Is this 'Art'?

Ebay UK Link

On another forum browse someone posted this........do you think this could be classified as art or not?

I think it is, as there must be a story as to why the bat is called 'Harold' although there is no explanation.

[edit on 7/11/05 by Strodyn]

Of course it is.

Anything can be art if you look at it as such. A famous dadaist once submitted a toilet as a work of art. And when a toilet then becomes viewed as a work of art, who's to say that it's not?

[edit on 7-11-2005 by bsbray11]

Harold the Bat certainly has nice lines and the size is good, but I would consider this a craftwork more than art.
The true art is in the way eBay is the vehicle for Harold. The medium, in this case, is the message.

Personally I would not pay for this as it would be a cinch to make my own.

The intent with this piece is obviously the raking in of money rather than the artistic license.

I know a very well established artist named Don Bonham who lives and works in New York City. Way back in the late 60's he did a piece involving a 'fishtank' which had been pumped free of air. Inside was a rotten fish which would keep forever in the vacuum. This was a statement about the degradation of the environment. What does Harold the Bat say about our society (?)...nothing at all. What does the selling of Harold the Bat on eBay say about our society(?)...a lot!

There's the distinction.

It's a lot more like art than this: Lots of big sugar cubes...

More info about the big sugar cubes

[edit on 7-11-2005 by shorty]

Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Anything (even sugar) can be art. It's a matter of taste and personal value. I wouldn't pay a cent for the sugar or the bat, but if the artist says they're art, then they're art. They're just not worth anything to me.

What about these:
www.space-invaders.com...

one of my favorites:
www.banksy.co.uk...


If you don't have time to see all the photos see these at least..
www.banksy.co.uk...

As I find it too tedious to find distinctions between art and non-art, I instead only judge if I like it or not. Those sugar cubes probably didn't require all that much skill to stack up, but I like how they look anyway.