http://www.thisismarvelous.com/i/4-Amazing-Shadow-Sculptures-by-Tim-Noble-and-Sue-Webster
I thought this was really cool how they made shadow figures pretty much out of trash. So I wanted to share it with you all and see what you guys thought about it. Do you all think it is art?
These are awesome!! This is certainly art. I feel that this is the direction much of modern art is taking. Gone are the redi-mades and simple abstract impressionism, instead there is a new-found desire for obvious labor behind work. Novelty has become another virtue that modern artists value. If you can surprise the viewer, as these works very effectively do, art is considered better and more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteIan I really like the point you have made about novelty. I ran across the shadow figures today on Facebook and found them very striking, but I noticed two distinct components to the pieces. The first was the wonderful illusion and technique of producing the shadows themselves, the 'novelty' bit. That I was really blown away by. I had never seen that concept used on this scale before. Then I saw what I think is the second part of the pieces which is the message that the artist is trying to convey. This is where I think the pieces fell flat. Why was not the technical achievement of producing the shadows enough, why must the art have some sort of message to convey? It could have been made out of any materials, why choose to use edgy, thought-provoking, taxidermied materials? Perhaps I am too mechanical in my thinking. Perhaps in my defense this is decadent self-expression overshadowing a truly remarkable technique and illusion.
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