[raiden]

Beyond just attacking the messenger, analyze the message... Does Leckey have a point?

Street art has become synonymous with spectacle, and while much of Urban Art is moving away from shock value as its central drive (Dolk's 'Puppy Love') to trying to pay off a certain aesthetic - Eelus' progression into 'Raven Haired' being a prime example - it still relies heavily on controversy and the one-ups-manship of making a statement.

On the flip side, what the fuck does Lecky think art is about that he can criticize Banksy and Hirst?

Anyways, read on...

Turner winner Mark Leckey attacks 'shock art'

Ben Hoyle, Arts Reporter
The Young British Artists (YBAs) who drove the contemporary boom were a bad thing for British art, the new Turner Prize winner said last night.

Mark Leckey, 44, was presented with the £25,000 prize by the singer and writer Nick Cave at a ceremony at Tate Britain last night. From the podium he criticised the effect that the YBAs have had on art in Britain.

“I kind of hate the relationship the press in Britain has towards art,” he said. “I hate the way it’s all Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin and Banksy. They expect spectacle and shock. Art is not like that. The art world I know is not like that; it’s a whole other world.”

He was asked whether the impact of the YBAs had done art a disservice. “Ultimately it has,” he said.

Leckey added that he welcomed the end of the boom. “A lot of bad artists have made a lot of money,” he said.

The Birkenhead-born artist, based in Fitzrovia, Central London, was nominated for two solo exhibitions in France and Germany that combined sculpture, film, sound and performance. Among Leckey’s more memorable works was the video Felix gets Broadcasted, starring the silent-era animated character Felix the Cat.

The jury, chaired by Stephen Deuchar, the director of Tate Britain, commended the “intelligent, energetic and seductive nature of the work”.

Leckey said: “You don’t need to be critically aware to get what I’m saying.”

[G-Man]

I dont think that he is criticising Banksy I think he is critricising the press - good on him!

[Deleted]

yep def the press he is on about

[Standard]

I watched a little on this last night, live on the channel 4 news, he came across as a bit of a dick. He didn't get to finish as they cut him off but he was having a good old rant, saying something along the lines that the British critics weren't as nice as other countries and that it didn't matter as he lived in the 'art world', (is this some kind of alternative universe that I don't know about?).

Looked like he would benefit from a little group therapy.

[Poppy Sunshine]

This could be interpreted in a couple of different ways and I think I'd need to read the whole thing to decide.
It could well be that he's just making a statement about the press but he could end up biting himself in the arse by mentioning Hirst, Emin and Banksy in the statement if he's not actually directly slagging them off.
It would be interesting to look at his list of "bad artists" who've made a lot of money and get an idea of what his interpretation of art is.
An individuals own idea of art is another well debated subject and about as difficult to get your head round as religion but you'd think a mature artist would realise that and leave it well alone.
Perhaps he's just looking for some of the headlines he's missed out on while all these "bad artists" have been succeeding around him.

[bullet]

banksyforum.proboards82.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=29223

[sm]

We live in a time where smoke and mirrors can be just as important as talent. Banksy, Hirst and Emin steal the headlines not only because they are talented and original but they are masters at marketing themselves.

[robinbanks]

For fuck sake people - this isn't an art forum you know.

Now can we please get back to talking about money!

[Existencil]

Sounds like bitterness to me...

[artyfarty]

Yes, can we please get back to talking about how much money we think our latest buy is going to make us.

[raiden]

See, I red the "bad artists" comment to be at least a bit of a slight at the entire YBA group, Banksy included. I don't think he necessarily believes Banksy is a bad artist, but I think he is belittling him by mentioning him in the same breath as this assessment.

I should probably give him the benefit of the doubt though.

I also see the immense irony of criticizing the press for "expecting spectacle and shock" and then serving up a red meat quote like “A lot of bad artists have made a lot of money,” he said.

[twist65]

I'm no art historian but I don't reckon that percieved "bad artists" making a wad of cash has only happened since the YBAs? Maybe it would be better for all artists to die impoverished first so that other people can profit out of their work, this might help them look more authentic.

[arcam]

I think it's a dig at some critics.

[onemandown72]

Without looking at his work, and his comments it is impossible to formulate a view on his thoughts, who his ire is directed at, and why.
Ultimately who'se at fault for so called bad art being sold, the artists for producing, or the people buying?

[BK83]

what a bitter fuck! what kind of ignorant fucker thinks his art is better than anyone else's "A lot of bad artists have made a lot of money" What the fuck does he mean by that. Sounds like an ass.

[jamesreeve5]

I think that he is criticizing the overwhelming popularity of these artists resulting in a pigeonholing of British Art. Just because most of you lot live in England doesn't mean I think you eat beans on toast, put on your Burberry suit, and ride the double decker bus to work every morning. Similarly, not all good art coming from England needs to be shock shlock to be worthwhile in the global art community (if you don't believe me, go look at Ceal Floyer's work). Unfortunately, too many "art collectors" kneel at the temple of the auction house these days, and when they think of British art they think of only Hirst and Banksy, who are by all accounts two VERY good artists and genuine innovators in the art world. The problem is, most art collectors who can't afford a few Hirsts to hang in their living rooms have these blinders on that keep their vision of art narrow so they buy less original work trying to capture the same Hirst or Banksy feeling for less $$$ (see: Dolk). Enough people buy into these knockoff / unoriginal artists and the art and we start convincing ourselves that these lesser artists are worthwhile too, while the wider spectrum of artistic creativity suffers as a whole.

[slowmo]

I always wondered what Benny had got up to after Abba disbanded, now I know