Amazon's Mechanical Turk Review of My Art #58

This is a project where I pay workers on Amazon's Mechanical Turk to review my art and website and pay them $5 for 500 words. This is the 58th review I've received.

Paul Shortt seems to be an eclectic artist. His style appears to be very modern – he uses what he sees around him and transforms it into something that can be appreciated by more than just the standard passerby. Even if the art does not capture you at first, you find yourself enticed and clicking to view the next photo, the next set of whatever it is that he has managed to create. His art is not just the typical pencil or brush to paper; it is more interactive, bringing in people and objects to put his artwork on display. He may not be an artist to be recognized through the ages (“not a modern day Picasso”), but he certainly has the potential to make himself known in the modern day art scene. Although you are not sure what message he is always trying to bring on, it entices the viewer and leaves them with an odd sense of thought. You wonder who these people are, what part they are meant to play in the artwork and if they are meant to be a part or if they were just in the right place at the right time. My personal favorite section was the “Missed Connections.” It brought a weird twist to people trying to connect with others – instead of the typical match.com or craigslist personal ads. Within that collection, my favorite had to have been the cake with the message on it. The chances of that person ever actually seeing that message on display are scarce, but there is still something that captures you into it. Maybe they will see it, maybe those two will connect, maybe there will be a happily ever after in what holds the potential to be an oddly romantic tale. The other one that had me smiling was the “Literally and Physically” collection. It was amusing to see how someone could take something, such as the bleacher stand, and give it two different “meanings” based on how the viewer sees them, either to step on the sculpture, or avoid it all together. I know I would be one who saw the “Please Climb Sculpture” part of it first and test the theory out, just to find that I was sorely mistaken. All of Shortt's pieces have a weird vibe to them, but they still have the capability to make you stop, look and consider what it is that he is trying to say with his art. Sometimes it seems as if you have to hunt down the meaning, other times it is laid out for you “Roll on the floor laughing.” I find Paul Shortt to be an interesting artist, and the fact that he is using Amazon's Mechanical Turk program to gain a little insight, even though he is paying for such criticism, shows a weird sense of boldness amidst all the creative aspects he shows. He has an exceptionally creative mind and has discovered his outlet to portray that creativeness to the world – through art, in its own way; with ladders, sculptures, big “no photo” signs. It's a nice break from just walking around a boring museum.

For more info on this project please check out my website: http://paulshortt.com/Pay-For-An-Audience-5-Star-Ratings