I really can't draw to save my life, which may be the reason why arty, artsy things have been fascinating me of late. And when I do draw things (usually the same thing) and feel like I've got it right, my first instinct is to keep the evidence, or at least know where it's gone if I give it away- like on someone's good-luck card or some such thing. Which may be why I find the idea of Adam Neate's art so odd- the idea of an artist actually just leaving his finished paintings around the city for people to find and keep, is a distinctly strange, yet appealing one to me. Graffiti art is something I quite like, and also something he's done, but the randomness of never knowing where a bit of your work- pretty good, even great work too, if you ask me- went, would drive me nuts. And it takes courage to do it. Though I do think the idea of the Art of the State experiment in which one of his paintings was taken and photographed in assorted places in London (third pic, go look at the rest) was immensely cool.There are just too many possible reactions to art (as also to the question: what is art? I've always believed clothing has the potential to be an art form), and given the sheer variety of the things we look for out of it, there's never going to be an easy way for me to write the artsy posts, or to assume that people will agree with me. In any case, that isn't what public spaces- walls, streets, and now the Internet to an extent- are for, anyway.
4 comments:
Do you like Banksy's stuff?
I do like Banksy's stuff. Love it, in fact.
Come to think of it, who wouldn't love a completely anonymous graffiti artist who managed painting on a wall between Israel and Palestine? There's a shade of the supergero in that secret identity.
My roommate in London collected Neate's stuff. He was averaging somewhere around 20 pieces in 2003. I wonder what his collection count is up to now. . .
Wow...your roommate must have had quite a talent for finding them.
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