September 17, 2008
Video of the Day: Rooney Mouths Off on Public Art
Ever wonder what Andy Rooney has to say about all the public art displayed in the city? Well, here he is mouthing off on what he calls "pretentious nonsense," amongst other things.
Here in New York he addresses the defeat of Richard Serra's "Tilted Arc" by saying: "Take that arty arc!" (Burn?) He then goes on to question why every open space needs to be filled in when "nothing" would look better. [via Urban Prankster]
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
Advertisement: Gothamist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
[ report this ]
Rooney has similar ideas in art to suepart. They should get together and discuss Swoon or REVS. I'd pay to miss that.
[ report this ]
Dude's got a point!
[ report this ]
i wish he would do one about "improv everywhere" which is hands down the most obnoxious thing to ever exist. Anyone who participates in improv everywhere is a complete dipshit.
[ report this ]
Very lucid and insightful commentary, Matty. You've really expressed something meaningful there.
[ report this ]
Wow, some of that stuff is really ugly. Please tell me that taxpayers in each state don't pay for it.
[ report this ]
You can hear about what complete assholes they are here on this american life. They essentially fuck with two unsuspecting people and end up scarring them for life. It's really sad and shows just how cruel people can be for the sake of being in a "cool" group.
http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=286
"Act Two. The Spy Who Loved Everyone.
A group called Improv Everywhere decides that an unknown band, Ghosts of Pasha, playing their first ever tour in New York, ought to think they're a smash hit. So they study the band's music and then crowd the performance, pretending to be hard-core fans. Improv Everywhere just wants to make the band happy — to give them the best day of their lives. But the band doesn't see it that way. Nor does another subject of one of Improv Everywhere's "missions." (32 minutes)"
[ report this ]
Anyway, I love Andy Rooney. He's like the ultimate curmudgeon.
[ report this ]
I honestly thought he was dead.
[ report this ]
wow, he really out-curmudgeoned himself this time
but he has a point, a lot of that art is complete dreck, a real eyesore, here today and scrapped tomorrow, who the hell are there asses in control deciding that this run of the mill crap should be put on our streets?
a lot of overrated and overexposed artists out there, that's for sure, let andy have a position on the 'street art board' or council or what have you so he can help in the decision making process, that would be funny to see
[ report this ]
i hate this dude.
@Rob T Firefly
He should be.
[ report this ]
The east river waterfalls were kind of a disaster...
[ report this ]
I am sure Andy would hate you too bxbrian...
[ report this ]
He's still alive????
[ report this ]
The waterfalls are retarded.
Most of this public art crap is just masturbatory shit for art school retards who couldn't do anything useful with their lives (or never had to) jerk each other off over the spectacularly mundane.
Those red and yellow turds reminded me of Art Catherine O'Hara's character would make in the movie Beetlejuice.
[ report this ]
"A group called Improv Everywhere decides that an unknown band, Ghosts of Pasha, playing their first ever tour in New York, ought to think they're a smash hit. So they study the band's music and then crowd the performance, pretending to be hard-core fans. Improv Everywhere just wants to make the band happy — to give them the best day of their lives. But the band doesn't see it that way."
Really? I know one of the guys in Ghosts of Pasha, he never complained about it.
[ report this ]
You can hear about what complete assholes they are here on this american life. They essentially fuck with two unsuspecting people and end up scarring them for life.
You might be interested to know that Ghosts of Pasha played a set at the Improv Everywhere DVD release party back in 2006.
Because - shockingly enough - they weren't scarred for life.
Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czmNd2C2Sw0
[ report this ]
That dude is CRANKY
[ report this ]
He's quite right about everything in that piece. It's not about public art per se, it's about modern art in public spaces. Modern art is often crap, and the need to fill open spaces with it is exposing us to more of it than we need to see. I was thinking early in the piece that classic sculpture would be acceptable, and Rooney came to the same conclusion. Basically something where the artist actually had to think long and hard then spend a lot of time and skill creating, not those shapeless blobs and bent pieces of metal that any third grader with the right tools might have created. Then those "artists" have the gall to have the public pay big bucks for their "art."
[ report this ]
p.s. Morley Safer had another interesting critical piece on 60 Minutes about modern art quite a few years ago.
[ report this ]
Other things Andy Rooney doesn't like: everything else.
[ report this ]
The funny thing about non-art posing as art-- a lot of people think that if it provokes a reaction, it somehow proves that it has artistic merit.
Even if the reaction is "jesus, what a complete piece of meritless crap." See, e.g., waterfalls.
[ report this ]
he has a point
[ report this ]
I agree with him on Richard Serra that guy should not be allowed to play with crayons or any other "Art" making materials, arrogant phony shyster
[ report this ]
There's a reason architects call that stuff "a turd on a site".
[ report this ]
Andy boy has it right this time.
[ report this ]
"You might be interested to know that Ghosts of Pasha played a set at the Improv Everywhere DVD release party back in 2006.
Because - shockingly enough - they weren't scarred for life.
Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czmNd2C2Sw0"
Does that make everything OK then? Whatever makes you feel better, I guess.
You're still a bunch of assholes in my book.
[ report this ]
"Does that make everything OK then? Whatever makes you feel better, I guess."
I believe Dan (and myself) were referring to the part of Matty's #6 post that said, "But the band doesn't see it that way."