Public art is not immune

Seems it not just in cyberland that art is a little misunderstood, covered in grafiti spray, stolen and melted down (This allegedly happened to a Henry Moore sculpture) focus of public scorn or removed on health and safety grounds

The Art Fund, in London, recently hosted a debate entitled "Can The Public Be Trusted to Choose Public Art?"

Will true art become another causality of the cliches of fear an uncertainty that some call the global financial crisis? I hope not. I hope that artist make art despite what others tell them to do. But more importantly I hope that they can sell their art and not have it stolen, defaced, or degraded my indiscriminate exploitation.

L'art pour l'art

"L'art pour l'art" translates roughly into art for art sake (same name as the 10cc song) is the true bohemian anthem, art is valuable and worthwhile because it is art, political correctness, moral correctness, functional and value for money are just sentimental concepts that can obscure the truth in art. Why then are the interwebz so filled with crosslinkings, embeddings, mash-ups and RT (retweets) ...is this copycatting just straight theft disguised as homage ... do people have so little to occupy their minds that they have run out of originality after just 400ish characters (approximately three tweets)... surely with our ability to share over the net we should see creativity blossoming ... but has originality and beauty been stuck back with things hand drawn ... I for one hope not ....i just don't know how to tackle the great blandness and formalized sameness (me-too-ism) spreading through the social media sites ... worse is the blatant copying, or plagiarism ... or as I am coming to believe just simple theft!

garden is a metaphor

I have been told that the garden is a metaphor for life ... many times ... I never understsood what was the point ... but this humble leaf stopped me in my tracks ... made me rethink ... reminded me I could so easily whither (and die) ... damn that is a metaphor I don't want to know about ... roll on spring and the new growth ... the rejuvination

macabre message?

I'm still under the weather and struggling to get the art stuff happening today was a lovely day ...i wanted to draw beautiful and exotic fruit and flowers ... ok I tried but the looked like crap ... then the fullness of the apples turned into sculls .. the macabre stuff looked way more beautiful ...i trust I am no turning into an Edgar Alan Poe

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

ear ear

The theory that Gaugain was the one that actually cutoff Van Gogh's Ear is quite believable. Gaugain was skilled at fencing and the pair were quarreling a lot and had basically fallen out at the time of the incident. However there does seem a lot of sensationalism, for example, the speculation that they were fighting over a prostitute, would they really make a secret pact to keep the incident quiet, how secret can you keep it when you give your ear away? And wrapped up like a gift? How many destitute artists carried swords at night in 1888? the other medical issues poor Vincent suffered. All a bit too conspiracy theory-ish for me in the end.

"Near the brothel, about 300 metres from the Yellow House, there was a final encounter between them: Vincent might have attacked him, Gauguin wanted to defend himself and to get rid of this 'madman'. He drew his weapon, made some movement in the direction of Vincent and by that cut off his left ear." Kaufmann said it was not clear if it was an accident or an aimed hit.