We so often think of art as a visual medium, but in many ways, it is all about touch. The viewer steps into a museum where she can’t touch anything, and yet expects ‘to be touched’ by what hangs on the walls. A bit like Michelangelo’s God reaching out towards Adam, we expect a work of art somehow to animate us, but from a distance. Meanwhile, we give the contemporary artist the Midas touch, as urinals, sharks, receipts and money become fountains, sculptures, monochromes or just more money.
