What A Ripoff!

Here's further proof that funding the visual arts should be left to businessmen with more money than sense. Chinese con artist Ai Weiwei persuaded Unilever to shell out a fortune on 100 million hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds with which to carpet Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. It took more than 150 tonnes of seeds, made by 1,600 Chinese workers in Jingdezhen over two years, to carpet the Turbine Hall to a depth of 4 inches. And the result? Sheer boredom, as the Telegraph's slide show reveals (title link). A gravel drive would be more interesting! But there are always fatheads ready to defend such tosh. Chief Curator Sheena Wagstaff claims Sunflower Seeds is "a beautifully simple idea that belies an extraordinary rich layer of meanings and references." Curator Juliet Bingham supports her boss's bullshit with "To touch one seed is to touch the whole. It's a poignant commentary on the relationships between individuals and the masses." Pull the other leg, ladies; it's got bells on.