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The real art is feigning sophistication

March 26, 2013 by Dave Knadler

What is art? That was the theme of Sunday’s New York Times crossword, which I finished in (for me) average time. It was titled “You’ll Know It When You See It.” I kept wondering if the creator had been inspired by Tilda Swinton.

Swinton, you’ve probably heard, has since Saturday been periodically napping in a glass box at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Of all the stories appearing in the Times over the past week, I don’t think many have gotten the same kind of public response. People may not know exactly what art is, but they damned sure know what it isn’t.

Me, I’ve seen a lot of weird things at MOMA, and the Guggenheim, and I just shrug at this kind of thing. I’m quite the sophisticate. I’m not one of those guys who looks at an abstract painting and says, “my kid could do that” — even if I’ve thought it more than once. My theory on art is this: If it evokes a feeling of some sort, even disgust, then you can call it art if you want to. Ditto if it’s a famous actress who is likely to draw crowds doing something everybody on the planet can do.

I do think the glass box should have holes in it so spectators could occasionally prod her with sticks. A fake-sleeping Swinton is one thing; a genuinely pissed-off one would be worth the price of admission.

More along these lines:

  • The joke wears thin
  • trump and billy bush on the pussy tapeeJudgment Day
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  • Grocery shoppers with masksUnmasked annoyance
  • missoula beggarsWhen beggars are choosers
  • february quiz artFamously February

Filed Under: american life, Media

About Dave Knadler

Obscure writer. Lazy photographer. Bashful guitarist. Perhaps too fond of wine. Tireless nemesis of New York Times crosswords.

Comments

  1. John H. says

    March 26, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    I don’t have an opinion about whether this particular piece is good or bad (does it even matter?), but I appreciate anything that makes people think and talk about art. That’s why I love Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, which is a shark in a tank of formaldehyde.

    I got a chuckle from your idea for a more interactive version of the Swinton piece.

    • Dave Knadler says

      March 26, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      The shark thing is art, most definitely! I’d never heard of it. Shows you how sophisticated I am.

  2. Stock says

    March 26, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    I loved the punch line.

    • Dave Knadler says

      March 26, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      Well, I laughed when I thought of it.

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