Martin Creed Vs. The Expendables.

Last week we got called in to check out a couple of things to see if they deserved to be in the world. Firstly, on Thursday we saw The Expendables by Sylvester Stallone. Then on Saturday we ventured up the UK to see Martin Creed's new show at Fruitmarket in Edinburgh. Both of these returned highly positive results on their respective testing devices (an art detector and our brand spanking new filmometer). This provoked us to have a little think. If you look at The Expendables as an expression of how one man wanted his work to be simultaneously ludicrous, hilarious, and riddled with moments where it undoes itself, it's sort of like how Martin likes to flow. Likewise, Mr Creed often describes what he shows as a collection of failures, attempts to make something like he used to (when he was a child), and doesn't quite cut it. The Expendables? A load of failures, nailed together, still not reaching either their goal to be an homage to the past, nor what the creator wanted them to be? Never.

Maybe.

Naturally, all of these coincidental similarities are ridiculously contrived (and nonsensical).

But we loved both The Expendables and the Martin Creed show at Fruitmarket. And in the absence of a real reason to explain why we like both, we'll settle for what we just made up on the spot right there.

We've been thinking...(since we learned how to)

Our massively important work requires that we wander about shows and creative happenings a fair amount. We've met a lot of artists, curators, directors, whatever and realised that to meet one/some/any of these people and introduce yourself as similar immediately throws up problems. Seeing as our work effectively renders us to some extent or another all of these things, despite having machines which are 100% accurate, sometimes a degree of hostility is thrust our way. It likely has something to do with an assumed equality, an implication that we have the reputation to call ourselves what we do. Either way, here's an illustration to help you imagine that feeling we often encounter;

Luckily, we know we're great and we freaking love it, it keeps us on our toes so bring it on!