A sweep through culture and controversy, Some things to think about
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What is Art ?
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What do artists do ?
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What artists do you like ?, why ?
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Has the nature of what constitutes Art changed in past 50 years
- Is a modern art installation as ‘artistic’ as , say, the ‘Mona Lisa’ – who decides ?
- In times of financial restraint should we still be spending money on public art ?
These links will take you across a wide range of tastes and themes. Explore the sites carefully. Look at the images, , do they provoke an emotion, what did the artist want the viewer to think when he/she created these pieces.
Papal on Pink
Is this art ? Does it offend/amuse. What is the artist’s purpose in creating this ?
Constable
Is this different to the works above , Why ?. Is it more artistic ? or just different ?
Banksy
A “Guerrilla” artist. His work , even though he does not describe himself as an artist, is designed to provoke. Look for the ‘indoor’ vandalised oil paintings
Warning some images on this site may offend
Antony Gormley
Despite their unremitting modern style Gormley’s works are highly regarded even by those who would not normaly consider themselves to be art lovers- why should this be ?
The Unilever Series 2010: Ai Weiwei
The Unilever series of commissions at Tate Modern have been some of the more controversial large scale pieces of art of modern times. The current piece – Sunflower Seeds 2010 – consists of 100 million, hand made porcelain sunflower seeds. Is this art and does it fulfil its desire to: … look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today.
Turner Prize
This is one of the most prestigious prizes in the art world. The artists and their works always provoke controversy about the nature of art.
Create you own Art
Yes, I know, you are far too old and sophisticated for this, but have a go… You know you want to
Go Out
Compton Verney
A famous local gallery
You should try to visit this (or another local gallery) Look around, which pieces do you like/ what pieces are popular ?
Watch the Box/
BBC2 The Culture Show: Contemporary Art Special
‘Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry presents from the Frieze Art Fair – now one of the most influential contemporary art fairs. He explores the highlights of the show and some of the specially commissioned artworks based on game shows, mobile phone shops and archaeological digs. (This should still be on iplayer)
…and finally . Is this art ?
