01/07/2008 09:49:00
The latest exhibition at Tate Britain has caused a storm as Martin Creed's installation, Work No 850, involves paid amateur athletes running through the Duveen Galleries in the London museum.
For the next four months runners will sprint through the gallery at 30 second intervals, each journey taking around 15 seconds to complete. They will be paid £10 per hour and work four hour shifts, spending 30 minutes of each hour on and the rest off.
The Times reports that Creed found inspiration for the piece when running through the Capuchin catacombs in Palermo at closing time, an experience that allowed him only brief glimpses of the caves.
Creed said: "I thought, 'Why do you have to look at paintings for a long time? Why not look for a second?' Sometimes when you go around museums you feel it is quite a laborious task."
The installation has raised questions about whether the piece is actually art, with critics like David Lee claiming that it is a publicity stunt on the behalf of both Creed and the Tate. Lee is editor of the satirical magazine The Jackdaw which speaks out against what it deems unacceptable standards in the art world - boldly positing on its website that it is "unsuitable for Birmingham".
Not only has controversy arisen regarding the validity of the exhibition as a work of art, but criticism of the physical repercussions running on a hard marble surface will have on the participants has also been discussed. After barely an hour, of sprinting two of the participants struggled to hide their discomfort.
Andy Baddeley, contender for the 1500m at the Beijing Olympics was quoted by The Times to say:
"If it is polished, it will be slippery. It depends on how good their shoes are . . . If it is a significant distance, it would take on toll on their joints."