This Art is All that It is Cracked Up to Be

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures on October 12, 2007 at 11:43 pm


At the Tate Modern museum in London, UK, is a new art installation by Colombian artist Doris Salcedo: a 548 ft (167 m) crack on the floor, one foot (30 cm) wide in some places that set the museum back £300,000 and more than 6 months to create. The art piece is officially titled Shibboleth, though it’s now more commonly known as "Doris’s crack".

And already three people fell in it and hurt themselves:

Creator Salcedo said it involved delicate and intricate sculpting which took place on two continents. The crack is said to represent the division problem of integrating immigrants into European society. [...]

But visitors have already paid the price for failing to heed warning signs. And a builder said if he had been responsible for the crack he would be sued for health and safety breaches. [...]

One observer said: "Instead of art imitating life, here it’s threatening life."

But apparently, overall, people liked this crack: Link


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COMMENT

12 comments to "This Art is All that It is Cracked Up to Be"

  1. Carruthers
    October 13th, 2007 at 12:36 am

    Yet another example of so-called "artists" giving art a bad name. When I see an "art" piece that the artist says is a political statement of some sort OR the art is just a pile of no-talent crap I feel like smacking them round the side of the head. This is only "neat" because it's an example of the boundaries of moronic human behavior that we should all agree are laughable.

  2. musca
    October 13th, 2007 at 4:35 am

    Too true!!!

  3. Tim
    October 13th, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Yeah, people these days really are stretching the definitions of 'art' and 'artist'

  4. Tom
    October 13th, 2007 at 10:31 am

    Why don't they just fill it in with a clear acryllic? That would stop all the injury and mayhem.

  5. James Laughton
    October 13th, 2007 at 11:01 am

    i thinks its laughable that people are too stupid to fall into it! haha great piece of art

  6. Darel
    October 13th, 2007 at 11:59 am

    £300,000? For a cracked floor? Stupid museum.

    I could nail a panda bear to mailbox and call it "art", but that certainly wouldn't make it art.

  7. Austin Storm
    October 13th, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    Art *irritating* life.

  8. ted
    October 13th, 2007 at 2:31 pm

    If they like that crack, I have another one I could show them for five bucks.

  9. c-dub
    October 13th, 2007 at 3:52 pm

    Why does every else's definition of art have to be the same as yours to be valuable? Why are you all so happy to be narrow-minded and intolerant?

    (Having said that: ted's post really made me laugh.)

  10. Nora
    October 13th, 2007 at 5:24 pm

    omg Ted! :D lol

    Call me weird, but I like the crack. At least a lot more than the white canvas painting.
    If you look at that crack, and imagine each curve and jagged edge being meticulously sculpted and painted in various shades to imitate a real crack, its a lot of work. Even IF nature could do it in a second.

    You sort of have to appreciate it the same way as you would a set/prop designers work. Stage sets and movie props often look very commonplace and natural, but they take a LOT of work to get that way by people who never get a ounce of appreciation. You don't think about the scenery in a movie when its good. You only notice it when its BAD. If you didn't notice a thing, then most likely it was done by someone who labored meticulously over it, for weeks and possibly months.

    plus...this reminds me of Indiana Jones and the Last crusade. Hmm... wonder if theres a tiny chalace stuck down there somewhere. :P

  11. sam
    October 14th, 2007 at 7:46 am

    This is great. I think it is quite an art to be able to convince a museum to pay alot of money for a crack in the floor. Also, watching people fall is fun.

  12. Mindpimp
    October 19th, 2007 at 4:05 am

    What a load of old bollocks. (tm)
    I like the idea of it, in fact, it looks well executed and quite interesting. I don't like paying that amount of money or the "oh, $symbolism" or the fact it's a food wide and 3' deep in places.

    I want to break in at night and fill it full of pollyfilla. Apparently that would be art too.


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