craftless

Perhaps these Odes may best be compared with the little craftless figures in an early age of pottery, when the fragrance of the soil yet lingered about the rough clay.

Ivan Massow, head of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, once famously described conceptual art as "pretentious, self-indulgent, craftless tat."

Whereas his rhetoric about his work still matched that of his peers in his own generation--full of both ego and spirituality--the appearance of his work at the time lent itself to a misreading as craftless and impersonal: qualities accepted as a plus by the next generation's artists and that they set out to pursue in their own work.

He has work in collections across the globe, a fact he points out when I ask him what he made of claims earlier this year by Ivan Massow, Chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, that concept art is ``pretentious, selfindulgent, craftless tat...''

His 'crime' was to describe conceptual art as 'self-indulgent, craftless tat' and to be rude about Tracey Emin, the artist who gave us her unhygienic bed as a modern masterpiece.

It cannot be healthy when artists boast of having no artistic skills whatsoever" - Ian Massow, sacked as chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Art after describing conceptual art as "craftless tat".

Entrepreneur Ivan Massow last night resigned as chairman of a top arts body weeks after likening the works of leading artists to 'craftless tat'.

ART expert Ivan Massow says conceptual art is "pretentious, self-indulgent, craftless tat" (The Mirror, January 18).

Sadly, he must be wondering just how many games of craftless, pinball entertainment he will have to endure.

Contemporary art, on the other hand, sometimes looks craftless; or craft is used to create something as grotesque as a Joel-Peter Witkin photograph of arranged body parts or as seemingly meaningless as Robert Gober's fiberglass urinals or Jeff Koons' portrait of a buxom blonde hugging a stuffed Pink Panther doll.