The Cultural Olympiad 2012 - A Commentary

Cultural Commentary: Mike de Sousa

Welcome to an alternative view of the Cultural Olympiad...

The Best of British?

The most powerful and influential figures of the cultural elite of England form those steering the Cultural Olympiad towards its fruition in 2012. The Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, the Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, the Chief Executive of the Arts Council of England, and the Director General of the BBC - all count themselves among those guiding the "largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements". Oh dear...

From first sight of the hideous design of the Olympic 2012 logo to the paucity of thought, care and technique that generally characterizes the London 2012 posters, I felt compelled to publish an alternative viewpoint to the visual poverty that has defined the presentations by the cultural elite.

Know Your Place

I believe the exploration of our creativity is the world's best hope for peace, cooperation, and constructive communication. I also think that none-artists care little for the often egotistical and vein ramblings of prominent artists who seem to give little but a moment's thought or effort to the work they produce.

Here's an example of a momentary thought about the games I developed in a few short hours:

Know Your Place: Exhibition Notes

The placing of competitors is vital in sport, and yet in this work we are shown only the symbolic and abstracted representation of a winner's podium. The puzzle and poem work together as conceptual art: the visual element, an ambiguous podium of positions and a shared expression of solidarity; the words flow as two distinct poems or as one - a metaphor of a uniting games.

Know Your Place encourages the mind to ponder about the relationships between winners and loosers, participants and audience. The use of stock artwork (the jigsaw) comments on the authenticity of contemporary art, its originators, and the commercial opportunities and advantage recognized artists enjoy.

My intention in creating Know Your Place is to assure the reader of this page that I am a practicing artist. It is all too easy to criticize without demonstrating ones understanding and use of art. Now we have this behind us, let us turn to my brief critique of the aesthetic that is often promoted in the Cultural Olympiad 2012.

Trust Your Instincts

Invitations to produce nationally prominent work like the Olympic and Paralympic posters are given to an exclusive network of artists chosen from a list of only 100. The posters were said to form the most visible evidence of the Games organisers’ pledge to put culture at the centre of the UK’s Olympic efforts.

I, like the majority of those who witnessed the embarrassing unveiling of the posters to the public, that were "such compelling images" (Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate), had other ideas about their value. If a novice student had come to me with any of the following, I would have acknowledged their germ of an idea, and asked they return after developing their thoughts, and taking more care over their creations:



The overly simple concepts and poor execution is only matched by the absurdity of the judges decision that in any way these represent what is best in art. It is as clear as day, those "renown" artists whose work is referenced above are either bereft of thought and skill, or shameful in their acceptance of a public commission they have done so very little for.

I understand the position that some may take when viewing such works. That human spontaneity is important to convey, that art is not constrained by realism or technique, and is accessible. What disappoints me most and is ethically dubious, is the acceptance of material gain by a small group of society (artists) that produce work which any in our community could have equally easily created.

If an artist has any value at all it is to see in greater depth and convey with greater clarity and skill, the world and our relationships. Thus far, the choices made to articulate, express, and represent the complexity and aspirations of culture, have failed. It is no wonder that people grow weary and sceptical about art and artists at this time.

There is however hope, a brief glance at the creative energy on a site like Dribbble soon confirms there are many, while not chosen by the cultural privileged class, who create work that often far outstrips the efforts of the tired and closed world of the artistic elite.