In CONCEPTUAL ART it's the IDEA of a thing which takes precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. H-m-m-m...so Marcel Duchamps apparently decided to exhibit a urinal and title it FONTAINE. And sign it R. Mutt. Well, he certainly got noticed back there in 1917 or thereabouts, and so began a new art movement. Sometimes labeled DADA or INSTALLATION art, this unorthodox style continues to stir controversy. Think Yoko Ono or Christo of the wrapped islands and buildings and you get the picture. Or not. The answer is..."HUH?"
Here's Damian Hirst standing next to THE GOLDEN CALF, which is a real dead calf with 18 carat gold horns and hooves, standing in a tank of formaldehyde. I'm not sure what the concept is but someone paid 10.3 million pounds for it. The more outrageous the more bucks it brings.
So I've been casting about for more examples of potential conceptual art in my own neighbourhood.
And look at what I found! This installation was created by our neighbour weeks AFTER the annual pick-up of cast-offs so I think it qualifies. The concept was, " what would happen if I place this box (wooden) on top of this desk (steel) and leave them at the roadside?" The answer is: someone took it the next day.
I call this ROADSIDE OFFERING.
This is more an example of PERFORMANCE ART. My husband's feet are sporting cabbage leaves. The concept here is that cabbage leaves are supposed to decrease swelling to parts of the body, in this case, feet. And it doesn't matter what kind of cabbage.
Green cabbage will do just as well.
Now this is my Hirst-inspired example of nauseating art. The concept here is, "This is what can happen when you leave a bottle of wine uncapped in your basement and there is a mouse trying to escape a couple of cats, like Sam and Bridget.
It's amazing how little space a mouse needs to get in.
I call this CHATEAU SOURIS.
Yum!
And no, we didn't drink it.
I'm off to Bella Coola for the next few weeks and promise to be back with more traditional, less avant-garde paintings. But one never knows, do one?
