Topic of the Week: Modern Art is Not Rubbish
Created | Updated Oct 4, 2005
![Tracy Emin. Tracy Emin.](https://h2g2.com/h2g2/blobs/emin.jpg)
What we disparage as perhaps tasteless modernism will, possibly in the future, be considered 'quaint'.
- Alan Dorrell
Dustmen in Frankfurt are being sent back to school after accidentally destroying an important piece of modern art. It comes after they collected, crushed and burned a stack of plastic yellow sheets, reports the Guardian. The sheets were part of a city-wide exhibition of modern sculpture by Michael Beutler, a graduate of Frankfurt's Städel art school.Thirty of the dustmen are now being sent to modern art classes to try to ensure that the same mistake never happens again.
Taken from: http://seat.defcode.com
Modernism is the protein of our cultural imagination.
- Robert Hughes
Modern art comes in for a lot of stick. The Stuckists, for example, are a well-known group who deride 'conceptual art' and champion 'spiritual values for art, culture and society to replace the emptiness of current Postmodernism'. But are they right? Is all modern, conceptual art devoid of 'spirituality', emotional depth?
This week we're looking to defend modern art. Or not, as the case may. We're asking:
What is modern art and do we need it?
What examples of modern art have brightened up your landscape?
Which of the current crop of modern artists speak to you and why?
Is Tracey Emin a genius or a media-savvy player?
Tell us about your favourite modern museums? Why are they great?
Are there enough modern museums in the place where you live?
Do we revere the 'old' too much? Or have we lost sight of a certain spirituality and draughtsmanship and replaced it with a desire for fame and cash?