Why dumb ideas should die. Oh the shame!

Dumb idea

I’m red-faced even as I write this.  I thought it would be a great idea to write my ‘to-do’ lists on index cards. It works fairly well, I can shuffle through and do the things I feel like doing without having this long list staring at me.

The dumb part of the idea was thinking it would be fun to photograph myself with the card and then with the job once it was done. Why anyone would think “Dig out the road gutters” and then showing a photo of a road gutter even mildly interesting is beyond me.

The idea that it could transcend the everyday and become art is even more absurd. I know some artists have built their reputation on representing the fleeting. On Kawara famously painted the date in his Today Series.

On Kawara Today Series
On Kawara Today Series

But I am no On Kawara, neither am I Duchamp with his ready-mades.

It brings us back to the eternal question of What is Art? And for me, art needs to bear a part of your heart. To-do lists ain’t ever going to cut it for me. But if you like it, it’s yours. Take it and run.

 

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