Number 7 Real art or a HOAX

The Art community continually shocks me with what they consider to be art.

Damien Hurst's 12 million dollar stuffed shark is an unusual sight to see and his cows head in a glass case with flies and maggots crawling all over and around this head is also something to, or not to see, but it is to me a great stretch to call it art.

I do not challenge Hurst's talent. Hurst is undoubtedly a talented artist but I question whether he even believes that much of his work is truly art, or is he just lining up with Marcel Duchamp and his urinal and other 'Ready Made' sculptures. Many people are easily led to believe that whatever an artist displays as art is actually art. I also believe many artist enjoy pulling a hoax on gallery owners and art lovers just to see if they can pull it off. I suppose if an artist can pull it off he can at least feel like a successful con artist and be proud of himself. I do not believe that I could ever be proud of myself for attempting to fraud someone with my art.

Perhaps Hurst, Duchamp and many other artists throughout the world truly believe that they are producing works of genius, and perhaps there are many gallery owners and art critics that share in their opinions. Mysteriously then, art is born, maybe, or is it merely perception?

I'm somewhat curious as to whether there are those out there that think similarly about me and my art and perhaps they are partially correct. Much of my work may not appear to them as art, and they may even perceive some of it as a hoax but much of it is undeniably art.

I do not think of myself as being anywhere close to being a genius but on the other hand I do believe that I am a very good artist, and I do believe that everything I personally hold out to be my art is art. This may sound hubris but I am truly confident in my work, and I am committed to being true to art and to the art community.

I believe that if I hold myself out to be a surgeon I owe it to the community to actually be a surgeon and be the best surgeon I am capable of being. Whatever profession one professes themselves to be they owe it to society to be true to that profession. Artists always know when they are trying to pass off a hoax as a work of art and some have been successful because there is really no definitive way to prove to the community a work is or is not art. The individual that sees it as worthy of buying will be happy for a while and I'm sure they
will call it art.

Finton