The Human Biology Exhibition
Natural History Museum
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/human-biology.html
I felt that this exhibition was essential to see as it gave me a basic foundation of knowledge as to how and why our thoughts become electrical impulses and how this makes us react. I particularly liked seeing a real central nervous system as it allowed me to do several still life drawings of human anatomy - an opportunity that I will not likely get again. I disliked how basic some of the knowledge was and I felt that I needed to filter a lot of the information out as it was not relevant to my project proposal. What I have learnt will influence my concept as visiting this exhibition highlighted how essential electricity in the body is for survival. Without it, any person would die.
I found this Exhibition inspiring! it was really fun to go to one which was celebrating all I am trying to communicate in my project. It was also very illuminating teaching me further about the facts of electricity which has helped me develop both my theoretical proposals and construction techniques. I found it particularly satisfying to see the development of the equipment that I was using - seeing the progression as it became less and less organic. I found it frustrating how a large portion of the exhibition seemed to be dedicated to the old electrical experiments, rather than today in the here and now. This exhibition has not necessarily changed my ideas, it has rather built them to reinforce the route that I am exploring in my project.
I enjoyed seeing the wide range of paintings produced from the singular theme at this exhibition. Many of the artists had interpreted the theme in different ways, each producing their own unique ideas and findings. As inspirational as the exhibition was, it wasn't what I expected. The artists were not using light as part of their work but instead as inspiration leaving me disappointed with what I saw. Having said that I still found it useful to see the ways in which other people understood light. The theme of light as therapy also produced a similarity between all the works. Most of the artists in this exhibition had turned to the soft natural light of the sun to express a calm resolve of peace of mind rather than the harsh white light of an electric bulb. This got me thinking that it is not only colour that influences the interpretation of emotions but the light dynamic as well. this helps me build on my ideas - involving a type of light which could change the onlooker's view.
Although I was fun and interesting to see the Leonardo da Vinci's that were on display at the National Gallery. I did not find the experience particularly useful of fulfilling as I realised the pieces that I wanted and needed to see - the ones which related to my work- I did not have access to. This included things like his sketchbook and study of the human body. I, therefore, did not find the overall experience particularly significant, producing no changes to my thoughts or methods of how I carry out my work.
SCALING THE CITADEL: THE ART OF STANLEY LENCH
Bethlem Museum of the Mind
http://museumofthemind.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition-info/scaling-the-citadel-the-art-of-stanley-lench
This exhibition was not biological or scientific in any way but I really enjoyed seeing work that I would not usually come across. The work displayed consisted of images and interpretations of the artist's thaughts. I found it fascinating to see what visions can be produced from a cascade of electrical impulses. I think it is important to understand every aspect of what you are pursuing and visiting and getting the opportunity to see these works for myself helped me realise that I need to spend some time focusing on the thought processes and reactions that come with the electrical impulses.
Walk Through British Art
Tate Britain
http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain/display/walk-through-british-art
I went to this exhibition to look at the Francis Bacon paintings. I was very impressed with what I saw when I arrived there. I found that the paintings were very different when seen in real life in comparison to looking at them as images on a page. What hit me first was the impact that the sheer size of the paintings had. Most were large scale with the figure splayed across your eye line in a heaped mess. I found that this particularly highlighted the importance of composition. The scale in his paintings meant that the central composition of the piece hit the viewer face to face with the image on the canvas, thus taking them a second or so they can understand what they are looking at. I will consider scale and composition in all my work but this lesson will especially hold true to constructing and hanging the exhibition.
This exhibition did not hold much to contribute to my theoretical knowledge. Yet, due to the sheer size of the exhibition, I decided to go and discover what I could learn. Showing so many works in such a huge variety really contributed to my understanding fo how an exhibition is curated and the tricks, hacks and knowledge of how to make your work look good in a particularly designed space. I found that when showing multiple works in one area films can be shown higher up the wall than a static picture as the size of the projection can be adjusted so it can be easily seen. in such a popular exhibition the works must be protected in order to withstand the fast flowing pace of the public. This is mostly done with the use of frames and cases - occasionally a work may even be suspended above them out of reach for the works own protection. I will refer back to these points when coming up with my final ideas and designing my exhibition space.
This Exhibition - being a retrospective of Hockney's work - taught me how I can organise my work produced over a long period of time. I really like the way that Hockeys work was presented through the rooms and I have learnt that I can group work in severe different ways that all makes sense E.g you can chronologically organise work by date work was done or by the project. I even found out that sometimes, particularly in your portfolio, organising your work by standard or preference can be beneficial. however working that follows particular styles may suit one method better than another.
Secundino Hernández: Paso
Victoria Miro Gallery
I was particularly inspired by Secundino Hernández's work. I related to the process that he used of removing paint to create a piece as a representation of time. The image has captured the time and work he put into creating it with each stroke and dent.I find this approach really satisfying as his concept has become his piece. An idea that I have found myself dwelling on in a bit to progress further with my own work. Using this same theory I hope that I can produce work of a similar effect - Making my finished piece a total embodiment of my theories.
Howard Hodgkin: Absent Friends
National Portrait Gallery
http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/howard-hodgkin-absent-friends/home/
During my time at this exhibition, I struggled to find a direct link between my work and that of Howard Hodgkin. Several aspects of his work did, however, provide me with some self-reflective questions. For example, Hodgkin is known for his radical move of painting on the frame that hi work is presented in. This means that the work and the frame are one and the same leaving me with the question of where are the boundaries of my own work and is there any way that I can improve the way I present my work. I came to the conclusion that because I am using light embedded in my work there are no defined boundaries as light is a wave - it cannot be captured and given a definite finish as it reflects and refracts of all surfaces.
Maria Lassnig - A Painting Survey
Hauser & Wirth London
https://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/3028/maria-lassnig-a-painting-survey-1950-y-2007/view/
I was truly caught off guard by this Exhibition at Hauser and Wirth. I was not expecting it to impact me the way that it did. Even as paintings the works of Maria Lassnig are completely cultural. Here her portrayal of space and form was illuminating and incredibly satisfying to see this beautiful three-dimensional style on a flat surface. Her use of colour was also incredibly significant to her particular style of painting. The hues and tones mean that the layers of the painting can be seen intertwining and sitting over and under each other wich just adds to the sculptural feel of her paintings, carving away or building up the layers with each brush stroke. I hope that I can achieve a similar effect with both my drawings and the images that I produce throughout the project.
Pangolin London Spring Show
Pangolin London
http://www.pangolinlondon.com/exhibitions/pangolin-london-spring-show
I came to this show towards the end of my project as sI felt that It would benefit me to see how they had displayed and presented the sculptural works in this exhibition. I soon discovered that a key aspect of this presentation was space. The sculptures were sparsely distributed throughout the rooms - giving ease one space really allowed you to see the object for what it was, giving you room to close analyse the detail and then step back to understand the general shape. I realised how important this was because sculptures are a very tactile form for art using positive and negative space to make a three-dimensional form. I want to reproduce this in my exhibition as I think it will really allow my work to speak for its self.