Scratch
n Win a work in progress. frieze of unscratched Lotto tickets
1996.
The
work was sited as a frieze on the central columns of the Robert
Hughes Gallery Metro Arts in Brisbane. A critique of the increasing
reliance of the arts on the the revenue taken through gaming in
all its forms. also referencing the act of scratching for a living
a skilled artist's average income $16000 au pa.
During
the opening of the exhibition there was a general reluctance 'to
engage with the work' a don't touch the art still prevailed in
gallery circles. However over the duration of the exhibition two
of the lotto tickets went missing I sincerely hoped an artist
removed them.
A
similar work was done for a fundraiser at The IMA Institute of
Modern Arts Brisbane.This time a group of 49 scratch lotto's chosen
for their 'colour values' were gridded into a rectangular format.
Similarly a number of the scratch-its disappeared. I was a bit
cheesed off I thought the work had value aesthetically as a thing
in itself. Anyway Jasper Johns had already done an erasure job
on another artists work 30 odd years ago. I wonder if I should
have claimed on a potential loss of earnings through insurance
or in my tax returns? but then again I had used my masters materials
budget to purchase the materials and felt a little guilty. In
all honesty the taxman might have had questions. I guess we all
fail on moral issues when it comes to earning a buck.
