What Is The Value Of Art?
Chuck_Melville
Posts: 3,003
How about -- a chickenwire statue plastered with comics that were worth more than the finished project?
robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/07/artist-unknowingly-creates-sculpture-out-of-comics-worth-30000/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/07/artist-unknowingly-creates-sculpture-out-of-comics-worth-30000/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Comments
i figured everyone knows what an old comic book looks like, and with the mentality that old comic books are worth thousands you'd think he'd at least look them up
he probably did and still decided to do it, which means he should get slapped again
I think it's a cool piece of art, and wish he'd known the value of the books and done it anyway.
That would have been audacious.
Besides, every rare comic lost makes the other copies more valuable.*
*Now if someone would just make a life-size papier-mache aircraft carrier out of copies of The Death of Superman.
Being an "art first" guy, I'm not as offended by the repurposing of the comic as others seem to be. To me this work is much like what DJ's do when they lift samples from songs to make something new.
and then sold the comics for what they're worth (which dumpster so not full price but it would've been something fairly significant) and then given that money away to charity since "money has not got such a value to (him)"
some people need that money the artist apparently isn't one of them
i'm a "food first" guy, if you're starving the mona lisa is just a lady looking at you being hungry
And as for the idea that instead of being a sculptor he should get into the business of appraising and selling things to better feed people. . . I mean, I see what you are saying, but let's be fair-- if we follow that argument to its logical end point, could not all artistic endeavor be measured in economic impact and how many people it feeds? Could that not be applied to all endeavor, professional or avocational? Should we not be doing something that better makes money and feeds people rather than write these posts? Do we only have responsibility to try to sell and donate money when we find comic books in the trash? Or should we feel responsible to try to sell things like scrap metal that we see in the trash?
I think by that standard, nearly everything people do is time wasted. But not everything is utilitarian and about survival. In fact, some say that art is what humans started doing once there was surplus. Art comes out of surplus, and therefore an object (like old funnybooks) may be considered by an artist for their artistic potential rather than their potential as an asset.
in reality he probably was like "they're worth what now? well i'm going to pretend that that sort of thing is beneath me and that i find the whole thing amusing"
There are many many people out there that think comics are worthless "low" art, that would most likely think this is a much more appropriate use of the medium.
It's a pretty cool story though. I'm not sure how I would feel if I were him. I have a feeling I wouldn't be too upset. He didn't pay for those comics, and early Avengers issues had no value to him. Now his Paper Avenger has a great story with a real history, so I guess he came out on top. Maybe he can sell the mache man for more than the dumpster copies were worth.
As Pop Art it works - and if he used valuable books to make it, more's the statement it makes. Like David said, many artistic/graphic design movements were brought in on the idea of using "found" objects.
A more powerful statement might be if he'd bought the books, paid that $30k, and then repurposed/destroyed them to make his piece. We'd either be burning him in effigy, calling him a fool, or both.
(governments do it as well - without claiming it to be art though)