Thanks to Trudie, Shermie, Tracey, Sharon, Rose and Michel for tagging along
and making it a very interesting day out.
"I've forgotten the permanent markers." Karl grinned.
"Good..." Stuart sounded confident, albeit with a tinge of
relief. Their eye contact broken, Karl's gaze returned to the large canvas
upon which the words "I want candy" were emblazoned in pink, sprinkled
with glitter, across a hamburger. "Intriguing... I think I quite like
this one." The security guard breathed a sigh of relief. But it
seemed he kept one eyeball fixed upon the dishevelled collection of bags in the
corner. Karl considered revealing that they hadn't really brought any
water bombs, but then again, a bit of drama was always necessary for a day like
this to go off with a bang.
It
started on myspace with a simple bulletin inviting friends to an informal
viewing of "Epiphany", by Stuart Semple, on the last day of the
exhibition. "Bring permanent pens and water bombs :P" it
said. Note the smilie: signifying a tongue in cheek comment. Still,
this seemed to raise alarm bells at the camp de Martin Summers Fine Art.
Perhaps it was because Karl presents himself as an angry young playwright (ie:
runs his mouth off). Perhaps it was the scathing criticism he levelled at
another artist who brought their childhood abuse to the silver screen. Or
perhaps it was the invasion of the Tate that may well have instilled a sense of
dread into any gallery owner when Karl's name was mentioned? Well,
It was all a bit mad.
"So what are we gonna do today?" said Tracey.
"Have a look, then grab some pancakes." Karl was hungry.
"I brought a stink bomb!" piped up Michel.
The entourage came to an abrupt halt.
"What?"
"Well, you know, if itz shit, we'll make it, you know, er... really
stink!!"
Karl's reputation was at stake: "If there's any criticism to be made,
we'll do it with style. Get rid of it, will you?"
Michel sheepishly opened his bag, broke the capsule and poured the contents
down a drain in all of two seconds. Thirty seconds later, one hundred
metres down the road, Karl had to restrain the others from publicly executing
the Frenchman. "I didn't want it to get into the wrong 'ands!"
A man in a blue shirt down the road eyed them with a thorough analysis.
His cigarette was lit and timed to finish with their arrival. Karl
motioned towards the door.
"And you are?"
"... Karl... er... Karl's Imp.. Er... Alan Francois."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"(Shit) Er no, I didn't know-"
"Well I'm sorry, you have to book an appointment-"
"Oh I just spoke to Stuart today and-"
"Come right in."
Once inside, low fives were awarded for the impromptu blag. Get
in! LOL. Truth was that Karl had indeed spoken to Stuart, very
casually over the internet, and was expected.. but not actually booked...
We had a good look round, we were pleased. Stuart turned up, and
remained egg-free. A good day for all. Cue the Jerry Springer
commentary.
Can we call this "Pop Art"? These works are paintings, not
prints, not cut out bits of magazines stuck together, although it may appear so,
due to the accuracy of Stuart's hand. The gazillions of arty cd covers out
there may sway the casual onlooker from taking a second look but I took great
pleasure in finding a real meaning behind these images; my favourite remains
"I want candy" with its blatant comment on consumerism. The
collection was also fun on another level as they contained lyrics from popular
music: as I ransacked my knowledge, I spotted The Killers, Pixies, and
Frankie goes to Hollywood, which strangely enough, lyrics of which are being
used in Karl's current production: Madness
and your Civilisation! Forget about originality, it's more a case
of great minds thinking alike :P
Accessability:
I believe artists need to keep track of their work, how the public can relate to
it, for while something may look pretty, if it cannot invoke a sentient
response, it is useless. Of course the artist knows what their work means,
but showing it to anyone from their cloud above will only satisfy vanity.
The public aren't here for that. We want art that provokes, that
stimulates, that gives us something to talk about on a date :P which
brings me to the question: why are so many galleries shut after office
hours? Do they only want students and nannies to attend? Are they
afraid of youths? Museums and galleries are crammed on the Saturdays and
bank holidays thanks to this crazy tradition. What gives?
Ponder: buying a work of art for £20,000 about consumerism...
Ponder: works of art for the people, hanging over the mantelpiece in
someone's house.
Ponder: a destroyed work of art raises the artist's value?
The exhibition is over, unfortunately. Perhaps next time I'll get
invited to the preview and tell you all about it with time to spare. In
the meantime you can still view Stuart's work and try to guess those lyrics by
visiting:
http://www.ms-fineart.com
and
http://stuartsemple.com/
Ciao, I'm off to plot something evil. Remember, Be good to yourself, and each other. Good night.
Posted at 11:58 am by AlF
