Paintings

I walked along Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo, like it was the deemed thing to do. Salcedo has been very withdrawn about comenting on the purpose and ideas behind this particular work that laid on the ground of Tate Modern's Turbine Hall for a full six months.When I saw it, I was 16 and had no interest in art, modern or otherwise, and so I didn't really know or care not to walk on it. The ground is primarily for walking on, and I probably felt that I had to reaffirm these rights during a particular moment of teenage narcissism. However, wouldn't it be now appropriate to argue of the interest of art within our culture? That is, has the elitism of art done a number on itself? Does anyone really care about art any more? Should anyone invest their time into contemporary art?

Art is subjective and can be argued every day by any person. However, are we allowed to dimiss art when we have no great intellectual knowledge about it? Or is it ultimately a situation of 'do I like this thing in front of me? Would I display this in my own home?' Most of what is deemed great art, I would not give house-room. Most Impressionism leaves me cold, and pretty much all of Warhol's work is wildly derivitive. But, I would happily hang well-known, well-copied graphic art, simply because I like it. It's rare these days that the Saatchi brothers pop round for tea, so it shouldn't bother them to know that I don't care about the brownie points I'd receive for having an Anish Kapoor sculpture chilling in my front room. Kapoor can hold my dick, for what he has done to the industry.

You will know about Anish Kapoor. He made this. He made this. You know Anish Kapoor. I do not like him. The art industry do not actually care for him that much either. They know that there are hundreds of better artists out there, not receiving the same amount of praise. And this is because that Kapoor has cornered the market. He is commerically successful due to his relatively household name; people half-in-the-know (hello there) know of his works and this alights bulbs in marketing teams' heads to commission him to do these pieces which will make them look very fancy and will make Kapoor very rich. These comissions are half-arsed and make the art world purse their lips and condescend, making them look elite. This vicious circle is why society treats art with outstretched arms and the word 'pretentious' ready to hand.

If we treated art like other countries, such as France whose museums are free to pretty much everyone, or America who treat their art galleries like places of community, we would appreciate art in the way that it is supposed to be seen. Arts degrees would not be scoffed at. Grants, quangos and funding would not be cut in favour of more commercially successful groups like the Horserace Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal (I shit you not). The visual arts are one of the most exciting, inclusive bodies to enjoy that is present for that very reason, enjoyment. To deny yourself of that because you think you're unworthy of that due to a boys' club's say-so is damaging no one but yourself.

Tell people that you hate Mondrian. Wax lyrical about Banksy. Just don't act like it's beneath you because it's above you.