Perhaps unanswerable, often debated, right up there with "if there is a God, is it a woman?" question.
The play ART, for example, written by Yesmina Reza, which premiered in 1994, posed some interesting questions about friendship and art.The "art" in question was a 4 by 5 foot, totally white on white canvas, with no figurative elements. Ostensibly, this play was more about friendship than what is 'modern' or 'abstract' art. But, the age-old question was bandied about…"what is art?"
I, for one, am oftentimes bewildered, amused or bemused by what I am looking at. I mean, really, have you been to the Dia Center in Beacon, N.Y.? Nonetheless, I enjoy the experience and am enthusiastic to view new work.
For those of you who share my initial reactions, here's something that is currently at MoMa which absolutely engaged and wowed me. It is called The Collective Ingredients of a Beijing LIfe The conceptualist artist, Song Dong, turned the contents of his mother's home, which was also his childhood home, into the installation called "Waste Not."
We are talking here about EVERYTHING his mother had in their home.
"For nearly 60 years she lived in the city with her husband and two
children in a tiny house crammed with domestic odds and ends — clothes,
books, kitchen utensils, toiletries, school supplies, shopping bags,
rice bowls, dolls — which were used, then recycled, then
indiscriminately hoarded. Now the entire cache, every odd button and
ballpoint pen, is at MoMA, along with Ms. Zhao’s fridge and bed."
A Tribute to Mom.
Not really. There were deeper and more meaningful rationals for this creation. Whether you think it is Art, or not, remains the question of the hour.
2 Responses
Once the idea that art did not have to have a function (religious, practical,or to create historical record) it could be anything that provided pleasure and/or was thought provoking, forcing the viewer to rethink long held views. Once the idea that art did not have to have a patron or purchaser it could become totally self indulgent, and frequently did. Once the media became the arbiter of taste, art could be anything that could get coverage. To each his own.
This question – What is art? – continues to intrigue me. Working at an art museum, I see all kinds of things (but is it art?!)
Certainly, from what I have learnt in the last year or so, it seems to be becoming more & more self-indulgent.
Then I ask myself whether should be so narrow?