The Collins Dictionary of Art Terms &
Techniques defines `realism' as, amongst other things,
`the depiction of real objects without distortion or
stylization'. By this - admittedly selective - definition
alone it is possible to confirm that Martin Creed is a
realist. His deployment of real objects - doorstops,
masking tape, metronomes, ceramics tiles, blue-tack,
elastoplast, pieces of furniture, neon signs and balloons
- into what might be termed `object situations' provide
us with (Collins again) `a frank picture of everyday
life'. Creed's fundamentalism as both an artist and a
citizen extends to acknowledge not only his own
limitations as an artist (`What can I actually achieve?')
but also signals the limitations of art itself. Work No.
143, Creed's 1996 reductive mission statement - a
manifesto of sorts - goes some way to clarifying his
position.
It deduces that:
| the whole world +
the work = the whole world |
Creed's lower-case conundrum ultimately leaves `the work'
nursing a bruised ego - its (numerical) `value' reduced
to zero. In doing so he begs the question: if art has no
value - then why make art? Short of an answer, Creed
carries on regardless, pursuing a contradictory impulse -
a paradoxical desire to produce both something and
nothing. Sensing no conflict of interests with his
practice as an artist, Creed formed the band Owada in
1994. Fairly accurately described as sounding `like
something between Steve Reich and the Ramones' Owada act
out an aural equivalence to his often tragic-comic
artworks. Their first CD - the self- deprecatingly titled
Nothing - released last year on David Cunningham's Piano
label (PIANO 508) further reinforces the decidedly
informal brand of formalism that is at the heart of
Creed's project. A project whose very matter-of-factness
prevents it - to quote the artist - from `going up its
own arse'.
| 20 Questions |
20 Questions |
20 Questions |
The standard
one-to-one format of an interview invariably reveals as
much about the subjectivity of the interviewer as it does
about its subject. In an attempt to both democratize the
role of the interrogator and to hopefully broaden the
scope of the interviews' actual remit 20 individuals -
all of whom have had either a profes signal or personal
relationship with Martin Creed - were each invited to
pose him a single question. Creed's subsequent responses
are reproduced here verbatim.
| Peter Doig: |
How Scottish is your art? |
|
Martin Creed:
(Laughs) ... I think it is probably quite Scottish in ...
in ... in ... in ... in some ways ... in the way that I
think of Scottish as being ... kind of careful ... and
sort of ... erm ... it has tendencies towards ... erm ...
it can sometimes be a little ... anal! ... Scottish like
... Iike ... erm ... aye ... careful ... and ... quite
slow as well ... I think that is quite Scottish ...
Martin McGeown:
|
If you could ask one question of
any artist, living or dead, what would it be and
to whom would you ask it? |
|
MC:
... I dunno ... (Coughs) ... I don't think I would ...
and that's ... erm ... well because I don't really think
it's about art necessarily... all this ... but ... erm
... Iiv- ing or dead? ... I find that difficult to answer
... because I can't ... I'd like to ... it wouldn't
really matter to me who it was ... erm ... (Coughs) ...
(Sighs) ... I mean I think I would ... (Laughs) ... no
... when I think about that question my head just clouds
over with ... there isn't one thing I would like to ask
... I'd like to ask ... you know ... everything ... of
... you know it's not ... I wouldn't ... there isn't ...
there isn't ... my head clouds over with questions and
artists ... people ... and things ...
Keiko Owada:
|
What is your idea of ultimate
happiness? |
|
MC: ... erm ... I
suppose to make .... to make work that I feel happy with
... that I feel I can live with ... that I like... and to
be with people ... who I like ... and ... who I can live
with ... and ... who I feel happy with ...
Iwona Blazwick:
|
If you could own five works of art
from the 20th Century what would they be? |
|
MC: ... erm ...
(Sighs) ... erm ... a `black' painting by Frank Stella
... erm ... shit ... (Laughs) ... it's difficult to say
... 20th Century did she say? ... dunno ... can't choose
five ... maybe l'm thinking more about things that are
considered to be art ... erm ... aye ... my mind goes
blank to questions like this ... and I think the reason
that I said a `black' painting ... is that I love Frank
Stella's work ... erm ... from what I remem- ber at that
time when I looked at his work ... and I liked it a lot
... I felt like l'd sort (...)
Dean Hughes:
|
If you had to choose between 2
lines: one straight and one squiggly which one
would you choose - and why? |
|
MC: ... erm ... I
wouldn't choose... but if I had to choose...(laughs) ...
then... maybe the squiggly one because there are more
different directions with a squiggly line ……
er.... no!... straight! ... because it's simpler and more
direct...
Matthew Higgs:
|
Finally what question would you
like to ask yourself? |
|
MC: (Pause) ...
erm ... what would I ask myself? ... `Is it okay?' ...
`Is it okay?' ... `How is it possible?' ... they're not
very specific questions ...
 |
|
|
| Martin
Creed |
"Work
no. 102", 1994 |
Courtesy:
Victoria Miro |
| Glossary of
names: Peter Doig is a painter.
Martin McGeown is a director of Cabinet. Keido
Owada is a scriptwriter and plays the bass guitar
for Owada. Iwona Blazwick is Curator at the late
Gallery of Modern Art. Lesley Smailes is a
filmmaker. Adam McEwen is an artist and plays the
drums for Owada. David Cunningham is a musician.
Andrew Wheatley is a director of Cabinet. Jeremy
Deller is an artist. Gilda Williams is a writer
and a Commissioning Editor at Phaidon Press.
Giorgio Sadotti is an artist. Alison Jacques is a
director of Asprey Jacques Contemporary Art
Exhibitions. John O'Reilly is a freelance
journalist. Gareth Jones is an artist. Thomas
Frangenberg is an art historian. Dean Hughes is
an artist. Cornelia Grassi is a gallerist
(greengrassi, London). Simon Martin is a friend
of Martin Creed. Ingrid Swenson is the curatorial
director of the Pier Trust. Matthew Higgs is an
artist and curator.
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