Modern art is a very divisive topic. On the one hand, some of us think of a simple way to make money by using color splashes and meaningless installations, and selling the results as extremely expensive works to people who just want to feel more cultivated than the rest of the human population. On the other hand, you have those kinds of people who think that art ist he artist’s ultimate mean to express his or her soul in a totally new form.
Peter and Jane go to the gallery is an art project of the British artist Miriam Elia. Here, she settles her account with modern art in a very sarcastic way. Mummy, Peter and Jane visit a modern exhibition and comment on its exhibits. While the two kids, Peter and Jane, ask each other questions, the mother replies to them giving explanations.
An example: Peter and Jane enter a room in which a waterfall is projected. The video of the waterfall doesn’t stop.
Peter asks: “Does the water stop running?”
Mummy: “No, death is only an illusion.”
Jane has to use the washroom.
Everything is demonstrated in a way it would be done for children. New words are explained to them, and everything receives a humorous touch. At first, we can see modern art and its ordinary effects, but then we receive rather pseudo-artistic explanations of an embittered mother as a contrast. Is this a clear statement about modern art? It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but everything that is said in “Peter and Jane go to the gallery “ is still quite entertaining.
And always remember: “The screen is empty. The room is empty. You are empty.”
Copyright and Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/mummy-i-could-have-done-that–new-book-pokes-fun-at-modern-art-9112523.html and http://miriamelia.co.uk/art/peter-and-jane-series/
