Saturday 31 December 2016

M HKA


We are going to round off this year of posts with a recommendation of an institution that you should visit if you are ever in the area. It's the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp, known as: M HKA. It's a really fantastic place to go and see some very well put together exhibitions. Currently on display are:
  • Robert Filliou - The Secret of Permanent Creation (on until 22/01/17)
  • IN SITU: Michèle Matyn - Breathing Holes (on until 05/02/17)
  • From Broodthaers to Braeckman - Photography in the Visual Arts in Belgium (on until 05/02/17)

Each of these exhibitions are really worth a visit. Despite going there to see the works of Filliou, I have to say that the exhibition that I enjoyed the most was that of Michèle Matyn. The exhibition was so well put together and felt very cohesive for a body of work. The flow of the room and the art pieces worked really well. 

You do have to pay to get into the M HKA but if you are under 26 (I think) it is much cheaper. Regardless I think it is worth the price. I found it rather unsuspecting for Antwerp to have a place like this but it really is well placed. Antwerp on a whole is worth a visit in any case. This place is one that I highly recommend.

Wednesday 30 November 2016

What to Watch

This is a quick film and TV round-up for this month of things you should watch. If there's anything that you watch this week, please let it be these two things:

1. I, Daniel Blake


A film directed by Ken Loach. A fantastic piece of fiction based on the truth of the welfare system in the UK. As well as success stories, it is important to acknowledge the failures of the system and where it still needs to be improved. This film focuses on Job Seekers Allowance - a government grant given to people who are currently unemployed looking for work. The film showcases the harsh reality of many people claiming benefits and the poverty that still exists in the UK today. For me, this is the perfect example of art being used to highlight social issues and hopefully create political change.

This film is not easy to watch. And nor should it be. It's subject matter is heavy and at times it can be difficult to see. This film is completely worth the investment of your time. It's an incredible film that really puts things into perspective. Go and watch I, Daniel Blake. I implore you.

2. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life


Perhaps the TV (or Netflix) event of the year. (Or perhaps even the century.)

Four new episodes were released Friday 25th November 2016 giving us the badly needed Stars Hollow fix we've desperately been craving for 9 years. (As well as finally hearing those infamous four last words!! Oh my goodness! I have nothing to say at them! Don't worry - no spoilers here.)

This reboot of the show really is a treat for fans, with so many 'in jokes' that it really pays if you have seen the previous seasons. I can't really discuss the revival without giving anything away, so I think I shall just leave it at that. Although, one thing before I sign off. At the end of these four episodes (really they are more like four full feature length films) I wanted more. I was demanding at my screen (in between my opened shocked gaping mouth) for more. But. Upon reflection, I don't think we need it. If you've seen it, I think you'll know why: Everything comes full circle.

Thursday 13 October 2016

The Lorraine Special


The Lorraine region in France has it all going on this month. Below is a brief run down on what’s on in three different areas of the region.

1. Zone Sensibles  @ FRAC (Fond Regional d’Art Contemporain), Metz
    Until 23rd October 2016 (Exhibition), FREE

FRAC is a contemporary art gallery in the city of Metz. (Which, happily for us is free, no matter what your age.) This exhibition concerned itself with the exploration of maps and our depictions of them. I can’t say that I was crazed about this exhibition, but the last thing we saw made the trip worthwhile.  An ephemeral installation by Nipan Oranniwesna (from Bangkok born in 1962) addresses the final use of paper maps. (See above.) He uses talcum powder to create an imaginary ghost-city. He makes it something tangible, but barely. This piece really takes your breath away and is a great way to close the exhibition.

2.  Festival du Film Arabe @ various locations, Fameck
     Until 16th October 2016 (Film), from 5 – 15 €

This year sees the 27th edition of the festival take place. Each day, different feature length film is offered for viewing. For the price of 15 €, you can enjoy a film and a meal. (The meal is either couscous or tagine. With a choice of tea and cakes at a further charge.) This offers you the chance to see films that aren’t part of mainstream cinema (not in the West at least) so really is a great opportunity to see something new.


3. Nancy Jazz Pulsations @ various locations, Nancy
    Until 15th October 2016 (Music), various prices including some FREE events

This is a fantastic festival. I’m just going straight out there and saying it. They have a very diverse program this year, with musicians that infuse all different types of genres with jazz. Most concerts you have to pay for – but your ticket comprises of 3 acts normally. Other concerts are completely free. Something of note for this festival: on the Sunday when the festival takes place there is a concert in the park. Completely free. Parc de la Pépinière is transformed in a music festival, with different tents in the park some for music, some stands for food etc. On the Sunday that I went, I had the good fortune of finding out about this band: Gallowstreet. They are VERY good. Google them and you’ll see. If you enjoy music, I think that Nancy Jazz Pulsations is definitely one worth going to, or at least keeping an eye on in your calendar.

Wednesday 28 September 2016

Monet's Garden


Visiting Monet? 
I have one major piece of advice, and one major piece of advice only. Pick your season well.

This visit was taken in mid-September, and luckily for us, the sun was still shining down on the little village of Giverny, where Monet used to live.

How do I get there?
From Paris’ train station Gare Saint-Lazare, you take a train to Vernon. (It takes roughly 45 minutes to get there. And costs just under 30 euros return.) Once you’re at Vernon, you can catch a bus that takes approx. 20 minutes to get you to Giverny for 8 euros return fare.

Once you arrive in Giverny, it is a simple walk from the car park to the village centre where you can visit where the main man used to live and his garden. I hadn’t really given much thought to his house beforehand (but it was beautiful and worth the time weaving up and down his spiral stairs.) Decorated so beautifully, and in a way (that when you think about it) makes sense to the man you’d imagine Monet to be. But his garden. His garden is the true brilliance here.


Monet’s Money Making Garden?
As I’m getting older (such wisdom follows me) I’m finding myself appreciating gardens and landscaping much more than before. His garden was a mixture of colour, vibrancy and such amazing smells. If I could have bottled it, and taken it home I would have. There were so many butterflies. There were so many bees. (There were quite a few people as well, but not too many.)



There are different parts to the garden, and perhaps the most famous, is his water garden, where his bridge and famous water lilies live.

The cost to see his house and gardens is not too much, 5.50 euros if you’re a student, and under 10 if you’re full adult price.

What else is there?
Once you’re in Giverny, you can also visit Monet’s grave or go to the Impressionist Museum that they have.

Final thoughts?
Overall, it was a lovely day, a little pricey once all travel and tickets were added together, but a place that was definitely worth visiting – and a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

(On last thing: if you plan on going, and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on food, definitely take a picnic. Or at least some snacks.)

Thursday 22 September 2016

Liverpool Biennial 2016


This edition of the 9th Liverpool Biennial opened on 9th July (the best day ever) and will conclude on 16th October. (And as far as I know, all (if not most) of things programmed are free. So regardless of what I say down below, always worth remembering there is no monetary risk in finding out whether or not you enjoy what is on display.

I took a day trip (and as with all day trips) there was only so much I was able to see. So. This review shall come in three parts.

1. Things I saw that were worth my time.
2. Things I saw that weren’t worth my time.
3. Things I wish I had seen that I feel would have been worth my time.

As with everything, let’s start at the beginning.

1. Things I saw that were worth my time.

FACT
Krzysztof Wodiczko has a solo exhibition at FACT, and as part of his body of work, there is a restaging of his piece that was part of the Venice Biennale in 2009, named ‘Guests’. This piece of work is one of the best things I have seen in a long time. Despite being made 7 years ago, this work is something that still holds true (and so relevant) to our current global climate. By cleverly using light projections to create life-size silhouettes Wodiczko highlights many realities for immigrants. This work gives a voice to those who often aren’t able to speak. An entire room houses the installation, so you are surrounded by these ‘invisible faceless’ people, all speaking their mother tongue. Each section simultaneously tells a story of someone from a different country in a different language, so when you first enter the space things are indistinguishable until you choose a ‘window’ to focus on. I have to say, not many visual art pieces have had a deep emotional impact on me, in fact only a visit to Henri Matisse’s Chapel in Vence has made my cry. (A beautiful piece of artwork for another post.) But this piece, ‘Guests’ by Krzysztof Wodiczko made me cry. Everything about it is so important. And it all comes back to one simple point. It’s easy to blindly group together people under the title of ‘immigrant’ and not really give a thought to the individuals in that group. But when you stop to listen to their stories, fluently in their mother tongue that they can’t use as they used to, having to deal without everyday necessities that we take for granted, you see the humanity placed back into that blanket term ‘immigrants’. And that’s so important. We seem to have forgotten this important point. That simple fact: that we are all human.


Seriously, I can’t recommend this solo exhibition enough, the rest of it is just as worth your time, particularly a clever use of projections of war veterans speaking about their experiences of war on a memorial of Abraham Lincoln.

This was definitely worth my time. (And would be yours too.)

Bloomberg New Contemporaries
As is customary with the Bloomberg New Contemporaries (work by new graduates), they show somewhere else before making it down to London showing at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (usually in November.) For me, there was one stand out piece of this year's edition of the Bloomberg New Contemporaries (showing at Bluecoat). It’s placed in the room upstairs, at the far end, and is a video on a TV screen. Please, please, please, take the time to put on the headphones and watch the work by Zarina Muhammad. She’s produced two videos, but for me, my favourite is called Digjihad (2015) and lasts for just over two minutes. She takes all the memes, everything on the internet, the gifs, the sparkly text, all the videos, on ISIS etc and creates this masterpiece that is so bad it’s good. It’s brilliant. And the song that accompanies the video is so great that I have no words. If you can’t check it out in Liverpool, and you can get to London when it’s on there, do go and see it. This I loved.

Tate Liverpool
Again, (I’ve just noticed) all these three pieces I’m talking about are related. Like cousins that get along swimmingly at family gatherings. Anyway, the third and final piece that was worth my time was a piece in Tate Liverpool. It is an approx. 4 minute video by Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian called Big Rock Candy Mountain (2015). It’s an animation that has been created by using stills from film footage of ISIS militants destroying historical artefacts and toppling statues in Iraq and Syria. The fallen monuments are reanimated, given a new life, and the soldiers turned into new (and sometimes mocking) figures. What I like about this, is that the artists are creating something new from something destroyed. They’ve created a new version of censorship from the rubbles of a misguided, horrific act.

2. Things I saw that weren’t worth my time.

FACT
There was a video upstairs in FACT. After having seen the fantastic-ness that was downstairs with Wodiczko’s work, this paled in comparison. It's called Pharmakon by Lucy Beech and it was questioning the idea of hypochondria in the modern world, and the solace you can take in others. It was filmed in a way that roused intrigue, but ultimately it wasn’t something that grabbed me, and not something I would classify as a piece of video art. It read more as something for the cinema. Too much acting for my liking. And something that was never resolved. Call me impatient, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. (Worth noting, that some friends I was with enjoyed it, so it all comes down to opinion. As always.)

Tate Liverpool
Everything else at Tate that wasn’t that video mentioned above. I know, I know. Perhaps it was because it was the last thing we saw. But, to be fair, I think the themes of this edition of the Biennial didn’t work in its favour, and this room was completely dedicated to it, and it just didn’t work. But I’ll go onto that later.

Liverpool ONE
This was a piece that I was most looking forward to. It's called 'To-day 9th of July 2016' by Mariana Castillo Deball. It is meant to represent the history of 9th July across many years in a large sculptural form that looks like a set of wooden stairs. Only it wasn’t what I expected. And the newspapers that were part of the piece (that was being used as a giant picnic bench (which I have no problem with, that’s just how people were interacting with it as it is located in a public space) were nowhere to be seen. Basically it wasn’t being maintained very well, and I know that part of it is ‘leaving it to the elements’ but it would have been nice to see a newspaper. Even if it was one we couldn’t have taken away. The description of this piece online and in the free brochure you can get (that we picked up from the train station) promised so much more to what was offered. Which you can read here. (That way you can decide for yourselves.)

3. Things I wish I had seen that I feel would have been worth my time.

Rhiwlas Street


Now, this is a site-specific installation that is installed in a suburban area of Liverpool (and because of that reason, and being located in the city centre for the day) we were unable to see this. It looks like a really interesting and natural intervention with its environment. Something that is visually very striking and due to that can mean many different things to different people. It's called 'Momentary Moment - The Stone' by Lara Favaretto. Read some more about it here.

Toxteth Reservoir


This piece is only available to view on the weekend (and as luck would have it, I visited on a Tuesday) so was unable to see it. Honestly, any work that plays with light peaks my interest and this was no exception. This would have definitely been seen had it been open. The artist of the work is Rita McBride.

So that’s it in terms of those three parts, of things I had seen and enjoyed, seen and disliked, and wish had been seen.  Overall, Liverpool is a lovely city to experience via art, and as stated earlier, it’s free. But, the Biennial itself as a cohesive event didn’t feel very clear with its direction.  The themes chosen felt very disjointed to the work. As if, at times, they were trying to make the theme fit these works even though you can’t fit a square key into a round hole.

Here is what the official website writes about this year's direction:

"Liverpool Biennial 2016 explores fictions, stories and histories, taking viewers on a series of voyages through time and space, drawing on Liverpool’s past, present and future. These journeys take the form of six ‘episodes’: Ancient Greece, Chinatown, Children’s Episode, Software, Monuments from the Future and Flashback. They are sited in galleries, public spaces, unused buildings, through live performance and online. Many of the artists have made work for more than one episode, some works are repeated across different episodes, and some venues host more than one episode."

Software, Ancient Greece and Chinatown etc all feel a little disjointed to be themes under one umbrella, and I feel that, that messiness in vision made the whole Biennial feel incoherent. It felt like separate divided pieces, rather than a whole. (The theme that took residence in the Tate, for those wondering, was Ancient Greece.) In any case, I look forward to seeing what form the next edition holds.

That’s it for my first experience of the Liverpool Biennial, one that I hoping to repeat despite not loving everything. But then again, it’s good not to always like everything you see, reaffirms the stuff you do like. So if you can, overall, it’s recommended. You just need to tailor your visit to you.

Wednesday 31 August 2016

Review: Georgia O'Keeffe (EXHIBITION)


A retrospective of one of the most famous female painters of the 20th century is currently on at the Tate Modern in London until 30th October. The main attraction for me to see this exhibition was having studied O'Keeffe's floral works. Which is all I knew her for: her florals. (Probably similarly to the rest of the world.) But, she is so much more than that, and her body of work encompasses many more themes than her famed floral close-ups.

The exhibition is thematically displayed in a very logical easy to digest way (which is what you'd expect from any Tate exhibition.) We are guided through O'Keeffe's back catalogue, starting from her earliest charcoal pieces, to more personal displays about her life, Stieglitz and their inner circle, to her New York cityscapes and of course, to her flowers and still lifes. 

I enjoyed weavingmy way through the rooms and seeing works I didn't know existed. I also really enjoyed seeing O'Keeffe's work that I was more familiar with. (There's nothing quite like experiencing artworks in real life that you've seen time and time again in books or online.)

The stand out work for me is 'Special No.9 - 1915' (see image above). Reproductions (as ever) don't do it justice. It is something you've got to see in person. O'Keeffe's mark making and feeling in this piece is just something I find very difficult to put into words.

I only have one reservation about this exhibition: the price. It is too expensive. It is far too much money. For a student ticket it costs £15.40, for an adult (with no additional donation) it costs £17.20. And that is a lot of money. A lot. I assume (and we all know what you say when you assume) that the money recovered from the cost of tickets will go towards covering the exhibition, any additional staff costs, and (probably) any profit will just be pumped back into Tate Modern and its permanent collection, as all of that is, spectacularly free. But still, when it comes individually to coughing up this money, it is a lot. And it's a shame, because the hefty price tag makes it an exhibition you will not take a gamble on. Only those who know O'Keeffe, will go to see O'Keeffe. It alienates a whole untapped audience. 

And because of the price tag, I would only really go to this exhibition if you like O'Keeffe, or want to see the range of her work.

Monday 29 August 2016

Getting Craftily Radical


Radical Craft is an exhibition currently on tour throughout the UK, today marking its last day at Oriel Davies in Wales. (A lovely gallery, free to visit, worth a look if you're ever in that area.) It's off next to Beecroft Gallery in Southend opening 10th September 2016. After that it will be making the rounds to: Scunthorpe, Carlisle, West Kilbride, Aberystwyth and Dorset. (All venues free!)

The display is a strong one showing a diverse range of work. More established artists such as Judith Scott, contextualise the theme of this exhibition while artists such as Joanna Simpson and her Good Luck Gum Nut Folk (as seen above) showcase the practice of today's contemporary makers.

Definitely worth a visit, for more info on the tour and dates, look no further than here on Craftspace's website. (One of the fantastic organisations behind this exhibition. You should definitely keep an eye on what they do.)