Wednesday 4 April 2012
Saturday 18 February 2012
LINE - Frame Edition
Biennial Essay
Saturday 24 December 2011
Thursday 22 December 2011
X-MAS BOOK-SHELF - CCCP Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed - Frederic Chaubin
As you will have probably already realised I have a particular interest in ruins and modernist architecture and recently I have come across this little gem and thought that I would share it with you in case anyone has time to pick it up before Christmas. This book by the photographer Fredric Chaubin reveals an until now relatively unknown period in Soviet architecture between 1970-1990 before the the fall of the Berlin Wall. The buildings that are illustrated show a eclectic sense of creativity that reflect a state in crisis with centralised power waning. The buildings are devoid of unifying features, however universally interesting and this book is a must have for anyone interested in architecture or Cold War history in general. Aside from enthusiasts it will entice just about anyone, as the buildings range from the sci-fi to the anthropomorphic and leave you wanting to book a cheap flight to Eastern Europe to seek them out... I am already planning mine! One thing is for sure, such buildings are in stone, glass and steel, what Orwell and Huxley revealed in text in their utopian/dystopian visions of the future. All I can say is make sure you put this book on your Father Christmas list this year!
Monday 19 December 2011
Luke Stephenson - Colourful Showbirds
Luke Stephenson, a British photographer based in London, has over the last two years been photographing the diverse and colourful world of the show-bird. In a series titled "Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds" Stephenson has entered into a peculiar colourful world, hidden from the plain light of day. Stephenson works primarily in the format of portraiture, however as this series has shown, his definition and understanding of the genre is very broad. His work reminds one of the old fashioned naturalists cataloguing of new species, however his balance of colour lends the photographs with a playful sense of the character of the individual subjects. To view further images in the series, check out his website.
Monday 12 December 2011
Saturday 10 December 2011
Le Corbusier - Unite d'habitation
Friday 31 December 2010
e-flux Journal
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Thursday 14 October 2010
Sunday 10 October 2010
Matias Bechtold - Filipp Rosbach Galerie
Berlin born artist Matias Bechtold is currently showing his latest works which continue his ongoing pursuit of the modern utopian metropolis at the Filipp Rosbach Galerie in the Spinnerei. His sole use of corrugated cardboard as an artistic medium, has allowed him to gain an unprecedented understanding of the medium allowing him to execute his architectural landscapes with a level of craftsmanship that both explicitly illustrates the reality/alienation of modern urban life.
Tuesday 28 September 2010
F-Stop - Ringmessehaus – Peter Bialobrzeski
The Ringmessehaus in Leipzig contains the work of German born photographer Peter Bialobrzeski. The exhibition brings together two series of works ‘Neon Tigers’ and ‘Paradise Now’ which both document the Asian ‘Megacities’. Shot with an analogue camera Bialobrezeski seeks to explore the notion of fiction and sci-fi that are inherent to these cities. This is achieved through the use of long exposure and the juxtaposition of the built up metropolises and the natural world that surrounds them. His interest in fiction and sci-fi, portrays these cities not just as they are but as they could be and illustrates the modern utopia/dystopia imagined in both Huxley’s ‘A Brave New World’ and Orwell’s ‘1984’.
‘Neon Tigers’ consists of a mixture of close up shots of housing blocks, which through exposures ranging from 4-8 minutes result in an emptiness in which people become a blur or disappear altogether. One is left with the built up city, which up close appears chaotic, yet when viewed from afar displays a resounding order and geometrical clarity. When viewing the photos one is struck by the abstract nature of the city as a whole, but on closer inspection one is reminded that in these tower blocks, the individual units represent an individual private space within the whole.
‘Paradise Now’ explores a very different phenomenon to ‘Neon Tigers’. The close proximity of the natural wilderness to these built up manmade spaces is an unusual circumstance and heightens the fictional quality to Bialobrzeski’s work. Although shot with an analogue camera, the pictures look as if they have been artificially manipulated by a computer. Rather than juxtaposition, the natural world and the neon lights of the buildings within the city behind are homogenous. Despite its artificial appearance, Neon is a natural gas and cannot be manufactured artificially by man. This subtlety expresses Bialobrezeski’s constant search to explore the limits between fact and fiction which are so central to his works and his understanding of photography as a medium. Bialobrzeski’s unprecedented vision of these mega metropolises shows a level of thought that not only results in astounding visual impact but also encourages one to reassess one's own perception of the city.
F-Stop Photography Festival - Leipzig
The F-Stop photography festival in Leipzig comprises of four separate exhibition spaces spread across the city and explores in depth the works of a plethora of international photographers from all around Europe, the USA and Canada. The festival aims to explore two central themes of seclusion and nakedness. Whilst the work of the photographers reflect these themes, so too do the exhibition spaces that have been chosen. For the most part they are empty, decaying former DDR (East German) factories or office blocks. Whilst engendering seclusion, these buildings stand naked, revealing the history of a city, which after the reunification of Germany was left gutted by a huge migration to the west. These exhibition spaces not only help to further clarify the works but also reflect the themes of nakedness and seclusion that are inherently relevant in Leipzig as a city.
Friday 17 September 2010
Thursday 2 September 2010
Tuesday 31 August 2010
Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre
Marchand and Meffre are two Parisian photographers who have an insatiable desire to document the deterioration and decay of derelict buildings of the 21st century, whether industrial factories or the multitude of theatres and cinemas which sprung up in 1940's America, these modern ruins are testament to the ephemeral nature of the 21st century.
Saturday 28 August 2010
Exhibition of the Summer - Johan Grimonprez
The Belgian born artist Johann Grimonprez occupied the fruitmarket gallery between the 22nd May to 11th July 2010, showing a retrospective of his films from Dial a H.I.S.T.O.R.Y, the film which brought him to prominence through it’s eerily prophetic allusions to 9/11, to Double Take his latest venture, a gripping narrative which explores binary opposites and their inevitable/necessary existence.
Grimonprez’s aesthetic, comprises a conglomeration of archive footage and film clips, interspersed with advertisements, resulting in a narrative, which engenders the equivalent of collage for time-based media.
Although all his films are interesting, it is Double Take which was the show-stopper for me.
His effortless combination of archive footage of the cold war years in which America and Russia are presented as an analogy of Hitchcock and his double and film clips from Hitchcock’s the Birds, question the substantiality of documentary as fact. Instead through the fictional film clips, Grimonprez undermines the supposedly factual news clips, illustrating the theatricality of television and reminding us that what we in fact accept to be truth is far from neutral.
Grimonprez preoccupation with doppelganger illustrated in the very title of the work (Double Take), uses the fictional narrative of Hitchcock meeting his double, to illustrate the threat that one feels from ‘the Other’, whether personally or politically. This is chillingly brought to the fore with the quote “if you meet your double, you should kill him, before he kills you” an idiom that wonderfully expresses the commodity of fear conjured up by the media and popular culture.
In a historical context, Grimonprez cleverly sums up the binary opposites of America and Russia, through their disparate powers, expressed through the triumph of commodity in the consumer culture of America demonstrated through the repeated coffee commercials and Russia's triumphs in science, most notably sputnik, the ‘space race’ and nuclear warheads, alluded to through clips from Hitchcock’s the birds, which suggest fear from above.
All in all through Grimonprez’s myriad of references he creates a rich and complex work, that not only questions the documentary medium itself, but through archival footage of the cold war, expresses the fact that existence does not consist of one unified reality but rather multiple realities, a point which is enforced by the suggestion that television, specifically news clips are a product of the nation in which they are aired. Grimonprez’s films are intellectually challenging, however the result is a work that is conceptually outstanding and encourages the viewer to question his own perception of the world.
As part of its educational programme, the Fruitmarket gallery organised a series of talks surrounding Grimonprez and his works which are available on the website and provide an invaluable resource for anyone interested in delving into his films.
Sunday 15 August 2010
BOOK-SHELF - To Hell With Culture - Herbert Read
My most recent dose of Art Criticism was a collection of essays by the late Herbert Read an anarchist and fervent supporter of the avant garde during the 1930's. Covering a wide range of topics from the inability of Democracy to be wholly integrated within the Capitalist superpowers of the West, to the role of pornography within art, Read consistently returns to one aim: to both define the role of Art and the artist within society.
Monday 28 June 2010
CANDID Review - Hannah Knights
The vacuous space of The Out of The Blue Drill Hall is host to a collection of work by recent graduates and undergraduates working in Scotland. The organisers' manifesto to unpretentiously curate the work of the more established artists alongside those still studying withstands scrutiny, and the outlook is a testament to the multiplicity of contemporary art.
With a map and the artist's statements to conduct us, the anonymous works are contextualised. Instead of being claustrophobically descriptive of the singular pieces, these few words provide an insight to the individual oeuvres that have informed the artworks; a consideration important to any group show. The two booth-encased video works of Max Swinton and Rachel Maclean are testament to the great potential of this medium for artists. In these confined environments the work is absorbed without distraction. Appropriately curated within the exhibition, these internal spaces allow some of the work to be hidden aiding a slower reveal to the exhibition as a whole. The double-height space in which the exhibition sits allows the first floor balcony to become an important vantage point; the angle giving Denise Torrance's 'The Sky Does Fall' an alternative facet, otherwise missed from the initial outlook. Having the ability to survey the works in this way becomes an important feature of the 'showcase' aspect to the exhibition.
Maclean's work is a standout in any show; as she adopts the technicolor aesthetic she simultaneously critiques, the falseness of the celebrity consumed media becomes dissected. The vivacity of her exhibited piece is a juxtaposition to the sculptural pieces on the main floor; which with collectively soft hues and in natural materials have a continuity to be gently consumed. Jamie Fitzpatrick's hybrid taxidermic creations offer the comedic touch to the show, universally visually affirmative but nonetheless stimulating. Nearby, the ominous black feathers of 'After Freya and Daedalus' congruously draws upon associations with animals to convey an alternative response from a similar stimulus. The development of a completeness to the exhibition is exemplified in the display of Hope-Johnstone's drawings, as recognisable in the advertising poster, and acting as an overall reminder of the versatility in creativity of this generation of artists and the sometimes indistinguishable collaboration of fine art and design.
Such is the ambition, flair and professionalism with which the event is curated that the audience may well be unaware that Candid's organisers and curators are yet to graduate themselves. It is appropriate to the aspirations of the exhibition, then, that this showcase of young talent is not descriptive of the artists alone.
Thursday 17 June 2010
The Glue Factory - Glasgow
Set up by the Finn Collective on a nondescript industrial estate, 'The Glue Factory' is situated about a 5 minute walk from the Glasgow School of Art on 22 Farnell Street. Initially it was set up for G.I (Glasgow International) with an exhibition called KISS OF LIFE. The exhibition consisted of a showcase of both their own and invited international and local artists work which sought to respond to the architectural, social and historical context of the building.
Saturday 12 June 2010
BOOK-SHELF - Talking Prices - Olav Velthuis
Talking Prices is the second offering from Olav Velthuis an assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at the university of Amsterdam. His research is unprecedented and sheds light on the forces that govern a market that even baffles those who are firmly embedded within it.