If you read the article, you already know the deal. If not here’s what you missed: Italian “artist”, Salvatore Garau, sold an invisible sculpture for £15,000, which is like.... I don’t know. More than 15k US dollars.
Maybe you’re like me, and thought well, maybe it’s like invisible in sunlight, or you need a special black light or something to see it. Nope it doesn’t exist. It’s invisible because he never made anything. 15k.
Now I know there’s some art snob out there that will try and tell me that I don’t understand the piece. I’d argue, they don’t understand it. I don’t hate art people though. I think they’re the best actually. They’re so snobby because they took a couple art history courses in college, or even worse, they’re an art major. But I appreciate the move. I love convincing myself that I’m the smartest person in the room. That’s what art study is. All courses should be titled “How To Make Everyone Think You’re Smarter Than Them.” Which, like, respect.
I’m not talking Da Vinci, or classic pieces like that. Those you can look at and be like huh, that looks pretty. I’m talking about interpretive art. Scam art. The kind of art that’s a big piece of paper painted blue with a red stripe at the bottom that people cry in front of and buy it for a million dollars. You can use words like clashing and expressionism all you want, it won’t work on me. Because I have a brain and eyeballs, and I can clearly see that somebody just Randy Johnson’d a bunch of paint at the wall. Interpretive is just another word for fake.
You could argue that just because I don’t understand something that I quickly dismiss it. You’d be correct. Everything I don’t understand is stupid to me. But this “invisible piece” goes too far beyond logic for anyone to reasonably justify. Not to mention, the artist said it needs to be displayed in a space of 150 x 150 cm. Um excuse me? And you bought this for £15k? Adjust your monacle pal, somebody just sold you a fart.
Despite my negative review on the piece, or lack there of, I actually love this move by Sal. Look, if you can pull off feeding your family because some rich asshole wants to be an idiot, have at it. Your next piece should be performance art where you piss on your customer’s back. You can title it, “Raining”.