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Art? Or just an empty room?Oct 20 2006 South Wales Echo It is nothing more than an empty gallery, but this exhibition has cost thousands of pounds. The show at Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre, called Gallery Space Recall, is being staged by award-winning artist Simon Pope. He is encouraging people to walk around the empty room, with gallery staff or friends, discussing memories of other galleries in an exhibition that has received funding from the Arts Council of Wales. While admitting some people might find the exhibition shocking, 40-year-old Simon, a reader at Cardiff School of Art and Design who lives in Canton, Cardiff, said: 'People who know the background and concept of this work will understand it. But I realise that other people will have a different reaction.' However, the exhibition has prompted anger from other artists.

Hi Carol,I posted a thread about art,too!lol In my opinion the person who thinks of this as art is surely,one sandwhich short of a picnic:-))

Speaking as someone who cannot draw a straight line without a ruler AND as one who lives in the arty community of St Ives It's all a great big rip off. A new gallery opened near me recently. In the window, I kid you not, was a square of turf, say 3m x 2m. It was called something like 'New Dawn of the Age' or 'Spirit of Freedom' or something equally loony. It was £3000. OC

When they put the Name 'Simon Pope Artist' they forgot to 'Prefix' it with the word 'CON' Hal.

As an Artist myself, ' don't get me started ' as it really annoys me when they call themselves Artists. And what about that pile of rubbish not long ago of slices of bread ??? then that idiot with the unmade bed ???? they are just a lot of nutters !!!! I think about all those thousands of pounds that could be put to a better use, like hospitals and such.

I remember the unmade bed. My son said to me 'See Mum...I was trying to make you some money. My room is really a work of art!'

It surely is in the eye of the beholder, take graffitti,for instance some of the 'artwork' in my opinion shows a form of talent, but 'Tagging' is absolute dross.............. (in case you dont know, Dross is the scum that forms on molten metal.....) Bob

If I was in charge of Arts Council funding, and Simon Pope had come to me with his proposal, I'd have written him a cheque for 1p and told him to imagine the rest of the money!

In my opinion, art isn't necessarily to produce a painting which is like a photo. It is clever play with light and colour, and some abstract art is really simple but pleasing to the eye. The mind boggles at seemingly random splashes of paint on a canvas though, I don't understand that at all. However...things like the unmade bed, the lump of blu-tac, the pile of bricks or now the empty room do not show the 'skills' of the artist themselves. That sort of thing really is a con. What makes me laugh are the art snobs who will attend the exhibition and marvel at how wonderful it all was. Credit should go to the painters and decorators, not the so called artist!