Art or Insult?

[zakur]

Artist Paints Fake 'Low Flying Planes' Sign Near Ground Zero (http://www.wnbc.com/wtc/2200559/detail.html)

NEW YORK -- An artist who painted a fake "CAUTION Low Flying Planes" sign on a building near ground zero said Tuesday that he did not mean to offend anyone.

"If you take a low humor view of it, that's really in your mind, not mine," said artist James Peterson, who titled his acrylic-on-brick work "Caution: 2003." "It wasn't meant to be offensive."

But the painting, which includes an image of a flickering flame, has angered neighbors and provoked complaints to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.

...

He said the painting was meant to as a memorial to the attack on the World Trade Center, a few blocks to the south.

"I was just trying to make a piece about what happened, like, after the second plane hit," he said. "Art, you know ... it doesn't just have to be pretty behind somebody's couch."

[max]

I would be very insulted by that. Nothing about 9/11 was funny or artistic. The artist should be ashamed of himself. I wonder what religion if any he follows

[NoZed Avenger]

I don't see an option for "shameless publicity mongering."

NA

[Dancing David]

Insulting art. I vote both.
It would be like a "firewood for sale" at a death camp.


Peace

[Genghis Pwn]

What the hell is "art" about this? I could use photoshop and draw a picture of some crap and stencil it on a wall with the words "Don´t step in the poo, poopy-heads." Would that be art?

[Dancing David]

Originally posted by Genghis Pwn
What the hell is "art" about this? I could use photoshop and draw a picture of some crap and stencil it on a wall with the words "Don´t step in the poo, poopy-heads." Would that be art?

Depends on if you style yourself an artist, maybe it's a new career.

Funk On.

[More Evolved-er]

Call me naive, but I think that sometimes judging intent from artists can be a tough guess. Was this work supposed to be seen as anything other than an extremely tasteless joke? Was it instead intended to be profound, ironic, etc? I didn't see it as such, but just because I didn't doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't meant to be. 'N'other words, is it possible he's just a bad artist, and not necessarily a purposely offensive one? (Before I get flamed, let me point out I'm extremely doubtful of this)

By the way, did this topic remind anyone else of that Piss Christ (http://www.renewal.org.au/artcrime/pages/serrano.html) thing a few years ago?

[coalesce]

It's kind of like the "artist" who left a few unattended boxes around the Union Square subway station a few months ago, was arrested, and then couldn't understand the hoopla surrounding what he had done, claiming it was an "art project."

Well, DUH!!!!

Most of us, artists like myself included, are still feeling a little raw about the 11th, and this attempt at "art," or whatever you want to call it, did nothing to either soothe us, make us think differently about the 11th, or about the role of art in our daily lives. All it did accomplish was people talking about the mural and granted this person his 15 minutes of fame.

And according to this artists' watch, he's already at 14:30.

Michael

[Upchurch]

Originally posted by max
Nothing about 9/11 was [snip] artistic.
Whoa. Maybe it is too soon for this particular piece of art, but art is used to express feelings, even sad or painful ones. I'm not defending this artist, but I will defend the need for using art to help people cope with the tragidy and, frankly, to get over it just a little bit.

[LuxFerum]

I found it funny.
black humor...

why is this making people feel insulted?

[Bluegill]

I don't consider it art, and I don't consider it an insult. I think it's somewhat tactless, but I also found it funny--but not hilarious. I was not offended by it, but I can understand why people would be, so if I had been the painter's friend I would have advised him against doing it.

[Bluegill]

Originally posted by Dancing David
Insulting art. I vote both.
It would be like a "firewood for sale" at a death camp.


Peace

I don't find it quite comparable, since the "joke" is not directed directly at the victims of the tragedy, but rather the circumstances. To me, "firewood for sale" at a death camp" would be equivalent to "Danger: Falling bodies" in Manhattan. That would be over the line for me (and I say it here not to provoke a laugh but to illustrate the point.)

[schplurg]

It looks like any other "road sign" to me. I don't see any art in a 55 MPH speed limit sign. But the message is the art I suppose. The message and humor are juvenile, and I believe the artist knew damn well he was insulting people and simply going for publicity.

As long as my tax money isn't subsidizing this crap, sure call it art...very bad art. Did he have permission to paint that on the building?


"The fact that nobody understands you doesn't make you an artist."

[Underemployed]

Lucy Van Pelt, in a discussion with her brother Linus, conclusively proved that Art is a waterfall, a deer, the sun, some trees, some birds flying and some flowers.

Fake bad-taste signs are not Art.

[plindboe]

Sounds like this "artist" was surprised that people got offended. What a moron.

Jokes about horrible events are common and can be quite funny too. It's just a normal way for humans to react, and can help the healing process on the way. But to place a joke on Ground Zero, where people come to mourn is just plain moronic. This person has no common sense.

"Art?" No, just stupid and tasteless.

Peter :)