Reality is officially more powerful than art – but only just

Research finds people react more calmly to art images than real-life ones. But art isn’t about cool contemplation – it’s a red-blooded reframing of emotionThe other day I watched stuff turn into art when I saw Tracey Emin assemble My Bed, one of the most controversial readymades ever created. At the start of her installation there was a mattress on a plinth and two tables of carefully bagged objects. By the time she’d finished, My Bed was something special – it was