What's The
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29/10/18
Martin Creed. A Turner prize winning minimalist that leaves many wondering what the point of it is. But does great design really need a point to it?
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I have taken inspiration from Martin Creeds Scotsman Steps in a project that I’m currently working on. I’m exploring a Newtons cradle desk toy where each ball is unique and beautiful like each of Creed’s marble steps. Whilst having been to Edinburgh numerous times, I have never actually seen the Scotsman steps. I took the opportunity this weekend whilst there visiting my sister. When I told her that I wanted to see the steps she was confused. Maybe she was thinking of the wrong ones, but she didn’t think they were anything special. In fact her description was more along the lines of ‘dingy and smelly’. |
The Scotsman Steps link the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, and as part of a restoration project in 2011, the nearby Fruitmarket Gallery commissioned artist Martin Creed to make a public work of art which takes the form of a marble staircase. After my sisters damming description I was pleasantly surprised. I think they’re a hidden gem. Creed came up with a simple yet elegant solution to renovate the steps. Each of the 104 steps is a different piece of marble from 26 countries around the world. Creed described the work as a microcosm of the whole world – stepping on the different marble steps is like “walking through the world”. The contrasting colours and patterns but unifying material is fascinating. It’s a beautiful and useful piece of public art - whose magic is probably missed by the majority of people who encounter it. Considering my sister wasn’t particularly impressed by the steps, which at least serve a functional purpose, I could guess what she might make of some of Creeds other works. |
Take the empty room which is filled with light for five seconds and then plunged into darkness for five seconds. ‘The Lights Going On and Off’ won him the Turner prize in 2001. Then there’s the car that ‘Does Everything Except Go Anywhere’. Every few minutes the engine starts, the horn sounds and all the doors spring open, as does the bonnet. The radio comes on, the wipers start flapping and the windscreen-washer squirts. The car – a silver Ford Focus, the most generic, popular model Creed could find – is doing all it can do, except go anywhere. To me his other work is almost more interesting than the steps. An unusual collection often of stuff placed or behaving in odd ways – it’s a fascinating insight into Creeds mind. |
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jan/27/martin-creed-hayward-exhibition
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/actually-there-is-a-point-to-martin-creed-9102241.html
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jan/27/martin-creed-hayward-exhibition
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/actually-there-is-a-point-to-martin-creed-9102241.html