UNDERSTANDING ET AL An Idiot’s Guide By Andrew Paul Wood

L. Budd Et Al Postmodernism is the result of 5000 years of western culture sticking its fingers down its throat. Et Al’s work is about deconstructing and subverting the often absurd traditions of twentieth century art.

L. Budd Et Al In 1917 Marcel Duchamp put an unplumbed urinal in a Paris art gallery as a critique of the power of dealers and galleries to dictate trends in art (coinciding with the rise of the avant- garde, cubism etc).

L. Budd Et Al Duchamp called the urinal Fountain and signed it R. Mutt. It became the iconic original of all conceptual art – art in which the ideas generated are more important than the object itself.

L. Budd Et Al Et Al’s portaloo Rapture, exhibited in Telecom Prospect 2004, refers back to Fountain. Portaloos suggest a more democratic and Kiwi alternative.

L. Budd Et Al The cubicles also playfully reference the 20 th century minimalist art movement – especially the cubes of American artist Donald Judd. Minimalism is concerned with manipulating gallery space with simple shapes, grids and repititions

L. Budd Et Al The explosive noises emanating from the cubicles are recordings of French nuclear tests in the Pacific. The inferences are: The impact of Duchamp on art was like a nuclear explosion. French modernity and imperialism occur both in art and politics, and are equally double sided. French nuclear tests treat the Pacific like a toilet.

L. Budd Et Al The donkey braying emanating from the cubicles may represent French intransigence on the issue, but also one of the constituent personae of Et Al: P. Mule

L. Budd Et Al P. Mule is a direct nod to R. Mutt

Why the artist shouldn’t have to front up The whole idea of a quasi-fictive collective frees the artist from being locked into any one way of working by public expectation. Nor is attention diverted to the artist at the expense of the art. It’s like demanding a mime speak or a magician reveal their tricks.

The idea of the Et Al collective has a respectable pedigree Authors who write under many different pseudonyms. One actor playing multiple roles.

This is not the work that went to the 2005 Venice Biennale It has no relationship to the argument

Of course contemporary art is elitist All complex cultural specialities are, including: –Classical Music –Politics –Law –Rugby –Cricket

Get Over It Thank You