German Garbage Collectors Trash Outdoor Sculpture

From the inaugural sublime to the ridiculous, I submit this article from "CBC Art News". It seems that German garbage collectors cannot tell common trash from public works of art. (Get story here.) I appear to have the same problem.

Brea, California has a city ordinance that mandates commercial buildings facing a corner lot erect a sculpture. The intent, of course, was to beautify the city. But to anyone driving around it is self evident that legislating art does not work. On any given corner citizens are accosted with twisted pipes and sheet metal hastily bolted together - anything to meet the ordinance. Passing one of these pieces my seven year old son will question derisively, "Daddy, isn't that a beautiful sculpture", before erupting into laughter. Because indeed, it all looks like what it is - junk.

In our postmodern society art in general has taken a terrible trashing. The well publicized, and publicly funded, crucifix submerged in urine notwithstanding, the emphasis on subjective opinion and radical departures from what is real has all but overthrown objective talent. A smattering of colors from a squirt gun onto a canvas, so long as its done by someone famous, can be afforded the same or greater stature than a richly detailed portrait or landscape. If there are any "Vermeers" around today, I can hardly imagine what it must be like to compete with the likes of Andres Serrano or Berlin artist Michael Beutler.

I take solace, however, in still having ample access to the great Masters of the past. And I am confident that history will side with the German garbage collectors. I only wish they'd come to Brea.