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La Mort D'Un Artiste 2008

La Mort D'Un Artiste 2008

The runner-up prize worth R 15 000, at a recent new signature art competition (?), was awarded to a conceptual artist (?) for his EFFORTLESS CONCEPTUAL INTERVENTION piece, “CLAIM”, in which the conceptual artist (?) “CLAIM” credit for all the artworks on exhibition.

The conceptual artist (?) states:

"I propose that my name be inserted into every label of the works on exhibition and that I receive a special mention before the commencement of all performance works (without the consent or knowledge of the artists) so as to be credited as a collaborative partner in the creation of the works"

Could an artist’s SIGNATURE/ARTWORK become “CLAIMED” trough an EFFORTLESS CONCEPTUAL INTERVENTION? The key word is, “CLAIM”, a concept that exists for more than five hundred years, does the names MICHELANGELO (1475 – 1564), DA VINCI (1452 – 1519), RUBENS (1577 – 1640), MAN RAY (1890 – 1976), R MUTT(1887 – 1968), or even GORDON FROUD (1963 – ) ring any bells. Did the miles of painted surfaces, hundreds of naked women, poster collages, wine rack, urinal or black hangers never cross our dear JUDGES (?) paths? DAMIEN HIRST (1965 – ) uses both collaborative partners, investors, artists, apprentices and various living and inanimate objects (“THE OTHER”), in a single artwork, should “THE OTHER CLAIM” credit for a “HIRST” artwork as a collaboration product? Imagine a glass encaged formalien preserved gilded cow covered in SIXTY signatures; nobody would be able to see the poor fucking cow. Maybe if anybody bothered to read the most rudimentary ART HISTORY BOOK, (that could be done effortlessly) and definitely for less than R 15 000, this juvenile effort of supposed new groundbreaking EFFORTLESS CONCEPTUAL INTERVENTION clumsiness “TO INNOVATIVELY CLAIM AS COLLABORATIVE PARTNER” would have been exposed as uninformed drivel at the inception of the reviewing process.

The conceptual artist (?) states:

“In this way I question the (sole) ownership of an artwork by its creator”

If you would buy a “RUBENS” (who the fuck painted it) it is general knowledge that his artistic involvement was directly related to the amount paid for the artwork. But a “RUBENS” SIGNATURE still remain original and “UNCLAIMED” by “THE OTHER” and so on and so on.

Who did not intellectually accept the involvement of various collaborative partners, artists, apprentices (“THE OTHER”), or material used in artworks “CLAIMED” when signed as a product by RUBENS, MAN RAY, R MUTT, or FROUD?

Obviously, only the unintelligent conceptual award winning artist (?) and uninformed selector/judge (?) did not grasp this concept.

During the recent VERVE Physical Theatre Performance platform event, an artwork was created, entitled “LA MORT D'UN ARTISTE” (or “DEATH OF AN ARTIST”) questioning the validity of an artist’s “SIGNATURE” as his own. “LA MORT D'UN ARTISTE” is titled in French to further illustrate the pretension of an assumed prize winning art concept created through an EFFORTLESS CONCEPTUAL INTERVENTION. During the VERVE Physical Theatre and Performance Platform event, the artist “CLAIMED” all objects, individuals and performance pieces as his own; everything was signed and remained the property of the artist as long as his SIGNATURE was visible on the person or object. All the artworks created during the event were later signed by participants (after the fact) by all who were interested.

The artist duplicated the EFFORTLESS CONCEPTUAL INTERVENTION of a NEW SIGNATURE RUNNER-UP PRIZE WINNER, MICHELANGELO, DA VINCI, RUBENS, MAN RAY, R MUTT and FROUD in a public environment. This deliberate action nullifying all future efforts in the possibility that a proven unoriginal, award winning “original” EFFORTLESS CONCEPTUAL INTERVENTION can or could ever demean the originality of “MY CLAIMED SIGNATURE”. Even when displayed in a public space.

It is now done (again) effortlessly.

With this public event and 25 artworks created (including the recognition of the absurdity of the awarded runner-up prize) I declare that I will be a JUDGE (?) in the 2009 new signature competition (?)

As “THE OTHER” say in French:

“Aller baiser avec votre propre signature”

Hardus Koekemoer

HK08 (Unsigned)


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