Smocks aren't really me, I'm happy to say. But I do think the county would benefit from a resident genius, although hopefully one who leaves their children alone. It would get us away from the whole Jethro image.
As for rich up-country types descending upon the place and declaring themselves arty, I can do ne better than to refer the honorouable company to the following:
http://www.camelotcastle.com/
- and you think you've got problems on the south coast ...
They've managed to fly what should be a profitable hotel business into the ground as well as make pretentious tits of themselves at the same time, and through a combination of neglect and 'modernisation' I fear they may have stuffed the building completely.
My real fear is that by the time they get bored with their plaything and try to flog it, it'll be too far gone and it'll either get all hotel-chained up or turned into luxury holiday flats. Now they're proper 'gallery owners' who make a mess of things.
Hi Ive read the whole of this thread with interest it seems to have generated alot of heat but not much light. I know it started off being about Swiftie but I should come clean and let u know I'm the other artist mentioned: Rupert White. I was tickled pink by the comments of Cledry_maid who said my paintings looked like the work of a painter-decorator and flamnew who said they were pointless and crap. You're entitled to your opinions so no worries there. Art is a matter of taste and its not worth losing too much sleep about whether a work of art is good or bad because there is no absolute measure of quality. TonT was more complimentary -I'd be interested to know where he/she found out about my work...
the other thing I wanted to say is that you just cant judge an artist on their drawing or technique: thats like judging a singer on theirs - and where would that leave the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reid, Tom Waits, Jonny Rotten etc etc - what matters about these guys is their message; the idea; the content. In fact often perfect technique gets in the way of content - to continue the analogy think of someone like Whitney Houston, or whoever. So anyway Swifties work has a lot of content and though my grey paintings dont (thats the idea of them) my other pieces do checkout
http://www.rupertwhite.co.uk/1993-1997.htm
http://www.rupertwhite.co.uk/2004.htm
apologies by the way if I've come in too late into the discussion....
It wasn't Bob Dylans singing voice that touched people, it was his lyrics, likewise most of the others you cite. Johnny Rotten? Hmm not so sure we can call him a musician. A character, a rogue, a political voice yes, but maybe not a musician. I don't think any of the above would call themsleves singers.
I looked at your work the other day and I have to say it's not my kind of thing. I'm not usually a fan of 'installations'. For instance, can you tell me about Psilo? To me it looks like something my kids would make with some straws.
I agree. Johnny Rotten wasnt much of a musician, but he was an important cultural icon. His message was in his attitude/look - so anyway my point is it wasnt his technique as a singer that mattered.
re my work - like Swifties its worth looking at in its totality. I try and make each thing different to the next. Something like 'Psilo' is made out of steel and its installed outdoors. Its about the same size as an adult man. Its title refers to Psilocybin or magic mushrooms and its form is similar to the kind of hallucination you get with mushrooms. It also contains references to St Ives artists and other artist like Sol Lewit and Brice Marden- so there are art-historical references (that admittedly are a bit esoteric and so maybe irrelevant). For me it is a thing that looks nice in the garden. Its hard angular quality offsets the softness of the leaves around it nicely.
'Still', on the same page, which is a coffin-like form in the shape of a crucifix, has got more obvious deep 'content'. When it was installed at the Newlyn Gallery it converted salt water into drinking water, and its membrane was held in place by a beautiful heart-shaped stone from Mounts Bay. So the piece is something to do with transubstantiation and spirituality. I find it quite scarey actually when I think about it too much because the meanings are so strong. Of course they may not be to someone else...
yes - may be - its a luxury in some ways - and yet you see it in every society and culture even very primitive and poor ones. In the relative absence of religion I think most people in Western societies use it as a form of entertainment or recreation and in this sense I would describe it as self-indulgent. But thats OK - I think people indulge themselves in all kinds of ways and making and looking at art is more contructive and life enhancing than most of the alternatives.
Whilst you're correct that we see art in every culture I'd argue that it's only in the West that we've turned into such a navel gazing excercise. Art as a political comment, a religious comment, having a spiritual element or just doing something for the sake of being pretty is all ok with me. I won't necessarily like all of it but the recent trend for self exposure, uisng art as a kind of public therapy is all a bit attention seeking for me. I couldn't really care how many men Tracey Emin has slept with and I feel very strongly that the art world has recently spawned a load of spoilt brats. It's the reason that I'm quite passionate about we patronisingly call 'crafts' , little useable pieces of art that people can integrate into their everyday lives. I can't abide elitism in any field but in art it particularly pushes my buttons for some reason. The assumption that the hoi palloi are too lowly to comprehend what the artist is trying to say is too widespread.
All power to you and you're obviously making a living doing what you love. Good luck
Well agree with you on many things cledry and flamnew, but not sure about this one. If I had to choose between a Newlyn School painting and one of Daryl's paintings I certainly wouldn't pick a Newlyn School piece of art, but might very well choose one from Daryl. I appreciate the particular technical talent of many Newlyn School artists but the paintings do nothing for me - it's all down to individual likes and dislikes. Sorry maties
(Having said that if I had the the power to give planning permission to either an art, pasty, surf gear shop, resturant or something useful to the local inhabitants the first four would stand no chance).
Just realised there was 5 or 6 pages between the initial postings on this subject and my reply and I missed out on all the interesting (Ughh? ) discussion between, but I'll leave my halfpenny's worth in anyway!!
I do think the Tracey Emin thing is a shame. Ive met Tracey a few times and shes a nice person who's really knowledgable and passionate about art of all kinds. Her work is good but I dont think it warrants the attention that its received. One of the problems with the London art scene is that you have to shout a lot to get noticed. The self-publicity bit takes over to the point where the art takes second place. Artists in London end up feeling jaded and cynical as a result.
I don't actually have an issue with any of it as I've said, each to their own and all but the implicit exclusivity needs to be railed against to make sure that there's room for all.
The art world likes to portray art as something which has no absolute measure of quality but it's nothing more than a con which allows people to throw together any old crap and claim it is artistic, and then try to shout down anyone who says that it's a load of crap. Think of the Emperor's New Clothes.
The Impressionists rightly railed against the strictures of the Salon, but they were men of talent who could see beyond the mental confines of the day; modern art on the other hand is often a load of thrown together rubbish by talentless no-marks who don't have the skills to hold down a regular job.
My soapbox is getting a lot of wear on this thread...
Airport closure was 'responsible'
The Civil Aviation Authority says the decision to close Newquay Airport was difficult but responsible.
Christmas tree is really rubbish
A giant Christmas tree made from recycled plastic bags and bottles goes on display at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
NEWQUAY AIRPORT CLOSURE: “HEADS MUST ROLL”
Stephen Gilbert, the prospective local MP for Newquay, has said that “heads must roll” over the unexpected closure of Newquay Airport and has called for a full enquiry into what went wrong.
Important Information regarding Air Southwest flights to/from Newquay Airport.
We have been advised that Newquay Airport will be closed from 1 December to 19 December 2008 inclusive. This is due to issues with the handover of air traffic control from the RAF to the airport authority.
English Heritage get one thing right at least
English heritage have joined with a variety of other organisations in opposing the planned incinerator in St. Dennis on grounds that they have failed to recognise or address the impact that the proposals will have on the wider landscape of St. Dennis.
MANX GOVERNMENT SUFFER WORST HUMILIATION BY THE UK IN LIVING MEMORY
The Isle of Man government and its Chief Minister have been shown to be inept and marginalised following comments from the United Kingdom Prime Minister and his Chancellor Alistair Darling over the past few weeks.
Population is older and lonelier
People living in Devon and Cornwall are generally older and lonelier than elsewhere in the UK, a BBC survey finds.
Grey majority rules in Cornwall
Cornwall has the highest proportion of retirement age residents in the UK, according to a BBC survey.
) discussion between, but I'll leave my halfpenny's worth in anyway!!