It has been a year since I graduated from the Royal Academy Schools and it’s been a pleasure returning to observe what my contemporaries have been working on. I’m not saying this as a bias advocator, but as a critical thinker and art lover, proud to witness a postgraduate show of such diverse talent.
My personal favourite is the work of Kraig Wilson, a Northern lad that lives up to the persona of a tortured artist. His family portraits are very sophisticated for an artist with no formal photography training, fresh out his BA upon application to the RA. It is also testament to his dedication and the dedication to his peers and staff at the RA. His photographs exist somewhere between Melanie Manchot and in the words of Brain Griffiths ‘Sally Mann, Sally Mann, Sally Mann’ neither a comparison to be shy of. The rawness of Kraig’s subject matter is challenging whilst retaining a perfect balance between its poignant complexities and sublime painterly beauty.
Another favourite is John Lawrence’s video projection appropriating stock imagery that could so easily stay firmly rooted in its naff generic iconography, but in fact moves swiftly and eloquently into symbology, looking at popular culture through powerful semiotics.
Matt Coombe’s simple but ambitious architectural renovation is serene and a pleasure to stand amidst.
There are of course more than 3 artists in this exhibition, all of which are noteworthy. If you miss the Royal Academy Schools show 2010 you should be disappointed!
My old man said be a city fan
I said b*llocks you're a c*nt
We hate the blues and we're gonna show it
We hate the blues and we f*cking know it
With Spinksy and Birchy Alan Mcinally there the boys That's gonna do us fine
Cos if you support the blues you're a bluenose bastard and you aint no friend of mine.
Birmingham, are you listening, to the song, we're singing......... We're walking along, singing a song, sh*tting on the City as we goooooo!
There's a circus in the town, in the town,
Stevie Bruce is a clown, is a clown,
And Karen Brady is a f*cking slaaaaaaaggg!!!!
And the Blues are going down, going down ....
When I was just a little boy, I asked my Mother, what should I be,
Should I be Villa, should I be Blues, here's what she said to me Get your
father's gun, and shoot all the City scum, and support the pride of Brum,
Aston Villa.
Build a bonfire,
Build a bonfire,
Put the Baggies on the top,
Put the noses in the middle
And burn the f*cking lot.
Long time ago in Birmingham
Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-four
By the light of a gas lamp
This famous club was born
Hark now hear the Villa sing
A club was born that day
Who's name will live for evermore
Aston V I L L A
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.
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.
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"
