $15,000 Governor General's Award this year. We are not the only ones who questioned Governor General Adrian Clarkson's and her art advisers' choice for this award. It is as outrageous as the flagrant spending of taxpayers' money that she has indulged in until her spending was curtailed by the present government. Of course, we only need to look at how the GG dresses to know that the lady has little or no knowledge of good taste, of what entails good art, or good couture. It is unfortunate that we are stuck with her for another few years because the Martin minority government does not want to make changes at this unstable time in our political life. As for Kantor, it is about time that someone reins him in. The man is a menace, not an artist. |
