You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? - Not Being Able to take Photos in Galleries

I feel incensed that I am not able to take photos of works in galleries, by this I mean non-flash as obviously this can damage some works; however, especially when I have payed good money, such as any of the shows at Tate etc, i feel as though i am entitled to. Anyone who sees artwork in galleries on a regular basis knows that there is absolutely know comparison between a photograph of any quality and seeing a work in the flesh, in real life in a gallery. 

I understand there may be some gripes in commercial spaces such as Hauser and Wirth, but even so I don't  feel as though me taking a photo on my phone and uploading to for example this blog will make any difference to the work, there are already pictures available of the shows online, and in most cases pictures are taken because the work is not well known, or there is a particular aspect that one's own photo will highlight. 

In all, while we can all understand various copyright, and value related reasons for no photographs, we al know that at the end of the day the best way to view a work is in person, so an online photo or a picture in a students sketchbook isn't going to make any real difference, and in the end just creates an annoyance, and also possibly puts people of the art world.

Alighiero Boetti- Game Plan

Two days running we have retrospectives from the Tate Modern, this time it is the turn of Alighiero Boetti. The show runs chronologically, which is pretty standard, but is a little uninventive in the grande scheme of things; however, the show starts with a look at his work with building materials used in ways they were not intended. The first room seems a little crowded like the hardware store feel which is a nice touch in an nice room that runs through his work in the 1960s.

The various rooms flow through to the next stage of his career sequentially, highlighting his major works of the time. I found that my favorite room was the first biro drawing room that I encountered called Mettere Al Mondo Il Mondo (Bringing the World into the World). These biro paintings contain commas marking various phrases etc, all of which "appear like islands or stars.", but the overall appearance is like a hand crafted quilt from afar. 

Despite the biro drawing being my favorite i was still a great fan of the rooms Tutto, a room of huge montages of pictures form various sources embroided together making no particular highlight of any image, creating a unity, and the other was The Kingdom of Papers, which was work in a similar vein but this time there was a larger emphasis on tracing and collage. In all the show was logically curated flowing nicely from room to room, and due to the Hirst and Kusama exhibitions also being on this one slips under the radar a little.

In Short:- 4/5 A great show in terms of work on display, but also due to the quiet easy atmosphere due to the Tate's other shows.

Damien Hirst- The Retrospective

Billed as the summer blockbuster for this year i was both excited and a little apprehensive upon arrival, it would have been worse were it not for the fact i skipped the queue with my Tate membership card; however, I was knocked back at how well the Tate had dealt with this show. Work ranging from throughout his career, starting at work as he left Goldsmiths in the late 80s and moving on through to the present day. Unlike the Kusama show there were several real center pieces for the show, in fact you could almost say it about all the pieces and each of them has had either their own piece of controversy or large media coverage. 

If you enter from the West entrance as I do usually you are greeted by two things, one, a very large queue (so either book in advance for a much smaller line or get a membership) and two, the ever present amazing turbine hall, which you might have thought to be filled with perhaps work such as The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living 1991, but no instead at the very bottom end of the hall there is a black box. Before you start queueing at the rear of the box you walk pas this image,

Now for many of you this will conjure up a familiar image such as the one on my previous blog post; however, upon entry and seeing it, For the Love of God 2007, in real life, it is instantly something special. What hit me most was the scale of it, in most images it looks huge, but in reality a human head isn't actually that large. The jewel on the forehead and the way it is presented in a dark room with spot lights makes it feel extraterrestrial, alien, the jewel an all seeing third eye, the eye of god perhaps. It is a little unnerving especially in the environment that you see it, a small group with security, not invigilators, watching and monitoring you in a room filled with the sparkle off the piece. 

If we move now to the main body of the work upstairs on level 3, it would take an age to go through each piece, all works that have been analysed time after time. Anyone who knows any of Hirst's work will understand the underlying theme of death throughout, and the almost contradictory nature of the way as questions are asked they are almost instantly denied by the work. The butterfly plays wonderfully with these themes the butterflies are simultaneously hatching from the lava on the canvases as other expire or live out their lives through this room that we as viewers can walk through. One is not allowed to take pictures throughout the show; however, I took a few snaps just to give you guys a quick preview. 

Another interesting part to the exhibition is the exit to the shop where there are many of Hirst's works for sale, smaller prints and editions all at more affordable (but still out of most of our price range) prices. It says two things to me first is that maybe there is a lot of truth in the rumors surrounding the value of his work and two, perhaps he wants a wider audience to his work, giving us all a chance to own a bit of art?

In Short:- 5/5 Great retrospective showing some of the most important pieces of art over the past 25 years.

Damien Hirst...again

Ok well this time its a pre-exhibition jitters type post, I've booked the ticket with my Tate Membership for 1300 tomorrow at Tate Modern, and I am genuinely excited. I'm 22 years old and have only seen a relatively small amount of works of good old Damien. I saw the Lets Eat Outdoors Today at last years RA show and was a big fan, and a few prints etc. at various art fairs; however, I have never fully experienced some of the major works in the flesh. Far too many people knock him and his works to quickly in my view especially when i think of some of the people who have in a similar situation to me, i.e. young and not really seen many of the works face to face.

 I consider Benjamin's idea of the aura when i look at many of Hirst's pieces today as i think of how many times i have seen for example For the Love of God in various magazines and on the internet. The autonomy of the work grows and the situational experience of the work is lost, having never seen this piece behind a glass box in gallery I cannot truly imagine how I might interpret the work.

So all I can really say at this point is that i am really looking forward to seeing some of the most controversial works of all time, especially if we reconfigure some of the works under the current financial climate, in gallery for the first time, rather than sat here in this chair staring at a screen...wish me luck...

The Inception of Line- Coldharbour Studios

Coldharbour Studios is an innovative space in south London which works not only as a gallery but also houses many artists in the studios above. The latest show The Inception of Line shows creative and effective curating from Arethra Campbell, with Kate Terry's site specific thread installations cutting and reworking the architecture of the white cube space, bringing a new perspective to the work on the walls, the pieces of Keke Vilabelda.

The press release says "The work of art exists within a trajectory or line, marking a point of communication between viewer and work that refuses to repeat itself. Both Vilabelda and Terry's practices highlight this line, never reaching a point of stasis; rather they are constantly re-aligned and re-configured within the spaces they temporarily inhabit." and i would be inclined to agree. 

The show physically impacts you as well as visually as one has to rethink the space constantly looking out for Terry's work which slices through your path at unexpected moments. Vilabelda's paintings, if you will, have a certain eeriness to them as dreamlike landscapes and structures are intersected by this imaginary frames and formulations.

You will be able to see the green thread of Terry's installation if you look closely

In Short:- 5/5 Great young space with loads of potential with a great team behind it. 

Design Awards- Design Museum

Having never been inside the Design Museum I was unsure what to expect when I entered, and to my amusement the queuing system is hilariously badly designed as the entrance hall is so small that you have to end up queuing out side with automatic doors opening and closing every few seconds; however, despite this initial hiccup I was encouraged by the set up of the design awards, as no piece seemed to have a favoured space over another. 

There were some interesting choices with a wide variety of different fields covered, this ranging from Viviene Westwood handbags to new emergency ambulance layouts. The latter being my personal favourite, one that I perceive to make the biggest potential difference in making peoples lives better.

There is a keen interest in the world around us, and we eagerly await the announcement of the winners in April.

In Short:- 4/5 A well organised space and a nice range of designs to see.

Yayoi Kusama- Tate Modern

Kusama's retrospective at Tate Modern is surprisingly large exhibition, showing a range of works from the 1950s through to today. While much of the work is very entertaining to view, there becomes a problem when Tate relies to heavily on trying to spell things out for people. We had discussed this need of the Tate's before in making the work accessible to all; however, again we feel that there is a pre-scripted way of viewing some of the work. 

The set up allows us to look at the exhibition much like that of Yoko Ono, and i feel that is an injustice to the work and the artist, this cheapens its value. Some of the best work is the work least laboured with the Tate's authority over the art, such as the spot work of obliteration and the infinity room. 

The aformentioned infinity rtoom was a room that needed time and energy to consider despite its instant impact that even to the non art lovers out there can appreciate. This is only slightly spoiled by the way that you are forced to walk through the room at considerable pace shortening the experience. 

In Short:- 3/5 Defiantly worth seeing, but don't expect anything new from the tried and tested Tate formula for retrospectives.