The UK art establishment, who organised the list of artists for the Olympic posters, opted for big names. It’s clear that they, and the art establishment in general, are yet to come to terms with what the intelligence and creativity of the crowd can offer – or what it could have done for the UK to showcase design and ingenuity by taking a broader, maybe more crowd-centric, approach.

So regardless of the controversy, Sarah Hyndman’s images are worth considering for two reasons:

1. They are interesting – representing everyday life in London they reflect activity rather than abstraction.

2. What is the point of “official posters” from celebrated artists?  In the more connected social world we don’t need “official” posters; we need a celebration of creativity and a novel interpretation of what collective intelligence means to art.

Meanwhile here is the official list:

The six Olympic posters have been designed by Ofili, Martin Creed, Anthea Hamilton, Howard Hodgkin, Bridget Riley and Rachel Whiteread.

Their Paralympic counterparts are the work of Emin, Fiona Banner, Michael Craig-Martin, Gary Hume, Sarah Morris, and Bob and Roberta Smith – a pseudonym for the artist Patrick Brill.