mista

I also greatly appreciate the installations by Christo that you mentioned.

I also greatly appreciate the installations by Christo that you mentioned.

Moreover, I would like to point out that I am not the one who, referring to the most highly regarded and appreciated Italian artist on an international level, who enjoys the praise of numerous renowned critics, has made a spectacle by saying "Cattelan, an artist? Oh, I didn't know." That would be you, muffinman, so - at least in the real world, here on debase a little less - it’s you who has to prove you have the credentials to support such an opinion, not me. And if your arguments are "he's just a provocateur" and "I could do it too," well, I would say you're a bit lacking, don’t you think?

exclude that Cattelan is an artist

I don’t know modern art well enough to engage in a discussion of any real value with you; moreover, it is such a subjective matter that it hardly lends itself to an online discussion among strangers. In any case, I do not accept your challenge because it is a trick question. I did not say that all artists of the twentieth century are as predictable as Cattelan; I am well aware that if I were to say, "well, you could also argue that Pollock is just a provocateur who splashes paint randomly on the canvas," you would proceed to give me a little lecture on how Pollock is a greater artist than Cattelan, attempting (in vain) to make me feel inadequate. But that wouldn’t make sense, you understand, and I have other plans for the morning. With my comment, I think it's clear to you, I wanted to assert that an apodictic criticism like "he's just a provocateur," without much argumentation, is not sufficient to exclude that Cattelan is not an artist, since it can effectively be applied to many modern artists and thus has no merit other than to satisfy its author, who, by doing so, wraps themselves in a cloak of indecipherable wisdom.

As for muffinman, your criticisms of Cattelan are quite predictable and clichéd; you could apply that phrase to a good part of 20th-century artists. The fact remains that Cattelan's works, from a quite eclectic subject who is entirely lacking in any academic knowledge or preparation—who can barely draw (and even sign, since he struggled when I asked him to sign with his name)—are sold for millions of euros. Now go ahead and tell me that this fact is absolutely irrelevant here in the republic of debaser, but in the art world, this is a rather telling indicator. Moreover, I reiterate that I was personally pleasantly surprised by his self-irony and his complete lack of seriousness, qualities that are often lacking even in students with milk on their lips.

In fact, uxo, sometimes it was even a pleasure for me to watch his infomercials; my question was not sarcastic. Even though it sometimes seems ridiculous because he always repeats the same phrases, I had a feeling that he wasn't a fool.

Cattelan may not be an artist in the way you (and perhaps I) define it dear MuffinMan, but you must agree with me that he is one of the most highly regarded Italian figures currently in the art market, so referencing him in a discussion about modern art does not seem off-topic to me.

But how absurd life is! I return after months and months to debaser (from which I had distanced myself due to "musical divergences" having had enough of not knowing 85% of the bands that everyone cites as essential and having found out that those two or three bands I consider essential left me with that unmistakable taste of "mmmmh, is that it? I expected something completely different...") I come back to browse through the chosen reviews and, amidst a string of unpronounceable names that mean absolutely nothing to me, I read GAMMA RAY. What have the editors been drinking? I read the review and I really enjoy it; I feel a certain connection with the writer, this review says funny and intelligent things that I strongly agree with. And in the end, I discover that the review is dedicated to me and that I know the reviewer!!! This is a great pleasure.

Franco Boni... his infomercials on telemraket kept me company during my thesis days... once I ran into him at the airport at my own gate, I wanted to compliment him but in the end, I didn't say a word to him. But is that guy really credible? Anyway, these days I have the impression that art is something extremely ambiguous and debatable... I had this strong impression when I met Cattelan a few months ago... he gave me the clear impression of knowing that he was messing with people...