Is it art?

Feb 1 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THERE are many who will view Alan Chitty’s work for the Alternative Turner prize and utter the immortal words: It’s not art.

It may be reminiscent of other excesses, from Damien Hirst’s 1993 work, Mother and Child Divided – basically a cow preserved in formaldehyde – to Tracy Emin’s Unmade Bed in 1999.

But it keeps us marvellously entertained.

We have to recognise that art has come a long way since Titian and Van Gogh and does not stand still.

Modern art can be bold, challenging, just plain silly – or even conventional.

But it does demonstrate a recognisable creative input.

A trip to Huddersfield Art Gallery is highly recommended as a thought-provoking introduction to the wide variety of art.

Good luck to former Huddersfield University student Alan Chitty in his quest for the major prize in the competition offered by the Tate Liverpool gallery.