Is Art Shit?

Louise Lawler, Birdcalls (1972–81)

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Tehching Hsieh, One Year Performance 1980–1981 (Time Clock Piece) (1980–81)

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Sherrie Levine, After Walker Evans (1981)

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes (1964).  Episode 9 of "Is Art Shit".

This piece is something that a lot of people may already be familiar with.  It's a bit more mainstream than some of the...art... they normally discuss.  However, as Sean states in the episode - In the moment, someone wrote in the gallery book after seeing Brillo Boxes the following..."SHIT"

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Steven Rhall, The Biggest Aboriginal Artwork in Metro Melbourne (2016).

This piece has even more significant resonance after the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.  Let's see what the Seans have to say about it...

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Rachel Whiteread, House (1993)

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Robert Barry, Inert Gas Series/Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon/From a Measured Volume to Indefinite Expansion (1969) - Basically, A Fart In The Desert.

Both Seans love Robert Barry.  "He's prolific - in that he does less and less and less in terms of actually creating art..."

Is Art Shit?  Let's see what Sean has to say...

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Rooms Full of Nothing - AKA Voids, A Retrospective, Pompidou Centre, Paris (2009)

Sean described it as "The Stadium Rock Super Group Festival of Contentless Work".  The absence of art is the art.  You can understand why the other Sean gets pretty riled up in this episode.

Is Art Shit?  Let's see what Sean has to say...

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Piero Manzoni, Artist's Shit (1961).

Art doesn't get any more shit than this.  Literally.

Sean has his work cut out this week to convince Sean that shit is not shit.

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.

Robert Rauschenberg, White Paintings (1951) might just be the 'OG' of art in the category of ‘If I can do it, it can't be art’.

 Pretty much proving Sean's point, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art says the following about Robert Rauschenberg, White Paintings (1951) (emphasis added) – “Considered shocking and even characterized as a cheap swindle when they were first exhibited publicly in 1953, the White Paintings have gradually secured a place in art history as important precursors of Minimalism and Conceptualism”.

Is this art shit?  Let’s see what Sean has to say…

All music composed, performed and produced by The Ghosts of Nothing, courtesy The Ghosts of Nothing and Perfect Pitch Publishing.