Originality and shock value Essay Example for Free

Originality and shock value EssayDead animals, elephant dung, unmake beds and rice all take c ar like everyday objects but should we be crying them artwork? When we were growing up we were taught that art was a beautiful painting like Van Goghs Sunflowers, or a perfect sculpture of a gentlemans gentleman like Michelangelos David, but we were never really taught that conceptual and contemporary art were proper forms of art, plain though it was established in the sixties. It made us think and challenge our own assumptions of what art should really see like. People didnt understand the idea of cows cut in half (Damien Hirst), wire mesh lockers (Mona Hatoum), detritus (Richard Long) or rubbish (Tomoko Takahashi) being called art unless you could frame it nicely on your living room wall. The particular that this type of art didnt fit neatly into peoples ideas of what art should be was the reason it was called conceptual. Conceptual and contemporary art got a huge reaction out of people because they felt conned and marginally embarrassed when, for example, they looked at Martin Creeds ignitor going on and off and didnt get it.They didnt like the fact that they couldnt work out the true content of what the artist was trying to get across. It also got a reaction for another reason which was the simplicity of rough of the art. Im sure that when all the people who were working long hours every week looked at the well-paid artist Tracey Emins unmade bed they were desperately screaming to themselves, BUT I COULD DO THAT and thinking whether conceptual art is even worth looking at. Maybe some of us are completely missing the point they are trying to get across.Maybe instead of drowning in the depression of how easy, and perhaps pointless, the art is we should be fresh-eyed and open(a) minded and celebrate the fact that these ideas and possibilites have been opened for us. Maybe thats the point. This art definitely has originality and shock value. Artists dont indispensableness to repeat whats been done before in the same way no one wants to hear elder jokes. Their use of new technology adds to the quality of some of their work. Using a computer isnt a cop-out of drawing, its upright another tool.The originality and shock value go hand-in-hand and afterall, arent those the two things we want when we look at art? We as viewers dont want to stand there looking at something so bland, tasteless and overrated If we wanted that wherefore we could just as easily stick a slice of bread on the wall and call that art. The artists look for new challenges and ways for us to see their art. This type of art makes us challenge ourselves to disclose watcher in the everyday things in life.My opinion of Modern Art is a very fit one because even though some of the examples of conceptual and contemporary art are sometimes ridiculous, they also challenge you to find the true meaning of what it stands for. The shock factor aswell hypnotizes us and keeps our attention locked on the beauty of the art. One thing that fascinates me though is that if artist Chris Ofili paints with elephant dung he is seen as a Turner value winning genius, but if I tried to paint with elephant dung would I be seen as an fastidious genius? Probably not.