Marlene Dumas

Apologies for the radio silence.

My life has been crazy these past few months. Apart from work, and kids and housework I’m trying to finish an MA in History of Art, but I’m almost there. But the good thing is that I found time to go to a few amazing exhibitions that I wanted to recommend.

When I saw that the Tate was putting on a Marlene Dumas exhibition I wanted to see what it was all about. I was a little bit skeptical about it all but seeing her big paintings there in front of me was not the same thing. The subjects of the paintings are crude, real, most of them depict sex, death, fear, shame. A lot of them refer to modern and current affairs in the news around the world. These rejected individuals, her muses, are mainly vulnerable people who have experienced a hard time in their life – women, children, gay men, African people killed by ethnographers and slavery.

‘Secondhand images’, she has said, ‘can generate first-hand emotions.’ Dumas never paints directly from life. Her subjects are drawn from both public and personal references and include her daughter and herself, as well as recognisable faces such as Amy Winehouse, Naomi Campbell, Princess Diana, and even Osama bin Laden.

Those eyes really haunt you. I left the exhibition with a very strong stomachache, but glad to feel something memorable after seeing her work. At the end of the day, life is not a fairytale, it’s difficult and hard work and life is unjust. That’s how it is. I think Dumas portrays a real vision of our modern world. Pessimistic maybe, but very real.

Her writings and ideas on the wall play an important part in the exhibition – every paragraph of her ideas is key, and show her as a tenacious thinker.

These paintings in particular captured my attention. Dead Girl. There she is, her head lying on the floor, the blood running, it is very graphic, very crude. Another one is 22 gay men, in black and white. Another one is the painting of the man who murdered the Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh, shooting him repeatedly before slashing his throat. Why is he there as a painting? Or Osama Bin Laden?

The exhibition runs until May 10th at the Tate Modern, don’t miss the opportunity to see it.

NOTE: This exhibition includes some works with explicit content.

  

Digital Revolution

Words by Jake Bailey

In a single room, the Digital Revolution exhibition charts the rapid progression of mass consumer technology over the last 40 years.

For those seeking a dose of digital nostalgia, there was the chance to play classic arcade games like Pong (1972) and Pac Man (1980) or boot up early home computers such as the ZX Spectrum (1982).

I wasn’t the only one taking the opportunity to relive a misspent youth, recalling the shortcuts in Super Mario Bros (1985) and reminiscing about Ceefax – how we would wait for ages for it to scroll to the flight, cinema listing or concert we wanted to book, then having to frantically scribble down the details before it moved on.

It was interesting to see the varying reactions of visitors to these devices – some with fond recollection, others – who have never known a world without the internet – with amazement at the primitive technology.

The more up-to-date installations demonstrated how technology has been used in the creation of anything from recent blockbusters like Gravity to innovative music videos.

Where next?
All very interesting, but how can these ideas influence the future as a business?

A large screen (above) demonstrated how visual effects in the ground-breaking sci-fi film Inception (2010) were created. The fold-over sequence of Paris, much like a moving video version of Google Streetview, caught the imagination because it was gesture controlled. Users moved their hands over an invisible beam to control the visuals – something which could definitely be part of the broadcasting future. Imagine never having to search for the remote control, but simply controlling your TV by waving at it.

Energy Flow, produced by London collective FIELD, uses an algorithm – apparently based on Greek dramatic storytelling format – to piece together 10 pieces of video art in many permutations, rendering themselves to create different narratives each time.

Although it produced a slightly abstract video, it’s worth considering how this might be used in the creation of non-linear TV programmes. Much like Punchdrunks’ alternative theatre piece The Drowned Man, viewers may soon be able to dip in and out of different storylines, moving on as they please and gradually building a picture of the story presented. So, rather than moving through a storyline linearly from beginning to end, the plot is is depicted in layers, with each expanding upon the last, gradually filling in gaps and adding depth to viewers’ understanding.

Fragility of digital
Play the World by Zach Lieberman drew audio from radio stations across the world, allowing the user to play clips via a piano keyboard. The end result was a cacophonous mix of jingles, adverts, music and bulletins, providing glimpses of a rich cultural tapestry.

A definite highlight for me was people-watching, seeing how visitors, particularly younger ones, interacted with the exhibits in different ways. There was delight and spontaneity, mixed with some trepidation and varying levels of attention span. Interfaces based on gesture or action, instead of touch, seemed to particularly appeal to younger visitors.

It was also interesting to note the importance of audio as well as video in many of the experiences. In many exhibits, visitors were using several senses at once to control the performance, leading to a far more active participation than just passively looking at paintings or watching TV.

The exhibition also served as a reminder of the fragility and inherent instability of much that is digital. A number of displays had crashed, were only partly working or had been withdrawn for repair.

Many of us live and breathe technology, but sometimes it’s good to sit back and take stock – to see where we’ve come from, in order to decide where we should go next.

Digital Revolution at London’s Barbican continues until 14 September.

Making Colour

The Making Colour exhibition is on at the National Gallery until Sunday so you should go this weekend really. I went today because I heard so much about it and I didn’t want to miss it. It is curated in a very clever way with each section comprising a selection of paintings in which a single colour is dominant, leading the audience through the ways and techniques its been used. With different examples in each room, you will travel around Art History seeing the different use of the colours in an attractive and smart exhibition. Do the cinema experience at the end, and you will definitely change the way you think about how we perceive colours and lighting.

British Folk Art at Tate Britain

This British Folk Art exhibition at the Tate Britain is a must see this summer. I love crafts, I do crafts myself. Its nice to see how these amazing artists work with different and unusual materials, like straw, to create beautiful pieces. It brings to mind the simplicity of doing art in domestic life, an indoor world, telling stories about rural work, life and customs.

The biggest finding was the work of Mary Linwood, a needlework artist, who made portraits with needle and colour thread in 1825. The portrait of Napoleon is one of the examples… amazing isn’t it?
Another beauty to see is James Williams, Patchwork bedcover, 1818 – 1895. Made of 5300 pieces it took him 10 years to make. That is real Patience.
Crafts are very important in Britain, and it seems that they always have been. Co-curated by the artist Jeff McMillan, this exhibition brings out the nostalgia of tradition and domestic life.

photos: Tate Britain website, Ana Escobar

James Williams, Patchwork bedcover

Mary Linwood

Mary Linwood

Matisse Cut-outs at Tate Modern

You already know that I love paper cuttings, right? basically all my artwork at the moment is paper cuttings. So of course I went to this exhibition, the only problem was that I had an screaming baby so I had to do it very fast. And it was packed with people. But, the work exhibited was just stunning with some enormous pieces, you just can’t believe the size. I love that Matisse didn’t waste any moment of his life, as soon as he found he couldn’t paint anymore, he decided to go into painted paper cutting with the help of assistants, and that he was absolutely determined to keep making art. What an inspirational man! The colours, the nature, the patterns, beautifully curated, I could almost describe it as a little hug to the soul!
You can see a video of the exhibition made by Tate Modern.
It is on at the Tate Modern until September 7th

Wimbledon Open Studios Art Show 2013

140 Artists. A great place to see and buy artwork. Painting, illustration, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, photography, all in the same place!

Man Ray

I went today to the Man Ray exhibition of Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, London. It was the last day today so a shame if you missed it. The exhibition was really good, I was quite surprised that his portraits are mainly portraits of his, later famous, friends who were known painters and artists of the time like Picasso, Tanguy, Artaud, Duchamp and Dali. The portraits of Lee Miller were stunning, she was one of a kind as well, and a muse for him. You can buy the book from the shop if you are a fan of Man Ray and you missed the exhibition.

Hollywood Costumes at the V&A

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, is exhibiting a range of Hollywood Costumes from the most famous films of all time. It is definitely worth going, but I strongly recommend you get tickets in advance because they are almost sold out every day.

Beautiful gowns are exhibited, like the one Scarlet O’Hara used in “Gone with the Wind” or the beautiful dresses from “Elizabeth” or “Marie Antoinette”. There are classic costumes used by people like Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” or “Ben Hur”, what Harrison Ford wore in “Indiana Jones” or the amazing costume of Darth Vader. Other classics include the black dress of Audrey in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or “My Fair Lady”, two more from “Titanic”, “Moulin Rouge”, Batman and Catwoman, to the whole Addams Family. My favourites were Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” and Marilyn’s stunning white dress, oh god she had a figure.

Don’t miss it, it will be on until January 27th.

Cafe Gallery 28th Annual Exhibition

Cafe Gallery is running its 28 Annual Exhibition. It will be from Nov 14th to Dec 2nd in CGP London, Southwark Park, London SE16 2UA.
I will be exhibiting this piece here, I hope you can come and see the exhibition. For more info please check their website

Wimbledon Open Art Studios 2012

Every year, Wimbledon Art Studios opens their doors to visitors. Every artist uses their own studio to show what they’ve been working on all year. What I love about this place is the atmosphere and that you can find a whole range of art – photography, illustration, design, painting, sculpture – there is something for every taste.

This year I will be participating here with my paintings, illustrations and paper sculptures, and I’m very excited.

So if you are a Londoner put in your diary and do come and visit from November 22nd to 25th, and you can see more than 150 artist all in the same place!
For more info click here or read the images below.