Olympic art
January 11 2012
Picture: Government Art Collection/Martin Creed
The Government Art Collection is getting in the Olympic mood with a series of 12 works commissioned to celebrate the games. This month they're featuring 'Work No.1273 by Martin Creed':
A stack of colourful brushmarks in the official Olympics colours creates a deceptively simple but striking image in Martin Creed's 'Work No. 1273'. Resembling an extended podium, the colours are arranged in either ascending or descending order, depending on how you choose to look at it. By depicting five instead of the usual three places of bronze, silver and gold, Creed's image indicates respect for all those who take part, not just the top three. Since 1987, Creed has numbered each of his works, rather than use descriptive titles. By doing so, he hopes to express the theme of each work in a more direct fashion.
For a minute there I thought this heading towards Guffwatch. But actually I think it's quite cool, and look forward to seeing the rest of the series.
