Wednesday, December 19, 2007

I see contemporary art

Quite a while ago, I visited a local art museum. I have a better appreciation for these things after I took an art history class in the summer. However, I only studied modern art, which refers to a period from around 1770 to 1940. The most interesting part of the museum for me was the contemporary (post-modern?) art exhibit. I don't understand what is up with art these days (after WWII). What is up with it?

There was some pretty cool stuff, like a creepy car sculpture. And there were also the stereotypical minimalist stuff like a blank canvas, an empty room, a glass cube. And then there's everything in-between. For example, there was a black canvas with a white rectangle in the middle, but upon closer inspection the rectangle was a detailed drawing of a house.

I think the minimalist stuff is what gives modern art a bad name in the public's mind. I'm inclined to agree with the critics. I mean, maybe the first time, it was novel and all. But there are only so many blank canvases you can see before they all look the same--just one. Unless you think it has some value outside of novelty, it's more or less worthless.

Oh! But here I am talking about it, which means that it must be good art! In my mind, this argument only really discredits its own premise. "Good" art does not mean "promoting discussion". Besides, if you think about it, this is just a very brief discussion of an entire category of artworks.

One thing that's good about minimalist art is that after thinking, "This is art?", my next thought is, "I should be an artist!" Behold! I call it The Net.
Forget rectangles! Hypercube net silhouettes are the new deal, because I, an artist, said so! And it's not "ms paint", it's my personal style! This piece is a perfect blend of minimalism, technology, and four-dimensional geometry. Did I mention that you have to see 261 of these "paintings" before you've seen them all?

Bonus points if you can identify the hypercube net in question. In fact, I'd be impressed if anyone had any clue what I'm talking about.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

A skeptic might say, "Does this include you?"

miller said...

If you look up hypercube nets and find that I had used a correct reference to the number 261, I think that would count as good inductive evidence that I might know what I'm talking about. Or I could be trying to fool you. ;)