All but the most hard core Islington coffee-morning types seem to agree that what passes for modern “art”, isn’t.

Indeed, passing through the Tate Modern (the usually missing “The” has been replaced here for grammatical accuracy) is likely to reduce a true art lover to garlic tears of rage and impotent contempt.

So it is with considerable nausea that we report that the European Commission is correct (aargh, that hurt) to say:

European Commission officials claim pieces by the American artist – who is famous for installations using fluorescent strip lights – are liable for full VAT because they are no more than “lighting fittings”.

It means that any museum or gallery bringing his works into the country from outside the EU will have to pay a full VAT levy, which is due to rise to 20 per cent on Jan 1.
The ruling will also affect the works of Bill Viola, a US artist whose slow motion video pieces won acclaim when they were exhibited at the National Gallery in London.

It’s bound to be time for the article to rehash a tired cliche.

It is likely to reignite age-old the debate over what does and does not constitute art.

Oh yes, there it is. And no it’s not “likely to”, really, because everybody has made their minds up long ago.

Just to add an extra frisson of joy to the whole episode:

St Paul’s Cathedral could be among the first victims of the ruling. It has commissioned two altar pieces from Viola, due to be unveiled next year

Serves ’em right for wasting money on nonsense. TheEye hasn’t been in the shadow of St Paul’s for over a decade, but suspects that visitors are now aggressively mugged for entrance donations and gift shop sales. Now you know where your money is going – not on restoring the place but on fancy lightbulbs.