Mabel and Harry

Mable and Harry

“Me carer, who's s'posed to come n take care of me, ever such a nice girl she is, though she's not quite right... (Shakes head) She was taken advantage of see, she's never bin quite the same since, somethin missin ya see. She ‘ad a baby afta, but guess what?” (With a smile)

“She named it ‘arry! But its ever so sad, he's bin taken into care. She cant look afta ‘im see. I guess they thought it were best. Like I said she's ever such a nice girl, but not all there. But she called ‘im ‘arry!”

Good Tidings

Shopping in Tamworth (29th December 09)

Christmas on Carlton Crescent

Toby Jugs & Friends, Tamworth

Boxing Day, The Globe

Me Lady!

The Cabinet Collection, Mount Pleasant

Nans House

M25 > M40

The Guggenheim, NYC

The Guggenheim is an architectural masterpiece, one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1943 and despite the large crowds it was surprisingly serene inside. I enjoyed my visit, it was definitely one of the places on my hit list, however I was disappointed to see the cost of entry was $18 per adult (ouch!). Many of the larger NY attractions and art institutions carried a similar price tag, if not more, which saddened me. Such a cost creates a clear divide and carries an unfortunate and disappointing message. A message that suggests art and culture is for the wealthy or elite. This is not a view that I care to share. Art wise, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Roni Horns joint installation was the highlight of my Guggenheim experience.

http://www.icp.org/

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

Dress Codes: The Third ICP Triennial of Photography and Video

The US seemed very excited about this exhibition, and with hindsight I am starting to see why.

"The Triennial is ICP's signature exhibition: a global survey of the most exciting and challenging new work in photography and video. The only recurring U.S. exhibition specializing in international contemporary photography and video, the Third Triennial will mark the closing cycle of ICP's 2009 Year of Fashion, a series of projects that critically examine fashion and its relationship to art and other cultural and social phenomena.

The theme of fashion encompasses a diverse range of practices and ideas, including explorations of identity and affiliation; the production, distribution, and consumption of images and goods; contemporaneity; age; gender; and global industry. The themes of the Triennial express the exuberance, wit, and astute social observation taking place within contemporary image-making. These artists variously explore fashion—whether in everyday dress, haute couture, street fashion, or uniforms—as a celebration of individuality, personal identity, and self-expression, and as cultural, religious, social, and political statements."

Unfortunately I have developed a bad habit of dismissing fashion photography and seem to take an automatic dislike to some types of staged photography, therefore an exhibition themed on the relationship between photography and fashion in contemporary practice is admittedly going to be hit and miss for me. This slight intolerant prejudice stems from my experience of the UK’S fine art photography market, which I believe has been predominately dominated by Royal College graduates for many, many years. It’s undoubtedly a very good institution and the photography Masters is world-renowned. Additionally I respect the lecturers there greatly, in fact I am not entirely sure whether I made the right decision in refusing my place at the RCA for the RA, but one thing that I do feel is that work from the RCA is often instantly recognisable, and this isn’t necessarily a good thing. The RCA’s masters program is critically rigorous and it seems obvious to me that some students struggle with this aspect and it affects their work. The raw talent that I would expect to see at the colleges’ interim and graduate show seems to be shadowed by what I’d regard as pseudo intellectual works. Works that illustrate concepts, works that express another’s vision and thought. I read Portfolio, but again am very tired of its contents. I am trying to address my prejudice, to reappraise the works that I dislike or find difficult to engage with as undoubtedly my first impressions are not always right, so whilst looking at Dress Codes I’d pause for longer than usual, perhaps even returning to some photographs or bodies of work, now looking back I am very pleased that I did this. There were two photographers works that really struck me whilst I was there, Richard Learoyd (with whom I was already familiar) and Thorsten Brinkmann.

Thorsten Brinkmann’s seemingly mundane but sexualised costumes in domestic settings were fascinating. My attention was held and imagination stirred. Although his self-portraiture seems very familiar it feels uneasy to gaze at. The awkwardness of his self-made clothing, salvaged from junk shops evokes ideas relating to the Uncanny. The further disruption of the face is also peculiar. Brinkmann is very good at blurring the boundaries between sculpture, art and fashion, his instillation that housed his framed works in this exhibition added a domesticity that further disorientated the viewer as what you immediately saw soon didn't add up.

Richard Learoyds very large-scale portrait was stunning - the quality exquisite and detail frightening. The obscure androgyny of the subject was powerful and caused a brief discussion with many viewers regarding her sex. The slight bit of stubble above her lip was arousing and her face really quite beautiful although unconventional and fairly masculine. Richard Leyroyd has built one of the worlds’ largest cameras (a camera obscura essentially) and exposes his image directly onto large rolls of paper via a lens situated in the wall. This is how the work gains so much clarity and posses such immense power. When standing in front of one of his photographs my legs weaken, it is not just the shear vastness of scale that has this affect on me, it is definitely the subject matter, composition and tonal range, as well as brilliant clarity.

www.kraig-wilson.blogspot.com

Kraig, sometimes friend, sometimes lover and contemporary has nearly completed his postgraduate study at the R.A. We bonded over a plate of drugs, Stella Artois, Portishead and our mutual frustration at the elitist nature of the arts and art education. Kraigs’ work is similar to my own, so I am obviously a fan. The use of his own body in his work is far from self-indulgent; it is raw, honest and incredibly poetic. His portraits have an uncanny knack of truly revealing his subject. His landscapes are good too, but that’s all I am going to say here because it is close to home. Take a look at his Blog (www.kraig-wilson.blogspot.com), and Kraig make some more videos, they are fucking good!

Tim Burton at MOMA 2009

The size of MOMA was certainly impressive and so was its permanent collection. The temporary Tim Burton exhibition showcased his drawings, paintings, sculptures and videos as well as a collection of costumes and props made for his various movies. One thing I particularly liked about this show was the use of ultra-violet colouring. It adds a satirical and eerie shining to his artwork. His use of satire is drenched in melancholic humour as he depicts strange and foreign creatures, creatures that endure a perceived suffering whilst revelling in it with childlike naivety. The lighting was effective with significant use of light and dark areas. The exhibit was packed, with both viewers and work; there was a great deal to see and to take in, in such a crowded space, this was my only frustration.

TWINKY, COMING SOON!

I met Eemil whilst on an artist residency/exchange program. The residency was divided into two parts and completed over the duration of one year. During this period there were several collaborative exhibitions (London and Helsinki), a series of lectures, artist talks and a publication. The title of this project was The Construction of Identity in Artistic Practice.

Eemil and I formed a very quick friendship and a mutual appreciation and understanding of each other’s artistic practice. Eemils work is varied; the concept often dictates the medium that he uses. His work is a form of social commentary; he has a subtle way of appropriating popular culture and is definitely politically motivated.

"I hope that we all understand our position in our mutual hamster wheel"

http://www.eemilkarila.net/

Museum of Sex. 233 Fifth Avenue, New York 2009

The Museum of Sex was In Development when I visited NY, so the exhibits were greatly reduced.However there was a very impressive contemporary photography exhibition showcasing the works of celebrity photographer and former photo journalist Michael Grecco. Naked Ambition used classical still life portraiture to document the adult glamour and porn industry. But, by far my favorite feature was Timothy Archibald's Sex Machines, who documented the makers of unique sex toys. These large-scale works were beautifully composed and provided a small insight to the home life of the toys creators. Each image was accompanied by a small piece of text complete with quotes informing us of the makers’ intention and motivation.