Is this art?

[trekkiedane]

I stumbled upon this display the other day -right in the middle of the newest part of the pedestrian zone (the one where you may ride your bike as well -obviously):

Sure, it might provoke a smile from passers-by, but is it art?

How are things where you live? -do you also have 'installations' like this around town? -please share photos!

 

[Finngle Bells]

Yes, it's art. It's not my style. But it's art.

 

[Amaris]

Sure it's art. As for art installations, no, my little town doesn't have anything like that.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I generally have a rule when it comes to art. If I can make it, then it isn't art. I am thinking I can make whatever that thing is.

 

[Jadzia]

Is it art?

It's art to whoever appreciates it.

But in a more objective sense, (i) art is something rare or unusual for it's time and place, (ii) that is beyond the skills of the vast majority of the audience, (iii) that audience members would like to be able to emulate.

How are things where you live? -do you also have 'installations' like this around town?

Thankfully not.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

That is not art. Those are bath duckies, placed on cardboard boxes. And no, I thank God that there are no such things around Newport.

 

[Shazam!]

It's fucking useless, therefore it's art.

 

[Niorah]

Well, according to me it's not art. But who am I to say?

In any case, it would probably elicit more of a than a smile, from me. I think it's a waste of space and resources.

I live in London, so I am sure that there must be "art" installations more or less everywhere, but I rarely see them.

 

[M'Sharak]

I stumbled upon this display the other day -right in the middle of the newest part of the pedestrian zone (the one where you may ride your bike as well -obviously):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b44/trekkiedane/Images/Art/nderiggaden.jpg​

Sure, it might provoke a smile from passers-by, but is it art?

This is minimalist, not very imaginative and not at all innovative, but from its presentation it seems clear that it was intended as art. Doesn't do a lot for me, but then again, most things presented as art don't do a lot for me.

How are things where you live? -do you also have 'installations' like this around town? -please share photos!

The town where I live is pretty dull, art-wise, but I have seen art installations of various kinds in other places I've lived. I have no pictures, unfortunately, but one of the better examples of public art exhibit that I can remember was when the terra cotta figures from Xian were displayed in the (then-)International Terminal at SFO - at the time one of the first showings of the figures outside China.

 

[RobertVA]

Is this a single site work or something that's duplicated in front of sponsoring businesses with differnt color fowl and different "ponds/fountains" for the birds to swim in?

In my area one city has mermaids and a neighboring city has dolphins. Contributing artists start with a standard white fiberglass form and get "creative" with their choice of paint, applicas and the occasional accessory (like propellers and airplane wings). A military aviation museum has a dolphin modified to resemble an old Navy fighter plane (the markings resemble one of their exhibits).

 

[Gov Kodos]

It's a bike via-duck, how nice.

 

[M'Sharak]

Is this a single site work or something that's duplicated in front of sponsoring businesses with differnt color fowl and different "ponds/fountains" for the birds to swim in?

In my area one city has mermaids and a neighboring city has dolphins. Contributing artists start with a standard white fiberglass form and get "creative" with their choice of paint, applicas and the occasional accessory (like propellers and airplane wings). A military aviation museum has a dolphin modified to resemble an old Navy fighter plane (the markings resemble one of their exhibits).

I've seen similar projects using fiberglass cows or fiberglass sharks - some results were interesting or at least whimsical.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

We have lots of art installations and I'm very fond of them. They brighten up the dailyness of life with something new.

 

[Miss Chicken]

In Hobart, among other things. we have the Art Sculpture Trail. This is a series of nine installations spread though out a Hobart suburb. The sculptures are all of numbers that are relevant to Tasmanian history.

Here are examples of a couple of the installations

313 is the number of ships that were built at the Battery Point slipways between 1825-1872. I was lucky that the cormorant decided to use the sculpture as a perch on the day I took the photo.

This is located next to the judges' box at the winning line for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The 628 represents the number of nautical miles from the start to end of the race.

 

[trekkiedane]

^Those are actually pretty cool

Reminds me a bit of a great number of sculptures around town here: all inspired by H. C. Andersen stories.


Here's the thing:

The artists Gitte Skovmand and Eva Holm have filled the new pedestrian AND bicyclist-area of downtown Odense with red, yellow and green ducks and 'friendly policemen' in an attempt to use humour to make pedestrians and bicyclists aware of each other in this new "pedestrian" area. (The installations are purely temporary)

The inspiration is said to come from a classic tourism-poster from 1957:

 

[Surfin' Santa]

It's a bike via-duck, how nice.

Okay, why a duck?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

In Hobart, among other things. we have the Art Sculpture Trail. This is a series of nine installations spread though out a Hobart suburb. The sculptures are all of numbers that are relevant to Tasmanian history.

Here are examples of a couple of the installations

313 is the number of ships that were built at the Battery Point slipways between 1825-1872. I was lucky that the cormorant decided to use the sculpture as a perch on the day I took the photo.

This is located next to the judges' box at the winning line for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The 628 represents the number of nautical miles from the start to end of the race.

I never heard of this and I am going to look it up. It is FANTASTIC.

 

[Gov Kodos]

It's a bike via-duck, how nice.

Okay, why a duck?

Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You better beat it

 

[Miss Chicken]

In Hobart, among other things. we have the Art Sculpture Trail. This is a series of nine installations spread though out a Hobart suburb. The sculptures are all of numbers that are relevant to Tasmanian history.

Here are examples of a couple of the installations

313 is the number of ships that were built at the Battery Point slipways between 1825-1872. I was lucky that the cormorant decided to use the sculpture as a perch on the day I took the photo.

This is located next to the judges' box at the winning line for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The 628 represents the number of nautical miles from the start to end of the race.

I never heard of this and I am going to look it up. It is FANTASTIC.

They were only installed last November and sadly two of them had been damaged within three weeks. With number 24 it looks like a small child has taken a hard, sharp stone and badly scratched the surface.

With number 1923 I know for a sure who and when it was damaged.

I took this photo on 26 Nov 2010 at 2.31pm.

and this is the road-worker who only moments before has back his truck into it.

He was trying to push it back into shape when we came across him . When we did the walk again earlier this year neither sculpture had been fixed. However the plants growing within the wire of 1923 might push it back into shape.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I guess it is 'art'. Really, really, REALLY BAD art, to be sure. But 'art'.

I do think, however, that people need to have more sense when it comes to this sort of thing on display. I mean, I know that everyone has different tastes, etc. But surely NO ONE can possibly think this is so frakkin' brilliant that the world would be a lesser place if it were not on display for all to adore.

I think art on display should mean something. Meet some kind of baseline standard. Granted, it needs to be a fairly low baseline, to accommodate taste. But this is well below any baseline I would set. Better to have more seating, or something useful to people taking up the space. This is the kind of 'art' that is only of interest to the person who made it. Everyone else will probably think it's one of some varying degree of crap.