Is Contemporary Art stuck in Duchamp's urinal?

'Fountain' 1917 urinal by Marcel Duchamp.

Since Marcel Duchamp's days, today's "contemporary art" has been a mere attempt to ape Duchamp's "anti-Art dadaist statement". Often taken out of context, both political and social (this was during First World War) our today's contemporary young artists look at this superficially and believe that "urinals" are art!
Duchamp was an anarchist, opposed to the war and the political elites associated with it, he therefore was disgusted by pompous "academic art" aka the "Art establishment", the "bourgeois" and all the financial and statutory privileges associated with it. He considered them as guilty by "joint enterprise". This made him feel the need to urinate, hence his "urinal"...
Today the anarchist/punk Duchamp would certainly challenge our "Contemporary Art Establishment" (aka Turner prize, Saatchi, YBA etc) whose members spend most of their time and mental energy asking themselves whether "this is Art or not?" (as if "stuck") to find this comforting answer : money. Contemporary art has just become an empty and vain commodity whose "value" is defined by a greedy speculative market.
Should you be surprised that viewing today's "contemporary art" makes me feel the need to urinate too?

To laugh or to cry? That is my question...

The "twin masks of comedy and tragedy" are used to represent the creative arts, particularly theater. Shakespeare was the master in handling both masks. These concepts were born in ancient Greece more than 2,500 years ago. Their endurance across the centuries reflects the power of drama and the twin themes of joy and despair which bracket the human condition.
Though they can appear separately and indeed evolved as representations of different dramatic art forms, their appearance together holds far more symbolic importance.

(Comic mask with tragic mask in background, Roman, 2nd century CE London, British Museum. )

On that theme, I did two years ago this portrait of 'Funmi Adewole, an artist, a dancer, a poet and friend of mine. The idea was to convey 'Funmi's different facets or her personality, sometimes sad, sometimes happy. The two facets are in a sort of "emotional perspective". I submitted it then to the annual National Portrait Gallery (NPG ) "BP award". It was not even short-listed by the jury.
Should I cry or should I laugh? ;-)



This is a portrait of myself and my daughter. I believe that both expressions, apparently "opposite" (sad and happy) in fact complement each other, just like so-called "opposite colours" (eg red and green. blue and orange, yellow and purple...) complement each other.
Should we cry or should we laugh? ;-)




On that same old theme: Democritus (c. 460 - c. 370 B.C.) and Heraclitus (c. 540 - c. 475 B.C.) are known as the 'laughing and crying philosophers.' Fresco transferred to canvas (Bramante 1477)
Should they cry or should they laugh? ;-)



This is Leonardo da Vinci s Joconda with her mysterious smile: happiness or sadness?
My answer: it is BOTH happiness AND sadness. ;)

My portrait of Prof. Stephen Hawking

It is not my habit to comment my paintings. They should "speak" for themselves. I will however give here some clues: "Big Ben" represents our "newtonian" (classical) time but if you look closely its time is... wrong! It is affected by the nearby galaxy's black hole (Einstein's "General relativity"). The "Event horizon" here is replacing our classical traditional "horizon."
The galaxy's black hole cannot be visible but if you look at the real painting, the canvas is locally dented as would our space-time when considered as a four-dimensional "brane".

"All of my life, I have been fascinated by the big questions that face us, and have tried to find scientific answers to them. If, like me, you have looked at the stars, and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist. "

— Stephen W. Hawking

From website for PBS program, Stephen Hawking's Universe (1997).

My portrait of Prof. Stephen Hawking

It is not my habit to comment on my paintings. They should "speak" for themselves. I will however give here some clues: "Big Ben" represents our "newtonian" (classical) time but if you look closely its time is... wrong! It is affected by the nearby galaxy's black hole (Einstein's "General relativity"). The "Event horizon" here is replacing our classical traditional "horizon."
The galaxy's black hole cannot be visible but if you look at the real painting, the canvas is locally dented as would our space-time when considered as a four-dimensional "brane".

"All of my life, I have been fascinated by the big questions that face us, and have tried to find scientific answers to them. If, like me, you have looked at the stars, and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist. "

— Stephen W. Hawking

From website for PBS program, Stephen Hawking's Universe (1997).

My research project: The Eye Inside

The Eye Inside

Hawking's portrait: Time Flies!

I like this expression "Time Flies" because, it is true! My time for the last year has been so hectic and difficult but who am I to complain? I wished I could have completed the portrait of the author of "A Brief History of Time" sooner but I am afraid it 'll take a bit longer. Luckily I am at this present moment in a better situation for my mind to focus. Of course, not being a scientist, just a layman my approach to these questions is more "intuitive" i.e. "visual".
"What I cannot create I do not understand" said Physicist Richard Feynman as quoted by Hawking in his "The Universe in a Nutshell" book. So this is how I am trying to understand Hawking: by being creative. With a fresher approach I have decided to change its composition (again!) while immersing in the amazing world of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Time is key in this new composition as it is in our lives or in Hawking's. In his case, time is vital and essential at both a personal level (he was supposed to have died many years ago) and at a more fundamental conceptual level. And both meet in the same person: Stephen Hawking. Life's short. Knowing we could all die at any time, what would you do? He decided to focus on what's most important: to try to unlock the mysteries of the Universe, while still alive. Nothing less.

Time is precious yet we don't know what it is. And some say it flies...
It reminds me the ancient Greek philosopher Plato who said "Time is the moving image of Eternity". No wonder it is precious.

Hawking's portrait: Time Flies!

Professor Stephen Hawking once said: "All my life I have lived with the threat of an early death, so I hate wasting time." Source: Stephen Hawking: brain could exist outside body
I like this expression "Time Flies" because, it is true! My time for the last year has been so hectic and difficult but who am I to complain? I wished I could have completed the portrait of the author of "A Brief History of Time" sooner but I am afraid it 'll take a bit longer. Luckily I am at this present moment in a better situation for my mind to focus. Of course, not being a scientist, just a layman my approach to these questions is more "intuitive" i.e. "visual".
"What I cannot create I do not understand" said Physicist Richard Feynman as quoted by Hawking in his "The Universe in a Nutshell" book. So this is how I am trying to understand Hawking: by being creative. With a fresher approach I have decided to change its composition (again!) while immersing in the amazing world of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Time is key in this new composition as it is in our lives or in Hawking's. In his case, time is vital and essential at both a personal level (he was supposed to have died many years ago) and at a more fundamental conceptual level. And both meet in the same person: Stephen Hawking. Life's short. Knowing we could all die at any time, what would you do? He decided to focus on what's most important: to try to unlock the mysteries of the Universe, while still alive. Nothing less.

Time is precious yet we don't know what it is. And some say it flies...
It reminds me the ancient Greek philosopher Plato who said "Time is the moving image of Eternity". No wonder it is precious.