David Warner's Evil, from Time Bandits (1981); Christian Marclay, Quartet (2002)
As I have now written twice in defense of Marclay’s Clock without having made any effort to explain why, it is fair to ask at this point (as Michelle Vaughn did) why exactly I like this piece so much. Contemporary artists are steeped in criticism. The first review any artist gets is from another artist. We are trained to be articulate about our opinions and it is easy enough to spot fawning or contempt presented as criticism. Bad reviews are a bummer, but so are lame brained positive reviews. If written in good faith, by a critic committed to contemporary art, a negative review can tell you as much (if not more) about an artist you like as a positive review. As someone who enjoys reading well written, well considered, criticism of all sorts, the only thing more disappointing than a poorly explained or formulaic review (positive or negative), is a snarky one. I find contempt disguised as criticism particularly disappointing. With a high profile artist like Christian Marclay, there is prestige to be had by association - even to something the critic clearly believes is beneath them. I can easily understand why someone may dislike or be bored by Clock, I am totally flummoxed however, as to why anyone who takes contemporary art seriously, or their role as a commentator of art, would show contempt for a work of this quality.