But they seem to be everywhere.
If I did, it would have to be Damien Hirst. Just for getting paid millions for what he does.
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I was going to bring back Twat of the Week...
(52 posts) (20 voices)
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beau-jolly
offlineMemberYou watched that program last night too then Scroat?
Weird comedian chap off of buzzcocks crawls and fawns to smug northern millionaire.
I used to quite admire old Damo but he was so bloody smug I went right off him. On the other hand I think it must be confusing for a guy with little artistic talent but a fantastic business brain to be feted so much. He as much as admitted that it was all crap. He also said that you could spot his spot paintings because they were not as good as the ones done on his behalf by his army of minions. But then again, the great masters had factories filled with apprentises painting in the boring bits. The jury is still out in my head.
- Discuss -Posted 1 year ago # -
How can you suggest Leopold Gasket? The man is a genius. Not all geniuses (what's the plural of genius? Geniuses doesn't look right) are appreciated in their lifetime. 100 years from now all jokes will include a brief explanation for the hard of thinking.
Hirst has made millions out of conning pretentious people with more money than sense, you kind of have to respect him for that. 'Don't hate the player hate the game' and all that bollocks.
If I put a dead baby rat in a pitta bread and attached it to the wall of the Tate Modern using a nail gun people would probably be provoked to talk about it. Does that make it art?
Posted 1 year ago # -
waylandsmithy
offlineMemberRe: dead baby rat in a pitta.
How much?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Gerontius
offlineMemberOK all you contemporary art experts - Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, Grayson Perry....now name a few more.
No, thought not.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I don't like it, so it must be crap.
It's a bit like being Dan Brown, the highly successful author.
Somebody once said his books are shite. In fact, his books are so shite they have sold in their millions.
The dilemma is, do we agree they are shite so we can be in on the joke - or, disagree and admit we quite enjoyed them for what they are.
If you haven't read them, how can you have such a disparaging opinion?
If you get paid millions for simply being a twat then there must be some very wealthy people here at Newsbiscuit.
I'd rather be a twat like Damien Hirst or Dan Brown than the twat with his face shoved under somone's armpit on the tube this morning.
If Satchi offered me millions for some of my art work I would definitely turn him down rather than risk having you lot call me a twat.
Give me 9-5 in an open plan office any day.Posted 1 year ago # -
rickwestwell
offlineMemberI wouldn't have minded, but the carriage was empty apart from the two of us...
I'm half with Gerry on this one - if you slag off anything different because "all this new stuff is rubbish" then you'd have slagged off Picasso, the Sex Pistols, Vic and Bob...
Yes, without Damian Hurst, there would be no Sex Pistols, so think on.
Mind you, I have read Dan Brown, and it was shite.
Posted 1 year ago # -
rickwestwell
offlineMemberSo have those old Janet and John books, but we've moved on... :-)
Anyway, each to his own, but in the same way that you can't say Hurst is crap because he's popular, you can't say Brown is good just because he is too. Otherwise you're into Jeffrey Archer territory, and we don't want to go there.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Gerontius
offlineMemberI think you'll find many of them gave up after Janet and John.
Maybe Samantha Brick deserves Twat of the Week....hmmmmm
But only if she genuinely believes the things she said about herself are true.
You can now expect to see her appearing on Graham Norton/Jonathan Ross/Alan Carr show, can expect a book deal, can expect a record deal, can expect a visit from the stalking community, can expect a phone call from Max Clifford or Cowell (same thing).
Not such a dumb blonde after all.
Mind you, also a good bet for the Dead PoolPosted 1 year ago # -
I enjoyed the Dan Brown books. The criticism they got reminds me of a Hollywood blockbuster being slated by a film critic because he thinks he's somehow better than your average cinema-goer, despite it quite obviously being something that millions of people will enjoy. Kind of like Michael Bay's films.
The thing that irritates me about contemporary art is that it strikes me as being a similar attitude - people pretend to enjoy it so that they can feel superior to the millions of people who think it's bewildering tosh, but they don't really get it either.
Plus I don't like new ideas and am terrified of change, naturally distrusting things I don't understand.
My old boss bought a painting of kind of wavy lines of colour directly from the artist for several hundred pounds. He asked her what it represented and she said she didn't want to prejudice his opinion of the piece by telling him hers, and it could mean whatever he wanted. To me that is the ultimate cop out, but quite clever at the same time, so fair play to her.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Scroat
offlineMemberThe thing that irritates me about contemporary art is that it strikes me as being a similar attitude - people pretend to enjoy it so that they can feel superior to the millions of people who think it's bewildering tosh, but they don't really get it either.
I think this sums it up perfectly VCG.
Also, I think it might be an age thing. 40 years ago I would have been more receptive/open minded/anti-establishment. So if Damien had been pickling sharks then and the establishment was up in arms, I would have defended his right to do his thing. I still do. But the problem with being open minded is that you let all sorts of crap creep in. And it can be an effort sometimes. Much easier to come clean and say "it's crap" rather than "I-think-it's-crap-but-I-may-be-wrong,-and-I-totally-defend-his-right-to-do-what-he-wants-and-call-it-art."
While I'm here, as a once-budding potter, I think Grayson Perry's work is fantastic. Less keen on Tracy Emin - there is an unmade bed in our bedroom, but I don't think it's art.
And I don't think we should get diverted into equating popularity with quality. Probably more people read redtops and the Mail than the Independent, but it doesn't mean they're better papers.
Posted 1 year ago # -
waylandsmithy
offlineMemberThe Sex Pistols were complete shit, though. Fucking awful, even for a punk band. Just another manufactured boy band with more attitude than aptitude.
PiL were great, though. It just goes to show.
Gospel According to MenInBlack is my favourite punk album, because secretly it's Prog.
'Punk showed us that anyone could pick up an instrument and form a band.' Actually, the opposite was true. Some people are talentless little shits at whatever they turn their hand to: just look at Patrick Keilty.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Midfield Diamond
offlineMemberBut punk was all about attitude, sticking two fingers up at 'polite society' and making an unholy din about doing so. Anarchy In The UK and God Save The Queen are perfect examples of that. And my parents hated it when I was growing up with it as a teenager which made it even better. Inflammable Material by Stiff Little Fingers is my favourite punk album in case anyone's interested.
But all this music, art, literature stuff comes down to personal taste, doesn't it? If you genuinely like something that I think is shit, does it really matter? As VCG says, it's those who pretend to like something because they think it makes them superior that irritate.
Posted 1 year ago # -
waylandsmithy
offlineMemberIt's amazing how many people 'stuck it to the man' by buying all those carefully designed albums and t-shirts.
Emperors new clothes, I reckon. Listen to 'Never Mind the Bollocks' now and it's horribly dated. Like Patrick Kielty.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Midfield Diamond
offlineMemberMaybe it sounds dated because it's 35 years old (blimey, that is scary).
Don't disagree that there was loads of exploitation and manipulation of the gullible yoof at the time, and there were an awful lot of bands that not only couldn't play but also had bugger all to say, but still cashed in (always hated The Damned). But I still think that Anarchy in the UK and God Save The Queen sound absolutely bloody fantastic. Each to their own.
Posted 1 year ago # -
rickwestwell
offlineMemberIt's funny - the two bands who never sound dated are the Velvets and the Pistols.
Maybe you had to be there, though - in '77 Jubilee year people were genuinely scared of the Sex Pistols. They really upset people, far more than any manufactured controversy these days. And Malcolm's influence on them is greatly overstated, not least by Malcolm himself.
I guess you could say Peter Cook (for example) is dated, but for me, these geniuses have frozen the moment in time they made special, so they never date.
Posted 1 year ago #
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