When Art is too Lazy to Imitate Life

Welcome back, loyal readers! Now that I'm back at home and have rested up a bit, I'm finally ready to do that bonus blog- except I have one more thing first. We were able to find a bit more bloggable material in London than we had expected, so without further ado... I give you the Tate Modern!

The Tate Modern is a modern art museum in London. There were some pieces on display that were actually pretty cool, like this robot with TV screens and radios on it, or the cave-style layered painting shown below it.

However, there were also the kinds of pieces that are what gives modern art its bad reputation. Like this one, titled "Grey".

...It's just grey. At least the name fits.

And the description provided:

The artist wanted to illustrate nothing? ...Well, he nailed it.

Besides "Grey", there are a few more "lowlights" (opposite of highlights, get it?) that I'd like to show- in ascending order of stunning laziness.

First are these three pieces, which are literally nothing but dull, square borders. Also, the artist managed to sell three of them, despite the fact that the only difference is the slight color shift of the rims.

Here's what the Tate Modern had to say about it:

The artist "wanted to create works that did not involve pictorial illusion or expressive gestures." Really? Without expressive gestures? That's just a fancy way of saying that she didn't want to make art at all.

Second is this one- all it is is an eight-sided paper shape slapped on a wall. You have to see it to believe it.

This one didn't even get a description plate.

And finally, the one thing in the building worse than the piece above. I didn't even put a picture in, because the exhibit didn't merit one.

It was just a mirror.

It didn't even have a fancy border, or any border at all. It was just a rectangular mirror, a thick sheet of reflective glass. Most people probably wouldn't even use it as a normal mirror in their house, much less treat it as art. But what truly makes this annoying to me is the description that they provided. 

I pity the people who make cool things like the robot shown above- these other pieces are really dragging everyone else down.

And on that happy note, thanks for reading! Remember to stay tuned for the final bonus episode. See you next time.