Tate Modern: State of Flux

On visiting the Tate Modern I entered the gallery space called 'State of Flux- Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism. On looking round the gallery I realised that this gallery refers to the change in traditional ideas of producing an image to represent complex ideas of modern life.

On walking around the gallery I came across these thress images by Kiyohiko Komura.

The artworks are called:

Far Left: Two Abstract Forms, c1950
Centre: Work II, Female Body Composition, c1950
Right: Untitled, c1950

They are all gelatin silver prints on paper.

They were part of a section of the gallery called 'State of Flux- Japanese Photography and the Bauhaus.' I read that this room looked at the 'exchange of Avant- Garde photographic practices between Western Europe and the Far East, as photographers in Japan took up ideas associated with the modernist style of the Bauhaus. By reading this it gave me an introduction to the work of the photographers.

I like the consideration of the framing because although they are from different photographs, all the photographs in this section of the gallery are presented in the same way linking the Japanese Photography and the Bauhaus influences together with the work.

I liked the three pieces of work by Kiyohiko Komura, I liked there feel of experimenting and there simplicity. Also, I liked the way that they were created by overlaying negatives. I like that they are square, there tones of colours and that although they are photographic close- ups of anatomical forms it is not obvious what they are showing.
Also, in another area of the 'State of Flux- Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism' gallery was the work by Jenny Holzer. I was fascinated by her work because although I have previous studied/ been inspired by her work I had never seen it before outside of photographs.

The piece of work was called 'Blue Purple Tilt'- 2007 by Jenny Holzer and it was seven double sided vertical LED signs which brighten a dark room. These signs had very powerful messages going across every single one at the same time. In my opinion most of the messages were negative but statements which made you think about what is going on around us. However, as a piece of work myself and others in the room were just sitting/ standing and reading what they were saying. I felt that this was another interesting way of presenting work because it got people discussing about what they were reading whether they agreed with it or not.

Some of the statements read:

We must make sacrificies to maintain quality of life.
Some of your actions determine what you are.
Trading a life for a life is fair enough.
When something bad happens everybody wakes up.
The only way to stay pure is to stay by yourself.

Both the works from the artist show different ways of communicating ideas and are presented in way which would not have been thought of as traditional.

Bibliography (Kiyohiko Komura):

http://beta.tate.org.uk/art/artists/kiyohiko-komura-14424

Bibliography (Jenny Holzer):

http://beta.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/holzer-blue-purple-tilt-ar00082

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPnKB6Dg_k&feature=related

http://www.scotsman.com/news/art_review_jenny_holzer_blue_purple_tilt_victoria_morton_1_799375

Tate Modern: Staircase III by Do Ho Suh

Energy and Process- Anti Povera and Anti- Form

On visiting the Janel Wafson de Botton Gallery at the Tate Modern there was an installation that caught my eye.

This installation by Do Ho Suh, it is called Staircase III. It is a polyester and stainless installation which replicates a stairway in the artist apartment in Chelsea, New York. This installation is based on personal memories of architectural spaces.

On seeing this installation in the exhibition I remember liking the way that the orange colour brightened up a white room because the fabric used is translucent. As a result the space was given a feeling of positive energy and I liked how everything had a reason. The reason for this red polyester fabric emphasises the particular cultural resonance of red in Istanbul and Turkey. The artist referred to this colour as "Ottoman Red." However, this colour was also used because it contrasts with the original architectural structure.

Also, depending on the direction you enter the space alters the angel in which you look at the installation. On one side it looks as though the stairway is hanging upside down from the ceiling. From this direction it feels as though you are free as there is nothing supporting the sides of the stairs. However, if you look at the stairway from the other direction you feel that it is exactly as it should be with the banister on the top and that this is the correct way round, but the stairway looks as though it is enclosed giving a feeling of that you can only travel in one direction.

While researching online about the installation I came across a subtle short video of the artist himself explaining his ideas and the reasons for his installation. Also, the video shows the process of assembly at Tate Modern.

Bibliography:

http://beta.tate.org.uk/art/artists/do-ho-suh-12799

http://vimeo.com/2985253 

Damien Hirst: The First Look

I watched two documentary’s about Damien Hirst; the first was about called 'Thoughts, Work and Life' and the second was called 'The First Look' which was a guided tour around the exhibition at Tate Modern.

Throughout the programme I was thinking about the question 'Is any of this Art?' I'm yet to come to a conclusion. However, I kept thinking that some of his pieces of work are beautiful.

 This was the piece of work which I especially liked. It is called 'Mother and Child Divided' 1997. I felt like it was a beautiful piece of work regardless if I felt that it was art or not. I like the way the cow and calf were accurately cut down the middle and the insides remained intact. When looking at the inside of the cows closely it is as though you are looking at a map. On one of the documentaries Damien Hirst said "the symmetry of it is weird; it is so violent, but then it is like calm violence." It was interesting when he said that "you have to confront things you can't avoid" with regards to dead because like this piece of his work and nearly all of the others the idea of death, minimalism and the creating of endless variations of one thing. 

Another piece of work which shows immortality is the platinum cast of a skull from an actual person that lived between 1720 and 1810. He was a 35 year old man from Europe. His teeth are still showing, but the rest of him is covered with 8,601 diamonds made in 2007.

He always felt that he was creating work to do with life but to the audience it looks as though it is to do with death and that he is a morbid individual. The idea for the diamond skull came about when he was in Mexico. He was able to see a clear difference between how countries and cultures view death. In Mexico "they walk hand in hand with death and they celebrate it. They have picnics in the grave yard whereas in England it's difficult to deal with and people don't like to talk about it." Through out the documentries it was interesting to hear the reasons why he produced a piece of work and that he didnt plan the next one, With regards to the diamond skull he said that he had been "inspired by the tourqoise decorated skull from the British Museum. Decoration is not seen as a very good thing so then to have death as something very powerful and to decorate it with diamonds seems like it becomes a very powerful thing."

Bibliography:

http://www.damienhirst.com/

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/damien-hirst

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/damienhirst

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od#3310481

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od#3312345

David Suchet: People I Have Shot

On the weekend I watched an interesting program called 'David Suchet: People I have Shot' It was a rather interesting program because it showed work of his maternal grandfather James Jarche. James Jarche was a famous Fleet Street photographer who captured many iconic images of both people and the landscape of his time. He worked as a photographer for the Daily Sketch from 1912 to 1929, and later worked at The Graphic which was followed by working at The Daily Herald.

He spent World War II as a British war correspondent for The Herald and the Weekly Illustrated and an official photographer for Life Magazine, in the Middle East. He explained that his grandfather was mainly a portrait photographer and as an individual he loved people. David Suchet was able to see that within each photograph captured by his grandfather there would be evidence of the sitter’s character.

In the beginning of this documentary, David Suchet mentioned “It is not what you see but it is how you see it- your eyes are the best lens." I picked up on this phrase because everyone in today’s society is able to become a photographer yet every person would capture an image differently.

Through this documentary I was able to see the then and now, not only in terms of how the landscape has changed but in terms of how technology has changed. The editor John Jones from the Sunday Times Magazine stated that 35mm film cameras have enabled photography be shot at different angles and to shoot a lot of film as opposed to one shot. With plate cameras you couldn’t because you couldn’t carry 10-12 plates you would have a couple. Therefore with film cameras you can create a narrative and capture images at different shapes, angles, viewpoints; breaking down what you see.

After watching the program I wanted to look at the work produced by James Jarche. I like the quality of each of his prints; each photograph has a narrative and reason for why it was captured. I feel that each of his photographs have the feeling of documentation and history whilst maintaining an element of portraiture.

The photograph on th left hand side is showing 'Jarche- Life in Berlin.'  It is showing a  British Soldier sitting in Hitler's desk turned upside down. I thought the detail and history behind this photograph was intriguing because everyone recognized the history in Germany and the history regarding Hitler but this photograph captures a moment of the disaster which a lot of people may not see.

Bibliography:

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=313547

http://www.sdjouhar.com/photo_5058820.html

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?W=4&F=0001&Step=1&screenwidth=1903

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-importance-of-being-there-1126118.html