The exhibition took place at The Gatehouse on Edinburgh College’s Granton Campus and featured artwork created by local artist and ex-CAP student, Emma Hales. The exhibition was open for viewing from the 27th of January until the 3rd of February, with the opening night having been on the 28th of January.
I began this collection in response to my historic (commonplace) preoccupation with creating “good” or “successful’ art. Hours would be lost agonising over whether the piece was well painted enough, technically accomplished, choosing top-of-the-range materials, and balancing complexity with articulation. The friction this would cause with creativity could be debilitating.
Adding the views of other people and the subjective nature of art appreciation could become overwhelming.
Deciding to investigate this, I focused on content; elements that “should not” be used in Fine Art. Through making lists of random, culturally obscure, tacky, out-of-date imagery, I began painting a body of work that abandoned what I had previously adhered to in terms of referencing, planning, composition, balance, and colour theory.
The process of creating this work has muddied any clarity I had perceived over what was good or bad in the art world. Through a mental collapse of art theory, welcoming a rise in shallow aesthetics, and embracing bad taste, traditional and institutional art critique can be turned on its head. When we question the ideologies of art history, we make room for the artist and viewer to negotiate the terms for art. The deregulation of art leaves room for fun, creativity, and open-mindedness. What better conditions for us as artists to thrive?
Emma Hales on making ‘Bad Art’
More on Emma Hales…
See more of Hale’s work here!
More on The HubCAP Gallery…
And if you’d like to see more from the exhibition, check out the HubCAP Gallery’s Instagram below!
hubcap gallery 