Critique of Lucy Orta's 'Carrion-Art' and Other Skeletons in the Closet
A critical essay published in Artpress in June 1997 attacks Lucy Orta's practice, specifically her project of collecting rotten fruit from markets, making jam, and distributing it to homeless people at the Saint-Eustache soup kitchen in Paris. The author dismisses Orta's work as lacking artistic merit, questioning the 'coefficient of art' as defined by Marcel Duchamp. The piece sarcastically notes that Orta explains her interest in the poor by referencing her mother's profession as a social worker, and poses a provocative hypothetical about her father being a concentration camp guard. The essay is a polemic against what it sees as pretentious or misguided contemporary art.
Key facts
- Lucy Orta collected rotten fruit from markets
- She made jam from the fruit
- She distributed the jam to homeless people at Saint-Eustache soup kitchen in Paris
- Orta's mother was a social worker
- The essay references Marcel Duchamp's 'coefficient of art'
- The article was published in Artpress in June 1997
- The essay criticizes Orta's work as lacking artistic value
- The title references 'carrion-art' and 'skeletons in the closet'
Entities
Artists
- Lucy Orta
- Marcel Duchamp
Institutions
- Artpress
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Saint-Eustache
Sources
- artpress —