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Modern Art Sucks
Does life imitate art? Or does art imitate life? Whichever the case, glance around and you’ll see both art and life have taken a spiraling trip down the toilet in the last century or so. And there’s no better litmus test to verify that statement then the genres of art called Modern. Abstract, Contemporary and Expressionist. They all pretty much suck.

We’ve all done it; walked by a piece of bent rusty metal sticking out of the ground or have stared at a white canvas with colored squares on it and have said, “That’s not art.” Or the classic post-viewing modern art phrase, “I (or any second-grader) could do that.”

Yet there it is hanging in a museum, standing in front of a public building or being sold at an auction for un-godly amounts of money. That sucks.

And that is why I created ModernArtSucks.com Studios

Ernest Hemingway once said, “Never mistake motion for action.” Well on the same artistic vain, let me state;

“Never mistake creativity for art.”

I’m creating a new standard for art. True art requires sophisticated talent that is either
  1. God-given
  2. Learned
  3. Self-taught

It’s not just the ability to create. We are all CREATIST in some capacity but we are not all True Artists with a capital T and A. I like to use this analogy in describing the difference between the two.

Fill a room with one hundred randomly selected people and place before them a painting, sculpture, model or even something as simple as an apple. Now give the hundred spectators their choice of artistic tools i.e., paints, clay, pencils, stone, etc and instruct them to reproduce what they see. Only a true artist will be able to duplicate or closely duplicate what he/she sees lying before them. They are the True Artists. The other 99% of the people are merely "creatists" expressing their interpretation of what they see. I’m not saying that only "realists" are True Artist. This test doesn’t have to apply to only realism like the old masters created. There are many modern creatists who are True Artist, in the sense they possess incredible artistic talent that very few people could ever duplicate. Here are just a few examples:

Side walk artists Julian Beever http://www.julianbeever.net/
Book artist Brian Dettmer http://briandettmer.com/
Garden Sculptor Bruno Torfs http://www.brunosart.com/

Take a walk through your local museum. Many are arranged in chronological order. You’ll see real talented, one-in-a-million True Artists, the one’s commissioned by popes, kings and other wealthy people are found at the beginning of the museum tour. The rest of the junk is in the section called Modern or Contemporary Art.

God how I’d love to spend an hour with Michelangelo or Bellini walking through the MoMa listening to them laugh or watch their faces contort in shock and horror as they announce in Italian,

"Questa è arte?" (This is art?)

Da Vinci in all his bold and blatant genius would sob something like,

"La progressione dell'uomo ha portato alla digressione d'arte."
(The progression of man has led to digression of art.
)

To compare this Pollock5 with this Raphaelthumb
(Click on images to enlarge and compare) and to call them both master pieces, is like comparing this

with this.

Each of the performers in the above videos are both singers but they're not True Vocal Artists. The same comparison holds true between creatists and True Artists. Both create, but only one has sophisticated and unique God-given, learned or self-taught skills

I’m not demeaning the art world, I’m motivating and encouraging it (and the public) to raise the bar and stop accepting mediocracy and even worse, shit as art.

And this doesn’t only apply to the genre of visual art. We need to raise our standards in all phases of the creative process from music, literature, fashion, poetry, architecture, interior design and theater. Too often we’re bamboozled into believing that crap is cool. The internet, youtube and social medias are perpetuating phonies protrayed as True Artists. Just because a certain magazine praises an artists’ art/music/book/clothes/furniture and their stuff is selling by the millions doesn't mean it's any good. You know the expression, “There’s one born every minute.”? Well art lovers and art enthusiasts are part of the masses who are asses that fall in the category.

ModernArtSucks.com purpose is to enlighten the audience and eradicate creatists who call themselves True Artists. I encourage every CREATIST to stoke their fires of creativity, to paint, sculpt, draw, air brush, sew, glue, spin, weld and do whatever your creative muses tell you to do. Use your mind and hands to make beautiful things. And when you’re finished call it “expressive creativity”, “abstract creativity”, or “modern creativity” but stop insulting the truly talented and skilled artist by attaching the three letter world ART at the end.

With that being said, I am now going to introduce to you my own expressions of creativity called Speegg’s Creative Conversational Pieces. These anti-Modern Art pieces are funny, controversial and creative conversational pieces that required no artistic skills. Anyone could have easily made them or duplicate them. I do not pretend to be a True Artist, but I am definitely an extreme and over-the-top CREATIST. And therefore I will use my Creative Conversational Pieces to mock the Modern Art movement, to bring awareness to the masses and to make some money and notoriety in the process. Today is August 2, 2011. I am a nobody in the art world but as time goes by, you’ll see, hear and read more and more about Speegg’s Modern Art Sucks Studios and as you do, you’ll not only see my creativeness, but my ability of marketing. After all, in many situations success isn't granted by talent and skills; it's all about who you know, who you smooze and most importantly the ablitiy to sell yourself, your works and your ideas to the rest of the world. And it is in marketing that I possess artistic talents.

Take a look at the ten most expensive paintings ever sold and tell me if theses pieces of creativity are selling for multi-millions of dollars because of their True Artistic value OR because somewhere along the way, someone marketed the artist in a manner that made his/her signature more valuable and desirable then the actual beauty, skill and talent of the "art" itself?

I have a friend who has a degree in art and is a retired art teacher. She is also a Modern Artist whose works were recently showcased in a local gallery. I went to see her show and was astounded to find all her ‘art” pieces were priced in the thousands of dollars. Like me, she’s an artistic nobody. To her dismay, she didn’t sell a single piece. She packed them all up and took them back to her house and there they died in the coffin of her studio.

I’m not going to do that with my modern creative conversational pieces, I’m making mine extremely affordable because I want my creativity to live and breathe in houses and business all over the world. I want others to look upon my creative pieces and say,

“What’s that?”
“It’s a creative conversational piece by Harry Sneed aka Speegg.”
“A what by who?”
“Oh he’s this crazy guy who does all this creative stuff and he made that as an anti-Modern Art piece and at it cost me $199.99.”

What have I done by making my pieces affordable to the masses? I’ve caused two people to talk about them. Each time that happens my popularity and value takes a breath.

If, after an art show, I sell twenty pieces and only make $4,000 that’s twenty breathes my works have taken and over time more will see and speak about it/me and slowly (or maybe quickly) my name and fame will come to life.

Meanwhile, my modern artist friend’s $2,000-$5,000 pieces are dead in their coffins...I mean stored in her studio.

Am I prostituting myself? You bet I am. But the more people know of me and the more people seek me out to purchase my creative conversational pieces, the more I will raise my prices and if there comes a day when only the rich can afford me, then I’ll do what I’m really passionate about, blessing the less fortunate.

Take a look at the Gallery of my Creative Conversational Pieces and buy something. Then "Like" my Modern Art Sucks fan page on Facebook. Tell other’s about me and keep checking back in. I’m going to attempt to enter my creative pieces in shows, galleries and museums. I say "attempt" because I'm not sure how the art world is going to respond to my revolution against Modern and Contemporary Art. I’ll be adding new pieces to my collection on a regular basis. As of now, most are limited editions of ten, with number 1 of 10 being sold for $199.99. But each time I get some PR or media recognition, I’m going to keep raising the prices of the rest of the series. A 2 of 10 may be $299.99, 3 of 10 will be $399.99...you get the picture. Who knows, maybe one of these days my pieces will be in museums all over the world and they will sell for million$$$ and you can say you bought a Speegg's Creative Conversational piece for only $199.99. So buy now and buy cheap!!! It's a better investment then gold:)

If you’re interested in purchasing any of my creative pieces contact me or if you’d like to buy t-shirts and other products with my world famous quote on them:

Modern Art Sucks.
Modern Art is two art
What typos our too literachure.
~Harry Sneed

Then go to my zazzle store HERE.

If you’re in the St. Louis/St. Charles area and would like to stop in my Modern Art Sucks.com Studio located in the historic town of Old Town St. Charles, contact me. Viewing by appointment ONLY.

I’d also be more then happy to speak with any media person about my Modern Art Sucks.com Studios

Love and peace,
-Harry "Speegg" Sneed