The Big Art Gallery Dilemma

Tweet I found recently that it is increasingly difficult for me to view some of the big shows at the capitals major galleries, e.g. Tate, Saatchi, National gallery etc. This isn't due tot he nature of the shows, but more down to a guilty feeling I have myself. I want to go view these shows, but with lack of time an issue I feel I should be viewing some of the art in the smaller galleries just to get more of a feel of what is in the Zeitgeist. 

Another thing that doesn't help is that when I do see a bigger show, my tutors kind of expect me to have seen these so me going to these instead of other shows leaves me stumped when they say "what have you seen?", when I reply with "um the Richter show" they kind of of go "and?". Now I no this is no fault of my tutors and it is solely mine, but I just hope there are some of you who can empathise. There is no solution to this problem other than get up earlier and spend more time with my head In the game, even so The Big Art Gallery Dilemma remains.

Great Advert

This video shows some of the great adverts for the new Show The Jury on ITV, I haven't watched the show, but the advert on the screens on the escalators is truly unerving. I first discovered it at Leicester Square Tube station and I found it fascinating. Having the eyes there while you were moving up the escalators really made you feel like you were being watched, like they were following your every movement. For me this is an example of a well designed thought out advert, rather than the memorable but awful Cilit Bang adverts for example which are memorable for the wrong reasons. 

Damien Hirst - Retrospective at TATE

Love him or loathe him, as many do, you can't deny that he has certainly been a huge figure in the bringing of art from the aristocracy to the people. While critics are still divided, papers still undecided, i believe that a Damien Hirst retrospective is a great idea. Why you ask, well to start with many of his works which have been out of the country for years will return in time for the Olympics, while this maybe a rather crude showing of success and culture on behalf of TATE and Britain in general, I myself will be excited to see some of the works that i haven't seen in the flesh. 

While there are other down sides such as another cash injection for a man already called "the worlds richest living artist", I feel as though it will be a great educational opportunity as well for budding young artists and art lovers, seeing some of the work from the roots of the YBA movement. 

Personally I am really looking forward to seeing some of these works, and getting a chance to view them with my own eyes rather than on a screen or book, that is something that you can never replace and no one can tll you otherwise.

Bob Dylan- Hammersmith Apollo

Wow! after 50 years of gigging and at the age of 70 Bob Dylan still knows how to rock. Despite recent criticisms of his gigs as of late i could not pass up the opportunity to see him supported by a truly majestical Mark Knopfler. Yes true the voice has perhaps changed, not faded, but this only reinvents old classics such as All along the Watchtower, this voice means that it was a very bluesy affair which suited the rocky swing of the night with Knopfler opening with an hour long set and then continuing to play guitar for half a dozen of Dylan's songs. 

As well as his Never Ending Tour continuing he has also had his own show of his painting at the Gagosian Gallery earlier this year. In all a Great gig with a fantastic evergreen Like a Rolling Stone to end. It proves that he still has a lot to contribute to music. 

Book review- I, Partridge

Steve Coogan reprises his role as Alan Partridge in this Autobiography of anecdotes and stories about his life. There are many memorable lines where we laugh at the small mindedness, or lovable arsehole, often spiteful, nature of Alan, "The divergence between our two lives (mine: successful, his: pathetic) is best illustrated in our choice of garden furnishing. I've enhanced my lawn with a rockery. McCombe has chosen a broken washing machine."

However, there is something i think a little sinister in our apparent likeing of Alan and his misguided ways. It is perhaps just as bad to laugh at his belittling un-pc way of thinking, as even though it is intended for us to be laughing at him for being to backward in his views, we should perhaps find it insulting that we can in fact say, "o i know someone who says that" or "my mate Jim is just like that", maybe showing the lack of acceptance in our society. Some say that in order to get over things such as this we need to laugh at them, while i appreciate the sentiment and admit begrudging to loving this sort of humor at times, i do think that there is something fundamentally wrong at finding someone like this funny.

Modern Day Superhero?

Today while at work handing out flyers in Leicester square for 99 Comedy Club, i encountered a rather strange event, which has lead me to think about the notion of "the people", and to a possibility of its functioning within the city. I was told by a colleague that there had been a gang setting up a game in the streets and were ripping people off by having people planted in the crowd, then handing out fake money to winners if they bet on the game. As i went to have a look at a distance a man in his mid 20s grabbed the guy on the stall and pushed him against a fence, at this point I was thinking police, then it became clear that this was more a reprimand or threat than an arrest. The thought of a rival gang member crossed my mind, but luckily the violence ended with the threat, and the throwing away of the man's equipment to play the game further. If this was indeed just an innocent bystander standing up for the unsuspecting members of the public, it makes me think about unity and a feeling of duty. 

This hero of sorts raises thoughts of the functions of these acts in a society divided by communities and beliefs, or even a city like London divided by the same issues, and the importance or role of looking out for one's fellow man. Is there a show of unity here or is there something more personal, this we will never know; however, i like the romantic idea of someone genuinely caring about the others around him. 

Frieze Art Fair

Ok so i know that this is a week post fair; however, i was so disappointed that it has taken me the best part of a week to recover from it. Unfortunately when one attends one has to realise that this is a purely commercial event, with every galleries goal to make money and network. When has this concept in your mind the experience is far more enjoyable, as you see that the work there is purely because it is sell able, the reason for the extortionate amount of paintings, not because it represents the best work of the artists the gallery represents. A great example of this is Huma Bhabha's work at the Stephen Friedman Gallery's stand. Some of Bhabha's best work are the fantastic sculptures she makes, of which there was only 1, the rest of the work were her still beautiful paintings, but they do not quite give the same impact as the sculptures. 

Despite the shier quantity of paintings and "sellable" work there were a lot of well presented works; however, my overall conclusion is based upon something that my friend told me, this isnt the exact quote but it goes something like this. Frieze to an artist is like seeing your parents have sex, your glad it still happens but its something that you don't want to see. 

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?- So what kind of art do you do?

I no its an ice-breaker question, i know that some people might be interested in the answer, but lets be fair no one really gives a monkeys to your answer if that is the vague attempt at breaking down you practice as an artist. I think that unfortunately this one of those questions that when asked, can make you visibly see the anger induced, all fields have the same sort of questions. "Oh so you do History, what type do you do?" of course this  is a reasonable question but its so vague that its hard to get a conversation out of it.

I think we should all take it upon ourselves to rethink these questions before we ask, maybe such things as, "Ok art practice, what are you working on at the moment?" or maybe something even more specific like "What did you think of xyz at the Tate?"

Pipilotti Rist- Hayward Gallery

The Hayward really hit the jackpot with this exhibition Eyeball Massage by Pipilotti Rist. Work varies from the mid 80s until the present, and it works with video and the way we experience it. Moving it from the screen or basic projection into and onto new fields and plains. By changing the ‘standard’ ways of viewing by putting projections in shells or making the viewer lie on the floor on cushions made from jumpers and trousers, we are disrupting the usual rituals of a gallery visit. The human body becomes a recurring theme, for example the chandelier, Massachusettes Chandelier, made from underwear, looks to celebrate the body by using garments that would usually cover what is considered the most ‘sacred’ parts of the body, the parts which site “our entrance into the world, the centre of sexual pleasure and the location of the exits for the body’s garbage”

A personal favourite of mine had to be the piece Suburb Brain, where by videos were integrated to a small suburban house. The placement of the videos onto the architecture of the bungalow work well for me, with videos showing us the inside of the house, what was really going on, commenting on how what we see and what we perceive is often at conflict with each other.  This again works to comment on the nature of suburban life, a perfect little world often at odds with itself. The show continues until 8^th Janurary 2012 so go and check it out.

The Lewisham Art House

Situated at the Back of New Cross 5 mins from Goldsmiths College, Lewisham Art House is a volunteer led organisation/collective of artists which provides rent-able studio and gallery space for fellow practitioners. Unfortunately the Open Studios event has now ended; however, the show Raw Visions will be coming up in November featuring Marta Addari, Michela Balloi, Paolo Bianchi, Alice Cadeddu, Costantino Caiafa, Giusy Calia, Gianni Casagrande, Pietro Costa, Mario Fois, Vincenzo Grosso,  Roberto Marras, Giuseppe Moro, Vincenzo Pattusi, Cici Peis and Paola Usala.

The open studios did show some of the great art that is coming out the area, with artist such as Rosey Prince, who creates some wonderful atmospheric prints of architecture, or Ben Varney's work on the figure. 

Housing artists and art works is not the only thing that goes on here, there are also workshops and educational programmes which make for an exciting center for art in South East London. 

Shadowing a Social Media guru

Last Saturday I followed social media guru Simon Wilson of Grape Digital around London Fashion Weekend, while he updated and took photos for FRAE yogurt company. While the job my seem fun and perfect for anyone young, it remains a very competitive industry, where professionalism is key. One only needs to look in the news most days to see that some footballer has made a silly comment on Facebook or twitter that has got them into trouble. 

My angle on this is the growing presence of art in the world of social media. One only has to see that Pepsi pulled their annual $25m advertising campaign at the Superbowl to instead plug Facebook to its importance. Artists use twitter and Facebook as an alternative to the almost standard use of a blog now. sites LinkedIn also a valuable service in the expansion of businesses, and the art world can only benefit from the networking that is involved in this. Of course one can never replace seeing a work in person; however, social media allows works and themes to get out there to give people an idea and to wet the appetites. 

In all it can be seen that social media is no longer the future of marketing and advertising, it is the now!

Joseph Phillips

Phillips creates these beautiful pictures that resemble segments of idillic scenes. They remind me of movie sets with their supports and backgrounds. I start to think about the way we construct our environments, how we mold nature to our specific needs. 

The work with titles such as The Cosmopolitan Package there seems to be a real underlying comment on our consumerist society, this becoming almost an IKEA flat pack life kit, full of all the perfect ingredients for a perfect world.

Some of his work is currently featured on the Saatchi site's favorite art of the moment, and this is a testament to the fantastic work here. 

Obsessionistas

Obsessionistas is a site that celebrates collectors and their various collections. These collections range from Cliff Muskiet's air hostess uniforms to Tim Parsons' coat hanger collection. Each of the collections have a back story and an extensive gallery of pictures. 

There are also interesting articles surrounding the theme of the collection. There obviously a lot documented about the archive and taxonomy; however, there is something very fascinating about a private collection, be it something simple and almost ordinary about stamps or a certain genre of painting etc, as it is a personal thing, motivated by more than an interest, as this website says, an Obsession. 

Minimal Home

I stumbled upon this great site through twitter, and i have been scrolling through it ever since. Not only is it a trendy furniture shop but it also promotes keen young model Hong Chhim and it also provides the full decorating experience, taking one through the various designers and furnishes that give it unique works of art.

Thier model Hong Chhim seems to be a real push and publicity edge for them. "HONG CHHIM is a transsexual teenage model from Cambodia" and then describing him with "How many teenage boys give most girls a run for the money when it comes to looking fabulous!!!". All in all definitely worth checking out if you want a stylish new way of living and you have a few extra £s to spend, or if you like us love their fresh imagery. http://www.minimalhome.com/

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? - Art about a What if? alternate reality

The kind of art I am talking about is the sort of art whereby a gallery is a little stuck for a theme or cohesive block of artists/works for a show, so they decide that the show is about some sort of mysterious alternate reality where all the works are very open to this idea of e.g. what if we all had a penis for a forearm?. I feel that there is a real shallowness to exhibitions of this nature, this is not to say that there aren't a number a great works produced from these shows, as many of the works are of a high standard, its more the way they are presented to us and a fantasy world. 

I myself enjoy the ideas around fantasy and reality and where the line is drawn; however, i feel that there are cases where it has been over done and the freshness is lost and the value in such works becomes a little suspect.

Shows that have been effective have been ones such as Little White Lies at the Aubin gallery, and Storyteller at La Scatola, which we covered a few weeks back; however, it feels as though it is just too easy to use fantasy as a glue for things that don't quite go together.

Phyllida Barlow - Rig

Hauser and Wirth's Piccadilly branch is currently houseing a wonderful show by Phyllida Barlow. The initial work as you enter from Piccadilly at first makes you stoop as you feel as though there are tones of concrete suspended above you on flimsy wooden poles, and then a sudden relief comes as one discovers that is in fact polystyrene painted like concrete that is floating above your head. 

The show continues downstairs in the very bowls of the building where further sculptures are reminiscent of incomplete forgotten objects subject to aging, but also others where by they have grouped together to form almost packs of art. There is also an interesting juxtaposition set by the grand wooden rooms and the poorly painted forgotten works within. 

There is a lot of fantastic works here that create an interesting visual setting with their surroundings, especially the one in the roof space, untitled pompoms 2011.

Cryptic - Crypt Gallery

The show Cryptic seemed to to highlight an aspect of the art world at the moment which seems too readily available for it really to capture the imagination, and that is, as the Crypt gallery describes "Nothing is what it seems. Each artist's work seeks to reveal surprising perspectives on the extraordinary and the mundane", or what i call trying to bend reality slightly to create an interesting piece. Now don't get me wrong there was some beautiful well measured work; however, i feel that this mysterious playful nature is something that has been covered time and time again.  

 That said there were several works that really caught the eye such as Margaret Duston's Shift and the space that the show is presented in is unique and mysterious in itself, especially when one considers the spaces initial use, and the materialistic use it has now. In all it is a fantastic space with some nice work, after looking at some of the artists websites and previous works, the work here seems to be a little below what many of artists could achieve, but worth a look all the same.

American Apparel get what they deserve

Nancy Upton has chosen to mock and humiliate the company's owners by entering some rather controversial pictures for it's new campaign. The new campaign is a competition to find the face for its new plus-size range. the photos such as the ones below are "a dig at American Apparel's current and past policy", the company is renowned for using stick thin models in headlights against a white backgrounds, rather than the rather provocative ones that Upton has entered.

It was in responce to the company's statement in 2010 “That's not our demographic.”, this infact is the title of her blog surrounding the subject. You can also follow her on twitter with @nancyupton.

Neil Buchanan- Hope Street

"Come and enjoy the ride of your life with Neil Buchanan’s HOPE STREET art collection", this quote is splashed across the home page of Buchanan's website, along with a countdown until his live appearance at the gallery to coincide with its launch. Hope street is to be a series of limited edition prints by the artist. Unfortunately the project is doomed from the off as the two words which are a kindled to his rise to fame are mentioned 4 times on the small homepage alone, those being Art Attack. 

Art attack was in itself a fantastic idea that became very successful during its 15 years on tv; however, i don't feel that it is the correct image for Buchanan to be taking, perhaps something a little more mature might be more appropriate with only a passing mention of his success with the show. 

The story behind Art Attack is quite interesting actually becuase it was Buchanan's idea to create the show, he just had to sell it to ITV. Before that he had been working as a illustrator on a Saturday morning show called No.73. on the sale of the rights of Art Attack to Disney he made £14million.

The Storyteller - Soheila Sokhanvari

Soheila Sokhanvari's show at La Scatola Gallery portrays a intertwining of the everyday and the magical. Several of the pieces require research in order to "decode" the pieces, which can make them a little inaccessible, but their intriguing state in the physical world leads to much interest and a genuine want to look further into what one is seeing. This can be noted with the piece Moje Sabz 2009, which has this statement next to it ont he press release, 

N.B. In order to decode this work the full title needs to be searched on google and choosing the first few hits on the search engine.

This piece has become the flagship piece for this show, it seems to follow some line surrounding a disgust that people often find surrounding taxidermy and a level of cruelty about the trophy state that is generated. While when pt into a gallery  and modified it becomes something more, perhaps in a similar remit, than a trophy, certainly taking a more mystical route. 

Much of the rest of the work takes very political route, Sokhanvari's Iranian roots taking center stage. This is especially true with the piece Talking to Myself a performance first performed in March 2010, and then again last night in La Scatola, where there is alot of questions surrounding the conformity of culture and the adaptation of one when moving to a new environment.

Scott Fife

Fife creates these wonderful sculptures from paper, cardboard, glue, screws and nails. The sculptures themselves seem rather fragile and delicate, much like a memory or a dream. Memory being waht many of the pictures seem to be, as they are old portraits of celebrities, the fragility of the materials play into this nature of the work. The dashes of colour present weave this fading memory state of the busts. The work is of quite a sizable nature becoming imposing upon the viewer, this is added to by the almost cybernetic style with the bolts and screws pasting together panels, robot counterparts of the originals there to replace them, turns these from nostalgic works into something a little threatening. 

Cassius Clay, aka Muhammad Ali is one of these huge busts, taking a great likeness to the original. There despite the possible threatening nature that could arise from such things, there is a definite playful element to this, taking one back to being a child, making things out of cardboard and plastic etc to play with, creating things so you could become your favorite character or figure. The Picture of Elvis below makes one think of all the cardboard microphones and guitars that people would have made as children to be like their idol.

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? - First Thursdays

Friday's post about the First Thursdays raised a point in it's first line surrounding the nature of the  event in the east end. It is designed to be a cultural event where by all can enjoy art and socialise with others in the circle, which is a great idea seeing as many find it hard to find the time in the week to see such things. Time out describes it as, 

"On the first Thursday of every month the galleries and museums of east London open their doors late for a chance to see amazing art, culture and events after hours. With over 100 galleries and museums open until 9pm on First Thursdays there will always be something free and exciting to see"

;however, it could be called, Thirst Thursdays as it is merely a drinky affair with loads of people turning up for the free booze and not really taking in the art on show, which is a shame as there really is a lot to see and the galleries have to offer the public on such events. 

Although i complain, i'm sure that i will invariably end up there again next month as i do enjoy being able to see so much art in one night which is more social; however, it would be great to see less alcohol driven incentives to visit the galleries and more visitors from the art lovers side of things.

Little White Lies- Aubin Gallery

"First Thursdays" which should possibly be renamed "Thirst Thursdays", was as usual a terribly drinky affair, where artwork is one of the lowest priorities on most lists; however, possibly the best gallery on the Redchurch Street stretch was, as it usually is, the Aubin Gallery. Not only because it isn't filled with drunks, but also because it is far more measured and considerate in its curating. Little White Lies is a show which aims to recognize artists that twist and turn reality, re appropriating media to some kind of whimsical magical reality. These white lies subverse the viewer into something a little less comfortable as their mind is opened up to the possibilities of these changes. 

Angus Sanders-Dunnachie's work was in my opinion the highlight of a very good show in the galleries sometimes overlooked location above the Aubin shop and cinema. 

I think that there is a real intentional confusion with this work, that creates a doubt around what is going on, what we are seeing, and about the reality that we face here. There is a comforting knowledge that we know these images are not possible in terms of their physicality in our world; however, their is doubt and mystery even if it is at first glance and only for a moment. 

In there was some promising work at the exhibition and it is definitely a show worth seeing, it is on until September 11th 64-66 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP. 

Cyprien Gaillard

Gaillard's work The Recovery of Discovery at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin in march this year looked at the moving of architectural form from its original location, in this case it was boxes of the beer Efes from Turkey (who uses Greek mythology as the theme of the beer), and then by drinking it, looks at the destruction of a monument  This is a lot wrapped up in one piece, but there is something to the ideas surrounding the touristic transport of culture and history from one place to another. Perhaps one could bring in here some of the debates and theories that surround the world expos from the 20th century. 

With the initial picture we see the monument, removed from its surroundings, created in perhaps some sort of capitalist materialistic colonialism.

Then with the second image it is slowly drunk, or destroyed, this shows some sort of tarnishing of the origins, maybe the colonialistic power, the consumer driven market tainting the original, using it up until it is done.

And finally in the last image the monument is wrecked, it's destroyed and left behind as the imperial power over it has taken what it needs.

The Only Full Portrait of Van Gogh goes on View in Grimsby

A local couple bought the portrait which they believe to be the only known full picture of Vincent Van Gogh in existance, in an auction in France for €1,700. They took the chance because they believed that Van Gogh was in fact the character in the painting. They have since spent much time researching thie with various facial reconstructive experts and forensic scientists, in order to ascertain whether it was in fact whom they thought it was. 

The artist who is beleived to have created this portrait is a female artist of the name Jeanne Donnadieu. Little is known about her, but it is understood that she lived four doors along from Van Gogh so it is perfectly plauseable that she made the said painting. 

The painting is on show at the Abbey Walk Gallery in Grimsby, which has seen the number of visitors rise from 200 a week to around 1000 a week. And the couple have recieved several valuations for the painting from around £10,000 to around £3m, which raises an interesting point around the valuation of art, if the piece is created by a little known artist, but the subject matter is of who is considered one of the greatest ever artists, is it really worth so much more, but then again it comes down to supply and demand, if this is considered to be the only one of its kind in existance (the only full portrait of Van Gogh) then a higher valuation should be feesable; however, it is usually the artist who produces the work that adds the value to it. For exmple a painting of the english countryside by Constable would be worth more than an the same scene painted by my dad. All the same this is an amazing find, especially if it is prooved to be the real Van Gogh.

Tube Crush, are you some strangers crush?

tubecrush.net is a website of great fascination to myself and others curious interested in the cctv nature of the western world. The website where people post pictures of strangers on the tube of interest, or of whom they take a liking too is becoming increasingly popular, in fact it has even come up in an article on the bbc news site. 

Despite the light natured theme of the website, there are serious legal and moral qualms surrounding the use of strangers pictures without their permission. The tfl suggests that the underground is a public space and that it is infact legal to photograp people in this nature. the producers of the site say "We hope people take the site in the spirit it was intended - it is not to cause offence.". It can be said that this site is more of a celebration to the spirit of the underground and the growing popularity of social networking.  

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? - The BBC's attempt to connect the people with Art

Programmes such as Show Me the Monet are the BBC's attempt to connect the everyman with contemporary art. The programme made not only the artists, attempting to sell thier work to the pannel, the judges, influencial people in the art world look pretencious and snobby, but also the art world in general. Now i am not saying that thier isn't alot of snobbery and nepotism envolved within the art world; however, it wasn't a fair representation of us, the art community. 

However depite this feeble attempt there is something admirable in this effort to make art accessable to all. Some of the BBC's other shows about the old masters have helped, especially one about Andy Warhol, which gave a hugely balanced and fancinating incite into his work. In general though the production of such shows needs to focus on making the art world seem more accessable, rather than the work itself, which I believe, given the right situation can be viewed by all constructively.