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Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Arts “I am laying my body on the tracks for this piece.”

Posted by JEN GRAVES on August 1 at 11:16 AM

That’s what Frank Gehry says in today’s LA Times about the Claes Oldenburg-Coosje van Bruggen sculpture of a massive men’s dress-shirt collar and bowtie that is stalled in construction due to engineering problems, but was set to sit outside of Gehry’s Disney Hall.

Gehry said that “Collar and Bow” is “an important piece” that will visually connect Disney Hall with future commercial development across Grand Avenue.

Connecting buildings with speculative commercial development is, after all, the purpose of art. You can understand why Gehry would lay down his very body for something this important.

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1

Frank Gehry's body tied down to railroad tracks would be art in and of itself.

Especially with a Charles Krafft delftware locomotive bearing down on him.

Posted by Napoleon XIV | August 1, 2006 12:04 PM

2

Jen's rules:

  • If it is commerce, then it cannot be art.
  • If an artist is successful, then he or she is no artist.
  • Commercial development is inhuman.

Posted by cressona | August 1, 2006 12:24 PM

3

cressona: you're joking, right?

Posted by craig | August 1, 2006 12:29 PM

4

Read the LA Times story itself, which Jen unfortunately has not provided a link to. Obviously, Gehry conveys that his commitment to this piece is artistic, not commercial. Nowhere does it say that Gehry's primary motivation is the "future commercial development" it could be linked to.

Even if that was the case, does that make his commitment any less artistic? Do you think the Olympic Sculpture Park would be nearly as relevant if it were stuck out at Magnuson Park? It will be framed by Belltown as much as by the bay. Do you think Oldenburg and van Bruggen's clothespin would be nearly as iconic or striking if it were placed somewhere on the Main Line (ritzy Philadelphia suburb) as opposed to downtown Philadelphia?

If anyone has an issue with the artistic value of a given piece, fine. Eye of the beholder. But it strikes me that Jen is implying that Frank Gehry is selling out for wanting to bring art to a downtown because downtowns are guilty of the original sin of having arisen out of vanity and the desire to make a buck. Instead of using the phrase "commercial development" like Bill O'Reilly uses the word "liberal," perhaps we should be judging the aesthetics of commercial developments when we claim to judge their aesthetics.

Posted by cressona | August 1, 2006 12:57 PM

5

Disney Hall is truly spectacular, IMHO, and I just don't get the whole sculpture idea...it seems to me like it will diminish the overall look.

But me no art critic...

Posted by Bart | August 1, 2006 2:19 PM

6

Does Ghery has Taco's "Putting on the Ritz" stuck in his iPod or something?! A giant collar and bow tie? I can just see Gehry mumbling to himself during construction, "yeeees...it has... PIZAZZ!" Why stop there - how about a giant treble clef followed by some dancing musical notes? Or perhaps floating white gloves and a top hat to go with? Fuck it, just paint a Nagel on one of those giant stainless steel panels.

Posted by Dougsf | August 1, 2006 3:00 PM

7

This is an image and brief rundown of the sculpture:

http://www.musiccenter.org/072805.html

Posted by Terry | August 3, 2006 10:46 AM

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