Lord Noel Believes There's No 'F' In 'ART'

What ho! Art lovers.........

 I went into the City the other day.............

.....and I was struck by the amount of graffiti there was scrawled about the place..........

I suppose one's initial reaction is usually .............
"How can this be allowed to happen?"..............
........ and "What are the Police doing about it?".........


But some of it was actually rather good...............
......and the closer I looked........
....the better some of it became...............


Of course............
....it's not to everyone's taste.
You may find that this enigmatic face.......
....does nothing for you whatsoever........

......you may find it cold........

....and expressionless........

......but......

.....at least it has eyebrows!

Or it may cause you to ask the question:

"What actually is ART?"

Is it an accurate representation of something that we can all 'see' and 'appreciate'?

....and if the answer is "Yes"...........

....doesn't the invention of the camera.........

........ make all other forms of 'Art' rather obsolete?

And if that's the case...........

....what about the images from the mind?

The style known collectively as 'Abstract Art'?

Are we to dismiss (for example) the entire Surrealist work of Salvador Dali because of it's apparent 'inaccuracies'?

....or the 'Comic book' art that we enjoyed so much during our youth?

....filled with fantasy images that have no resemblance to everyday reality..........

.......Or the poster 'Art' that is used to advertise......

.... every imaginable 'product' that sellers want you to buy from them?

After all.........

......aren't all their advertising hoardings designed to try to appeal to your subconscious?.................
.....in the way that Dali's work seems to recall those dreamlike states that so many people relate to........

And is one type of 'Art' more 'valid' than any other type of 'Art'?
For example....... these graffiti images were all scrawled on a wall in a public place near to where I'd parked my car..........
Right next to the large advertisement boards that cost thousands of pounds as part of some 'strategic campaign'.........
Does the fact that I paid nothing to see them mean that they don't qualify as 'Art'?
Do we have to actually 'own' something for it to be classified as 'Art'?


Most people recognise 'Art' as something done with a paint ..........
.....in which case ...........
.........by that criteria........
.......this is ALL definitely 'Art'............


Some people say that this is not true 'Art'..........
...they say it's "garbage"........
...."pollution"......
...."something that should be eradicated"........
After all.........
....would you like it scrawled all over the front of YOUR house?
They may believe that true 'Art' can only be achieved over years........
.....with countless hours being spent honing the skills required to demonstrate the artisans undoubted skills to make accurate representations of what was seen...........
.......so that everything appears 'perfect'.......
(whatever 'perfect' is)........


Some people take 'Art' very seriously............
......Millions of pounds are at stake for Art investors.........
....who queue up for a piece of 'history' in the making........
hoping that their 'investment' will 'come right' in the end......
So in the end.......
.....aren't artists just 'producing' something.................
.....for someone else to 'own'?
Something that has to actually be 'put' somewhere?
Something that 'takes up space'..........
....and cannot be recycled........

....like so much garbage..........

....it just 'lies about' in old buildings...........

....'collecting dust'........

Maybe the 'Art' one sees on the streets........

.....is the only true 'contemporary 'Art'?

After all............

...it reflects how the 'Artist' felt........

....in response to the changing circumstances that we are all also supposed to be going through......

.....right NOW!

(or are we?).......

The other factor is 'fame'.............

.....how can these so called 'Artists' be considered in the same breath as 'famous Artists'?......

....when we don't even know their names?

And if we DID know their names..............

......wouldn't we just have them arrested for criminal damage?

When maybe we should be giving them an 'Award'?.........

....for brightening up an otherwise dreary brick wall............

......and creating a fleeting image that we can take with us for the day.........

...... inside our minds..........

Or maybe we are now unable to think...............

.....because this 'act of vandalism' incenses us so much?

It insults our sensibilities...........

....and confuses our value system......

....because it definitely is NOT 'Art'

Even if it is 'Now available from IKEA!'..............

Apparently Picasso used to regularly pay for all his bills by cheque........

....because he knew that no-one would cash them.......

.....preferring instead to hoard them........

....as 'Works of Art'.........

......... by the genius himself

Does that then.......

.......make this cheque written by Robert Louis Stevenson a work of 'Art'?
It must be weird.......

..........when you know that your cheque........

....... is worth more than the item you're buying......

Maybe the whole thing is just 'hot air'?

Maybe I'm just an 'Old Fart'?

......and Maybe I've just found out where the F in Art is?

Tallyho!

Best Wishes - Lord Noel