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A runner sprints through the Tate Britain art gallery in London as part of the live performance work by Martin Creed. The performance piece runs until October. (John Stillwell/Associated Press)A new type of artwork at the Tate Britain museum in London, England, has runners sprinting through the halls every 30 seconds.
Artist Martin Creed's latest creation was launched Tuesday. Called Work No. 850, it includes 50 runners doing a sprint at the museum's neo-classical sculpture galleries for the next four months.
"This is something to look at, just like a painting," the 39-year-old artist told BBC News.
By the way, runners are being paid about $20.40 Cdn per hour for their duties during the museum's opening hours. After each 86-metre dash, the runner rests for an equal amount of time.
Creed may best be known as the winner of the 2001 Turner Prize for his installation, The Lights Going On and Off.
The latest work is a continuation of the artist's obsession with the body and its functions. Previous works include:
- Work No. 503 (2006), depicting vomiting.
- Work No. 600 (2006), defecating.
- Work No. 715 (2007), sex.
Creed says Work No 850 was inspired by a five-minute viewing of the catacombs of the Cappuccini monks in Palermo, Italy. He was given a short time to view it before it closed for the day: "I thought 'Why do you have to look at paintings for a long time? Why not look for a second?"
The artist says his work is about repetition and patterns.
"The regularity of it is very important … There's a pattern for you to look at. You'll be sure that they're coming every 30 seconds, so hopefully you can enjoy it."
Creed recruited his participants by placing ads in running magazines and sports clubs, and says he's still looking for more sprinters.
Runners are permitted to weave around visitors and also stop if there's an obstacle. Visitors are not allowed to run with the "works of art."
"There is something inherently absurd in [this work]," Tate Britain director Stephen Deuchar admitted to Bloomberg News.
Deuchar encourages people to view the piece as "a kind of metaphor for life being the opposite of stillness and death.''
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