Bad Art | Basma Younis

Dr Basma Younis

When one of us objects to the quality or artistic production of a work, people expect us to be fully aware of the difference between good and bad art. However, between the standards of experts and the masses, what critics consider a work to be poor may win because the audience likes the idea of ​​it.

This is what prompted a man in Boston, USA in 1993 to establish a museum to showcase bad art, and the museum has a board of directors of experts, artists and volunteers who work to increase its collection to this day.

Although the museum itself was a danger, it became clear that the crowd of poor art lovers was so great that those who gained great encouragement and imposed their desires on art coined the famous phrase, the masses. , an honest statement, affirms that the quality of an artwork is not in the eyes of its critics, but rather, it has to do with people’s feelings and perceptions of life.

The story behind the establishment of the museum began when its founder stood in front of one of the garbage cans on a street in Boston, USA and pulled out an oil on canvas painting titled “Lucy in the Field with Flowers”. An old lady with short white hair, wearing glasses and a knotted blue dress, with an orange rose hanging from her chest, sitting on a red chair, with the signature of an unidentified person, inspired him to set up a museum to collect the same. .

Fans flock to visit this museum because they enjoy seeing bad art, and they don’t care because they believe that the bad often includes the good. This type of art, in fact, has many proponents who believe that art can carry topics worthy of deep thought, and that its artistic standards are not the only ones that are met.

So-called “bad art” is not really bad, but sometimes it can be misjudged like “Hitler” paintings because of the bad relationship between the people and the personality of the artist, even if it shows a high artistic quality. Talent, contrary to his personality, he cannot imagine the meaning of beautiful art, or the hero of a movie, played by Casanova, the audience will not see him in a more dignified role.

The Museum of Bad Art is stacked with everything from failed works by talented artists to pieces carried out by those with no control over the brush. .

Among his possessions is a painting depicting the face of a cat standing in a field of roses, with colorful flowers in her bright and expressive eyes and a gleam of evil contrasted against a background of beautiful nature and a planted landscape to the left. A cat’s cloud is a picture of a dog and the painting is titled “My Friend” and despite the severity of its superficial criticism, a merchant bought it and added it to his collection because he was a fan of particularly bad art.

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