$Million Artwork Damaged by Cleaning Lady

[sensei]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/art ... ml?hpid=z3

Short version: an "installation" consisting of a wooden framework holding a tub that appeared to have a dried-up puddle of dirty water in the bottom was seriously damaged by a museum cleaning woman who scrubbed out the bottom of the basin. The artwork, titled, “When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling” ["Wenn's anfaengt durch die Decke zu tropfen"], was by the German avant garde artist Martin Kippenberger (1953 – 1997), who was, according to the New York Times,"widely regarded as one of the most talented German artists of his generation."

Nevertheless, his works rarely found buyers during his lifetime, and then generally under $10,000. Since his early death from liver cancer at 44, however, Kippenberger's works have risen dramatically in value, with one sculpture topping the $2M mark at a recent auction. He is perhaps best known for his "Fred the Frog Rings the Bell," one of a series of crucified amphibians that drew a condemnation from Pope Benedict XVI.

[Matt]

It is amazing, what people call art.

[Quacker]

Oh dear that is considered 'art'............even in the avant-garde category...

It's ironic & macabre how his work did not attract much Buyer attention while still alive, yet only gathered interest after he passed away 'pre-maturely'. Looks to me that the cleaning-lady actually improved the atheistic of the other sculpture?

You could never force me to place something like that in my office, even if it is $2mil!!

[D123]

Nevertheless, his works rarely found buyers during his lifetime, and then generally under $10,000. Since his early death from liver cancer at 44, however, Kippenberger's works have risen dramatically in value, with one sculpture topping the $2M mark at a recent auction. He is perhaps best known for his "Fred the Frog Rings the Bell," one of a series of crucified amphibians that drew a condemnation from Pope Benedict XVI.

The things called art...

[Promethium]

I feel kind of sorry for the cleaning lady! If my boss told me I cleaned a dirty basin that was worth 1.1 million with the... um, whatever that thing on top is.... I'd laugh so hard - until I realize they were really serious.

[cutiebunny]

I feel sorry for the cleaning lady. I read that she had been ordered to stay a couple of feet away from the artwork during her training. It must be hard to work in museum where most of the items are made of junk and that the only thing that saves from the trash heap is some mucky-muck saying that it's "art".

Reminds me of the Andy Rooney 60 Minutes commentary where he puts artwork from "artists" and those from a pre-school and asks the experts to identify which item came from an "artist" and which came from the pre-school. Sadly, a lot of the experts thought the pre-school stuff was classic stuff.

[D123]

Reminds me of the Andy Rooney 60 Minutes commentary where he puts artwork from "artists" and those from a pre-school and asks the experts to identify which item came from an "artist" and which came from the pre-school. Sadly, a lot of the experts thought the pre-school stuff was classic stuff.

Haha, That’s just sad.

[sensei]

I've always thought that one thing that schools do is to interfere with children's natural artistic talent. When our daughter went through a scribbly phase, I'd give her big stacks of scrap paper, mostly first-draft pages from books and articles I was writing, and she'd happily create stories for herself, filling them one by one with drawings in her own individual style. And she still adds these whimsical creatures to every card and note she writes to us.

So it's quite possible that one thing artists have to do is to mentally deconstruct the effects of educators whose job it is to rub off as many distinctive talents as possible and present society with columns of interchangable human parts. It does seem that Kippenberger made a career out of thumbing his nose at all kinds of pundits who insisted that "if it's art, it has to be like this." If there is an afterlife for artists who earned Papal condemnations, it must be quite an interesting and lively spot, and probably the microbrewed soma is amazingly good.

One of the artist's friends in fact commented that Kippenberger would have been highly amused by the event, taking it to be proof that he could do photorealistic bits like dried-up water stains if he chose to. It's possible that the owner will choose not to have the paint "restored" but will allow the artwork to reflect this bit of history.

[cutiebunny]

In cases like these where the art in question is something so abstract that it being considered as 'art' is a subject of debate, I've often wondered if the only reason it's considered art and not junk is because some famous mucky-muck art critic determined it to be art. It makes me wonder if those collectors who buy this stuff do it solely because someone important considered it art, and not because anyone else thinks it is art.

It's funny to watch these critics. I recall seeing one interview of some NY Museum of Modern Art piece of 3 basketballs in a water filled aquarium saying that the artwork depicts man's eternal struggle against the void I, personally, have a hard time visiting MOMAs - It's hard for me to hold in my uncontrollable laughter that someone would spend thousands of dollars on a white canvas with random black lines on it under the impression that it showcases something deep.

But then again..I imagine these same collectors would scoff at my anime cels and sketches and wonder why anyone would want to spend thousands of dollars on pieces of plastic that don't emphasize lofty concepts such as why hot dogs are sold in packs of 10 and buns in packs of 8.

[Nene]

I've always thought that one thing that schools do is to interfere with children's natural artistic talent. When our daughter went through a scribbly phase, I'd give her big stacks of scrap paper, mostly first-draft pages from books and articles I was writing, and she'd happily create stories for herself, filling them one by one with drawings in her own individual style. And she still adds these whimsical creatures to every card and note she writes to us.

I'm probably going a bit off-topic but I think this is one reason I'm going to have a heck of a time finding the right school when I have children. My primary school was pretty terrible in that I used to write perfectly fine with both hands until they forced me to choose one hand. My brain had already developed to use both sides equally and since then I've had balance/co-ordination problems and probably other things due to essentially having to switch that part of my brain off at an early age when it was trying to develop. I guess I'm lucky to have the opportunity to know where teachers went wrong with my own personal growth so I can help others but it's refreshing to hear that you didn't stifle your daughter's creativity and growth.

[Quacker]

some famous mucky-muck art critic

Term for week CB; mucky-muck!! lol love it.
Next time I deal with one, I can see me concentrating in trying not to deliberately say that out aloud.....

[Cordelia]

LMAO...I find that contemporary art has isolated the mass audience......artists and curators can be so self-indulgent at times. What happened to communicating to the audience? Much of what is done now has been done before decades ago, time to move on or at least re-visit the fundamentals of art (which to me is beauty).

[sensei]

I've always felt that eyeworthiness, or at least a compelling visual impact, was one of the essential qualities of something I intended to collect. (I still recall that group of young kids flipping through my Tennimon cel book on "Community Day" and gently patting the ones they liked, just as they would kittens.)

But in the eccentric world of contemporary art it seems that the reputation of the artist, his medical health (healthy -- $10K, moribund -- $100K, dead -- $1M), and auction prices paid for other works drive the activity. That's not so different from anime art collecting (though the prices are 10x to 20x less). Many people will pay a premium price for a Miyazaki or EVA sketch/cel even if it is not very significant or attractive, because of the reputation of the artist/series and the prices paid for more worthy items on auction.

I don't mean to criticize collectors who spend more than I do on cels and sketches from major works like Mononoke Hime. (Nor, for that matter, on Kippenberger's creations, though it would have been nice if he'd received the benefit of the high auction prices while he was living.) Good taste and a healthy budget combines the best of both worlds.

But on my retiree's budget, I'd much rather have a striking piece of art from a series that is lesser known (but which I like) rather than an iffy image from a more widely recognized movie/series. One never knows, after all, which contemporary artists and anime projects will eventually emerge, a half century or more, as the ones that had the most to say to future generations.

[D123]

In cases like these where the art in question is something so abstract that it being considered as 'art' is a subject of debate, I've often wondered if the only reason it's considered art and not junk is because some famous mucky-muck art critic determined it to be art. It makes me wonder if those collectors who buy this stuff do it solely because someone important considered it art, and not because anyone else thinks it is art.

It's funny to watch these critics. I recall seeing one interview of some NY Museum of Modern Art piece of 3 basketballs in a water filled aquarium saying that the artwork depicts man's eternal struggle against the void I, personally, have a hard time visiting MOMAs - It's hard for me to hold in my uncontrollable laughter that someone would spend thousands of dollars on a white canvas with random black lines on it under the impression that it showcases something deep

I so agree with this, I just can’t believe what has happened to art in today’s age, I can bend a fork and call it art and maybe when I die it’ll be worth a billion . Better yet I’ll come up with a tissue collage made up of used tissues THAT’LL make me famous I'll call it "runny nose" my "inner struggle" with the snot

I've always thought that one thing that schools do is to interfere with children's natural artistic talent. When our daughter went through a scribbly phase, I'd give her big stacks of scrap paper, mostly first-draft pages from books and articles I was writing, and she'd happily create stories for herself, filling them one by one with drawings in her own individual style. And she still adds these whimsical creatures to every card and note she writes to us.

I'm probably going a bit off-topic but I think this is one reason I'm going to have a heck of a time finding the right school when I have children. My primary school was pretty terrible in that I used to write perfectly fine with both hands until they forced me to choose one hand. My brain had already developed to use both sides equally and since then I've had balance/co-ordination problems and probably other things due to essentially having to switch that part of my brain off at an early age when it was trying to develop. I guess I'm lucky to have the opportunity to know where teachers went wrong with my own personal growth so I can help others but it's refreshing to hear that you didn't stifle your daughter's creativity and growth.

Mine was the worst, for so many reasons I mean the place was a joke.

They messed me up good when I first entered school; I was a bubbly talkative social kid, now I’m very quiet and shy in public I can’t really interact with others. I mean why do these people become involved with teaching children if they’re going to f*ck up lives

[Promethium]

I’ll come up with a tissue collage made up of used tissues THAT’LL make me famous I'll call it "runny nose" my "inner struggle" with the snot

I'll make a splash painting with my projectile vomit and some regurgitated pepto-bizmal, and we can call it a series.