[Ads-l] Modern art = I could do that + Yeah, but you didn't

Sun Jul 30 20:49:54 UTC 2023

Benjamin Barrett initiated a thread about the dialogue in the subject
line back in May 2023. Now there is a Quote Investigator article:

Dialogue Origin: “I Could Have Done That”  “Ahhh, But You Didn’t!”
Full: https://quoteinvestigator.medium.com/82770f2b1262
Abbrev: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/07/30/done-that/

Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Benjamin Barrett who initiated a
mailing list thread on this topic which inspired QI to formulate this
question and perform this exploration.

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

On Fri, May 12, 2023 at 8:49 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Great work, Benjamin. The 2003 attribution to prominent artist Damien
> Hirst is wonderful. Following your lead, I was able to find a direct
> quotation from Damien Hirst in April 1994.
>
> Even better, below is a fun instance of the retort from Christo in 1975.
>
> Christo Javacheff and his wife Jeanne-Claude were famous artists of
> large-scale temporary environmental installations such as "Running
> Fence". Christo employed the rejoinder in 1975.
>
> [ref] 1975 June 22, The Press Democrat, Christo's Fence: What Does It
> All Mean by Pete Golis, Quote Page 3A, Column 1, Santa Rosa,
> California. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Christo once showed me a photo of an old motorcycle he wrapped in rope
> and plastic sheets, and sold for several thousand dollars.
> "But I could have done that," I said, "Ahhh," he smiled, "but you didn't!"
> [End excerpt]
>
> Artist William Quinn employed the rejoinder in 1987.
>
> [ref] 1987 February 4, New York Times, About New York: The Art of
> Artspeak: Be Sophisticated by William E. Geist, Quote Page B1, Column
> 1, New York. (ProQuest) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> William Quinn, artist and lecturer ...
> Mr. Quinn, who paints large computer product codes on 7-foot by
> 14-foot canvases in SoHo, was uptown exploring the new $26 million,
> 40,000 square foot museum addition ...
>
> “I could do that,” said another visitor, referring to a display of
> polyurethane-soaked cardboard boxes in the Rauschenberg. “But you
> didn’t,” said Mr. Quinn.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Another version of the response was delivered by artist Elizabeth Marr
> Goldman in February 1993:
>
> [ref] 1993 February 21, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Modern Art: Advice
> for the Uninitiated: Let the Brain Dance by Sibella Connor
> (Times-Dispatch Staff Writer), Quote Page J1 and J2, Column 5,
> Richmond, Virginia. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> We begin with a prevalent misconception about contemporary art. It's
> called "I Could Do That."
>
> "Whenever people say, 'I could do that,' I usually say, 'Yes, you
> probably could, but you didn't have the original idea,'" said
> Elizabeth Marr Goldman, an artist and former studio coordinator at the
> Richmond Children's Museum.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Damien Hirst employed the retort during an interview in April 1994:
>
> [ref] 1994 April 27, The Daily Telegraph, Pulling the wings off
> butterflies, Interview of Damien Hirst by Martyn Harris, Quote Page
> 17, Column 3, London, England. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> And then there is the idea, for as Hirst says: "It's all very well to
> look at something, and say 'I could do that,' The point is that you
> didn't and I did."
>
> But is the idea worth it in the first place, and what is it anyway?
> Clearly Hirst's work is dominated by death and decay, but is it
> precocious profundity or an adolescent morbidity?
>
> "I think of decay as intensely active," he says. "There is more going
> on in your body then than before you die."
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson O’Toole
>
> On Thu, May 11, 2023 at 6:06 PM Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > This expression appears to have been created by Craig Damrauer.
> >
> > Design Milk says it was released on November 17, 2010 (https://design-milk.com/modern-art-by-craig-damrauer/) but the Marcy C K Hayes blog has an entry from February 25, 2010, that uses the quote even though the artist isn’t cited (https://maryckhayes.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/modernart-2/).
> >
> > 1. Quotes without attribution:
> >
> > Evan @ Old News Is Good News: https://oldnewsisgoodnews.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/modern-art-i-could-have-done-that-yeah-but-you-didnt/
> > The badhistory Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/1vn7v8/a_little_bit_of_badarthistory_or_modern_art_i/)
> > Tobias van Schneider : https://vanschneider.com/blog/yeah-but-i-could-have-done-that-too/
> >
> > 2. Attributed incorrectly: SciArt that’ll make you feel Smart (https://neurobead.com/2020/11/21/abstract_art/ ) attributes it to Crain Damrauer.
> >
> > 3. Quoted with attribution:
> > beckybendylegs on BeckyBendyLegs: https://beckybendylegs.com/modern-art-i-could-do-that-yeah-but-you-didnt/
> > Tara Ward @ University of Michigan: https://hartgalleries.lsa.umich.edu/course_listings_w18/index.php?num=272-001h
> >
> > Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
> > Formerly of Seattle, WA
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org