Sad Robot (Unknown, 2014)

'Sad Robot'

Attributed to 'Tasha', 2014. Lane beside Turquoise Takeaway.  

The Sad Robot is a masterpiece of expressive art of the very highest calibre. From the exquisite shading, to the highest attention to detail (one can almost imagine the robot's nipples glinting in the morning sunlight), to the profound message the artwork intends to convey – this piece is well worth a sojourn down to Bodmin's finest kebab house.

The image of the sad robot here represents the everyday urban struggle – the daily grind which dehumanises the individual and transforms him into a joyless robotic worker.  The loss of the robot's carefree, childlike state through poverty is lamented through the phrase 'great init' which is also a pun on why the robot is unable to speak up against his oppression – his mouth is literally a grate – 'great init'.  The environment has cleverly been utilised as a canvas, and the robot (as the working individual) now completely relies upon it for his existence. 

The irony of the statement 'work-to-live, not live-to-work' is examined here – while we are forced through poverty to toil away in offices and cafés, we are not enjoying life on a more meaningful, fulfilling level.  In order to live, we are forced to survive in ways which we do not really enjoy at all.  The Sad Robot encourages us to imagine enlightenment through art - begging us to ask 'Is there not more to life than this?' 

This spectacular and thought-provoking piece is currently still on display.

Accepting Submissions!

Graffiti is an important part of culture - it can be an outlet for creativity and expression, or a way for the under-represented or voiceless within society (those who have never had the joy of discovering an aptitude for expressive dance) to express their feelings. Sometimes graffiti is witty and playful, and at others an important way to air political, social or economic grievances. And sometimes, just sometimes, it's a way to express your dislike of penguins. 

If you've spotted a modern masterpiece or a classic work of art in or around the town of Bodmin, please do take a picture and send it in with a little context of where the masterpiece can be found, and feel free to state what emotions the piece aroused in you when you discovered it. I will then review the artwork and post it to the site, adding it to the online collection; thus preserving it evermore for our children, our children's children, and our children's children's children. 

EDIT - this blog is no longer accepting submissions. 

79A (Unknown, 2014)

'79A'

Unknown, 2014. Fore Street.

Oscar Wilde famously said that 'life imitates art'. Here we see an example of a philosophic artwork which really pushes the boundaries between art and life; was this flat number 79A before the lettering was added, or only after? 

This piece causes the viewer to ponder the meanings of existential questions. Is it art? Is it vandalism? Or is it simply a functional way for the postman to find the right house? Perhaps we'll never know.

No penguins (Unknown, 2014)

'No Penguins'

Unknown, 2014. Fore Street/Bree Shute Lane Alley.

The juxtapositioning of Bodmin's Mackays and what is most likely to be a penguin instils a sense of confusion in the viewer. The artist exploits this confusion in order to angrily hit back at the establishment through this artwork. The penguin (assuming that it is a penguin) is symbolic of the cold treatment faced by Bodmin's youth, who are being dictated what they can and can't do by a government who doesn't understand them. The bold use of red and black outlines this anger, and the naive style in which the bird is depicted reveals the artist's inner child, a young boy or girl who just wants to play with their toy penguin without having to deal with the pressures and stresses of modern Bodmin life.