Andrew Taylor on the Business of Arts & Culture
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Public Art and 'Piles of Sheet'
Posted: February 16, 2005
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The fact that the segment was titled 'Piles of Sheet,' and reported by the show's 'Senior Conceptual Art Correspondent' might give you a flavor for their take on the installation (which has received glowing praise elsewhere). It's a comedic view on a common public struggle around public art...where conceptual expressions smack up against the daily world. Here, as always, there's lots of friction between beauty and utility, academic posturing and real-world concerns, revelation and relevance.
In one particularly sharp jab, the mock reporter admits that The Gates is, indeed, a work of great art:
''...because, like all great art, it challenges what we thought we knew about the world. For instance, I used to think that $21 million dollars could be used to achieve something noble, like build a hospital. But The Gates has forced me to recontectualize my notion of what $21 million dollars can be used for...in this case, to redecorate a bike path.''
Ouch.