Art Gallery of Alberta: Homepage
In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts. A common contemporary criticism of some modern art occurs along the lines of objecting to the apparent lack of skill or ability required in the production of the artistic object. In conceptual art, Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain is among the first examples of pieces wherein the artist used found objects (“ready-made”) and exercised no traditionally recognised set of skills. Tracey Emin’s My Bed, or Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living follow this example and also manipulate the mass media. Emin slept in her bed before placing the result in a gallery as work of art. Hirst came up with the conceptual design for the artwork but has left most of the eventual creation …