"Is this art, or can it go?" - Interactive exhibition

As the flappy flappity ear flaps of the poodle flapped in the air, you looked at the iron wall with a frown so crooked it begged mathematicians to rethink their understanding of angles.

"What a waste! Don't you think?"

Little doodly poodly poodle could care less about the tantrums that seldom had to do with treats. I, on the other hand, could only think about how much it'd have hurt to press on a spray paint can's nozzle for so long.

"I mean, I prefer this phallus shaped UFO alien thing over the rusty ugly iron wall."

While airheaded, self-proclaimed critics argued among themselves over what is art and what is trash, they also grew an unspoken curatorial which made up the panel of art judges.

Is it art, or can it go?

Kunst is Leuk hosts a variety of art exhibitions in its premises. As a non-profit organisation, it has the freedom to do what it likes and the limitations to never go beyond reasonable expectations.

The two tapes hanging on an upcycled cloth rod screwed into the wall read "DIT IS KUNST" and "MAG WEG."""

I'd be no less than a madman, draped up in full black, walking through the rain, wet, yet determined.

"I want my opinion stuck next to an artwork!"

The concept is a fresh one. Letting the audience, art connoisseurs, or laymen, to voice their opinion loud and clear.
Kunst is Leuk has just moved to a new location. The goal of this interactive exhibition is a survey to figure out what the visitors like to see while being an art form itself.

"Thank you for exhibiting my artwork." said Printer, one of the artists whose work is put up in this exhibition. The table designed with colours and paint, hosting ads, and stickers.

You get one sticker, and you choose what you think is art and what you think can go.

None of the paintings are labelled. Some are not even signed. There is no description or date. There is just the art. And the loud screeches of opinions from the visitors deeming each work art or trash.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It's worth as much as offered.
The work is only as great as it is deemed.

With nothing else to go on except the art itself, the exhibition is as raw as it can be. The artist is naked, ripped off of all their medals. It is a pure battle of what the viewer thinks against the best efforts of the artist.

The only external stimulus is from the stickers around each painting. However, I found it hard to let the stickers influence my decision. It is solely my opinion, based on my impression, that will end up on the wall.

Be it abstract, brutalist, contemporary, or realistic. Be it acrylic, collage, water color, or my most detested "sticking" and "drawing", all of them are art. Visual art is an expression. There is no objectivity to it.

Visual art is a language with no rules or grammar. It is a language which one understands and the other doesn't. Visual art evokes, be it love or hatred. So how do you decide to put a sticker, and even more importantly, which sticker?

The interactive exhibition really digs deep into modern acceptance of art and interpretation.
It makes a bold approach, wherein allowing the visitors to be upfront about their subjectivity.

There is no camouflage of high prices, big names, or even the shield of a monitor or a website to leave a review on. This is face to face. You like it? Then call it art. You don't like it? Then say that it can go.

I was erked to see this painting. It hung on its side. Was that intentional? No clue. Does it look odd? Yes, to me.
What do others think? Let's look at the stickers.

There are some incredible works here at this exhibition at the Kunst is Leuk. I really liked this one. Can you guess why?

Some of the works here lol like they took days to complete. They have a lot of meaning and emotion hidden under layers and camouflaged in colors. But at the same time it has nothing to do with the artist. Their work stands alone, with no name or description attached, open to criticism.

There are some objectively good artwork and some objectively bad artwork here.

Objectively?

Let me rephrase. There is no right way to use the word "objectively" in this exhibition. This exhibition proves it. That is the beauty of art.

What I absolutely detested, had a few stickers calling them art.

Who is wrong? Who is right?

And why?

Before we go any further, I want to show my favorite art installation at the exhibition.

WC

"Dumb humpty dumpty thinks that is an artwork."

How did I read your mind? That's not important. What is important is that you called me humpty dumpty. And I take offence to that because I'm just as fragile as humpty dumpty.

This, albeit not a part of the exhibition, was my favourite part because of a few things. First, someone must have thought it'd be funny to waste their only "THIS IS ART" sticker on this.

To be fair, if they wouldn't, then I would.

But also, because of how artistic WCs have become to me because of królestwo, The KBK. They don't have a WC, they have a museum.

Kunst is Leuk focuses a lot on bringing people, especially young children, together to live through art. There aren't many places in this city that focus on art. This is why this place is important.

It gives the local community a place to share their work, find a community, appreciate locals' works, well as nurture talent and expression.

While talking to the volunteers that work in this art gallery, I learned a lot more about the place.
There are 3 main curators who also organise artistic events here, choose themes, find artists, and hold workshops.

The volunteer herself is more of a writer than a visual artist. She has spend her life surrounded by art and finds joy in volunteering for this art gallery.

Being a new location, it has also become a challenge to find ways to bring more people into the location.
They want to experiment with photography exhibitions, runway shows, and even make it a hub for creatives. Hence, the small library and lounge.

All the artwork except 4 were thrifted. The 4 artworks are done by one artist. So a secondary challenge was to figure out which 4 were done by the same artist and which ones were thrifted.

This oddly placed artwork was the latest addition to the exhibition.
I sort of like it. I tried to capture a good picture of it. I'm not sure if it looks as good in the picture, but I sort of liked it. It is somehow a more practocal version of the "banana stuck to the wall" art.

I suppose it is not an easy task to be a judge.
Every piece takes time, creativity, dedication, though, and work.
There is no simple way to determine what a canvas wanted to say versus what it is saying. A lot of famous art is still being scrutinised and studied, with conflicting results becoming the outstanding meaning.

Would it be easy for you to select one work as "art" and one work as "can go"?

These two were at the bottom of the barrel to me. There were many stickers that had an opposing view. I was really eager to stick my "can go" sticker next one of these two. But I had to stop and think. Rethink, rather. What was in these paintings that I couldn't see? Or maybe there was something that I chose to ignore.

I was eager to learn. To see things that others saw. Maybe I'm a whore for absurd technique and pretentious strokes. Or maybe I'm not one for calm and simple painting. But my opinion is no less than anyone else's, as long as I treat mine as just that - an opinion. An opinion can be changed through education, and that's important.

I saved the best for last. Or the worst for last, rather.

An elaborate artwork on cardboard. A lot of elements to it, some scribbled, some painted, and some stuck with glue.

I detest it. I absolutely detest it.

I detest the idea of using "cheats", like a marker to draw details, or using a cutout to add to the painting. I love the idea of going away from traditional canvas and using cardboard, but I couldn't come to appreciating the collage and the marker pens.

But as I looked and stared. The meaning of this elaborate piece started coming together. There is a story in this artwork, and the cardboard is a huge part of it.

Let me know if you figure the meaning out. You might need to translate some of the Dutch words. They play a huge role in understanding the work.

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Which one would you stick "this is art" on and whoch one would you stick "can go" on?

Which ones do you think are done by the local artist and which ones are thrifted?

Which ones do you think I stuck my stickers on?

What do you think of this interactive concept?

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