Mick Hartley

This, on artist Martin Creed, was from yesterday, but I was reminded of it by today’s effort from Times art critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston under the breathless heading, “Is Martin Creed a genius?” It’d be a shame to let it go past without some kind of mention:

When Martin Creed won the Turner Prize six years ago, visitors to his exhibition at Tate Britain could have been forgiven for thinking that one of the galleries had faulty electrics.

The artist had arranged for the lights in an empty room to flicker on and off every five seconds, but the white-walled space was as bare as the emperor in his new clothes, and only an exhibition label revealed the presence of a work of art.

The gallery announced yesterday that it was commissioning a new work from the artist, something to fill its sprawling 300ft-long (90m) Duveen sculpture galleries — or not, in Creed’s case.

It declined to reveal what it had commissioned as part of a six-figure, three-year sponsorship deal, but Creed is planning another provocative piece.

The Times understands that he will do no more than get individuals to run through the gallery every minute for months on end.

This is an artist who is no stranger to controversy. He made his name by scrunching up a sheet of A4 paper into a ball, above, attaching a blob of Blu-Tack to a wall and placing a few tiles next to a lavatory. His work — which sells for up to £100,000 — is about the qualities of “nothing”, the artist has said. He makes “things” rather than “art”, as he puts it.

His critics agree, with more damning language, but Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate, paid tribute to Creed yesterday as a leading talent who “asks questions about what it is to make a creative work . . . and how we see the world”. […]

Stephen Deuchar, director of Tate Britain, described Work No 227 yesterday as a “metaphor for lots of things”, including life and death — “and an exploration of how little one can say in a contemporary work of art and yet have an impact”. He added: “Creed is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking contemporary British artists working today. He creates arresting works that often disrupt the norm.”

Creed’s new commission will be unveiled to the public on June 30. “I promise you it will be quite memorable,” Mr Deuchars said. “We don’t choose works in order to generate controversy.” […]

Cheyenne Westphal, the auctioneer’s chairman of contemporary art, Europe, described Creed as an amazing artist. “What I love about him is that he makes you aware of the moment. He pulls you into the present moment, which is very powerful. The lights go on and off. You think, ‘What is going on?’, not, ‘What am I going to cook for dinner tonight?’ He pulls you into the here and now.”

By these criteria my forthcoming work, tentatively entitled “Metaphysical Entropy No. 17”, should really impress the experts. Visitors are required to remove their shoes before entering the work – an enclosed space with, in homage to Martin Creed, a flickering lightbulb – where the floor has been covered with small upturned tacks. There are also metal rails at waist height set across the area, which the public will inevitably grab hold of in an attempt to take the pressure off their feet. The rail, however, is linked to a battery, and an electrical discharge will pass through the body to the floor, of a magnitude sufficient to cause pain but not any lasting damage. As a further embellishment – a possibility only, at this early stage, but something I’m keen to try out – the visitors’ cries will be amplified and played back with a delay of several seconds, thus creating a atmosphere of panic to complement the extreme physical discomfort.

This, I believe, “ticks all the boxes”, as we artists like to say. In line with Sir Nicholas Serolta’s prescription, it “asks questions about what it is to make a creative work”. Can it function as a “metaphor for lots of things”? Undoubtedly. I can think of several right off the top of my head. Life…the Crimean War…going shopping…puberty – and that’s just for starters. As for disrupting the norm, as per Stephen Deuchar, I think I can safely say that norms will seldom have been so comprehensively disrupted: the suffocating orthodoxy, for instance, that requires art to be a positive, rewarding experience. And I can guarantee Cheyenne Westphal that throughout the time he spends experiencing “Metaphysical Entropy No. 17”, he’ll be pulled straight into the here and now, no problem, with never a thought for his dinner.

A genius? Me? I think Rachel C-J will have to concur.