Watch Your Step! Grit Warning At The National Gallery

// December 25th, 2010 // View Comments // Uncategorized

It’s the icy surfaces of London’s pavements that pedestrians are normally warned about. But this year it’s the grit that is making London’s art lovers watch their step…

It’s a cold winter this year. London is freezing, the streets are icy and the snow is falling fast. At least this year we have the gritters out in force. The problem is, the gritting salt used on our icy pavements could cause irreparable damage to works of art on display in London’s many galleries. Experts have warned that chloride salts used in de-icing road grit can lead to irreversible discoloration of Old Master paintings when brought into exhibition rooms on visitors’ shoes.

Thankfully, Westminster council have agreed to the use of alternative chloride-free grit, costing a whopping £50 a bag compared to the normal £5 grit. The new, fancy, non-art harming grit will be spread outside the National Gallery and in nearby streets from this week. Nevertheless, watch your step around London’s galleries this festive period…

Well that’s one problem solved this Christmas, now it’s just Christmas dinner with the in-laws to worry about!

E.U Turn The Lights Out On Flavin And Viola

// December 23rd, 2010 // View Comments // b-scene

At b-uncut, we have often raised the debate over what really constitutes art. It seems now even the tax man is getting in on the act…

The late artist Dan Flavin, famous for his installations lit by fluorescent tubes, has stirred up the debate over artistic merit with the most unlikely of sources…the tax man. A ruling by European Commission officials mean that pieces by the late American artist are liable for full VAT because they are simply no more than “lighting fittings”. The ruling means that any museum or gallery bringing his works into the country from outside the EU will have to pay a full VAT levy, due to rise to 20 per cent on Jan 1. This is bad news for art fans, as prices will have to rise to accommodate. That’s if the galleries decide it viable to show Flavin’s works at all. The E.U’s decision will also affect the works of Bill Viola, whose slow motion video pieces won plaudits when they were exhibited at the National Gallery in London.

The E.U.’S decision follows a legal battle by London’s Haunch of Venison art gallery, which was ordered to pay a £36,000 VAT bill by British tax authorities for importing components for pieces by both artists in 2006. As sculptures, the pieces would have only been subject to 5 per cent VAT. Quite a difference. In its ruling, the court said Flavin’s work has “the characteristics of lighting fittings … and is therefore to be classified … as wall lighting fittings”. Great insight and logic then.

It has to be said, the ruling of this case is absolutely ridiculous and is clearly the reasoning of people that don’t value or even like art. A view shared by Pierre Valentin, the lawyer who challenged the original customs ruling, “To suggest, for example, that a work by Dan Flavin is a work of art only when it is switched on, is comical. One is entitled to ask if the commission has made a judicious use of its powers when overruling these judicial decisions. The reasons given in the regulation in support of the classification are absurd, and the regulation conflicts with the jurisprudence of the European court of justice.”

It does, however, bring to the social consciousness the question of what constitutes art. It will be interesting to see how this ruling impacts upon other types of art. Are there any other areas for the tax man to exploit? Once the verdict sinks in, what will the public opinion be on this?

What do you think? In the face of this ruling, does Flavin’s work carry any less merit than the much derided works of Martin Creed or Tracey Emin?

Let us know what you think on this…

Sculpting In A Winter Wonderland

// December 21st, 2010 // View Comments // b-inspired

Warning: Adverse weather conditions – What to do when you’re snowed in this Winter…

Everyone has grown tired of the festive onslaught of the white stuff. The only snow fans left are small children that don’t drive and those looking for an excuse to stay off work. So what use can we find for the festive fluff, apart from a free day off or champagne cooler?  Aberdeen-based artist Uliana Maskymiuk has proved that the snow shouldn’t stop life as we know it.

She has created a rather cool 6ft by 4ft long polar bear, complete with two accompanying cubs, at her home in Bucksburn. This is the third year in  a row she has braved the cold and got snow sculpting, much to the delight of her, presumably off-work, neighbours. Ms. Maskymiuk, who has her own art and design business called ‘Ulianka Art’, said: “Working with snow is fantastic, although you have to wait for the right type of snow. If it is too cold it is impossible to use, you need it to be wet to be pliable. Unlike snow sculpting competitions where people use blocks of cut snow I have to use snowballs and work quickly to get the desired design. Sculpture isn’t my main discipline, painting is and that is why my business focuses on interior painting design, murals and commissions”.

Uliana’s polar bear got me thinking: What other weird and wonderful snow sculptures are out there? Here are a selection of the best I could find:

It’s good to see the festive spirit isn’t lost on some!

Art Censorship: Whose Right Is It Anyway?

// December 20th, 2010 // View Comments // b-loud

Art and freedom of speech have always been intrinsically linked. So who has the right to tell us what art we can or can’t see?

Art can be beautiful, thought provoking and sometimes, downright controversial. Politics and art are never too far apart, with art as important as literature in demonstrating creative insight into political issues. The same can be said of arts’ illustrated insight into socially relevant issues. Art is the social voice of the creative. Some might go too far in its expression for certain people, be this because it is indecent or because the views of those people are too narrow to accept a differing interpretation. With this in mind, who do you think, if anyone, has the right to censor what the public view? Is it the place of the government to protect the people from ‘harmful’ opinions and expression, or should they trust the people to be perceptive and individual?

In New York, around 500 protesters walked a stretch of the Museum Mile in Manhattan, on Sunday to demand that the Smithsonian restore the David Wojnarowicz video, “A Fire in My Belly,” to an exhibition on same-sex desire in Washington, D.C. They believe that the admission of the video was discriminatory to sexual minorities. “This is to send a very loud and clear message to the Smithsonian: Put the piece back now,” said Bill Dobbs of the direct action group Art+, organisers of the protest. “The yanking of the video sends a very chilling message, and it raises the larger issue of how cultural institutions deal with sexual minority people and culture.”

Wojnarowicz, who died in 1992, was considered extremely controversial whilst alive and it seems he has maintained the same notoriety in his death. Homophobic, or in the best interests of the people, the Smithsonian’s approach over the piece has clearly divided opinion. But who is to say what art we should or shouldn’t be allowed to see? The Smithsonian might well have acted in good faith over the Wojnarowicz piece, which isn’t always the case with the censorship of art, but with such a thin dividing line between what the majority of what people find acceptable and what is too explicit, who can we trust to decide what art is readily visible?

Is it acceptable to have sexually gratuitous art in the public domain, where young people might be able to view it? What even defines sexually gratuitous? The whole debate is a very carefully balanced issue and it is genuinely hard to find a happy medium. Where I do think some degree of control has to be exerted, it is imperative that the censorship of art isn’t a means of suppressing the minds and beliefs of a nation’s people. In such a diverse society, this will always prove a difficult subject.

The old adage is true, you can’t please everyone…

Please share your views on this contentious subject, what do you think?

Museum Of Bad Art, Yes Really

// December 17th, 2010 // View Comments // Uncategorized

Have you ever been to an gallery and wondered how certain pieces were there in the first place? M.O.B.A has decided that even the worst art deserves its chance to shine…

The Museum of Bad Art has been dedicated to showcasing bad art since 1994. Its mission statement is simple: to bring the worst of art to the widest of audiences. The M.O.B.A operates as a website and three galleries in the Boston area of the U.S. The M.O.B.A’s collection spans almost 500 pieces, with exhibitions of 50 to 70 at a time. The only museum in the World dedicated to bringing the worst art to the widest of audiences, M.O.B.A claim to feel morally compelled to explore new, more creative ways of bringing  bad art to a global audience.

Starting out in the private basement of a house, M.O.B.A secured the use of a Boston-area cultural institution, the Dedham Community Theatre. Their first permanent gallery is located outside the men’s room in the 1927 movie theatre. They have since added the Somerville Theater in Somerville, Massachusetts to their repertoire of galleries.

Since securing the use of a third gallery, M.O.B.A has started an email newsletter called MOBA News, made a virtual gallery available on CD-ROM, and published a book called ‘Museum of Bad Art: Art Too Bad To Be Ignored.’

Check out the website of the art collective that wants you to give bad art a chance…

Vandalism Or Art? Banksy Dividing Opinion

// December 16th, 2010 // View Comments // b-street

One of art’s most divisive genres, graffiti is a controversial topic. The question remains: Graffiti, art or vandalism?

Long before he was helping out Russian art activists and selling his prints for big money, Banksy was a street artist trying to make a name for himself. Tarnished with the negative perceptions of a graffiti artist, it took a while before people cottoned on to Banksy’s skill and biting, political, wit. In some areas local councils have actually told street cleansing teams to leave Banksy’s work up. In others, like London’s Westminster, they have asked for his work to be cleaned off.

When one of Banksy’s pieces in Southampton was given a fresh coat of gloss by the local council, the disappointment spread beyond the city’s artistic community. The local community were so disappointed that a local ad agency, LowRyders Advertising, have pledged to display a giant poster of the mural using bikes and a giant billboard. They also plan to open up the debate to the public and ask city centre shoppers and workers the question: “Banksy in Southampton: art or graffiti?”

Which leads to my question to you: Graffiti, art or vandalism?

Asking ‘art or graffiti’, the ad agency in Southampton seem to have already made their minds up. But do you see a difference between graffiti and vandalism for the sake of vandalism’s sake? Any street art can be classed as graffiti,both the less artistic and the kind that wouldn’t look out of place in a gallery. As with all art, some has more merit than others. Is it only good graffiti artists that deserve respect and acceptance as artists, like Banksy? Should councils leave pieces like those by Banksy on their streets?

Let us know your opinions on this, can graffiti ever be considered art?

Banksy Backs Viona: The Penis On The Drawbridge…

// December 14th, 2010 // View Comments // b-street

Art has always been seen as having political undertones, but there is no doubting the motivation behind Vionas street art….

The anarchic performance art group have been wreaking havoc around Russia with their very public displays of dissension aimed at, what they believe to be, corrupt policing. From public sex and staged gay hangings, recently they have been flipping police cars and even painted a giant penis onto a drawbridge in St Petersburg. The latest of these stunts coincided with the international St Petersburg Economic Forum, with the erected bridge facing the FSB security organisations headquarters. Eye catching publicity indeed.

All of this publicity has landed two members of the group in a St Petersburg jail, not a very nice place to be. Fear not though, British street artist Banksy has come to the aid of the controversial group. Banksy has offered all proceeds from the sale of a new run of 175 prints to the jailed duo and their group. “Each print is £450 but if it’s any consolation Banksy is donating all royalties to the Voina artist co-operative in Russia, two of whom are currently residing in a St Petersburg jail,” reads a statement on picturesonwalls, where registered users were randomly drawn to buy the prints.

A step too far or utterly justified, the nature of Vionas art is sure to shock and divide opinion in equal measure. If faced with similar corrupt conditions, it would be hard to argue against the tactics Viona have became famous for. One thing is for sure, painting a giant penis on a drawbridge opposite a government building is a sure way to court publicity!

What do you think of Vionas art? Too far or fair enough?

Future Generation Art Winner Announced

// December 13th, 2010 // View Comments // b-scene

Christmas Tree, Oh…..Tree

// December 10th, 2010 // View Comments // Uncategorized

Would you like a top artist to decorate your Christmas tree this year?

Every year Tate Britain invites a prominent artist to do just that. This year it was the turn of Giorgio Sadotti. The Manchester born artist called his festive endeavour ‘Flower Snake’.

You’re probably wondering how it looks. That’s the really interesting bit. The giant Norwegian Spruce is totally naked apart from a coiled bullwhip and a circle of silver postcards around its base.  The whip will be used during a ceremony on Twelfth Night when the spirit of Christmas will be driven out of the London gallery.

Did Giorgio misplace his baubles you wonder? Did he run out of tinsel decorating his own tree?

Apparently not:

“For me, the challenge was to present a tree that was naturally effortless,” Sadotti said. ”A tree that managed to maintain its dignity and timeless grace. A tree that remained sublime. A tree that was familiar but strange, like all trees but like no other. A tree that had potential to become another. A tree that talked. A tree as a tree as art.”

He certainly kept me guessing.

Reading further into it, part of the mystery may be easily accounted for. Giorgio admitted his bare tree may have been “a weird kind of reaction” to his previous job, wait for it,  as a professional corporate Christmas tree decorator in New York!

“We used to come in with our kit and decorations and do the tree, and at the end of the day everyone in the offices would come down and stand in a circle around the tree and applaud our magnificent effort,” he said.

I bet he wasn’t short of a bauble or some tinsel back then……

What do you think? Festive or a bit bah humbug?

The Art of Scent: Sweet Smell of Indulgence?

// December 9th, 2010 // View Comments // b-inspired

How does the average person view the art world these days?

Recently I wrote a piece about The Turner Prize and how the prominence of pieces like Susan Philipsz’s ‘Lowlands Away’ and Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ may be diluting the general public’s view of art. Art has moved on from the traditional paintings and sculptures of yesteryear. That isn’t a bad thing. As good as Van Gogh and Gauguin were, progression is a positive step in any creative field. Newer genres like graffiti and light art are a great way of getting a modern form of expression across.

But how far can we go?

New York’s Museum of Arts and Design announced today that it will launch the Center of Olfactory Art, marking the first time an art museum will dedicate a department to the art of scent.

The art of scent? That is definitely a new one to me! Is this a step too far though?

The art of scent is an interesting concept, it is using one of our senses after all. But surely going to a gallery and having a sniff is stretching the limits of what art really is?

What does everyone think about this? Am I being a snob? Is my Chanel Allure Sport blocking the sensors to my brain or do I have it spot on?

The curator at Olfactory Chandler Burr described the centre like this: “Olfactory art speaks to the sense of smell just as visual art speaks to the sense of sight, and visitors will experience works at the Museum by smelling them. The Center will present a range of interactive programs that will explore the groundbreaking innovations of scent artists today and the artistry and craftsmanship inherent in the creation of olfactory art.”

One thing is for sure, you won’t be able to email a copy of a great piece of scent art to your friends.