Art Has Left the Building

Me:  It hadda happen.  Artists do not like being criticised but they are determined to come up with something novel though the process is often prone to disparaging critiques.  So it is with this new movement which promotes invisible art. 

You:  Huh?  How can there be such a thing as invisible art?’  

Me:  You're not being negative, are you?  What’s wrong with invisible art?  There are lots of things that exist that we can’t see; radio waves for instance.

You:  Yes but we can hear them at least. 

Me:  True, I’ll give you that.  Look, so we both are on the same page let me show you some invisible art.

You:  Isn’t that something of a contradiction in terms?

Me:  I suppose it is so let me show you where invisible art is said to exist.  Take a look at this.

                                                      

                      

You:  They’re just framed canvas boards.

Me:  Yes but the paintings are invisible.

You: Merely because I can’t see a painting doesn’t make the painting invisible.  It could be no painting at all.  And doesn’t the act of painting mean the artist is painting something. We call a painting a painting because an act has taken place.   Someone has applied a brush, her finger or some implement to something else; an event has taken place.

Me: You’re not ready to accept something new.

You:  I’m only too happy to accept something new if you can show it to me.

Me:  Surely the artist knows if she has made a work of art and the artist insists this is her painting.

You:  How do you know the work is not a forgery or a copy of some other artist's invisible art work?

Me:  Surely the artist knows and we have to respect her word.

You:  Saying so does not make it so.  I think we are going to have to have something more than his/her insistence. This art is but a mere shadow full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.

Me: Cute. Jackie Wullschlager writing in the Financial Times found the exhibition of invisible art at the Hayward Gallery ‘bold, thought-provoking and timely’.

You:  Does that name belong to a real person?  I suspect someone is taking the piss.

Me:  You think so?  Well, I suppose he or she could be having us on but Richard Dorment writing it The Telegraph said this show was fascinating.  Lookee here at two critics admiring an invisible work.

                                               

You: Give me a break.  It’s called practicing wishful thinking.

Me:  I can see you’re a cynic.  Well the artist Maurizo Cattelan had an   invisible art work stolen from his car.

 You:  How could he tell it was gone? 

 

           Me:  He discovered it missing when he went to 

                   unpack his car.

           You:  My, my will wonders never cease?

           Me:  It was worth a lot of money he reported it to the police.

           You:  Perhaps it was taken by an invisible thief.

           Me:   The police didn’t think so, they wrote up a report on the

                     theft.  See, here it is.

                                                        

                                                    

You:  I take it they were the Emperor’s Police as he had purchased all this invisible art.  No doubt he fancied himself a collector.

Me:  Yes, well…laugh if you must but some people find invisible art very enlightening.

You:  I wish I could say I see your point.

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Launt Thompson 

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