Just back from the Damien Hirst Exhibition at Tate Modern. Very interesting. I'm no art-buff, but have arty daughters so I'm giving it a go, this weeks been quite an arty week.
Thus far I've seen a Rubens hanging in the Cathedral of Arras (France), the Hirst this morning and this aftenoon I stood in line for the Hockney 'Bigger Picture'.
It's all been interesting and it all needs some sort of context to be fully appreciated. Art should create interest, a reaction (+/-ve) it should make you look at something in a different way. Hirst does that, there were a lot of wide-eyed people walking through the halls. Yes, some of it is overated or overdone, but some of it just draws your interest, it fascinates. Hirst might be the cocky commercial, sensationalist rock n roll enfent terrible of the art-world, but he seemed to be making a lot of people happy today. I enjoyed it.
Then to Hockney, probably the first artist I ever appreciated and this was the first opportunity I've had to see some of his work up-close and personal and I wasn't dissapointed. In some ways like Hirst, Hockney ploughs his own particular furrow and also pushes the boundaries of artistic technique and ways of looking at things. Simply fabulous, a man in love with his soroundings.
And what of Rubens? Not a clue frankly, but the detail, the shimmer of light from the clothes were beautiful enough, I'm sure there's a back story which will fill the context and improve ones appreciation and understanding. Google is my friend.
Now I'm not saying that all art even in context is great, I've seen some real guff (to me at least) at the Guggenheim Bilbao over the years, however sometimes context makes the difference - having heard Tracy Emin talk about her work, then even 'Unmade bed' makes sense and can be appreciated. Art is often easy to dismiss and hard to comprehend, but sometimes it's worth it .... On balance I thought Hirst was worth a few hours of my time, interestingly concieved and beautifully executed. Whether it's worth millions is somebody elses problem ....
Funnily enough, this was in yesterdays grauniad:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/06/damien-hirst-artist-we-deserve