Seminar: I hate art
Even though I missed the I Hate Art seminar, I decided to do some research for it anyways because I realised I was not really sure if I hated any art piece/ art movement/artist. But after thinking about it for a while, I reached a conclusion.
This seminar was a chance to explore controversial and unpopular art pieces, as well as to speak our minds and be critical.
Even though there are many things I dislike or I don't feel interested in, there are not many I hate. The cases where I hate art pieces have more to do with the meaning and contextualization than the pieces themselves (artworks that defend racist, offensive, or opposite points of view to mines). For this very reason, I have chosen to talk about Anish Kapoor:
Anish Kapoor is a British Indian sculptor specialized in installation art and conceptual art. He was born in Mumbai but has been working and living in London since the 70s, the decade when he started his studies, first at Hornsey College of Art and later on at Chelsea School of Art and Design.
One of his best-known pieces is The Bean in Chicago ( formally known as Cloud Gate), but he has been mentioned in the news a few times over the past few years because of his "feud" with Stuart Semple over pigments.
In a nutshell, Anish Kapoor is a very rich and privileged artist that decided to buy the pigment Vantablack ( known as the darkest black) for his own personal and exclusive use, reinforcing once again the elitism that surrounds the art world and the inequalities caused by wealth distribution as well.
As soon as Stuart Semple heard about this, he decided to create the Pinkest Pink, making it affordable ( only 3,99$) and accessible to anyone but Anish Kapoor. As he wrote on his online web, to buy it you have to confirm that you are not Anish Kapoor, you do not associate with him and you will not sell or give the pigment to Anish Kapoor or his associates.
As if being referred to as "everything wrong with the art world", and the epitome of the art worlds elitism problem was not enough, Anish Kapoor acquired a sample of the Pinkest Pink ( ignoring Semple's Terms and Conditions"), posting it on Instagram and therefore prolonging the pigment war between him and Semple. This resulted in the creation of more pigments from both sides, with the same conditions as the ones mentioned above, continuing to this day with the fight.
There are more controversies surrounding this artist that denote how selfish and elitist he is, which I think are some of the biggest problems that humankind faces nowadays. Because of this, and because of how superficial and overpriced his artworks are (in my opinion), I hate Anish Kapoor.
References
Challa, J., 2017. Why everybody's mad at Anish Kapoor (hint: it involves the blackest black). [online] The Architect’s Newspaper. Available at: <https://www.archpaper.com/2017/07/anish-kapoor-blackest-black/> [Accessed 30 April 2021].
Culture Hustle. 2021. PINKEST PINK POTION - high grade professional acrylic paint, by Stuart Semple 100ml. [online] Available at: <https://culturehustle.com/collections/potions/products/neon-pink-potion-high-grade-professional-acrylic-paint-by-stuart-semple-100ml?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1a6EBhC0ARIsAOiTkrEXEs22udnadmJ4aqkcVamIqjMwpPqe7S1ZdvQ65onmV11oQJWQrVcaAiWFEALw_wcB> [Accessed 30 April 2021].
Stuart Semple Store. 2021. Store. [online] Available at: <https://store.stuartsemple.com/> [Accessed 30 April 2021].
Great post! I am in broad agreement with you about Kapoor, the arrogance of his creation of a pigment was breath taking and Semple's reaction to it was brilliant. There are other examples of Kapoor having run ins with a variety of other makers, local councils etc regarding his public art works.
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