Culture

A friend of mine regularly teases me about being a “snob” when it comes to all things cultural. The best example of this snobbery I can give you is refusing to get coffee from the link – the aesthetics just don’t cut it.

The counter-argument, however, is that having standards is not necessarily a negative thing. It can easily be argued that when it comes to art a line needs to be drawn between what is good and, well … average. Despite there being a grossly wide quality spectrum that varies from person to person, there are certain categories of art that most people could deem to be sub-standard – like café art. Café art usually falls well below the line, demonstrating that while anything can be called “art,” the label itself doesn’t mean it’s good.

I will confess that a café or restaurant tends to instantly lose its appeal when I notice price tags next to whatever is framed on the walls. It is very rare that I find art exhibited in cafes anything other than gimmicky, tacky and exuding an air of desperation due to being painted by someone in a mid-life crisis.

Typically using “kiwiana” ferns, beaches and Pohutukawa trees as subject matter, there is a distinctive style trending throughout café art that is generally amateurish – the artists may have technical capability but lack creativity. Often the works will be cheap imitations of those by prominent artists, such as the constant appropriation of Dick Frizzell’s Four Square logo works (which was itself an appropriation in the first place). If nothing else, café art frequently demonstrates the mastery found in an art gallery.

However, there is always an exception to the rule. The stylish eyes of the people running Kiki Beware and Modaks admittedly prove my sweeping generalisation wrong. On their walls sit a few carefully selected works that tie in with each café’s distinctive atmosphere.

For more contrast, a massive chalkboard at Mazagram – the boutique coffee roastery on Moray Place – features a different artist’s creative interpretation of the space each week. It’s a creative incorporation of art into the café, providing a non-profitable outlet for artistically-inclined locals to demonstrate what they can do. However, it seems rare for cafés to be this creative. Generally they create a sense of claustrophobia – the desire to make money overrides the desire to create a sense of exclusivity around the art and to give the viewer space to consider what it has to offer.

It is necessary, of course, to acknowledge the advantages displaying art in café has for the artists themselves. Not many people venture into dealer galleries, so cafés allow art to be accessible to a more diverse audience. This can operate as a “kickstart” and, from a business perspective, is an easy way to generate a form of income. Furthermore, discussing the wall art can save an awkward conversation when on a coffee date.

In spite of this, exhibiting art in a cafe is rarely successfully pulled off. Call me a snob, but I prefer to experience art as a devoted activity isolated from the potential distraction of drinking an average coffee.