29.1.10

Art Detox

When I was at art school I had a saying for some of the artworks produced by my peers: "Skip Art" was when I would throw my own refuse into the communal skip only to find it had been glued, nailed or balanced on someone else's 'creation' a few days later. With great irony, this week sees much media fascination with Michael Landy's exhibition, Art Bin, at South London Gallery. The six-week installation, consisting of a transparent polycarbonate and steel 'skip', invites the public to bring their artistic failings and create a monument to creative failure. I'm interested in Landy's take on taste and the process of what defines good and bad Art from both the artist and the viewer in the controversial context of contemporary art - the fact that submitted artworks for Art Bin will be chosen by Landy and his representatives says a lot. Damien Hirst's contribution with a large print of For The Love Of God, will hopefully set a trend and allow anyone who has produced anything emblazoned with skulls, that has plagued the art world in the last two years, to have a creative detox - if not for the artist, for the sake of everyone else.