Now you see it Now you don’t!
Yours for £70,000 – absurd ‘lights on and off’ artwork that apparently impressed Madonna But all you get to take home is a single piece of paper that says you are the proud owner!
THIS could be the most lucrative ‘light-bulb moment’ ever.
An artwork that consists of nothing more than lights turning on and off in an empty room is expected to fetch up to £70,000 when it is auctioned by Christie’s next month.
But the winning bidder will not even get the bulbs or switches needed to recreate the piece – just a certificate of authenticity, signed by British artist Martin Creed, giving permission to use the idea.
The work has split the art world, with critics say it is the ultimate example of the ‘emperor’s new clothes’ while others praise a radical example of ‘art as an idea’.
Christie’s is understood to be employing an electrician to set up its own version of Work No.127: The Lights Going On And Off, so potential buyers can experience a room switching from light to darkness every 30 seconds.
Charles Thomson, the head of the Stuckist Group of traditionalist artists, condemned the installation as ‘a mundane experience’ rather than a work of art. He said: ‘It’s not so much a question of the lights going on and off, it’s a question of the brain going on and off.
‘People are effectively being asked to pay £70,000 for something they could reproduce quite easily in your own home. It just shows the complete madness of the current thinking in the art world.’
Mr Creed, 46, created the work in 1995 as a precursor to his nearidentical piece No.227: The Lights Going On And Off – this time at five-second intervals – which went on to win the Turner Prize in 2001.
The decision to award Mr Creed the £20,000 prize proved to be one of the most controversial in the competition’s history and protesters picketed the ceremony.
Madonna, who subsequently presented the award, described art prizes as ‘silly’ and said there could be no correlation between good art and money.
But she said: ‘I want to support any artist who not only has something to say but the balls to say it.’
Work No.227 was subsequently bought by the Tate Gallery for more than £100,000, and it could be another gallery that buys No.127 at Christie’s. It is being sold by the current owner, a private collector.
Mr Creed’s other works have included a scrunched up ball of paper (No.88), a lump of kneaded Blu-Tack stuck on a wall (No.79), and athletes running through the galleries of Tate Britain (No.850).
Michael Daley, the head of ArtWatch UK, said of the lights installation: ‘It’s only an artwork in the narrow loopy confines of the modern contemporary art establishment. Christie’s are just selling pretentious junk to chumps who want to buy into “cool”.’
But art historian Sir Norman Rosenthal, said: ‘I am a fan of Creed and I think he has a place. His work is very slight and sexy and good fun. I can see the point.’
Mr Rosenthal said he probably wouldn’t want Work No.127 in his front room, but added: ‘Art is not like that. You don’t have to like it. You are not obliged. But if you are involved in the language and the discourse of art then yes it is art.’
Martin Creed was last night unavailable for comment.