Art Live!
Art Live!
Wednesday 16th December
Dominion Theatre, London
The 10 of us, as well as a couple of other art students, went on a little road trip to London to attend Art Live! at the Dominion Theatre. It was host to a number of artists, who spoke about their work and answered (some rather ridiculous, though mostly enjoyable) questions from the audience. Following this blog on Martin Creed, will be my response to Quentin Blake, illustrator extraordinaire, and Germaine Greer. Enjoy…
‘The more I work the more I think I don’t know what I’m doing…’
As the first speaker I was intrigued to see how he was going to go about talking to the audience and how he was going to present his ideas. When he walked on, he was wearing all black, as artists do, and was accompanied by a lady. Creed told us she was a dancer and she was there to ‘keep him company’. This dancer then copied him and followed his every move. Creed explained that all he does is ‘think and move and feel’ and that he wanted to use the dancer as a way to make a dance out of regular movements people do everyday and exaggerate them, as ‘moving is easier to pin down than thinking and feeling.’ Overall I found Creed to be a unusual character, he had no real opinion of art, and in fact believed that his work wasn’t even art itself.
Why is your work art?
‘I don’t think it is art. I don’t make art. I make things for people to look at and listen to. Art is not art. Art is not a definitive thing. Art is only art when someone thinks it is.’
What is art?
‘Nobody or anything. Art is just a word, spelt a. r. t.’
Why do you do it?
‘I want to make my life better. I’m looking for excitement, pleasure and fun. I’m a sensitive person; I get hawked if someone doesn’t like my work. I do my work because I want to be love. Most people are seeking attention; I am to a certain extent. I wouldn’t call myself an artist, or a performer, I’m just a person.’
Describe your work.
‘What I do to help me live’
Do you do it for yourself or for others?
‘Both – I want to be loved. For both – I think. It made me more confident when I won the turner prize. It felt like I was back at school though, and I hate it.’
Are feelings important?
‘Yeah – I like to have good feelings. Good feelings are more important than good ideas.’
Who is your favourite artist?
‘Picasso is my favourite artist – when I see his work I almost always think, ’wow, that’s amazing,’’
What inspires you?
‘Feeling bad inspires me, because I want to feel better. But feeling good inspires me.’
Are you insecure?
‘I don’t really know. Maybe. Maybe not. Probably. Yes, yes I am.’
Why are you doing this?
‘Because I was asked to do this…’
Can you draw?
‘Yeah…’
What’s your favourite colour?
‘Black’
Why are you recording this?
‘I’m recording this because I’m scared of loosing things. Using words is as much as getting colours and shapes to make a painting.’
Why do you not title your work?
‘I’ve never really been happy with titles, it pins down a subject. That’s why I number my work, words pins things down. I don’t have a number one. There is too much pressure on a number one so I started with number three.’
Are you living life to the fullest?
‘No, I don’t. I get side tracked by pissy things.’
What do you think of art galleries?
‘An art gallery is a theatre for looking at things. I like art galleries – you can come and go as you please. People are always moving. The experience between the art and the people is a living one.’
jennie lodge
Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy of Arts
‘Please don’t tell me it can’t be done or some other fucking variation on the theme’
So, it seems Kapoor got his way, as on the 26th September he became the first living artist to inhabit the entire gallery of the Royal Academy of Arts. Featured, a number of new and existing works including a cannon that fires nearly twenty pound shells of wax every twenty minutes, a wax train that deposits sticky red substance on the two archways connecting three main gallery spaces, and beautifully curved reflective surfaces in which the viewer can ogle in for hours. The most impressive factor is the sheer magnitude of the innovative sculptures of Kapoor’s imaginings.
When first entering the gallery, the beholder is greeted by several ‘pigment’ works, sculpted from wood, cement, polystyrene and paint pigment, outrageously bright and alluring. Kapoor subconsciously reminds us of the colours and textures of Indian spices, reminiscent of his past. A similar shade of saffron is used to grab our attention in the following room. From a distance the large panel of ‘Yellow’ could be perceived to be flat, but on closer inspection the 6x6m construction is concave, swallowing the wall, cheekily inviting us to stretch our hand far out into the realms of impossibility, or at least until a steward tells us not to.
What is perhaps the most striking and memorable work exhibited is ‘Shooting into the corner’, the silver cannon that shoots large shells of red wax into an adjoining room. Even having visited the gallery on separate occasions, we both felt a sense of unease as the cannon was loaded, once again, by an unsmiling man. Then to encounter the hissing of the pressure being released before the violent strike of the wax against the wall. There is something rather sinister about arms of warfare being used as instruments for the creation of art, not only this but the bold crimson red that accumulates on the surrounding area like a battle field conveys a certain violence. Had the colour of the wax been electric blue, the work may not have left us feeling quite so disturbed.
Decidedly less ominous was the wax train, ‘Svayambh’, which crept through three central galleries, having been moulded to the shape of the two archways that connect the three central rooms. Taking a total of an hour and a half to travel the distance from one side to the other, the instant reaction to the slow-moving object was to reach out and touch, before acknowledging the subtle white lines on the floor, warning us to keep a distance.
One of the things that really set the exhibition back in our esteem is the lack of interactivity. Why not let the admirer touch Kapoor’s wax train? The work is unlikely to ever exit the Royal Academy’s gallery space, and any resonant fingerprints will just as easily be smoothed down when the train returns to its starting place. Is it not the idea that the excess wax deposited around the gallery is Kapour’s art, therefore why not let the viewer take it away with them and create something for themselves.
Despite the distance fashioned between the onlooker and the works, the hall of mirrors relays some form of interaction. As you stare into the dipped, spoon shaped, golden mirror you are drawn into the different reflections you see, only ever to be perceived by you, particularly when you find the point that you occupy the entire dish. Every other mirror in the room is as equally entrancing, some received purely as amusement, others more mesmerizing, you could stand there for hours, reminiscent of the silver tower of spherical forms that greets you on entering the courtyard outside.
Regardless of being unable to touch the exhibits, what you encounter of Kapoor’s work stays with you on some level. After all, when are you ever allowed to touch great works of art?
Jess Padfield and Phoebe Fleming
100 Days exhibition review
The Arnolfini’s current exhibition primarily addresses the issues of climate change and conformity. The numerous ways in which not just the Arnolfini but the actual artists themselves strive to get the public involved with their art I think is really effective and helps the public to become involved with issues such as climate change and really see it from a different perspective.
The first evidence of this is the ‘big draw’ wall, where everyone and anyone can draw what they hope for the world. The variations in colour are very eye catching, and I really like this idea of bringing people together through their vision of a better world.
However I think my favourite section of the exhibition is gallery 2, especially the smaller a joined room because I love the environmental theme and exhibits such as the explanation of everyday items that was a real eye opener- showing how our behaviour could effect the future, and it actually brings to light our naivety as to what chemicals and elements go into something as simple as a mobile phone that actually damages the earth. The only criticism I have of this smaller exhibit is because of the futuristic angle that the artist has used it is hard to distinguish between what is fact and what is fiction. Other than that I think that although on a first glance this room looks like a collection of everyday objects, there is something very interesting when you look past the surface.
I also thought that the structure that group ‘Trapese’ built was beautifully made, with such lovely dynamics. The explanation describing the background information on the structure was really fascinating- how they went to such lengths to produce and transport the work to the Arnolfini without damaging the environment was amazing.
Another interactive activity that I found very appealing was Ackroyd and Harvey’s plant challenge. I thought it was great that such a simple idea, could help benefit the environment as many people want to help but are unwilling to go out of their way. This was a very simple, undemanding challenge, which got people of all ages involved in combating a small area of climate change.
A piece I found most effective was an image of what the world could look like in the future if we don’t change our behaviour- the colours were so vivid and sharp it really captured my attention and shocked me. I think that is what people need- something shocking to bring the problem to their attention.
I also think that Simon Murray’s poem ‘C Word’ was striking in its ideas of breaking conformity. I found this poem motivating and thought provoking.
Overall I liked the freedom to roam that this exhibition presented- it gave me the freedom to produce my own opinions and ideas, but one thing I was a bit confused by was the short films produced by Johanna Billing shown downstairs in Gallery 1. Whilst the filming was excellent and suspense building, I struggled to see how it related to the work upstairs relating to climate change and so was a little unsure of the plot and its relevance. The think the work displayed the various artists was excellent and served its purpose well but I do think that the actually galleries needed a bit more atmosphere.
Sarah Wilkes
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