But is it art?
 

Interested to hear the Org opinions on this one.

Yesterday a painting by Francis Bacon of Lucian Freud became the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction after it fetched £89 million in New York.

It has been described as "A true masterpiece and one of the greatest paintings to come up for auction in a current generation. It marks Bacon and Freud's relationship, paying tribute to the creative and emotional kinship between the two artists."

Personally if my friend painted something like this of me I'd give them a good slap and tell them to try a bit harder as it looks like he's been hit round the head with a rolling pin.

So OMO, what do you think of the ultra rich paying £89m for a hideous piece of 'art'?

http://forums.sv650.org/picture.php?...pictureid=7374

Re: But is it art?
 

I'd have it in the throne room above my gold throne which would also happen to be encrusted with rubies and diamonds spelling out my name.

Other than that I'd spend my £89m on something useful, like helping the Philippines

Re: But is it art?
 

I think it's obscene tbh, Maria on here is what I'd call an artist with her wildlife sketches, much more detail and skill IMO.

Some people have too much money, that would feed a lot of starving, thirsty people in the phillipines ATM.

Re: But is it art?
 

It's art no doubt about that.

I don't think it's worth that much and I don't think its very good TBH, To me art is to be enjoyed or at least to trigger emotions and there's nothing enjoyable or interesting about it.

I don't really care about the value though, the money doesn't vanish it just moves from one idiot to another and the more times it does that the better.

Re: But is it art?
 

Anyway, the pole is invalid! Org rules are that there is always a "Keith D" option

Re: But is it art?
 

Is Keith D art?

Re: But is it art?
 

exactly spank, it's not in the slightest bit enjoyable or pleasant on the eye, IT'S F****** HIDEOUS!!!! quite why anyone would want this I have no idea and for such a ridiculous sum of money too.

Re: But is it art?
 

Why can art not be hideous or otherwise not aesthetically pleasing? I think it's purpose is to convey emotion or a message.
I don't see any message in this painting.

I prefer art to be aesthetically pleasing at least and came to this thread hoping to see boobs.

Re: But is it art?
 

IMHO it can be, that's why I added to "trigger emotions".

Including bad ones. Botticelli's map of hell springs to mind.

For me this painting does nothing either way.

Re: But is it art?
 

so called 'art' is only a way of moving large amounts of money around. once its hanging on your wall/vault/gallery it's not affected by tax. sometimes you loose sometimes you win the value back or more. it's certainly subject to lees tax than houses for example.

Re: But is it art?
 

The only reason it's worth £89m is because some said it is and someone else was stupid enough to pay for it, in a few years time someone eve stupider will buy it for even more.

I went to an exhibition of local art a couple of weeks ago and all the sales people were talking about was how it will go up in value. They really couldn't give a toss if the painting actually looked nice or not.

The price has nothing to do with anything other than what Bibio said, it's a tax free investment.

Re: But is it art?
 

I never feel that art even has to be pretty to hang on your wall. I really like the work of Glenn Brown and have a print of 'Shallow Deaths' on my guest bedroom wall which one friend finds really disturbing when he stays.

http://arttattler.com/Images/Europe/...llowdeaths.jpg

I also love Fuseli's 'The Nightmare' in which the blind horse and the incubus could never be described as the most appealing fluffy creatures in this most gothic of paintings.

http://images.tate.org.uk/sites/defa...?itok=Q2MOWdYl

And one of my favourite paintings ever is the portrait of Sir Viv Richards by Brendan Kelly. It's so imposing and powerful just like the man himself.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-905QRLYciD...0/IMG_8917.jpg

But I like these paintings for their style - and every time we hear about another painting being sold for vast sums it's like the buyer is just doing it so they can show off to their equally rich friends how much cash they have to splurge.

Re: But is it art?
 

It is an affront that you ask such a question

Look at face if that isn't art, I don't know what is!

Re: But is it art?
 

Something like this has depth and makes you think, which makes this type of art very interesting for me. The way the background is "out of focus" and the texture is intriguing and you end up exploring the piece to follow lines.

Renaissance art is often beautifully crafted and painted, even if the subjects and compositions are a bit surreal, making it pleasant to the eye. But that multi-million Pound stuff in the OP does nothing to me...