The Cribs

at the Laing Gallery, Newcastle.

Over the next few months, the Laing Gallery will be asking the question: What makes great art?

The debate was started late last year and will continue until May 2010. For instance, the current exhibition is by Luke Caulfield and looks at how art has links to popular culture; in this case, music.

Running alongside this will be a step-by-step look at the work of local artist John Martin. Regular visitors to the Laing will be familiar with Martin's The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their dramatic depictions, but the gallery will also explore Martin's influence on other artists, and indeed, Hollywood. This will culminate in a major exhibition of Martin's work in 2011.

What makes great art? One aspect surely is how it generates, inspires and divides opinions. As ever, the Laing delivers on that point.