Lost Horizons

Well, it's art, Jim, but not as we know it!

The Royal Academy of Art put a block of slate on display, topped by a small piece of wood, in its summer exhibition in London, believing it to be a work of art. However, the slate was actually a plinth and the stick was designed to prop up a sculpture. The sculpture itself, of a human head, was nowhere to be seen. The work's artist, David Hensel, told the BBC, "I think the things got separated in the selection process and the selectors presented the plinth as a complete sculpture." The academy explained the error by saying the plinth and the head were sent to the exhibitors separately. "Given their separate submission, the two parts were judged independently," it said in a statement. The head was rejected, but the base was thought to have merit and accepted. The head has been safely stored ready to be collected by the artist. A spokesperson for The Royal Academy said, "It is accepted that works may not be displayed in the way that the artist might have intended." So, let's get this straight, the 'selectors' actually get paid for this job of putting a bit of wood on a piece of slate? It might have been better if the 'art' had been entitled, "The amazing straight Boomerang." (aka ... A Stick!)

posted by Luke @ 9:16 AM