The Emperor's New Clothes?

[stlukesguild]

Italian Artist Sells Invisible Sculpture

 

[snoball]

Wow! I wonder how much I can get for my invisible masterpiece!

 

[E.J.H.]

To be honest, I am not that surprised, in the light of what is being pulled in the art world by some people....
And Sno I would also not be surprised if he would then sue you for copyright violation...

 

[Desforges]

I would write a cheque with a vanishing ink pen. Within an hour the writing disappears.

 

[Artyczar]

Well I love it....I just wonder if the artist believes the whole concept or if he is pulling one over on people on purpose. Meaning, does he believe his own bullshit? It is obviously not bullshit to the person that paid for it. They are buying the concept. I just wonder if the artist is doing it to make fun of the art world or if he believes the space is truly a vacuum with energy and actual particle weight (which it would be impossible to have any more weight than the air outside of the space it supposedly takes up, duh.

Does anyone remember that artist (many years ago) that won a prize (a Tate prize maybe?) for an empty white room that had a motion light in it that went on when you walked into it? That's what this reminds me of.

Is this better than the banana? At least it won't rot or stink.

 

[E.J.H.]

Funny, the banana also popped up in my mind. I don't think it's better or worse than that "artwork", in my opinion they are on the same level.

 

[Bongo]

Just read someone broke in and stole the sculpture. Unsure if insurance will cover the loss.

 

[stlukesguild]

Just read someone broke in and stole the sculpture. Unsure if insurance will cover the loss.

 

[snoball]

"
The work comes with instructions that it be placed in a private house within a space free from any obstruction and at 150 by 150 centimeters in size.


This is not Garau’s first immaterial work as he recently displayed his sculpture, ‘Buddha in Contemplation’, in the Piazza della Scala in Milan.


An accompanying Instagram post shows a seemingly vacant squared-off area of the piazza with scrolling text that reads, “You do not see it but it exists; it is made of air and spirit… It is a work that asks you to activate the power of imagination.”

 

[Iain]

Well I love it....I just wonder if the artist believes the whole concept or if he is pulling one over on people on purpose. Meaning, does he believe his own bullshit? It is obviously not bullshit to the person that paid for it. They are buying the concept. I just wonder if the artist is doing it to make fun of the art world or if he believes the space is truly a vacuum with energy and actual particle weight (which it would be impossible to have any more weight than the air outside of the space it supposedly takes up, duh.

Does anyone remember that artist (many years ago) that won a prize (a Tate prize maybe?) for an empty white room that had a motion light in it that went on when you walked into it? That's what this reminds me of.

Is this better than the banana? At least it won't rot or stink.

That would be Martin Creed, I believe. He won the Turner Prize for the lights switching off and on. Or, on and off. Not sure. I am not an expert.

 

[Iain]

Edit. Scratch that last sentence.

 

[Iain]

I have heard it said that an artist's greatest works are the ones they never wrote, didn't paint, or perform. This fellow may have got beyond that...lack of satisfaction and created something beyond question. I love the title, "I am."

In the immortal words of Gloria Gaynor...

I am what I am
I don't want praise, I don't want pity
I bang my own drum
Some think it's noise, I think it's pretty…

 

[musket]

Carol O'Connell anticipated this in her 1996 novel Killing Critics, which is in part a send up of the NYC fine arts world (she has what she calls "a useless degree in fine art" from the University of Arizona, preceded by a spell at Chouinard). The hot artist du jour, who has been murdered at a gallery, has a posthumous second showing arranged by his agent, in which the patrons at the same gallery purchase little red tickets on the walls in return for a description of the artist's idea for that particular ticket. No actual art, just the concepts. The show doesn't ring up huge sales, but some patrons do fall for it.

 

[E.J.H.]

So this particular concept isn't even original.

 

[stlukesguild]

So this particular concept isn't even original.

Of course not. The concepts of most works of Conceptual Art are rather banal.

 

[musket]

"Alright. Dean's idea for ticket number twenty two. Let's see."He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket. "Oh, yes. His idea for number twenty-two is a broad steel beam that goes half a mile straight up in the air."

Mallory seemed skeptical. "What for?"

"To make you uncomfortable. You can't see the base support, it just stands there while you wait for it to fall down. It's meant to be threatening. Not his most original theme though. He's building on the work of a sculptor who once wrecked the side of a government building when the plaza sculpture fell down."

"A half mile beam. That's a rather ambitious project," said Charles, playing the good sport. "How are you planning to fund it? With drawings--like Christo?"

"Oh, no. Dean never intended to create the pieces. He just thought of them."

Mallory tilted her head to one side, and Charles wondered if she was listening for the audible snap of her mind, which could only be moments away.

"Well, of course. He just thought of them,"

Koozeman missed her sarcasm, as he took her hand and kissed it. "You do understand. I sell the artist's thoughts, his intentions. Very pure, isn't it?"

~Killing Critics

Koozeman was fortunate to have caught Mallory in an almost vanishingly rare unguarded moment. Her limited emotional range doesn't include sentiment. Her usual impulse towards any male taking such a liberty, no matter how gallant, would be to shoot him.

O'Connell really hates those plaza sculptures and the art power brokers on the Public Works Commission who inflict them on the public.

These days it isn't all that rare to come across similar skewerings of the contemporary fine arts business, but twenty-five years ago they weren't common in fiction of any kind. This is only one such skewering. My favorite of them all may be how the type of wine you choose at a gallery opening defines your personality. But the ultimate in conceptual art isn't just an idea, and it is not for the faint of heart.

 

[E.J.H.]

Well, to be fair, my own best work is entirely imaginary. I never realized I could monetize those non existent paintings.....

 

[musket]

Probably true of most artists; we can only imagine our best work and must settle for the closest approximation outside our heads. I would love to be able to sell my ideas, so much easier than creating and selling tangible art.

The amazing thing is that somebody was willing to buy nothing but a silly rap. And for pretty large money at that.

 

[16ga]

See. I'm not really falling behind with my paintings this year. I’m just making invisible ones.

 

[Iain]

Well prove it then and post them! Let us see those invisible paintings.