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David Shrigley on the Tube...

Posted December 7, 2003 4:41 PM.

After watching a particularly interesting episode of The Art Show, I now plan to go and visit the work of David Shrigley currently being displayed on the London Underground. Here's a detail from one of the displayed works:

Picture of a deserted book

Comments

Please stay on-topic, informative and polite. I reserve the right to remove comments for whatever vague capricious reasons seem reasonable at the time.

It was a good documentary, that - reminded me that his public work and sculpture is really very good stuff.

The drawings and books I can take or leave - Shrigley mentioned he decided to do them 'as a job,' something the programme failed to pick up on. I'd be interested to know whether he sees all his practice as one and the same thing, or if the cartoony drawings are meant to be viewed differently to the gallery and public work above and beyond the obvious difference in context.

Posted by: Jack at December 7, 2003 5:24 PM

Didn't see the documentary, but I met him at a party in 1999. Actually, that's a lie. His publisher was having a small party at the top of Waterstones on Piccadilly which I invited myself to as I was a big fan. I thought he was great bloke. Surprisingly normal and self-deprecating.

Posted by: Ben at December 7, 2003 7:32 PM

I found myself in Gloucester Road station the morning after the Webloggers party, and with my hangover beating me into a strangely pensive mood, I missed train after train because I was looking at the works on display there. I absolutely loved them. Cheeky, irreverent, and strangely wistful.

Posted by: Wild at December 8, 2003 10:13 AM


Yeah this was a cheeky little programme, it seems to be a good time to show his work on a more publicly viewed format. masses of illustraters seem to use his work as a excuse to do meaningless pictures of what they deem to be highly profound statments. At last it seemed to offer some accountablity and ideolology. Which is long over due in this secture.

Posted by: pip at January 6, 2004 3:52 PM

david shrigley's artwork..is just that..another piece of artwork. art is crap, and art like this is certainly NOT BLOODY WORTH THE TIME analyzing bout it. Come on man, this is crap, his art is crap, my god..ppl can analyze this as contemporary conceptual art..bla bla bla, his work is brilliant because of this and that bla bla. please, my god this kind of art is fuckin crap. Art= impressionism, expressionism that kinda stuff is art, not this fucking crap

Posted by: jason at January 18, 2004 3:21 AM

"Comment: barrie j davies (January 21, 2004 08:22 PM) said:

this is for you out there jason, art is not crap! you are just so narrow minded you would not be able to apreciate it if shit fell on you from a great height!"

We'd all be able too apreciate it though. "Art is expressionism" Isn't this work a form of expression.. Oh my, it suddenly became art.

Posted by: God at January 24, 2004 11:50 AM

well, he's a good man, makes thoughtful images and so on, but come on - look in any designer's/artist's sketchbook and you'll find similar stuff - thoughtful captions about life and everything around them - why aren't their images on show too??

Posted by: olle at January 26, 2004 9:42 PM

Art is just expressionism, impressionism eh? what an idiot. Im sorry but you're missing out on some amazing things in this world if you believe that art boils down to a couple of movements. That stuff aint relevant anymore so get with it.

Posted by: Anna at February 11, 2004 3:14 PM

Shrigley takes the piss and that is what endears him to the public. I saw a few pieces by him at the Serpentine this week and laughed out loud, what an amazing quality in a human being-let alone an artist! Take it at face value-he wants you to laugh at yourself and the idiocy of life, what a great guy.

Posted by: Nadine at February 21, 2004 8:53 PM

adrian did the narration for that shrigley art tv show...

this is his site...

http://www.sickhappyidle.com

he is also in the documentary ...the bloke with the camouflage jacket on (in case you missed him)

bye

Posted by: Loathsome Cowboy at March 9, 2004 2:44 PM

I know you taste like pork, david shrigley. you are so beautiful.

Posted by: molasse killer at November 17, 2004 11:19 AM

I came across the work of this man in a set of postcards titled Evil Thoughts. I thought it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I think the guy is brilliant. His art is unique, not everyone's cup 'o' tea, but it makes a point and it brings on an emotion (laughter). He communicates an idea with simplicity.

Posted by: Tom Ridout at April 27, 2005 9:15 PM

I've only just found this website doing research for a critical journal to support a foundation art course. Contempory art has been rubbished a lot recently, no thanks to john humphreys (art school,bb2 gives you some idea of the work I'm doing),but I think it has to be welcomed if not only because its a collection of people putting out ideas so interesting people dispute them on websites. As for Shrigley, I've never come across artwork like it (and yes it is art if the artists says so)at first I thought it was talentless and simple,a child could do it, but after a while it began to make me smile and think about why he created these pieces which I believe,in most cases, is what an idea is supposed to do.

Posted by: Eli at September 27, 2005 7:57 PM

David shrigley eats small children then forms a paste of his shit and ground up left over bones. This is then smeared onto his skin so that he can work on his art. didn't you know? This is how he works away from his usual methods of working, which is mainly biblical highly skilled paintings of naked people that he does on cathedral ceilings and stuff. Personally I prefer his later works.

Posted by: james topple at October 7, 2005 2:15 PM

shrigley is g-d. whence i am feeling at my lowest i can look at one of his drawings and realize everything is gonna be all right cause there is no meaning cept to be good and walk on into the darkness. there is such love and caring in his work--he is so moral that we cannot help but to pay attention.

Posted by: tracy at October 16, 2005 2:17 AM

Hello!

We've just launched a set of beautifully printed a5 postcards and david has kindly submitted a brilliant drawing...

check it out, they're all limited edition.

www.ifyoucould.co.uk

cheers,

Alex

Posted by: Alex Bec at March 24, 2006 12:35 PM

I agree with James Topple that Shrigley's later work is better, but wanted to suggest he looks into the 'Waste' series from a few years ago, which steers away from the biblical stuff and towards expelling shit onto cathedral ceilings. A more appropriate comment for the current ethical climate perhaps

Posted by: katy at July 19, 2006 6:48 PM

I agree with James Topple that Shrigley's later work is better, but wanted to suggest he looks into the 'Waste' series from a few years ago, which steers away from the biblical stuff and towards expelling shit onto cathedral ceilings. A more appropriate comment for the current ethical climate perhaps

Posted by: katy at July 19, 2006 6:48 PM

Das SCHIMMEL agrees with James Topple and Katy that the artists later work is better. This is not open to any more discussion.

Kind regards

Das SCHIMMEL

Posted by: Das SCHIMMEL at March 9, 2007 10:57 PM

David Shrigley..? Brilliant, it is our job as artists to reflect what is going on in the world and to point out the foibles of our existence. Life isn't a grim parade towards death, let's have some fun everyone...!

Posted by: ian at March 27, 2007 10:17 AM

Shrigley's menacing attitude towards the relation of image and text liberates their combined function. The messages created are playful, ironic and witty; often bordering on non-sensical. I love Shrigley and his open mind. His lack of inhibition towards communicating something that may not be correct (in any sense), is what makes him unique and fascinating.

Posted by: Emily Pound at March 28, 2007 8:35 PM

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