It
makes my day
whenever I hear
about something that
gripes me and I find
out that it does the
same to others as
well.
You know how it is,
you take a position
on one thing or
another and you
start to believe you
are the only person
in the world who
sees things the way
you do.
Then something like
this happens to make
your day a little
brighter.
A cleaner at
London’s Tate
Britain modern art
gallery threw out a
bag of garbage which
formed part of an
artwork because it
was thought to be
trash, British
newspapers reported
Friday.
The transparent bag
of garbage — full
of newspaper,
cardboard and other
bits of paper —
formed part of a
work by German-born
artist Gustav
Metzger called
"Recreation Of First
Public Demonstration
Of Auto-Destructive
Art."
It was on display
next to a sheet of
nylon that had been
spattered with acid,
and a metal
sculpture on a table
when a cleaner
tossed it out with
the other trash.
A Tate spokesman
said the mistake was
made the day before
the exhibition
opened at the end of
June, and although
the bag was later
rescued, it had been
damaged and Metzger
had to replace it
with another one.
The newspapers said
the spokesman would
not reveal how much
the bag had cost to
replace.
"It’s now covered
over at night so it
can’t be removed,"
the spokesman told
the Times.
OK, so get the
picture? This sack
of ‘trash’ was
actually a piece of
art and the cleaning
people thought it
was trash and threw
it away when they
cleaned up the
place.
Poetic justice if
you ask me.
I just returned from
Germany and saw a
lot of things over
there I didn’t
consider art much
less pay big bucks
for them. I saw some
large pieces of
structural steel
that looked like
someone had dropped
them from a tall
building or an
airplane and they
just landed on the
ground….kind of like
pick-up-sticks.
Folks who looked
relatively
intelligent were
standing around and
really staring at
this in an attempt,
I suppose, to try
and discern what was
on the mind of the
artist when he
created this so
called work of art.
Me? I think this guy
had some old steel
beams out behind his
warehouse and
thought the park
would be a lovely
place to get rid of
them and pick up a
few Euros on the
side. Probably just
loaded them up in
his pickup truck,
drove out in the
middle of the night,
opened the tailgate
and drove off really
fast. He was all set
to deny any
knowledge of his
foul deed until
someone called the
news media and told
them about this
amazing piece of
community artwork.
The next day he was
probably back giving
a press conference
and explaining the
symbolism of his
creation.
“Yes, I call it
“Man’s awakening’
because it reflects
my vision as to how
early man felt when
he and Eve were
evicted from the
Garden of Eden.
Man’s world was
total chaos and his
angst and pain are
both clearly visible
in my sculpture.”
You know what I’m
talking about. We’ve
all seen paintings
and other works of
art which defy
interpretation and
understanding. They
look like someone
just stood in front
of a blank canvas
and threw paint
until it got too
dark for them to see
and they had to go
home. These efforts
are designed to
inspire us.
Now don’t get me
wrong, I don’t blame
the artist. Any
person who can make
some serious money
out of trash or just
throwing paint onto
a canvas or whatever
gets my vote. I
think it’s great. I
wish I could do it
and keep a straight
face. I know I’d
crack up trying to
explain the hidden
meaning behind
anything I might
produce. Laughing
while describing
your artwork is not
good for sales.
But I question the
mentality of anyone
who buys a piece
such as these and
can’t tell me what
its meaning is
supposed to be.
All of us can look
at cloud shapes and
tell which one is
the bunny or the
duckie, but when we
look at a million
dollar painting and
can’t tell if it’s a
dog or a truck, then
something is wrong.
Maybe I’m just not
cultured enough, who
knows?
