#patrick brill

I spotted a story a couple of weeks ago that British artist Patrick Brill, better known by his pseudonym Bob and Roberta Smith, is intending to stand at the General Election in Surrey Heath as a protest at what the current coalition has done to Arts education since it has been in charge.

His manifesto is here… http://bobandrobertasmith.co.uk/why-im-standing-against-michael-gove/

Mr Brill famously…

Got a piece of art you despise? Too many ‘collectibles’ cluttering up your living room? Horrified by your own artistic endeavours? Then fear not and look no further than the Art Amnesty dumpster at MoMA PS1, where you can bid good riddance to your offending items. If you decide to grant them a final moment of indecent glory and have them exhibited one last time, you can also bring them to staff on MoMA PS1’s second floor. But where did this wonderful support service for victims of contemporary art come from?  In 2002 artist Bob and Roberta Smith, aka Patrick Brill, launched the Art Amnesty project at the Pierogi Gallery. The idea was to create a space to address the embarrassment many artists had voiced at the exuberant prices fetched by their works, and to explore what the contemporary art scene had become; a sort of AA for artists, if you will. Art Amnesty invited artists to take some of their art works off the market and turn them into objects that hold no great expectations, and the project now continues: its current MoMA PS1 stint also offers those who have consumed art in the form of gifts or ill-advised purchases the opportunity for a cathartic experience.  By presenting art as something disposable and interactive in typically tongue-in-cheek style, Mr and Mrs Smith don’t only highlight the problematic interaction between the worlds of business and art. They also challenge traditional perceptions of art as something created for posterity, and the artist as a mysterious elevated figure channeling muses and divine powers. At MoMA PS1’s Art Amnesty, depending on how proud or attached artists are to any individual piece of their work, they have the opportunity to sign various pledges. The most serious of these is “I promise never to make art again”, however for those not quite ready to take that ideological plunge there is also “I never want to see this work of art again”. Those artists signing the former pledge will receive a badge that says “I am no longer an artist”, and will create a final work of art to be displayed at the Art Amnesty gallery. 

patrick brill, pseudonym: bob and roberta smith

british contemporary artist

takes on personas, and does his art through these personas

paints slogans, bright colors, humorous