If you asked any cynic or realist one question seems to crop up about the existence of life, the universe, and everything is "what is the point of it?" A quite a depressing question but one that does hold a certain amount of weight to everyone. For years we've had this debate over this looming conundrum and people have come up with some interesting answers, but the one I found to be most interesting to me is the answer of the artist, Martin Creed. He decided that he would like to portray his answer through his major installation/collection named after this troubling question.
In this installation of his he has created a myriad of display featuring a load of ordinary, everyday objects being used for their mundane uses. For example, one room in the exhibit is just a majority of lights being turned on and off again, a screwed up roll of newspaper, and a literal stack of various boxes. It represent 25 years of hard work by the artist and is probably one of the strangest exhibits he has ever produced. When I first viewed images of this major exhibit I was quite confused of his intentions with this very large exhibit of somewhat pointless installations, I really couldn't see where he was coming from when first viewed this huge display of seemingly pointlessness.
But then I started to think about the objects in a different light, and instead of trying to think of why the artist put these exhibits in here, and focus on what I think these exhibits mean to me as a individual. For example, I see the crumpled up piece of paper as a representation of all the scrapped ideas in the world, and I see the automated lights as a representation of the poor imitations that machines portray of real life like the lights represent the day and night cycle. So I believe that Martin Creed's exhibit was an attempt to try to answer the age old question of "what is the point of it?" through his artistic means and the power of our own minds to basically give the answer that we give meaning ourselves rather then life giving meaning to us that through these seemingly pointless and empty spaces the truth of life shines through, live by your own choice and not for anything else.
But then I started to think about the objects in a different light, and instead of trying to think of why the artist put these exhibits in here, and focus on what I think these exhibits mean to me as a individual. For example, I see the crumpled up piece of paper as a representation of all the scrapped ideas in the world, and I see the automated lights as a representation of the poor imitations that machines portray of real life like the lights represent the day and night cycle. So I believe that Martin Creed's exhibit was an attempt to try to answer the age old question of "what is the point of it?" through his artistic means and the power of our own minds to basically give the answer that we give meaning ourselves rather then life giving meaning to us that through these seemingly pointless and empty spaces the truth of life shines through, live by your own choice and not for anything else.
