Quickie Question: Where Is the Line?
By TwistieI know, I know, Quickie Question is a monday thing. Well, it’s my blog and I can change the rules midstream if I like, so there.
Anyway.
This is Morgan Philips IV, aka The Sucklord. He’s an artist, currently competing on the Bravo reality series Work of Art. He’s a toy designer and artist and an evil genius. He’s also one of several artists currently on the show whose work begs the question: what is the point where it stops being crafts and starts being art?
Sucklord’s work tends to include glueing Star Wars action figures to most pieces, and has been known to feature sculpting styrofoam, as well. Another artist on the show, Michelle, works in elaborate paper sculptures. Dusty’s audition self-portrait was made by glueing crayons to the canvas in a 3-D masterpiece of alternative pointilism. In short, nearly everything half these artists have shown could fit comfortably into a fine craft show, as well as a fine art gallery.
So where is the line? Who determines whether it’s art or craft? Is the demarcation even valid anymore? Or do we simply emulate the famous words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart about pornography: I know it when I see it?
Tell me what you think, people!