"The bricks . . . "

While I worked at The Museum of Modern Art Oxford (1977-1988) one of the most extraordinary events occurred largely fired up by the press and one of the most enjoyable aspects of working there were interactions with the public. The most notable case of the media affecting people's opinions was Carl Andre's 'Bricks' bought by the Tate Gallery in 1972 and put on display in 1976 [for some £2,297 please note]. Never had any art 'event' had such an affect upon the general pubic to the extent that they sought out their local nearest art gallery to vent their spleen. It happened a lot. Over several weeks I would get asked questions or have to field vehement complaints some several times a day. I used to enjoy playing with their assumptions and enjoyed many a heartfelt argument with people who had been affected by articles in the red top press and the more right wing of our yellow journalistic pedlars.

 I would start by asking a number of questions

1/ Have you been to see it? So you are criticising something you haven't even seen? Why do you suppose that is?

2/Are you a qualified artist?

3/Have you studied the subject?

4/Would you ask similar question of a practitioner of mathematics?

5/or classical composer?

One of the things I would get asked statements to fend off would include:

a/what is it all about?

b/it's just a pile of bricks 

c/ why anyone could do that?

d/my child could do that?

e/ it's an outrage that it cost so much

To which I would say a/ well that is quite a complicated question and it is about what the artist says it's about

b/ well okay so they are just bricks. Have you been to see them?

c/ Well anyone could do that but they didn't

d/ but they didn't!

e/ what do you think the going rate for bricks in the form as arranged by a fine artists would be?

They were not ordinary red house house bricks. 'I think they are really rather beautiful and they seem to be a yellow cream firebrick. The investment of public money has made a small (sic) fortune [it is now worth well into seven figures]  I asked every single person complaint whether they had seen it and apparently they didn't feel they needed to as there were pictures in the press. I asked them why the Mona Lisa then was on display tin the Louvre. I asked when was the last time they had been in an art gallery or museum to look at pictures, sculptures  or art. I asked every single person whether they had (or wanted to) read an interview in the then current copy of Art Monthly with the artist [which I thought was one of the most helpful articles I had read and I had a degree in the subject]. 

No-one accepted these offerings . . . . . . 

Carl Andre 

American Minimal sculptor and poet. Born in Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1954 worked for Boston Gear Works and travelled to England and France. Served in the US Army 1955-6. In 1957 moved to New York and worked for a publisher. Wrote poetry and made drawings and some abstract sculptures in perspex and wood, with geometric forms. Influenced by Brancusi and by Stella, his close friend. 1960-4 worked as railroad freight brakesman and conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad; made few sculptures, but these show move away from carving to works constructed out of simple blocks of material. His sculpture first exhibited in a group show in 1964, followed by his first one-man exhibition at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, 1965; major retrospective exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1970. Made floor sculptures out of standard industrial units such as bricks or metal plates in simple arithmetic combinations; also experimented with scattered blocks and pieces of bent pipe, etc.

the 'bricks'

Equivalent VIII 1966