art 2 · 2003-10-26 17:57

Not much to say or think at the moment; a few personal issues to work out. I’m papering over the cracks in my existence (and therefore this weblog) with a few more art exhibitions.

The Cremaster Cycle first – Matthew Barney’s 5 films are being shown at the Other cinema in London. I saw 1 & 2 (the Busby Berkley one and the rodeo one) yesterday, and will see 4 & 5 (the Isle of Man one and the opera one) tonight, and 3 on Wednesday. They’re visually stunning, incredibly weird (I couldn’t possibly begin to say what it all means), and whilst slow, keep your attention. Reminds me slightly of Koyaanisquatsi….... if filmed entirely on location in the 7th level of Hell, directed by Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, with unlimited Vaseline, satyrs, and Manolo Blahnik shoes. In 5 parallel universes, this is daytime television, their soap operas. A good swap, on their worlds they pile into arthouse cinemas to watch Richard and Judy.

Next to Bill Viola at the National Gallery. I’m a kind of fan of Viola’s work, after stumbling on a huge exhibition in Frankfurt years ago. One of the pieces is reprised here: The Crossing. Most of the other pieces here are much smaller, and much slower. There were far too many people in the exhibition to be able to do any of the art justice (including a logjam in the Crossing room) – this seems to be a growing trend. Several exhibitions at Tate Britain have been spoilt this way, and the National in particular seem to have no clue how to properly corral people. I’m going to go back some time and try to give the (slightly monotonous) art another go. Personally I think the installation at Tate Modern is better.

Finally the two new exhibitions at Tate Modern: Sigmar Polke and Common Wealth.
Sigmar Polke: History of Everything is a jaunty run through his recent work, and it’s quite unexpected (earlier works exhibited elsewhere in Tate Modern were uninspiring). There’s a nice mix of materials, and some real depth that transcends the pop nature of the photocopied newsprint that resonates throughout the exhibition.

Common Wealth comes with key words: exchange, communication, interactivity, games and play. It’s a group show with 5 artists from Europe and South America – and yes, there are resonances of Utopia Station from the Venice Biennale. Is it high art? Who knows, it’s a lot of fun, slightly loud (as loud as British galleries get), interactive in the good sense of things to do rather than crappy inexplicable computer displays (the map you get as a guide has symbols for “You may participate” and “You may not participate”)... Whereas the Weather Project suffered from sheer weight of people today, this exhibition needs many bodies and a few hyperactive 5 year olds to really spark.

It’s a pity I missed the two study days: Land Mark (basically political psychogeography) and Diffusion (on collaborative practice in contemporary art). There is, however, a slightly related talk at the RCA tomorrow (Mon 27th), entitled “Interpreting Anthropogeomorphology”. I have no idea what this means, but it sounds fantastic. There’s also an unrelated photography day at Tate Modern soon called “The Joy of Things”.

Also, went round Saved! at the Hayward again on Friday with my mum – it’s still fantastic, there’s so much good stuff to see, and well worth a trip (especially if the strategically placed guards aren’t there).

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