What Is Good Art?

"Sometimes, I get lost for words;

supposedly being a poet,

I'm not supposed to get lost for words

But sometimes it happens anyway, and I'm lost..." - Kashif, Oooh Love

I've been lost for words for nearly a year now, and it hasn't been easy. I've lost my mother, a host of friends and family, and even my canine best friend. So you'll forgive me if I haven't posted regularly.

Apparently, even some artists can get 'lost for words' so to speak; producing lackluster works or failing to produce anything meaningful at all due to lack of inspiration.

So, when I first heard about the piece of 'art' called the 'Comedian', I had to ask is art even relevant anymore?

The creator of the controversial piece likely asked himself that question when he created it. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan 'designed' this piece back in 2019. It consisted simply of a banana duct-taped to a wall and was exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach. The piece was one of three sister pieces which believe it or not sold for $120,000. The artist is known for producing controversial and satirical pieces, which I'll speak more on in a bit, but for now, I have to ask myself; What am I doing wrong? I've taken my art seriously and constantly agonize over how I can improve my technique and skill level and this guy slaps a banana on a wall with duct tape and it sells for $120,000!?! So yeah, I'm a little salty.

To be fair, this artist has much more notoriety and far more name recognition than I do. Such notoriety as comes from previous satirical works like America, a sculpture of a solid gold, fully functional toilet. It was created in 2016 and subsequently stolen from the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire England.

America by Maurizio Cattelan, at Guggenheim Museum, 2016

That said, I understand he's an established name in the art world and has far more notoriety than me. As I mentioned earlier, he's created other controversial works, not only those mentioned above two but also crafted a sculpture called La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), which depicts Pope John Paul II being struck by a meteorite.

Back to the Comedian though, this 'piece' first struck me as ridiculous. I mean, it’s just a banana duct-taped to the wall. But I suppose in many ways it’s doing what art is supposed to do - provoke thought and discussion and to make people question what constitutes art.

I leave that up to you to decide, dear reader. But before I go, I’d like to share one final thought with you, encapsulated in this meme:

See you in the next one.