In all the excitement of the week, I forgot to write about the other show at Michael Stevenson, Salute by Simon Gush, installed in that other gallery on the side. The one with all the bookshelves in it. The artwork consisted of a contract between the artist and the buyer, presented on a glass covered podium prettily lit in a dark grey room. The contract stated that at the buyers death the artist will arrange a 21 gun salute, a military salute in which 21 guns are fired, usually reserved for president's funerals and Princess Diana and stuff. (Please note the video above shows a 3 volley salute, traditionally performed by seven men. So while 21 shots are fired in the three salvoes, this salute is used for military funerals, and it's not the big guns fired successively used in 21 gun salute. A small but significant difference if you are going to die for your country). So if you get it right, then the collector/buyer of art is afforded the same respect as JFK. But if we look at the current inflated situation of the art market, which everyone is goddamn talking about, then I guess I can see the validity of this.

The other part of the contract states the conditions, the most important being that the artwork cannot be resold. So not only is the collector/buyer given respect after his/her death, and not only has he/she purchased this respect, but the respect is all he/she purchased. No other investment has been made.

Living in our over-capitalised world these are salient points: what is the value of what we are buying, etc. Living in our over-capitalised art world these too are salient points: what is the role of the collector/buyer of art and for what purpose does this person buy it.

On the other hand, if I see one more work about art I'm going to vomit.

Labels: Michael Stevenson, simon gush