Skip to main content

But is it ART...?




Ever since Duchamp hung a urinal on the wall and threw the art world into turmoil, the question of what Art actually is has been debated. The art world is one of a few places where copying, out-right plagiarism, and appropriation are permissible and even admired. 

 In this context, a random abstract pattern on a sidewalk, unnoticed or avoided by passers-by, formed without pretense by animals relieving themselves on a canvas of concrete pavement,  decaying into nothingness, and vulnerable to the elements, can inspire thoughts of randomness, frivolity, evanescence, and other aspects of the human condition...And...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dog Urine Art: The Basics

Dog Urine Art (DUA) is best observed on the sidewalks of a big city, where the random patterns of wet dog urine assume abstract shapes as they dry on the pavement. If you live where your dog relieves himself/herself on grass, you are out of luck. Another reason that the city is good for DUA is that there are many dogs being walked in some of the neighborhoods, especially  mornings before work and at the end of the day, providing plentiful material. Don't get too close and don't overthink it. Just observe with the eyes and imagination!
3 comments
Read more

The Pain and the Pleasure

We all know that the world is messed up right now. Much of what is going on is dark, leading us to question the quality of our future. My job as an artist (as I see it) is to attempt to make sense out of the craziness. I am most likely deluding myself by thinking that I can make a difference, but that doesn't stop me from trying.  I love beauty and the pleasure it gives to the senses. The world needs more of it for sure. But the range of experience on this planet is so vast, and much of it is just plain negative. Ugly. War famine pain. More and more violence, but make sure that whoever wants a gun can get one easily. And so on. Yin/yang. Which is partly why for every pretty thing, I feel the urge to balance it with something a bit seamier. Not that #dogurineart needs justification. But if it did...
Post a Comment
Read more

Look at That

I was on the verge of moving on from #dogurineart. True, it's a blast taking photos of patterns made on the sidewalk by anonymous dog urine.  True, I finally have a subject that actually makes blogging enjoyable.  True, dog urine art gives me an opportunity to be irreverent, silly, funny, etc. while simultaneously providing me with a perspective from which I can express viewpoints on art,  and also explain and document my artistic process. But I was feeling like maybe dog urine art had just about run its course... My dear friend Susan and I were walking along East 89th Street yesterday.  To my surprise she told me she was enjoying the dog urine art! Now Susan is a sensitive artist with a refined esthetic, and an exemplary human being. OK, maybe I put her on a pedestal.  (She has a touch of kinkiness too!)  If Susan can see the artistry as well as  the irony, then maybe others will as well as time goes on. Anyway we noticed a fresh example ...
Post a Comment
Read more