Today, I ended up logging into my flickr account. I don't know how I got there or why - you know...one of those things that always happen when you are on the net: you start here and end up someplace else without really knowing how. Anyway, back to Flickr. So I saw myself having a look at the old posts and on the only group I was part of. I got that sense of nostalgia and thought that maybe I could post something and get back in touch when suddenly I read on the very last post, 3 months ago, "it's easier to keep in touch on facebook" and there it goes my will to post as I'm then taken by this thought:
How long is it going to take until facebook becomes flickr?
Honestly, I don't feel like having another one of these socialnetwoking profiles, which in 4 years time dies out leaving all my data in the cyber limbo.
I think I'll stick to my lonely writings.
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Thursday, 5 May 2011
Monday, 2 May 2011
Hamish Fulton’s Slowalk (in support of Ai Weiwei)
On the 30th April, I took part in the Hamish Fulton’s Slowalk (in support of Ai Weiwei) at Tate Modern. For two hours 100 people had to walk very slowly - but very slowly indeed - in the Turbine Hall. The walk was a protest against the disappearance of Ai Weiwei... and let me tell you, it was a fantastic experience.
At first, I thought it'd be difficult to find something to think, to focus on for such a long time and in such slow pace but then when the walk got going I realised that the hardest part would be the physical one, followed by the right timing of the walk itself.
Having two hours to think about what I was doing and the purpose of the walk helped me trying to put myself in Ai Weiwei shoes - being unable to express yourself fully, being arrested and god knows what else.
I'm really glad I took part in it, ever since Tate had to close the public access to the Sunflower Seeds installations I've been thinking in a way to express my dissatisfaction. However, since Ai Weiwei has disappeared I've wondered if there was a way his own installation could help expressing what we feel towards such awful action.
Well, today it was the last day of Sunflower Seeds at the Turbine Hall. I went there to see if at least today, it would be possible to walk over it - as it has meant to be - but no luck. I felt really angry thinking how this in a way represented what he's going through, how funny his own work is under arrest and in the end how it hasn't really "happened" in the way that he envisaged. I got so furstrated that suddenly I had no option but walk over the low fence separating the public from the art work.
Yes, I proudly walked over Sunflower Seeds at 5:55pm and it felt great!
Thank you Ai Weiwei!
At first, I thought it'd be difficult to find something to think, to focus on for such a long time and in such slow pace but then when the walk got going I realised that the hardest part would be the physical one, followed by the right timing of the walk itself.
Having two hours to think about what I was doing and the purpose of the walk helped me trying to put myself in Ai Weiwei shoes - being unable to express yourself fully, being arrested and god knows what else.
I'm really glad I took part in it, ever since Tate had to close the public access to the Sunflower Seeds installations I've been thinking in a way to express my dissatisfaction. However, since Ai Weiwei has disappeared I've wondered if there was a way his own installation could help expressing what we feel towards such awful action.
Well, today it was the last day of Sunflower Seeds at the Turbine Hall. I went there to see if at least today, it would be possible to walk over it - as it has meant to be - but no luck. I felt really angry thinking how this in a way represented what he's going through, how funny his own work is under arrest and in the end how it hasn't really "happened" in the way that he envisaged. I got so furstrated that suddenly I had no option but walk over the low fence separating the public from the art work.
Yes, I proudly walked over Sunflower Seeds at 5:55pm and it felt great!
Thank you Ai Weiwei!
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Thursday, 7 April 2011
Modern British Sculpture @ Royal Academy of Arts
The show was about examining British sculpture of the twentieth century and the clever thing about it was the inclusion of Asian, American and African sculptures right at the first room to mark the influence the British Empire had on the development of British Art in general. The intention was also not to define what British Sculpture is but to allow the viewers to visualise sculpture as an art form in dialogue with the world.
There were some pieces that just took my breath away:
- The powerful “Adam” by Jacob Epstein, you hear a lot about some art pieces and sometimes you think you’ll not be that affected by them or that the whole discourse is just for theorists … but when you come face-to-face with this almighty figure you are then sure of the power of art. Its presence is massive, not only because it is a very large figure but also because it confronts you. There is the juxtaposition of the material, the colour of the stone and the bare nakedness. It’s a very heavy figure, a male and his body, muscles, strengths and his nakedness – specially the height of his genitalia – telling us that he’s vulnerable, too. It’s amazing to see how such heavy figure seems to be about to move, gracefully.
- “Single Form” by Barbara Hepworth…what to say about this work, what to say about Hepworth... an artist so above the rest…
It is – as the title suggests – a simple form: an abstract oblong monolith with a big whole on the top.
This monolithic piece demands you to stop, sit down and contemplate. It asks to be seen from all angles so one must walk around it, slowly. It has a unique vibration as if it had just arrived from the Neolithic era. A mixture of “2001 Odyssey” with the Easter Islands statues – not a coincidence that one of these statues is present in the “Theft by finding” room – the room at the beginning. It is very impressive how an apparently simple shape can bring such amount of emotions.
- “Early One Morning” by Anthony Caro, a piece I have seen many time as it was recently on show at Tate Britain but is one of those pieces I never get tired of contemplating, however its presence at TB is much more imposing. I love how it always reminds me of a sailing boat!
- “Let’s eat outdoors today” by Damien Hirst, a piece I didn’t expect I’d be interested in looking for long and I was very wrong. Putrefying food is usually something I can’t handle that well but the fact that all the awfulness – thousands of flies, horrible smell that slightly permeates the glass, the disgusting food… - were fantastically concealed in what seemed an almost bullet proof glass cage, gave me a sense of security and protection that allowed me to be a voyeur. I was really surprised when I noticed the amount of details I was paying attention to. I even got closer to the guards that were answering some public questions about the piece. My friends and I have the habit of when attending an exhibition, choosing the piece we’d buy if we could. This piece challenged our little game as I’m sure I wouldn’t buy it to put in my house but certainly it would be tempted to have it if I were an art collector and had a proper space to store it.
Overall: The show was very successful in breaking down the idea that sculpture is not a very defined form of art. It proved that sculpture is very much alive in terms of challenging its role... what it is today, what can be actually called sculpture. However, I’m not sure the dialogue between the rooms worked that well. It felt a bit too fractioned…sometimes hard to see the influences of the British Empire on the sculptures of today.
There were some pieces that just took my breath away:
- The powerful “Adam” by Jacob Epstein, you hear a lot about some art pieces and sometimes you think you’ll not be that affected by them or that the whole discourse is just for theorists … but when you come face-to-face with this almighty figure you are then sure of the power of art. Its presence is massive, not only because it is a very large figure but also because it confronts you. There is the juxtaposition of the material, the colour of the stone and the bare nakedness. It’s a very heavy figure, a male and his body, muscles, strengths and his nakedness – specially the height of his genitalia – telling us that he’s vulnerable, too. It’s amazing to see how such heavy figure seems to be about to move, gracefully.
- “Single Form” by Barbara Hepworth…what to say about this work, what to say about Hepworth... an artist so above the rest…
It is – as the title suggests – a simple form: an abstract oblong monolith with a big whole on the top.
This monolithic piece demands you to stop, sit down and contemplate. It asks to be seen from all angles so one must walk around it, slowly. It has a unique vibration as if it had just arrived from the Neolithic era. A mixture of “2001 Odyssey” with the Easter Islands statues – not a coincidence that one of these statues is present in the “Theft by finding” room – the room at the beginning. It is very impressive how an apparently simple shape can bring such amount of emotions.
- “Early One Morning” by Anthony Caro, a piece I have seen many time as it was recently on show at Tate Britain but is one of those pieces I never get tired of contemplating, however its presence at TB is much more imposing. I love how it always reminds me of a sailing boat!
- “Let’s eat outdoors today” by Damien Hirst, a piece I didn’t expect I’d be interested in looking for long and I was very wrong. Putrefying food is usually something I can’t handle that well but the fact that all the awfulness – thousands of flies, horrible smell that slightly permeates the glass, the disgusting food… - were fantastically concealed in what seemed an almost bullet proof glass cage, gave me a sense of security and protection that allowed me to be a voyeur. I was really surprised when I noticed the amount of details I was paying attention to. I even got closer to the guards that were answering some public questions about the piece. My friends and I have the habit of when attending an exhibition, choosing the piece we’d buy if we could. This piece challenged our little game as I’m sure I wouldn’t buy it to put in my house but certainly it would be tempted to have it if I were an art collector and had a proper space to store it.
Overall: The show was very successful in breaking down the idea that sculpture is not a very defined form of art. It proved that sculpture is very much alive in terms of challenging its role... what it is today, what can be actually called sculpture. However, I’m not sure the dialogue between the rooms worked that well. It felt a bit too fractioned…sometimes hard to see the influences of the British Empire on the sculptures of today.
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Victor Alimpiev – Several @ Regina London
I wanted to check this show out because I’m interested in how artists explore interhuman relationships in their work.
I really enjoyed the first floor video - “Weak Rot Front” - showing a queue of ballet dancer performing a set of gestures that apparently they didn’t know the sequence. The sequence itself involved three people, two setting some gestures on the third person in a loop repetition along the queue. I got hooked up by watching the repetition that was not a repetition of the gestures themselves as each dancer brought a difference interpretation to them just because they were different people. It looked like they were not doing it on purpose – interpreting the sequence – but they just couldn’t help it, emphasising each human’s uniqueness/individuality. Also, the sequence relied on the third dancer’s trust on the other two dancers in order to be performed and watching their expressions whilst involved in a non-verbal communication was very absorbing.
The camera was quite clever, the angles changed from close ups to not so close up and sometimes almost revealing the entire room.
Overall: very small show but well put together and worth checking the “Weak Rot Front” video
I really enjoyed the first floor video - “Weak Rot Front” - showing a queue of ballet dancer performing a set of gestures that apparently they didn’t know the sequence. The sequence itself involved three people, two setting some gestures on the third person in a loop repetition along the queue. I got hooked up by watching the repetition that was not a repetition of the gestures themselves as each dancer brought a difference interpretation to them just because they were different people. It looked like they were not doing it on purpose – interpreting the sequence – but they just couldn’t help it, emphasising each human’s uniqueness/individuality. Also, the sequence relied on the third dancer’s trust on the other two dancers in order to be performed and watching their expressions whilst involved in a non-verbal communication was very absorbing.
The camera was quite clever, the angles changed from close ups to not so close up and sometimes almost revealing the entire room.
Overall: very small show but well put together and worth checking the “Weak Rot Front” video
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Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Jack Milroy - A Garden of Earthly Delights @ Art First
The window piece wasn’t very inviting so I got inside feeling a bit suspicious about what would come next. To my surprise the work was amazing. It took me in such a way that I stayed there for a long long time even though the gallery and the show were quite small.
Milroy uses ordinary elements, such as flowers, animals, cars, brand names… all printed on film and cut out in a way that allows him to create a mixture of sculpture and collage that is quite hard to describe. The work has so many visual and interpretation layers that one can spend an hour gazing and reading these panels that float on Perspex boxes. Even though these panels seem to be hermetically encapsulated they ask to be touched. It feels like a gentle breeze can set them swinging. There’s the contrast of this playfulness with his acute cutting skill that is only noticeable if you investigate how he’s done the pieces.
The best piece: “Le Rouge et le Noir” – a 3D Pollock. Amazing!
Milroy uses ordinary elements, such as flowers, animals, cars, brand names… all printed on film and cut out in a way that allows him to create a mixture of sculpture and collage that is quite hard to describe. The work has so many visual and interpretation layers that one can spend an hour gazing and reading these panels that float on Perspex boxes. Even though these panels seem to be hermetically encapsulated they ask to be touched. It feels like a gentle breeze can set them swinging. There’s the contrast of this playfulness with his acute cutting skill that is only noticeable if you investigate how he’s done the pieces.
The best piece: “Le Rouge et le Noir” – a 3D Pollock. Amazing!
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