Monday, April 11, 2011

Beyond Marcel Duchamp...

Following on from my post yesterday, I had an idea…

with reference to the Tate Modern exhibition entitled the "finiteness of art"…

A cleaner at the Tate Modern apparently removed a pile of garbage that was part of the exhibition, thinking that it was actual rubbish and not realising that it was actually a part of the exhibition.

I suggest that the rubbish pile that is actually a part of the exhibition should be cleared daily.

This would heighten the meaning of the "finiteness of art" (which is the title of the exhibition)

It would also make the act of throwing out the rubbish daily a part of the exhibition, thus elevating it to an event as well as an exhibition, and strengthening the viewer's involvement in wondering what this daily throwing out of the rubbish could be about.

It would thus also raise contemporary art to new heights.

I have only one question…

Have we underestimated the intelligence of the cleaner, who " accidentally" mistook the pile of rubbish for what it actually is, a pile of rubbish?

3 comments:

nitpicks said...

Perhaps the cleaner has created the most profound work of art in the exhibit: Metzger Erased.

Mouli said...

Prof Seki!
I just chanced on your blog...and feel fortunate about it !!

I actually loved your 2009 blog on neurobiology of greed...I wanted to know if you are still working on it..I am from India, and in the past few years, if anyone was watching India in particular and a disgusting minority (of politicians, businessmen and also some ordinary citizens) they would would appaled at the greed levels that this country is having..Any research now on this area could be very useful...

I know that we cant find a vaccine to treat greed!

Mouli

S.Z. said...

Thanks for your comments.
Whether we like it or not, greed is a biological phenomenon and is likely to remain with us forever. It can be regulated by law but, as the examples from many countries show, only up to a point. It seems to manifest itself more prominently among politicians, perhaps because they have the power and can get away with it - until caught. I am not currently working on it, but the idea of having a vaccine against it is not so remote. Only problem is that it may interfere with a whole lot of other functions, and medical experience shows that biological systems are best not tampered with. So best to find other cures!