Marc Quinn, Creator of Ideas
Do You Have to Make Your Own Work to Be an Artist?
Marc Quinn is a world-renowned sculpture that has produced such work as Alison Lapper Pregnant, Kate Moss in bronze painted white, sculptures that depict individuals with missing limbs, facemasks in blood, cryogenically frozen flower gardens, and much more. His work is being shown all over the world, and his statue, Alison Lapper Pregnant was placed in a spot of honor in London's Trafalgar Square.
However, in an interview with Independent magazine, Marc Quinn was asked if he sculpted his own marble. His answer was no. "No. I direct them all, but, for example, the Alison Lapper sculpture was carved in Italy by craftsmen. No one carves their own sculptures. Rodin didn't carve The Kiss. They are all made by skilled craftsmen." (Marc Quinn, 2005)
Much of Marc Quinn's work is the same way. His works with flowers, although interesting and unique, were not actually creations of Quinn. It would be simpler to say that he placed them within an object, such as a fish tank. If this is art, then perhaps we should be changing the description of designer to artist. After all, designers take items they do not make and arrange them in specific configurations within a room.
The debate here is not whether the end results are art, or artistic. Instead, the thought here is whether a person who does not actually create the items should be allowed to claim them as their own work. In his quote above, Quinn suggests that because he directs the process then he is the creator. With such logic, we then will have to rethink the artistic world as we know it. Dancers should no longer be praised for their work; instead, we should look only to the choreographer. An actor’s portrayal of a character should be pushed aside and the writers should take full credit for a film.
In contrast, there are those outlets that do allow praise for the designer of product or idea regardless of any hands on contribution to its actual creation. For example, clothing designers rarely sew their own designs, yet the seamstresses get no glory; architects take full credit for a building although they do not build it. Composers are praised for their works, regardless whether they play them.
Perhaps it is more acceptable in these cases because it is widely known that these artists do not produce their own work. Once it is created, they are expected to step aside and let others perform, or make their work complete. There has yet to be a caption under any of Marc Quinn's sculptures that state "Conceptual drawings, ideas and direction by Marc Quinn, Sculpting by Rock Slide Artists." Most people assume that Quinn sculpts his own work.
Perhaps, then, he is not to be blamed at all. When asked, he admitted, without restraint, that he does not sculpt his own work. Perhaps no one even cares who sculpts the art, and they only care about the end result. If that is the case, then they will not be disappointed by Quinn's work, although they may be put off by some of the subject matter. Despite how they get to the final product, these sculptures are stunning and detailed. They cause people to think and react, some with disgust and others with praise. In any case, it is for the public to decide who the artist really is.
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