Accessed 19th February 2019.
Last of a three-part series which unlocks the BBC archives to tell the story of modern art in the words of the artists themselves, looks at how radical late 20th-century artists took on art history and won. From the notorious 'bricks' of Carl Andre to the 'living sculptures' Gilbert and George, from the shockingly explicit photography of Robert Mapplethorpe to the powerful nudes of Lucian Freud and sensational pickled sharks of Damien Hirst. Art critic Matthew Collings looks into the state of contemporary art, exploring how artists have redefined art and how modern art seeks to shock the audience.
Talking about modern art my suggestion is to be open minded and without preconceptions, with this in mind the question is to ask; Does everything have to be called art? This episode certainly made me stop and think. Carl Andres' ambition to create his sculpture from 'bricks', stems from his personal experience; his father worked on the rail road previously. Without this information from the artist himself we would certainly question his intentions of the works. Critique at the time of the works was relentless; was he making fun? how can this be art, this is not precious or unique? The back ground of this minimalist work tells a story of the tactile, rather than visual relationship. Andre has searched for his values, reusing materials in a new way, looking at basic forms and more importantly the works is about what the artist has created from the materials and not the materials themselves.
This is what I find really appealing in Andre and his contemporaries work.