Hmm, I was hoping to be able to oppose Kris.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" /> I thought he’d support the galleries..
Anyway, let’s attack the notion that Public Art Galleries are beacons of culture. In fact they’re more like the Black Holes of the art world, with the greater part of their collections stored away in vaults. They are Mausoleums -Necropolises who pin art to their walls like so many dead butterflies.
Empty the vaults and put art back where it belongs – as part of life. Paintings and sculptures belong in places that are being used for living in – private houses, railway stations, offices, libraries, parks, gardens etc. Art should be as much a part of life as music, laughter, conversations, eating and drinking, not roped off, subsidised and treated like a freak show.
There may well have been some place for Public Art Galleries a century or two ago when the average citizen may have had limited access to some forms of art. But these days you can easily access images and information through books, public libraries, films, the internet, Cdrom, TV etc. And if that piques your interest then you should be prepared to view (or buy) in a commercially viable setting. Art is available to suit all budgets, from a reproduction on a postcard up to whatever you can afford. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Subsidised Art Galleries are outdated dinosaurs - white elephants that actually do the cause of art a disservice by separating it from the mainstream of life and (ironically) making it seem more elitist and dull. Far from keeping art vibrant and alive, public subsidy and official meddling distorts what should be a natural development and interaction with the population at large. And in a pathetic attempt to stay ‘modern’ and ‘relevant’ galleries often collude in the promotion of utter crud that the wider free market would deservedly ignore. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/memad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/memad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ouch.gif" alt="" />
Scrap them, and let art flower or wither where it may. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />
