'Figurative painting is a lie'
May 28 2013
Video: TAN
The Art Newspaper has an interview with Turner Prize nominee David Shrigley, who makes this defence of conceptual art:
Conceptual artists aren't involved in craft, so they can't hide behind their craft skills. It's almost like craft is blag in a way, it's like if you're a really good painter, and a really good draughtsperson, then you can sort of hide behind that as an artist. But when you're just a conceptual artist, you've got nothing to hide behind, except your own ideas. [...] Conceptual art is honest, figurative painting is a lie.
So there you have it, Michelangelo, Leonardo and [insert your own favourite artist here], should be seen as mere dissembling cowards, hiding behind their ability to paint, draw and sculpt.
