Artists' Impression

Think of all the artistic ‘greats’ – Monet, Picasso, Turner, Rembrandt, Warhol, van Gogh, Dali, Matisse, Degas. They all managed to make a steadfast name for themselves without producing anything reeking of intentional irony, encasing a farm animal in plastic or messing up their living space. Their popularity is based on the fact that they can appreciate a scene and depict it in a recognisable fashion. As someone who was far from top of my art class at school, I am the first to be able to stand up and say that painting and drawing accurately is nowhere near as easy as it looks, and for that alone these artists should be revered. I’m not saying that modern artists such as Damien Hurst or Tracey Emin should be ignored; quite the contrary. But I am in constant bewilderment as to how they can be considered in the spectrum.

My History of Art teacher once said to me that the reason modern works are often viewed as ‘art’ in the same calibre is because nobody thought of doing it before. In doing so, an artist may show ingenuity, but surely a good idea shouldn’t automatically connote talent. There are lots of things that haven’t been done before, but does that mean that if I stick one of them on a canvas, I can expect it to be recognised as art? I would be horrified if it was and I don’t see how artists who spit some jizz on a canvas (currently on display at a London art gallery though not yet the National) can consider themselves as talented. I could do that, but it doesn’t mean I’m good at art; simply that I am good at manipulating other mugs into believing it so.

It's not just 3D works that I feel cannot be considered in the same light as traditional paintings. Last week I stumbled across the BP Portrait Awards exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and was amazed at the range of abilities that were displayed and apparently viewed in the same discipline. One painting by Jose Luis Corella caught my attention unlike any other painting has in a long while (it's called 'Imagine' and I highly recommend you Google it). My friend and I originally sauntered over to the piece in the mindset that it was a photograph and it was only as we edged closer that we could see it was, in fact, an intricately detailed painting. The colours were so vibrant, the detail so remarkable and the realism so convincing that I was utterly entranced and have ranted on about this painting to anyone who will listen for the past few days. Yet displayed just around the corner from it was a piece that looked like a child had slapped it together as a hurried last minute entry. Inconsistent colours, extraordinarily basic detail and a human face totally out of proportion made its appearance wholly unappealing, particularly when we had been so spoiled by Corella not five minutes before.

I understand that may be the artist’s interpretation of their subject, and that perhaps they did see said subject as someone unworthy of their attention or specific detail. This is fine, but when compared to paintings that have clearly been slaved over for innumerable painstaking hours so that not a dab of paint is out of place, they simply seem to be making a mockery of the whole thing. I shall never understand why visibly less talented artists are given far more credit than those who are brimming with talent will ever even get a taste of, purely because they’re controversial or a bit different.

Kudos to Emin and company for making the most out of their over-hyped limelight; I feel most people in their situation would bleed dry a Collector’s pockets if they could as well. Every morning as I rush out the door I leave my bedroom floor strewn with a pleasant combination of dirty underwear, yesterday’s papers, various handbags and messed up bed sheets – but nobody is paying me thousands for the privilege of creating such a mess. Perhaps tonight I’ll splatter some paint over it all, maybe even tip a bit of my dinner across carefully selected sections if I’m feeling really rebellious, then take some photos and see what the National make of it. I’m pretty sure Emin hasn’t done that yet and judging by today’s artistic standards, I expect the response to be nothing short of sheer adulation.