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‘List of Names (Random)’ Douglas Gordon, 1990 – present.
Tickled me – on first glance appeared to be a memorial, actually a personal list of people the artist had met and remembered. Depiction of a lifespan/ social life/ human connections – surprised by scale of piece, didn’t realise just how many people the average person will meet and remember. Feels DADA-esque.
‘Jeannette II’ Henri Matisse, 1910.
‘La Prose du transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France [Trans-Siberian Prose]’ Blaise Cendrars and Sonia Delaunay, 1913.
Part of the cubism exhibition, liked the form/shape of a long folded up collage, strange to see in an exhibition. Liked combination of text and colours.
‘Alan and Barbara Rawsthorne’ Isabel Rawsthorne, 1966.
Female artist! Liked this better than the Damien Hirst next door.
‘Between Kilburn and Willesden Green, Winter Evening’ Leon Kossoff, 1992.
‘Industrial Belt’ Carol Rhodes, 2006.
Reminded me of the ‘Boring Postcards’ book I read at LAU. ‘just far enough away to deny the viewer insight into the land below’ is an interesting dynamic. Voyeuristic in a strange way, like an alien lifeform spying on human development, what have the worker bees been up to kinda thing. Why would someone choose to paint this landscape?
‘Crucifixion II’ Craigie Aitchison, 1987-89.
Huge scale and bright colours makes it impressive. Don’t know what its about, feels wistful and surreal, like the crucifixion could be a desert mirage. Asymmetry makes it mysterious.
A series of framed prints of long exposure photographs taken at night, by the light of a full moon. All photos seem to be daylight at first glance. Interesting idea – didn’t know was technologically possible. Photos mostly boring/run of the mill without context of process.
‘Progressive’ Shona MacNaughton, 2017. Photograph of performance.
“I was nine months pregnant, there was no getting away from that fact. The performance had to incorporate this physical reality. As I looked at the the language used in local regeneration schemes their themes of new life at the sake of destruction of the old, seemed to echo the progress of my body at the time. The Baby Box, another state sanctioned scheme, which held items which seemed like a basic list to keep this new life alive, neatly doubled as a podium to (barely) keep my pregnant weight aloft, and allowed my self-turned political speech to be heard over the crowd.” https://www.shonamacnaughton.com/progressive/
Performance/relational art/poetry thing. Interesting to see exhibited in a major gallery. Nice photos of event – captured energy. Liked that the scripts were displayed – scripts interesting – wonder if they were written before or after event. Should have spent more time looking at in gallery but was pressed.
‘Progressive’ Shona MacNaughton, 2017.
Not a huge fan of the curation of this piece. Think the photos should have been larger, lighting more dramatic. Cardboard pieces look a bit crap, although admire that they’re not behind barriers.
‘The Deccan Trap’ Lucy Raven, 2015. Photographic animation, colour, sound, 4:19 min.
Sound by Paul Corley.
Really liked this film, felt hypnotic as it was so short and repetitive, like continuously digging further and further down through layers of repeating matter – think Minecraft. Makes collage exciting. Only thing I didn’t like was the title text which was difficult to read and ineffective in the gallery setting.
‘Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight’ Katie Paterson, 2008 [exhibition view]
“Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight was produced in conjunction with the lighting company OSRAM. It contains a sufficient quantity of light bulbs to provide a person with a lifetime supply of simulated moonlight. Each bulb burns for 2000 hours, and a ‘lifetime’ contains 289 bulbs, a calculation based on the average life-span for a human being alive in 2008 (when the artist produced the work). The viewer enters the darkened room and encounters a light bulb suspended on a long cable from the ceiling. The rest of the bulbs are lined up on shelves, awaiting their turn.” https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/123512/light-bulb-simulate-moonlight
Cool concept, was affected when I first saw it by how interesting the idea was. To me, looks a lot like moonlight, but Molly disagreed and seemed rather unimpressed. Inclusion of notebook sketches in exhibition a nice touch. An alternative measure of human life span? Artificial naturality – thinking about SAD, lights effect on mood, technology in future worlds. Sustainability and human impact on the planet. Not very interactive – in gallery doesn’t give much but the idea.
‘Earth-Moon-Earth’ Katie Paterson, 2007.
“Earth-Moon-Earth (E.M.E.) radio is a form of transmission whereby messages are sent in Morse code from Earth, reflected off the surface of the Moon, and then received back on Earth. The Moon reflects only part of the information back: some is absorbed in its shadows or lost in its craters.
For this work, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata was translated into Morse code and sent to the Moon. Returning to Earth fragmented by the Moon’s surface, this historical composition was then re-translated into a new score, the gaps and absences becoming intervals and rests. The “Moon-altered” piece is played on an automated grand piano.” http://katiepaterson.org/portfolio/earth-moon-earth/
Nice piece, grand piano fills gallery space well, the automated playing fits the eerie tone of the idea- feels cold and empty and haunting like a trip to the moon. Liked the display of both scores, visual representation helps non-musicians to understand the piece, and it also looks rather pretty. Overall a nice independent piece but lacks heft. Cool way to make use of technology, blending the inaccessible code with widely enjoyed music.
“Nearly every solar eclipse documented by humankind has been brought together in a mirror ball. The images span drawings dating from hundreds of years ago through nineteenth-century photography and up to the most advanced telescopic technologies. Over 10,000 images reflect the progression of a solar eclipse across the room – from partial to total – mirroring the sequence of the Sun eclipsed by the Moon.” http://katiepaterson.org/portfolio/totality/
Very cool idea, looks good in gallery, well pulled off – room could’ve been darker. Disco ball as an object is pretty, as well as a scientific collection of images. Physical way of experiencing manmade photographs – although also a manmade technology imitating a real natural occurrence. Mans answer to the solar eclipse? Fun experience in the gallery; interactive, emotive, affecting.
Overall, a great exhibition. Interesting, not too pretentious, good mix of objects and ideas. Good mix of mediums and strong individual artists.
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