Now that the Saatchi show is over I feel that I am left with a lot of unanswered questions, and the feeling that the programme has sent out some very mixed messages. I am still disappointed that the series was only four episodes, and I am sure that I am not the only one that would have liked to see a much more in-depth approach.
That the last two standing were Eugenie and Matt held no surprises. By coincidence I had been to the Saatchi Gallery last Tuesday, to see the Abstract America Exhibition. I had come away from that largely underwhelmed and indifferent. The work of the young hopefuls (the YHAs) easily held its own in comparison and on its own merits.
I found the views of the judges interesting: Matt’s caravan was admired for its forethought and craft; Eugenie’s grappling hook was so reviled for its lack of craft that any rationale wasn’t even considered. There is a lesson buried in there somewhere.
The serendipitous-log-on-fence was a winner from the outset – it looked like it belonged in a gallery, and Suki’s video of flocking starlings was appreciated in the opening episode for pretty much the same reasons. Both works are equally awe-inspiring and equally vapid. Nature did all the work. They are transformed by contextualisation. Bill Oddie brought us the same clouds of starlings.
By the way, I don’t mean to sound like I am knocking anyone. I’m not, I’m thinking aloud – this is a blog, after all.
I wonder if perhaps log-on-fence works because of its resemblance to a particular type of artwork, such as (but certainly infinitely more intelligent than) Peter Coffin’s Spiral Staircase. Would Eugenie have been selected had it not been for her lucky encounter with the fence? There is a good chance that perhaps she would, because the selectors saw potential, acknowledged that she takes risks. I admire that.
We saw a lot of open thinking. I suspect that we will see more of some of the others, and I hope we do for the right reasons.
As a footnote, I see that there is a Eugenie Scrase fan page on Facebook. Already tainted by bile and sycophancy. It seems that the celebrity machine is autonomous.
