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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

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