Can smoking be art?
Often on PM we've brought you stories which directly or otherwise revolve around the question - is it ART?
Tonight - news that a local council is trying to stop an art installation at Regents Park in London in which visitors can smoke - the council says it's not art.
It's called The Straight Story, by an American artist Norma Jeane. For a few days in October, the park would host three transparent booths each big enough to fit a person inside. Members of the public would be invited to take turns standing inside the booth and smoke. The artist intends to highlight the way smoking has changed from a social activity to an antisocial one as a result of the smoking ban.
I'll hear live from the person who has stopped it, Daniel Astair who is the Cabinet member for Community Protection at Westminster council, and from Emma Dexter who's an active member of the artistic community - she's curator at the Timothy Taylor Gallery in London and until last year was the head curator at Tate Modern. **1600 UPDATE: the gallery concerned has asked Ms Dexter not to take part in our programme and she has agreed. But we are not being put off. 1640 UPDATE: The item WILL run!
Not this Norma Jeane, silly.
Listen in, and let us know what YOU think.
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