1. Are we less open to picking up on humour in work when we know that the artist died a tragic death? Or when the artist's work also touches on very serious themes?
2. I got to a part where three sculptures made of earth and binder were placed together on a clean, white floor, in front of a clean, white wall. It was like the image below (which is from a different gallery), except that the lighting was bright and even. The contrast between the earthy shapes and the smooth and pristine gallery walls caused the scene to resemble carefully thought out decorations in a newly refurbished house, and I then became irrationally annoyed at the memories of reverse snobs - people who would notice and criticise irony in the fact that the image of a love of nature is being created, but paired with a separation from the outside and an emphasis on cleanliness and perfection, as if this is wrong or pretentious. This is an assumption of the thoughts of a fictional group of people, based on memories of real people, that entered my head. I think it is fairly common to invent problems in your head and then get genuinely annoyed by them, but I am interested in how often people do it.
