http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050729/ap_en_ot/tap_water_artist
LONDON - British artist Mark McGowan finally shut off the spigot Friday — 32 days after turning on the water in an art gallery's kitchen sink as part of an exhibit intended to mock the waste of water.
"The Running Tap," as it was called, was McGowan's ironic effort to protest the waste of water in London by blatantly letting it go down the drain. After the sink swallowed 211,344 gallons, McGowan ended the project.
"It was really quiet," he said, since he'd grown used to the faucet's gushing sound. "I felt quiet inside as well."
The idea came as London experienced its worst drought since 1976. The cold water was intended to gush for one year and waste 3.9 million gallons — all in an effort to alert Londoners that precious water is needlessly wasted every day.
"Water's quite cheap," he said. "I think that's why people waste it so much."
McGowan decided to abort the project after the public utility, Thames Water, hand-delivered a notice ordering McGowan to turn off the tap within seven days — or else.
He celebrated the end of the exhibit with a cool glass of water.
"The reason behind my art will linger," he said somberly.
Thames Water had tried in exasperation to get McGowan to shut off the tap several days after the exhibit began, but McGowan adamantly disobeyed. He claimed they waste millions of gallons of water every day through pipe leakage — a charge the company did not deny.
"We don't deliberately leak," said Nick Tennant, the utility's spokesman.
The company acknowledged that the art helped illuminate water waste problems, but complained that McGowan shamelessly squandered the precious liquid.
Even after its death, "The Running Tap" might be resurrected.
With a $2,614.62 price tag, the stainless steel sink is up for sale, ready to cascade once more. McGowan said he had received an e-mail from an interested art connoisseur in the U.S.
"I think it's one of my best pieces because it's so simple," he said. "Myself, I still leave the tap running sometimes because I forget."
personally, i don't think that something like that is "art". it's just some whiney little attention whore bitching about something they don't like. it's NOT art. grow up, get a real job. hell, i think the guy should work for the water company and actually do something constructive about the water leaks that he is complaining about so much. what a loser.
anybody else's take on this so called "art"?
I don't thin it is but there are stupid people everywhere. I wonder if he relized his art was a waste of water/space/time/money
The cold water was intended to gush for one year and waste 3.9 million gallons
..............oh yeah.... thats art..... making worse of a already bad situation
-Borsty
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
Tap water artist...... I should charge admission to watch me watering the lawn then.
if thats art then so is that picture I took when i was drunk of me pissing all over the RKSport catalog
Darkstars wrote:if thats art then so is that picture I took when i was drunk of me pissing all over the RKSport catalog
it's controversial... so it MUST be art.
Lets see:
Dictionary.com wrote:
art. n
- Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.
- The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.
- The study of these activities.
- The product of these activities; human works of beauty considered as a group.
- High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value.
- A field or category of art, such as music, ballet, or literature.
- A nonscientific branch of learning; one of the liberal arts.
- A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a set of activities: the art of building.
- A trade or craft that applies such a system of principles and methods: the art of the lexicographer.
- Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation: the art of the baker; the blacksmith's art.
- Skill arising from the exercise of intuitive faculties: “Self-criticism is an art not many are qualified to practice” (Joyce Carol Oates).
- arts Artful devices, stratagems, and tricks.
- Artful contrivance; cunning.
- Printing. Illustrative material.
Yep. It's art. All is Art. (sorry RatZero)
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
the problem of "art" is that everything is art. pissing on an RK catalog is art. eating a sandwich is art. walking down the street is art. any and every thing we do can be considered art.
what i dont like is when someone turns on the water tap and lets it run for a month and then everyone is like "oh wow...hes a visionary thinker". no....hes just lazy.
btw.....i wanna see the picture of you pissing on RKs catalog
^^^ Didn't I just say that?
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
Sure, if someone thinks it is art, then it is. Not exactly my taste, but who am I to judge?
Anything designed to make us think about the things we do wrong, no matter what it is.. can't be too bad. Can it?
I had a friend once who was going to nail himself to a cross. When everyone freaked out, he was going to ask them why they cared so much for him doing it.. but not jesus. That was his idea of art. Once again, not my taste, but what can you do.
Kellie Staples wrote:I had a friend once who was going to nail himself to a cross. When everyone freaked out, he was going to ask them why they cared so much for him doing it.. but not jesus. That was his idea of art. Once again, not my taste, but what can you do.
ok, that is the biggest load of bs i think i have read in the longest time. your friend is seriously @!#$ up in the head if he thought that way.
first of all, Jesus didn't nail himself to the cross. he was nailed to the cross to be murdered because of what he was teaching, not for the attention he'd get. secondly, a whole lot of people DID care that he was nailed to the cross. 2000+ years later and people still care that he was nailed to the cross. your friend is an idiot.
imo, too many people think that just cause something is controversial, that it's art. far too many people are claiming stupid @!#$ as "art" to make easy money. like the guy who sold a blank canvas for tens of thousands of dollars claiming that it was "art". it just pisses me off when all these people slap junk together and put it on display calling it "art".
Cannon: 3 thoughts,
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"A fool and their money are soon parted."
"If you can't beat'em, join'em."
Namaste.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
IMO, it's not art, it's a statement.
Currently #4 in Ecotec Forced Induction horsepower ratings. 505.8 WHP 414WTQ!!!
Currently 3rd quickest Ecotec on the .org - 10.949 @ 131.50 MPH!!!
in my view, its art...
artistic things are there to make you think, or make a statement, or even baffle you for years while you figure it out or interpret it.
anything can be art, and usually the simplest things which have a meaning behind it are overlooked cause its not the stereotypical view of art, like a sculpture on a block of concrete or behind a glass, or it hangs on a wall.
art comes in all forms, this is just one of the more bare minimum ones.
In my view ^^^ that's Art.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
