I do not believe this type of exhibit is profound in anyway, rather, I see it representing an aspect of art that appears to be surfacing more and more; through mundane and dull inspiration comes a supposed creative outlet that in turn becomes labeled “art.”
Gregor Schneider, a German artist, created an exhibit in which already-dying volunteers were to lay throughout an art gallery, in the view of uneasy onlookers who were anticipating nothing more than an unusual physical image of death’s beauty. The entire idea is creative, controversial (we all love controversy) and highly intriguing, however, I can’t help but see this exhibit as a representative for a new wave of art that appears to capture an essence that requires no capturing; death is nature’s doing, why should the artist gain recognition for a subject matter that, not only has been way over analyzed, but that is impervious to any of our own hands?
I hate to bash artists, I do admire their attempts at creative innovations, yet I can’t help but see this as a lazy path from a dull mind; a mind that is out of distinctive material to create art that is, in itself, it’s own essence. I suppose my view on such radical contemporary art is similar to my perception on the cinema of the 21st century where novels and comic books, old films and more are recreated. There seems to be no originality anymore.
I tend to believe I am one of those people who are fascinated with death. I find it utterly romantic in a way. There is something about the notion of nothingness… death is simply not anything; it is the absence of presence, a place in time where there is no return, where the howling of a wind blows right through its very spirit and never returns. Tell me how is that not dreamy? Look, I don’t want to get off track here; art is art, whether it is controversial or not and I understand and appreciate that very concept. If people find this type of contemporary uninspired art to be “art” so be it. I must however make a bold statement regarding such pieces: The only thing an artist such as Schneider relies upon is the transparency of his naive audience who will applaud such thoughtless expression in the name of art when he is simply reinstating an age old concept of the inevitable demise of humankind. It’s been said and done before.
I must say, that's incredibly exploitative. It says "volunteer" but it's debatable the mind-set these people are in, and the attitudes of people who want to watch another die. It's actually incredibly awful - why would another person want to watch the death of someone else? It's beyond our empathy and compassion, to consider it art is allowing anything to be considered art when it's simply human exploitation.
ReplyDelete