OVER the last few weeks, I have had several conversations about modern art - none of which I have started, I might add.
During the debate (usually lengthy, sometimes measured) some bright spark barks at me (presumably to antagonise): "I suppose you like Tracey Emin?”
And then the conversation often goes something like this.
Me: “I think she is consummate storyteller and talented draughtsman.”
Them: “But the Unmade bed is appalling. It is disgusting. How can dirty sheets, fag ends and Vodka bottles be called art?”
Me: “Art doesn’t have to be beautiful, just moving in some way. Her piece moves me.”
Them: “Well I think she created it just to shock. How can she call herself an artist?”
Me: “Have you seen her sketches?”
Them: “No.”
These discussions have been timely as Charles Saatchi has announced that he will be selling Tracey Emin’s Unmade Bed at Christie’s.
It is estimated to fetch about £1.2m. Saatchi bought it from Emin, 16 years ago, for £150,000. It is said that he will buy more art with the profit.
Emin has always poured her heart and her harum-scarum life into her art.
The Unmade Bed is morbidly depressing - but Emin was broken-hearted and at the tail-end of a nervous breakdown when she created it.
Her sketches of nudes are scraggly and unsettling but her still lifes have a whimsical beauty about them.
Each confessional and intimate piece tells a story of her life in an imperfect world.
The definition of art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination - typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
So, if you really want to convince me that the Unmade Bed is not art, then you need to prove that with indifference.
The very fact that this piece provoked a tsunami of disgust shows me that it is art, Emin’s art at least, and deserving of its place in art history.
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