I saw this image a while ago on a blog and was intrigued to what it was and who did it, I recently stumbled upon it again and quickly found out who did it. The people who did it are British artists Bob and Roberta Smith and was connected with a show they did in New York at Pierogi back in 2002... There message to people was simple, it read,'Sign this card and bring it with you to Pierogi and you will receive a special
"I AM NO LONGER AN ARTIST" badge.
A call to Artists. Pack it in. Bob and Roberta Smith are delighted to offer this Amnesty for your Bad Art. Turn in your brushes and video cameras. Hand in your chisels and marble.
If you think of yourself as an artist then step back and consider the last time you sold something (if you ever have), who turned up to your NEA-funded performance? Why you opened your studio and exactly who was interested?
For Gods sake get a life, and more importantly
GET A F***CKING PROPER JOB.
ARTISTS. PACK IT IN.
HAND OVER YOUR DUD WORK, EASELS AND MATERIALS AT PIEROGI.
One dumpster load of work will be disposed of at the end of the Amnesty—
Don't miss a life changing opportunity.'
Bob and Roberta Smith
Basically the artists offered a five week amnesty for bad art, and asked artist who were rubbish to pack it in. Anyone who signed the card and brought in art got given a 'I am no longer an artist' badge'. For anyone who arrived without art they were given stuff to make art, to then throw away. Once the exhibition was over a skip was thrown out with all this art within it. The Art Amnesty was an attempt to look at the motivations of artists. Why are some people artists while others are not? Was Beuys an idiot? Do artists think they are cut above the rest of us? The paradox being that the whole thing is about making art.
Here is a short quote from curator Ralph Rugoff about the exhibition, which I think is extremely relevant and interesting to this work and wider works that relate to the same subject.
'While the Smiths use of language identifies them as heirs to conceptual art, they also draw on the traditions of British empiricism and nonsense literature. Instead of serving up abstruse philosophical propositions or abstract linguistic games, their work is conspicuously unpretentious, sometimes appearing deliberately silly. Yet underlying their use of absurdity is a constant effort to puncture our quasi-religious faith in mainstream aesthetics and to remind us that art is a game in which we can make up the rules.'
This quote is something that I am looking at for inspiration about the design to what I am doing, and making sure it appeals to everyone and does not use pretentious and complex wording so that it does not become something different (hence why I changed the name 'Facility For Thought'. Anyway Im glad I found this image and decided to look up who did it, because it solidifies why im doing the work in the manner I am doing it.