On 17th March, after British Art Show 7, 'In the day of the comet', I went to the Royal Academy of Arts to see the controversial Modern British Sculpture show and also popped in the White cube Mason's Yard to see the Mona Hatoum show.
After the wonders of BAS7, I was expecting something sensational from the RA. I was greeted by a shed in the courtyard. It is a reproduction of artist Kurt Schwitters' Barn,. This disused Cumbrian farm building is a reproduction on the one the German émigré was in the midst of transforming into a hybrid of architecture and installation art when he died in 1948. This is to illustrate the private place where an artist would work, very different from the work seen within the exhibition showing private works in a public space.
The show starts with Edwin Luthyen's Cenotaph and Jocob Epstein's Cycle of life which are more or less dismiss as they are disappointedly printed on 2d posters. The second room is not limited to the British art and includes sculpture from Native American, Indian and African traditions. They sit alongside modern British work from 1910 to 1939 to highlight the inquisitiveness of British artists. I loved the Moai Hava Easter Island head in black basalt as well as an african wood carving:
Jacob Epstein's 'Adam' in room 3 cannot be missed, this massive alabaster deliberately provocative naked man stares you in the face and is more explicit than one would expect at the Royal Academy, non the less, this is a sculptural masterpiece:
Room 4 leaves me very cold and untouched by Queen Victoria's Jubilee Monument by Alfred Gilbert, it has all the embodiment of power one would expect of the representation of a Queen and yet, it is displayed in a corner and feels very lifeless. At this point, my attention span is lagging behind and I start looking and not recording much.
So here are some image of the work I can still recall including Tony Cragg's 'Stack':
Barbara Hepworth's 'Pelagos':
One of my favorites: Bill Woodrow's 'Electric Fire with yellow fish':
and Damien Hirst's 'Let's eat outside today'
I was very disappointed as there were no Antony Gormley, no Peter Randall-Page, no Cornelia Parker or Anish Kapoor , nor Rachel Whiteread. These are quintessentially British and yet they are not reprensted in this exhibition - I guess you can't please everybody! (Exhibition finishes 7th April 2011)
I thought the White Cube would cheer me up after the RA's debacle so took myslef too Mason's Square to see her 'Bunker' exhibition.
On the first floor hang 35 swings, with carved maps of capitals cities on the seats. The swings are in constant motion and I can walk in between them freely. Seems that this is no piece about childhood, but much more about movement and maybe migration.
On the ground-floor, I am faced by a major installation of 23 metal rectangular structures of various sizes. This is stark, lifeless and still. Though it is supposed to be a reminder of war conflict, I find the installation a pastiche of real life wartime and far to clinical as the structures themselves are very new and undamaged.
In the smaller basement gallery, maps of Beirut rest with 3d circles receding upwards or downwards, maybe marking area of bombing. This is a very touching piece: yes, it is very neat and sleek, like the bunkers, but somewhat much more touching. Maybe the language of coloured maps is just easier to read than stark metal boxes.
The beautiful cut within the maps bring into play the decorative and maybe the positive nature of reconstruction after mass destruction, an exhibition not to be missed! (Exhibition finishes 2nd April 2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment