Philip Mueller. Catch his mini-interview HERE (involves destroying ambulances)
2.04.2014
2.03.2014
Contemporary Art: Part 1 "The Golden Three"
As part of a new series of posts, we will discuss the basics of Contemporary Art from how to look at it, how to talk about it to what to do with it once you're into it. Links to more galore, get click-y.
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Part 1: The Golden Three
Art galleries are often dismissed as unaccessible white cubes of stripped-down "non art" or "a kindergartener could do that" art.
Case and point (from our current exhibition, Black Rainbow):
White on white on white. What?
But Contemporary Art isn't that unapproachable beast it seems to be. Just requires more effort.
Why?
1. Because contemporary art can be anything! A urinal on display ("Fountain" 1917 by Duchamp, debatably one of the first artworks that deviated from tradition), or seemingly empty canvases ("Kobold I & II" by Ralf Ziervogel, see above image) to paintings that hark back to the Old Masters (recognizable imagery with time-acquired technical skill). Contemporary Art is technically an artwork post-1960, but the definitions of what constitutes an artwork from any home-made creation will be discussed in Part 2: What is Contemporary Art, Anyway?
2. Contemporary Art is not always visual first, idea second. Concepts often annihilate any aesthetic or visual qualities; the Centre Pompidou (Paris) in Spring 2009 literally emptied out five of its exhibition halls for a paid-entry exhibition entitled "VOID" (more details here). Physically barren, but conceptually rife with "artworks"(Part 2). It doesn't have to be about painting for painting anymore, nor even about the artist making, or being able to make, the works themselves (ahem, Damien Hirst). Contemporary Art allows the previous traditions of what makes an artwork an "artwork" (typical formats like painting, sculpture, etc) to become a choice, because now the idea of an artwork can be the artwork itself (Sol LeWitt was a front-running artist of this).
But there is a start to this monster, and it comes in threes.
1. Go to galleries
As many as manageable. It is easier to drag a friend along (exhibition openings often have aperitifs, should they require a little incentive). Go with an open mind and open eyes, art is always better in person than on a screen or in a book (but remember, don't touch).
For example, the above white on white on white work? This is what it looks like up close with a gallery-provided magnifying glass:
Naughty, naughty
2. Ask questions
Any question, all questions. Like they said in school, "no such thing as a silly question", and besides, most of the time Contemporary Art requires a little explanation to understand what is going on.
Example:
"Tati" by Rui Chafes, from our Black Rainbow exhibition
This is actually an hommage to French filmmaker, Jacques Tati, or a monument to the absence of Tati. It resembles the cumbersome, awkwardness of his alter-ego character he acts as in terms of proportion, and references the man himself via the sphere, which is a being balloon being blown. The collar/neckbrace element is part of Chafes' delicate sense of menacing... the matte black steel works always have a slight edge.
But this fact would remain unknown unless asked about.
3. Follow up
If you like it, hate it, are interested... gallery staff can always point you in the right direction. This includes electronic resources (more on this in Part 3), or go old school and hit catalogues and publications at galleries, museums and libraries to access more images, interviews, artist statements, critical texts... the bigger the artist, the more information on them floating around out there.
Next week: Part 2: What is Contemporary Art, Anyway?
2.02.2014
1.27.2014
1.20.2014
Insect-Insides
Bug-time Fun-time! Let's get up close and personal.
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| Ralf Ziervogel "Every adidas got its story" 2010 |
The Perils of Meow Meow
Olaf Breuning loves cats.
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| Olaf Breuning "Cat" 2002 |
And so do dance-fiends on the internet.
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