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Posts filed under film
voices carry
If one were to come across Susan Hiller’s work in a gallery, without gallery notes, one might be inclined to describe her as bonkers, a complete nutter, one of those other-worldly types passing on hokus pokus theories of ghosts and spirits. In fact, at Tate Britain (until 15 May 2011), with minimal assistance from the… (read more)
flux this
The old Fluxus art movement has been re-fluxed. A modern day British artist has seized the 1960′s sense of improvisation, along with the movement’s ease with technology, all from the angle of the 21st century. After visiting Nam June Paik’s show at Tate Liverpool, I put two and two together and thought of a contemporary… (read more)
back for seconds
Film is to artists, what books are to Paris Hilton: at one’s disposal, but hardly useful. Rarely is film a successful medium for artists, not because of film’s inherent limitations, but mostly from artists’ inability to produce a linear story in a time-based medium. Those that do attempt film or video demand that viewers leap… (read more)
collecting the country
If the British Art Show 7 is meant to describe the British art sensibility over the past five years, the message is clear: British-ness is about collecting many things, and sorting the pile into some sort of organisation: coherent or not. Zig zagging through the UK, BAS 7 woke up from its five-year slumber to… (read more)
len_lye: science guy
Len Lye is Science Guy for art of all kinds. “How to Enjoy Art Without Thinking” by Len Lye. It’s not the original name of Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery exhibit (The Body Electric) but it’s the first notion that comes to mind wandering through the roomful of audio-enhanced, kinetic sculpture from the New Zealand artist. In… (read more)
Trecartin: Turgid Waters
Ryan Trecartin is a former art student from the Rhode Island School of Design, and makes videos that he claims are scripted. The results prove otherwise, as amateur actors appear in various forms of drag and costume, seemingly having a ball slinging phrases about that don’t pretend to make any sense. The direction is a… (read more)
citrus oil
In the New York area, there exists a New York buzz for a New York art collective called The Bruce High Quality Foundation; or the Bruces, if you’re avoiding excessive typing. The Bruces are, at times, a cheeky bunch of prankster artists, not only in what they make, but how they make it. No names… (read more)
Donald Judd IS Kitagawa
Just a few weeks back, the opportunity arose to attend two art house openings; same company, different locations. My town of Birmingham has a reluctant saviour for art in this part of the British Isles called the IKON gallery. For those not familiar, the IKON is to Birmingham, what spice is to Indian food. Fairly… (read more)
slave to the Amazon
While the popular cry for the slow demise of Earth has been heard from every person, state, corporation, and politician for the past two decades, the Garden of Paradise appears to be handling it like a tough old grandmother. Think of a place on Earth that sees minimal human imprint. A green, square patch of… (read more)
give us back the russians
Attention all aliens from extragalactic nebula outside Earth’s Solar System (third planet from our sun, in the Galaxy called the Milky Way). Consider this a human plea for what was at one time, righteously ours, and to many people, fondly remembered. We would like to have our Russians back please. The ones that were on… (read more)
a world of one’s own
Something that Jeffrey Deitch said in the book, Collecting Contemporary (by Adam Lindemann) I thought was a very useful idea for understanding contemporary art. Deitch is one of New York’s art dealers, with a background in finance as well as art. Although he doesn’t come out and say it, his perspective is one where art… (read more)
david lynch creates (gasp) coherence!
Finally, a reason to like a film by David Lynch, the American film writer and director. In all of his films, the strangeness of people and their stories is magnetic, but in the end, the appreciation evaporates into common voyeurism. Good fun watching mysterious characters do creepy things. I always thought it was a bit… (read more)
old media explains contemporary art
“…the designer always has a recipient in mind, but an artist has a different, non-utilitarian agenda and it opens up enormous possibilities for new language.” (from Art World, April/May 2009)