Book: APPRECIATING CONTEMPORARY ART
YouTube videos explaining key concepts in contemporary art
Exploring ‘the strange and the disturbing’ through art
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A senior member of a European national academy of arts — I won’t say which one — described these videos as ‘creepy.’ (I don’t think it was meant as a compliment.) Well, yes, I said to him, that’s exactly what they’re supposed to be! Because I’m using them to explain how genuine contemporary art should reveal to us unforeseen aspects of the ‘strange and the disturbing’; and ‘creepy’ being an obvious subset of that realm is spot on. And of course, as with any recreational art, it should be ‘creepy’ in the best possible way; it should be a fun ride. As it turns out, all the most outstanding contemporary artists — Warhol, Koons, Beuys, Bacon, Gilbert & George; you name them — have found their own distinctive ways to unsettle us. And all the rest — even the biggest of big dollar names (Hirst, Emin, the NFT brigade, and many, many others) — are just hopeful craftspeople — trying their level best, maybe — but never managing to create real art. Long live creepy.
