Canal boat arts project denounced as 'Ludicrous'

[Tim Lewis]

From the Birmingham Mail:

 

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/ikon-gallerys-narrowboat-project-branded-6714320

 

Tim

[Pete & Helen]

Art is one of these controversial subjects that will always create arguments. Myself, I can't see what is art when its just a pile of bricks (unless there is mortar between them and has some use) A tent with post-it notes on it?? or an unmade bed??? OK call it art if you want but don't claim that its worth thousands of pounds.

 

What is Art?

[cotswoldsman]

 

What is Art?

What is the meaning of life?

[MtB]

The main point about conceptual art is that it meaning is decided by YOU.

 

If you think it's bollocks then it is. If you like it and think it's good, then it's good. It helps to know something about the artist.

 

And Grayson Perry says, "You don't have to like it ALL". A very liberating thought when struggling to understand a pile of bricks.

 

 

MtB

[MHS]

Personally I don't see this as a massive waste of money, as it has more than one benefit.

 

Firstly art brings pleasure to so many people, though as mentioned above, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Secondly if it allows young people to see the canal network at first hand, it can only be good for the future of narrowboating.

[b0atman]

silly amount of money though.

[MtB]

The Arts Council has money to burn on stuff like this. It's what the Arts Council is for.

 

MtB

Edited February 17, 2014 by Mike the Boilerman

[mattlad]

What is the meaning of life?

42

[MHS]

What is the meaning of life?

According to Monty Python it's:

 

Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.

[luctor et emergo]

Barge?

[Jambo]

This sounds like a nice project.

 

As a general rule of thumb I find it's best to ignore anything the TPA says.

[magictime]

"the Taxpayers Alliance said..."

 

More manufactured outrage from this band of Tory stooges, whose sole purpose is to convince ordinary people that they somehow stand to benefit if taxation and public spending are brought down to US-style levels. That is obviously bollocks, given that most people receive more in services and benefits than they pay in taxes over the course of their lives, but they reason that a constant drip-drip of stories about "wasteful" spending will eventually convince people that most public money is spent on silly arts projects and benefits for "scroungers" rather than on things they themselves rely on.

 

I don't like the Taxpayer's Alliance.

 

Also, if we're talking specifics, I don't see the problem with the Arts Council funding this sort of project.

[Pluto]

What does annoy me is that there is comparatively little financial support for history and heritage, yet these have a much greater effect on local communities. There was a publically-funded canal arts project in Burnley in 2000 which has been almost completely forgotten by local people, yet the local mainly voluntarily-funded heritage centre is well known and has raised the profile of the canal and the Weavers Triangle.

 

Perhaps it is to do with the British management style, where managers tend to have little practical experience about what they are managing. They don't see those involved with the arts as a challenge, whereas those involved with heritage often have a better understanding of their subject than the 'professional' managers. Consequently, they find it easier to give money to the arts as they get less criticism.

[PaulG]

Personally, I love the Ikon.

Last time I was there they were showing work by a Japanese artist - his name has since entered that black hole in my brain that I used to call a memory.

 

Among other "art", he journeyed from London to Brum by narrowboat. During the trip he pickled some vegetables, and when he got to Birmingham, he ate them.

He stood at the top of a tall building in Korea at dawn, and attempted to communicate with the locals by waving a large silvery fish.

My favourite "art" was when he took a live octopus to Tokyo to show it the fish markets, then returned it to the sea alive.

 

You can argue that it's a waste of money, but then the Environment Agency apparently has a budget of one point two BILLION and is equally useless.

Edited February 18, 2014 by PaulG

[Pete & Helen]

If they want to mix Art and the Canal then they could paint a whole load of our boats and pay the owners for the privilege of displaying their work

[Brin Morris]

For that much money we could run our art gallery for a lot more than 3 years. It costs us around 3 grand a year but then we dont pay any wages. No wonder I am always skint. @artismafloat