martin creed works

MARTINCREEDWORKS
@ THE BLUECOAT GALLERY
19 August - 30 September 2000
Martin Creed is an artist with a growing international reputation. He is currently exhibiting in The British Art Show 5 with artists like Tracy Emin and David Hockney and was recently commissioned to create a new work to be displayed on the faÁade of the new Tate Britain as part of its opening show.

The exhibition comprises of eight pieces of work made over the past five years. The centrepiece of the exhibition takes up a whole room of the gallery and is called half the air in a given space. A feature of Creed's work is for the titles to read as instructions for making the piece. Creed writes, "Choose a space. Calculate the volume of the space. Using air, blow up white 12-inch balloons until they occupy half the volume of the space." In this case red balloons were used. This work creates a whole new environment in which the public are encouraged to enter and become a part of. Inevitably balloons deflate or 'escape' from the building so over time the piece changes. The work can be seen as an ongoing process.
Martin Creed is interested in contrasts; something/nothing, function/form, art as monumental/incidental. He is uncomfortable with his place in the art world and says of his work " I don't want to make 'art' necessarily...its just stuff...extra stuff in the world...art galleries are places were I have been able to do what I do...but that doesn't make what I do 'art'".

The piece of work a sheet of paper crumpled into a ball is a sculptural piece likely to infuriate the tabloid press. It has a self-explanatory title, which could be read as an instruction, and is interested in form and function and denial of function. This reverses the tradition of many modern artists titling their works as 'untitled'. A large piece of furniture partially obstructing a door links ideas in the other works; denial of function, careful use of space, use of everyday objects, the fabric of the gallery incorporated into the work itself.
Much of Creed's work can be seen fundamentally as conceptual art; art as idea, where what we view is the vehicle for an idea. The artist is continually questioning the notion of authorship, the role of the artist and value of art/his art. Creed is uncomfortable with "uniqueness and preciousness" as well as ownership. Many of the works of art in the exhibition have associations with music. Creed says that one of the things he likes about recorded music is that more people can own it than "lets say a sort of unique sculpture".
Martin Creed is a name you will hear more of in the future, and whether he infuriates you or captivates you, he certainly can't be ignored.