We recently published an article by Dan Cave about BMAG’s latest show: an exhibition of art works by the comedian Joe Lycett called EVERYTHING MUST GO.
Dan wrote that the exhibition is more about Lycett's celebrity status than the art itself, that it is less “serious” than the gallery’s world-class collection, much of which is currently hiding in a store room. He also argued for more critical engagement with local art. You can refresh your memory here.
The article proved quite divisive. Some of you reached out (mostly in private, it must be said) to tell us that you agreed with Dan. Others fiercely defended the gallery, and many of you let us know how much fun you had at Lycett’s show.
We are keen to keep the debate going. Which is why today, we’re publishing a rebuttal to Dan’s piece by a man who is well-known on Birmingham’s arts scene. In the story below Jez Collins, the founder of the Birmingham Music Archive, argues that there is no need for us to be made to choose between serious and fun; between a Dante Gabriel Rossetti and a cob. The gloves are off.
Dan Cave does not think Joe Lycett’s paintings are very good. Joe Lycett has also said he is not a very good painter, although his description of his art as “like a child that’s been drinking vodka” suggests he may at least be one of its better critics.
I have no objection to Cave disliking the work in EVERYTHING MUST GO. That is part of the pleasure of art. We look, feel something, and decide for ourselves. Sometimes we are moved. Sometimes we are baffled. Sometimes we wonder how on earth it got through the door.
But are there such things as objectively “good” and “bad” art? And who gets to decide?
There are works celebrated today which were ridiculed when first exhibited, while plenty of officially approved art has disappeared without trace. Expertise can help us understand technique, context, and intention, but it cannot dictate our response. If Lycett’s work makes someone laugh, think differently about Birmingham, or walk into BMAG for the first time, that response is no less legitimate than someone standing before a Rossetti and being moved by it.
Cave’s article rests on a distinction between the serious museum of its founding director, Sir Whitworth Wallis, and the less serious institution of today. Wallis, we are told, was a serious man thinking serious thoughts. Lycett is a professional sillyman with a pink mammoth. But museums are not mausoleums, and seriousness is not measured by the colour of the walls.
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