Thursday, November 30, 2006
A Guide to what is and what isn't "Art".
During last Saturday night’s annual Art Scavenger Hunt, over 100 kids, adults, and 20-somethings living in a state of perpetual adolescence scampered up trees and rustled through bushes to find free pieces of art. The works were hidden by Fort Liquordale’s local painters, sculptors, graphic artists, and assorted dirty hippies. The yearly event is always entertaining, and yes, at times even heartwarming (I overheard a little kid scream “Mom!!! I found ART!!!” and it actually made my womb quiver).
Of course, when searching for unconventional art it is good to keep in mind that NOT EVERYTHING CLASSIFIES AS “ART”. I cannot stress this enough. Discovering "Not Art" on your own can be uncomfortable and sticky, so today I perform a much needed public service by separating “Art” from “Not Art”.
ART: This carved and painted phallus was found in a shrub and falls into the category of Anatomical Art. Since I feel uncomfortable leaving this piece on my mantle as-is, I fully intend to a glue a yarn toupee, googly eyes, and a tiny monocle on the little gentleman to make him more "house friendly".
Not Art: Also anatomical in nature and found in a nearby bush with the aid of a flashlight, these dentures could be easily confused as art. Warning: They Are NOT. Nobody sculpted these with the idea that some hipster in Converse would put find them and place them lovingly next to their collection of Bukowski novels. More likely they fell out of a crackhead's mouth durring a scuffle. NO TOUCH!
ART: These dimebags of art are the handywork of artists Jacqi Brown and Aholsniffsglue. Brown is one of the off-beat minds behind Little Haiti's Faktura Gallery. The warehouse studio recently featured a whole exhibit of hand painted toilet seats; for Basal, they are having a return of their popular "Pimp my Kart" exhibit. The dimebags catch you off guard. They are dropped casually in bathrooms and bushes so that, at first, you feel wrong picking them up. After closer inspection, the contents reveal itty bitty teeny weeny pictures and Faktura's website. (Nice marketing.)
Not Art: These where found in a patted down pile of earth surrounded by trees (a region known as a "Homeless Bedroom") -- a sure sign that they are Not Art. More likely, they are breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one of our local transients. NO TOUCH!
Art:Due to the difficulty of location, I'm assuming this is Art. I found this one on the roof of a building. I have no idea what it is or what the artist was trying to convey, but I think it's a pastel koala king strangling the neck of a sculpture from Easter Island. And apparently, "Crack's Back!"
Not Art: Also placed in a difficult location, however I actually watched a kid climb on another kid's back to try and cut down this mysterious box -- and then it leaked on him. It turned out that this box was Not Art; in fact, it was strong, insect pharamones placed near the heavy foliage area to reduce the amount of mosquitos, bees and other assorted winged nuisances.
I hope we have all learned a valuable lesson.
During last Saturday night’s annual Art Scavenger Hunt, over 100 kids, adults, and 20-somethings living in a state of perpetual adolescence scampered up trees and rustled through bushes to find free pieces of art. The works were hidden by Fort Liquordale’s local painters, sculptors, graphic artists, and assorted dirty hippies. The yearly event is always entertaining, and yes, at times even heartwarming (I overheard a little kid scream “Mom!!! I found ART!!!” and it actually made my womb quiver).
Of course, when searching for unconventional art it is good to keep in mind that NOT EVERYTHING CLASSIFIES AS “ART”. I cannot stress this enough. Discovering "Not Art" on your own can be uncomfortable and sticky, so today I perform a much needed public service by separating “Art” from “Not Art”.
ART: This carved and painted phallus was found in a shrub and falls into the category of Anatomical Art. Since I feel uncomfortable leaving this piece on my mantle as-is, I fully intend to a glue a yarn toupee, googly eyes, and a tiny monocle on the little gentleman to make him more "house friendly".
Not Art: Also anatomical in nature and found in a nearby bush with the aid of a flashlight, these dentures could be easily confused as art. Warning: They Are NOT. Nobody sculpted these with the idea that some hipster in Converse would put find them and place them lovingly next to their collection of Bukowski novels. More likely they fell out of a crackhead's mouth durring a scuffle. NO TOUCH!
ART: These dimebags of art are the handywork of artists Jacqi Brown and Aholsniffsglue. Brown is one of the off-beat minds behind Little Haiti's Faktura Gallery. The warehouse studio recently featured a whole exhibit of hand painted toilet seats; for Basal, they are having a return of their popular "Pimp my Kart" exhibit. The dimebags catch you off guard. They are dropped casually in bathrooms and bushes so that, at first, you feel wrong picking them up. After closer inspection, the contents reveal itty bitty teeny weeny pictures and Faktura's website. (Nice marketing.)
Not Art: These where found in a patted down pile of earth surrounded by trees (a region known as a "Homeless Bedroom") -- a sure sign that they are Not Art. More likely, they are breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one of our local transients. NO TOUCH!
Art:Due to the difficulty of location, I'm assuming this is Art. I found this one on the roof of a building. I have no idea what it is or what the artist was trying to convey, but I think it's a pastel koala king strangling the neck of a sculpture from Easter Island. And apparently, "Crack's Back!"
Not Art: Also placed in a difficult location, however I actually watched a kid climb on another kid's back to try and cut down this mysterious box -- and then it leaked on him. It turned out that this box was Not Art; in fact, it was strong, insect pharamones placed near the heavy foliage area to reduce the amount of mosquitos, bees and other assorted winged nuisances.
I hope we have all learned a valuable lesson.
# posted by The Hive @ 9:27 AM 
