This post at Across the Atlantic pointed out how the cleaning crew accidentally threw away a piece of “artwork.”

A bag of rubbish that was part of a Tate Britain work of art has been accidentally thrown away by a cleaner.

The bag filled with discarded paper and cardboard was part of a work by Gustav Metzger, said to demonstrate the “finite existence” of art.

It was thrown away by a cleaner at the London gallery, which subsequently retrieved the damaged bag.

Hmmm…  Seems to me that if you can’t tell it’s art, then perhaps it really isn’t art, then is it?  Anyhow, this reminded me of some Blog Ads for Quent Cordair Fine Art that have been running recently on Instapundit. 

In particular, the work of Han Wu Shen really caught my eye.  For example, consider his piece titled “Lying Woman”:

To me, this is actual art.  Here you can see the work of someone who has taken the time to apply considerable skill in creating this painting.  Throwing together a partially shredded nylon wall hanging and a bag of garbage is not art.  Soaking something in feces or urine is not art.  Frankly, I’m starting to wonder if most of modern art is contrived as a snow job to try to scam the public into continuing to support a bunch of talentless hacks.

Call me old fashioned if you will, but I think art should attempt to represent something, real or imagined.  I suspect that Han Wu Shen and the rest of the artists with Quent Cordair’s gallery have probably forgotten more about art than Gustav Metzger ever knew.