Wednesday 6 July 2011

The Eyes of the Beholder

Wheat Field with Rising Sun, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889
Van Gogh
Creates his inner vision
As colours twist like cotton yarn
On waiting canvas.

Yet I ask the question,
If untitled
Would I see a field of wheat? 
And if not,
Would there be cries of Philistine
Or acceptance of my point of view?

Are piles of bricks
And unmade beds
And pickled sheep
Art?
Or merely pickled sheep
And unmade beds
And piles of bricks?

And do we like sheep
Follow the art worlds
Pretentious few,
Who (with inflated egos
View us - the great unwashed
With deep disdain)
Decide and define
Contemporary art?

And in doing so
Elevate the status
Of the mediocre,
The untalented
To that of undeserving 'masters;'
While the gifted
Gather dust
As some old masterpiece
Lost in time in
Forgotten garrets?

Anna :o]

With thanks to Tess at Magpie Tales for the inspiration.

13 comments:

Frances Garrood said...

I love it! One of mmy nieces, who is emphatically not an artist, painted "pictures" to fund her posh wedding, sold them on eBay, and made a lot of money. I've even thought of it (briefly) myself. It has to pay better than writing!

Lane Savant said...

Like sheep to a mediocre slaughter.
Who today will be worth millions post-mortem?

Helena said...

The beauty of art in it's many interpretations, some not even worth the title, others paling in attics. A thought-provoking piece!

Amanda said...

Masterful and irreverent. Well done Anna!

kelvin s.m. said...

…definitely, art is everywhere... it just a matter of how one sees and feels it...

look around
feel the ground
close thine eyes
hear those cries
open thy hands
catch the rain
bare thy shoulder
the sun will shine
now tell me,
tell me…
did thou not feel
the art in thee?

~Kelvin

Isabel Doyle said...

money does not equal art - but over time, when the money fades, the true art still speaks to us

Anonymous said...

This is sadly true, wonderful thought-provoking piece

Friko said...

Art is supposed to make us look, think and talk about what we've seen.
The pickled sheep et al certainly made us do that.

The impressionists were not accepted in their own time.

(I am neither art critic nor at all knowledgeable, just contrary)

Henry Clemmons said...

Just tell us how u feel :) Loved it. Attituded with bold strokes and something to say. Great voice.

Tess Kincaid said...

I love the notion of pickled sheep. Well done.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your kind comments folks and apologies for the delay in responding - big blogger issues and pressing matters elsewhere.

Art and its appreciation is a very personal thing and (I beleive) a true artist is often touched with genius.

I am afraid that I just cannot see art in an unmade bed, a pickled sheep or indeed a used condom!

My bed upstairs is unmade (lazy me!)- but it is not art - it is just an unmade bed.

Friko ~ agree the above mentioned have made me look, talk and think - but I do not think they are art. I think they are what they are.

Windowlad ~ I agree that there is natural art all around us - but the 'ishoo' here is mankinds skill to portray his art, his vision, on canvas, as sculpture, etc. It takes great talent and sometimes genius is apparent.

...........

If I played the piano badly - I would just be playing it badly. The ability to play, even if badly, does not make me a musician or a composer.

Some, certainly not all, contemporary artists are purely (very clever in their own way) conmen (and women) who have sucked in the prententious few who lord over the art world.

It makes me want to weep that the true artist has been sidelined as even the world of art succumbs to 'dumbing down'.

I shall now attempt to visit the many unread Magpies - but don't know whether I will be able to leave a comment - I have had to post this to myself via the excellent Bad Medicine blog.

Fingers crossed it is published!

Anna :o]

Manzanita said...

Anna, you got that nail right on the head.

Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

Anonymous said...

Thanks Manzanti.

Anna :o]

PS Blogger issues remain - can't sign in unless through an elaborate backdoor method - and even the, well, hopefully this will publish!