Archive David Brinkworth The Fine Art Service Industry Performed Saturday 23rd September Penlee Park

David spent the last day of Tract dressed in a sombre grey suit and cap, playing the part of a security guard patrolling the galleries of Penlee House. The occasional tourists and local people meandering through the rooms largely ignored him, but he was noticed and commented on by those who were regular visitors.

The house is a large Victorian building that shows predominantly Newlyn School paintings: owned, loaned or bequeathed to the collection. Some were donated by the artists themselves, and by any reckoning are highly valuable.

It was this, and the fact that there is comparatively little security at the gallery that David’s performance seemed to highlight. But it also questioned in more general terms what it is that imparts value to a work of art, why others might want to steal or damage it, and how these considerations might affect the perception of the work