Is that art?

Is that really art?

Giant black lungs? Torture scenes?

Exaggerate much?!

Text shaped like artwork reads: “All I saw was a giant black drape, chained to the ceiling, hanging limply across the floor. Is that art? Is it really art?”

But somehow you saw more. Giant lungs, art culture. social allusions.

You didn’t like it – not much. But you saw it. You saw giant black fans. You saw what every fan ever has looked like. But then you looked past. You looked further. You looked beyond. And you saw.

And now that you point it out, I can kind of see it too.

Maybe.

Just a little.

A very little.

Diego Ramirez ‘Querido Name redacted’, 2021, sourced: https://overlapping.acca.melbourne/5/1-diego alongside image of artwork Sidney McMahon, Of Sorrow and Release, 2020, installation view

I can’t help but wondering, what if I’d seen this artwork in more than just a photo.

What if I’d seen it in the gallery.

What if I’d been there. Looking. Just looking.

Standing in the room..

Is there something exciting about a giant black fan? Would I have seen it on my own? Would I have seen something? Anything? Or would I have still been unimpressed by the limp black fabric?

Will I ever see it, without being told to see it?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I guess we’ll see.