One of the great things about art is that it can be created and interpreted in countless ways. While some artists spend long hours, even months, creating their masterpieces, others put in minimal effort and still manage to earn a fortune. Such is the case with a rather unconventional exhibition that appeared in a New Zealand gallery. One exhibit stirred up controversy due to its simplicity.
What Is Modern Art About? It’s All About Interpretation
In 2022, the Michael Lett Gallery in Auckland hosted an exhibition from the Fine Arts Gallery in Sydney. While that in itself wasn’t unusual, one particular exhibit made the show go down in history. The piece in question, titled Pickle by Sydney-based artist Matthew Griffin, featured a slice of pickle stuck to the ceiling.
It wasn’t a painting or sculpture, but an actual pickle. Griffin took a piece of pickle dipped in ketchup from a McDonald’s sandwich and threw it at the ceiling. Thanks to the ketchup, the slice stuck to the surface and became a work of art. But that's not all - interested buyers could purchase the exhibit for a staggering 10,000 New Zealand dollars, or just over six thousand US dollars. Absurd? Perhaps, but the artist has an explanation.
What Can Be Considered Art? Even an Ordinary Pickle
As the Fine Arts Gallery explained to The Guardian, Matthew Griffin's piece is meant to be a "provocative gesture" questioning what holds value. The artist likely wanted to show that an ordinary, everyday object can suddenly become something special when presented in a certain way.
Generally speaking, artists don’t decide what is or isn’t art - they create and make things. Whether something holds value and significance as a work of art depends on how we, as a society, choose to use it or talk about it
- explained Ryan Moore, director of Fine Arts in Sydney, in an interview with the British newspaper. Interestingly, anyone who buys Pickle receives a special set of instructions on how to recreate the artwork at home, although they’ll need to buy their own McDonald’s sandwich for that.
