Summer 2012 Olympic Games

London is abuzz, and no, we’re not talking about William and Kate news. Just recently, Sebastian Coe, chair of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), announced the 12 British artists who were chosen to design the official posters for the London Olympic Games 2012 and the Paralympic Games. The games will run for 12 weeks and take place from June 21 to Sept. 9, 2012. Fine artists had the upper hand over graphic artists when it came to making posters for something so momentous. As Michael Craig-Martin, one of the chosen artists, so deftly put it, “artists always bring something different, because you are bringing a personal language to it.” The goal of the committee was to have a set of posters that would display and celebrate the deep cultural history that London possesses. With a little less than a year left before the big event, these artists will certainly have a lot of work cut out for them.

Restoration of St. Paul's Cathedral

After 15 years, and £40m, the restoration of London’s treasured St. Paul’s Cathedral is now finished. Completed in 1711, St. Paul’s was the architectural masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren. The cathedral was originally commissioned by Charles II, though the site itself has remained the same since AD 604, when the original Cathedral of St. Paul was built. The city of London is known for its pollution, and after 300 years the façade of St. Paul’s had grown black with soot and dirt. During restoration, the entire west front was covered, but now the white Portland stone shines brightly and looks almost brand new. The dean of St. Paul’s stated, “the two million worshippers, pilgrims, and visitors who come to St. Paul’s each year can now witness Wren’s original vision and see the cathedral as fresh as the day it was completed.” In addition to restoring the outside, conservationists worked hard to repair damages to the interior of the cathedral and restore the grand organ. New lights now “flood” the building, giving visitors the opportunity to view the mosaics and sculptures in all their grandeur. On Tuesday, a service will be held to commemorate the cathedral’s 300-year anniversary and the completion of the project.

Amazing Water Balloon Photographs

Check out these amazing images from London photographer Edward Horsford. By mastering the techniques of high-speed photography, he has been able to capture the moment when a water balloon pops, right before the water falls out of its spherical shape.

The trick, Horsford explains, is timing the flash perfectly. Working alone, he uses a contraption that sets off the camera’s flash when it detects the pop of the balloon. The photographs are taken at night, allowing the flash to illuminate the shots.

Check out this article from NPR for more of these amazing images, and this article provides a more in-depth description of his technical process.

"Newspeak: British Art Now" Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery

Barry Reigate's Real Special Very Painting

The Saatchi Gallery in London is one of the world’s premier art spaces, showcasing up and coming contemporary artists. Charles Saatchi, art collector and global advertising mogul, opened the gallery in 1985 in North London. Currently, the art house is located in Chelsea in the Duke of York's HQ building. Saatchi’s history features artists from different areas, including US minimalists, Young British Artists (YBA) and contemporary artists from the United States, Britain and China. Many artists who show at the gallery often use the publicity to jump start their careers. On June 2, the largest show since moving to the current location opened with many exciting but still mostly unknown artists from Britain.

Called “Newspeak: British Art Now,” the show predicts what future art in Britain will be. The term “newspeak” comes from George Orwell’s chilling novel 1984, in which the language gets simplified and smaller constantly in order to create a utopian, equal society. The exhibit takes the idea of newspeak and does the exact opposite: the artists are showing how visual language can multiply and be invented by them to “explore issues such as class, consumerism and the phenomenon of instant success culture, often with a distinctly British dry wit” (http://bit.ly/a9bJR6). Artists in the first set of Newspeak include Barry Reigate, Pablo Bronstein and many others.

The Saatchi Gallery strives to reach the largest audience possible, and in the first year of being open in the Chelsea location, over 1.2 million people came to see the progressive shows. The free admission and prime location also help draw the crowds.

If you find yourself in London this summer, be sure to visit the Saatchi Gallery for really exciting and fresh art. For more information on the gallery, please go to http://bit.ly/3OifW.

Flavorful Art

Art for your appetite? Yes. Well, maybe?

Artist and writer Tim Etchells explored the taste of art in his exhibition with a video performance piece “Art Flavours.”

This project originated in Italy where Etchells set up a meeting between Italian gelato expert Osvaldo Castellari and Italian curator and critic Roberto Pinto. The pair worked to translate conceptual exhibition themes into confectionary ice cream flavors.

Pinto began by first briefing Osvaldo on a few areas of study in contemporary art that he hoped to explore such as: The Body, Memory, Spectacle and The Archive. From there, Etchells filmed as the pair worked and noted, “It was so great to see Osvaldo in his element, adding fruit for flavourings, whisking up the gelato. And great to hear his reasoning for the choices he made in the flavours too.”

Of the actual flavoring process he said, “In my mind The Archive was always going to be the tricky flavour of the four […] for me the idea of a taste somewhere between dust and yellowing book pages I wasn't finding […] the most appealing prospect.”

At Manifesta 7, the 2008 European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Italy, the debut performance of “Art Flavours” included ice cream samples for the public.

“Art Flavours” was recently on view in the spring of 2010 at Gasworks in London.

Although many artists and patrons may be understandably skeptical about the ability to taste curatorial concepts, this project has complicated art criticism. Next time you buy a painting you may want to stop and ask yourself, “But, would I eat it?”

Elephant Parade 2010

Image from the Daily Telegraph: http://bit.ly/aytdpE

260 colorful elephants have invaded London. Elephant Parade has begun.

Elephant Family, the only charity dedicated to protecting the endangered Asian elephant, is sponsoring the event to fundraise and increase awareness. This year is the first for Elephant Parade to occur in London. The event has previously been held in Holland and in Belgium.

The event includes hand-painted, life-size elephant statues by artists including Marc Quinn, designer Diane Von Furstenberg and Lulu Guinness, which have been placed in such landmarks as Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square, making the capital an “urban jungle.” In July, they will migrate together to another outdoor location for an exhibition.

Sotheby's will auction off the elephants at what will be “the party of the season.” Funds raised by Elephant Parade will go toward purchasing wildlife habitat to give Asian elephants a better future, as they are now facing extinction. Funds will also be used for community and education projects in Asia.

Elephant Family not only promotes conservation in Asia, but has also worked to make the event itself eco-friendly. All elephants were delivered to artists and designers on a sustainable basis and artists must use eco-friendly paint for their works.

The public restroom as an art gallery

Yes, you read that right. The White Cubicle Toilet Gallery is in a ladies’ restroom at a pub in London’s East End. At four and a half square feet, this gallery has no budget or curatorial restraints.

Pablo Leon de la Barra, artist and curator, had the idea, and the gallery opened in 2005 at the George and Dragon Public House in Shoreditch. The White Cubicle provides “a platform” for artists to showcase site-specific work, and “the art remains in place until it falls off the walls or is stolen by the inebriated clientele.”

Not only is the location different, but the experience is as well. Guests view the art in private rather than competing with the crowds, as is usual at a museum or gallery. Occasionally, art comes out of the restroom and makes an appearance in the pub.

De la Barra is well connected and has gotten many artists to show their work in the White Cubicle. In addition to artists, independent publishers, fanzines and fashion and jewelry designers have exhibited in the space. Past exhibitions have included art by Wolfgang Tillmans, General Idea and SUPERM.

Press releases and photographs from each exhibition can be found on the White Cubicle’s Web site.

Album art at Idea Generation Gallery

“Right But Wrong: The Extended Art of Storm Thorgerson” is the next exhibition at Idea Generation Gallery in London. The exhibition will include extallations, sculptures, images and drawings by commercial designer Storm Thorgerson.

Thorgerson is most famous for the album cover of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” (1973). He also worked with 10cc, Catherine Wheel, the Cranberries, Muse, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel.

“Right But Wrong” will showcase Thorgerson’s most famous album covers and give insight into his current work by “uncovering” some of the events and ideas that have shaped his career.

The exhibition will present famous album covers but will also include unseen sculptures, sketches and writings by Thorgerson, as well as new installations the artist is creating just for Idea Generation Gallery that will consist of “ambitious reinterpretations of a few his most renowned pieces.”

A century of Hollywood

1953: Lauren Bacall (L) and Humphrey Bogart (1899 - 1957) pose with American actor Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) at the premiere of director Jean Negulesco's film, 'How to Marry a Millionaire'. (Photo by Darlene Hammond/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“Hollywood Through the Lens—Celebrating 100 Years of Hollywood” opened earlier this month at the Getty Images Gallery in London. The exhibition, sponsored by Canon, celebrates Hollywood’s 100th anniversary by showcasing images of Hollywood stars from the silver screen days in the 1920s to the present.

Canon and Getty Images Gallery selected the photographs for the exhibition to represent important people and photographic styles that influenced the past 100 years of Hollywood. The exhibition shows “the evolution of Hollywood portraits through the golden age of cinema through to modern icons,” and the selection of images emphasizes changes and trends in fashions, faces, technology and styles of portrait photography.

Getty Images Gallery director Louise Garczewska comments on the exhibition:

The early days of Hollywood showcase the passion and creativity of the photographers of the age, using available technology and processes to capture a split-second magical image which tell a rich story of the subject, the era and even the cinematic style of the day. Every image featured in the exhibit allows us to appreciate the skills of the photographers behind the lens, and share their vision of Hollywood captured at that moment.

The exhibition is on view at Getty Images Gallery until April 3, and all included prints are for sale.

The Library of Babel

The Library of Babel / In and Out of Place is now on view at 176 Zabludowicz Collection in London. This salon-style exhibition, with 217 contemporary works, encourages the viewer to think like a curator. There are no wall texts, essays or audio guides to help visitors through the exhibition.

Anna-Catharina Gebbers, guest curator of 176, wants each guest to interpret the exhibition in his or her own way.

“The Library of Babel / In and Out of Place questions my role as it places every visitor in the role of a curator; the sheer number of works forces the visitor to choose which works will receive attention. I am interested in how these decisions are made,” said Gebbers.

Invited professionals and visitors will get the chance to conduct tours for the public. There will also be a series of lectures and panel discussions with scientists and theorists from such varying backgrounds as neurology, psychology, linguistics and literature.

The name of the exhibition is inspired by the short story, “The Library of Babel,” by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. In the story, inhabitants of a library try to find an “absolute interpretation” of the information around them.

The Library of Babel / In and Out of Place is the largest exhibition of works from the Zabludowicz collection of over 2,000 pieces. The exhibition showcases painting, photography, sculpture and video.

Giacometti's sculpture sells for a record-breaking $104.3 million

Last week’s record-breaking sale of Alberto Giacometti’s “L’Homme qui marche I” (Walking Man I) provoked many questions concerning the relationship between money and art and how it does or does not affect the perceived importance of artists in relation to one another.

On Wednesday, February 3, Giacometti’s sculpture was purchased for $104.3 million (with fees) by an anonymous bidder at Sotheby’s in London. Previously, Pablo Picasso’s "Garçon à la Pipe" (Boy with a Pipe), was the record holder, having been auctioned for $104.1 million in 2004.

When a work of art is purchased at such an astonishing price, it is understandable that there will be new considerations regarding the work’s and the artist’s importance to the development and theories of art. Many sources are discussing whether or not Giacometti has been elevated to the position of the most important artist of the 21st century or if, like the price of his work of art, he has at least surpassed Picasso in importance.

In response to these musings, the Telegraph reminds readers that it is important not to confuse monetary value with aesthetic worth.

Another interesting facet of this sale brought up in the Telegraph is the fact that “L’Homme qui marche I” is part of a series of six sculptures. One might expect that a collector willing to fork over $104.3 million for a work of art would prefer to purchase something unique rather than a sculpture with several very similar companions.

Overall, this record sale encourages members of the art community to take into consideration the power of the art market and its influence on shaping the discourse of and opinions on artistic merit and significance.

For more information about the sale of “L’Homme qui marche I” check out articles at CNN and the New York Times.

Stumped

London experienced a mind-blowing display of climate change, environmentally friendly and green messages in Trafalgar Square this November 16. The artist in charge of this project, Angela Palmer, transported exposed tree stumps and buttress roots from a commercially logged tropical forest in the Suhama Forest in western Ghana. After the exhibition in Trafalgar Square, the ghost trees will migrate to Thorvaldsens Plads in Copenhagen while the UN Climate Change Conference takes place December 7-18. These stately remnants serve as a desperate outcry against the perfunctory eradication of rainforests in Ghana (and the rest of the world). In the last 50 years, 90 percent of Ghana’s rainforests have disappeared due to human involvement. Now, the remaining forests are subject to strict regulations, allowing regeneration and sustainable timber industry for the locals. According to Art Daily, Palmer explained, “This is not yet another message about climate change ‘doom and gloom’, it carries a message of hope and optimism for the future.” As you can imagine, this enterprise had to have cost a branch and a root, and fortunately, Palmer did not have to finance it all herself. Deutsche Bank helped carry the heavy load. It’s pretty exciting to know that big businesses are helping diffuse this green message.  

The Financial Times has quite a lengthy article written by the artist documenting the artistic process and her thoughts on the project:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c376e47c-b461-11de-bec8-00144feab49a.html 

Visit the artist’s Web sites:

http://www.ghostforest.org/

http://www.angelaspalmer.com/

The Pop-Up Gallery Trend

“It depresses me when people spend their day writing funding applications. They won’t do anything unless they have a big budget, so they’re always waiting for money. It’s much more interesting to just get on with things.”-Katie Guggenheim, an aspiring artist and self-propelled gallery organizer

You might have noticed that I have been placing special focus in my blog posts recently on how the art world is faring in the contemporary economic tempest. Museums and galleries have gone through fundamental changes, displaying pieces from their permanent collections before seeking out traveling exhibitions or paying good money to borrow important works to bump up attendance. The art world is not only working with, but in some ways benefiting from the steady decline in funding. An article in the Art Newspaper features a new surge in art galleries and impromptu shows going on in poor London neighborhoods, abandoned warehouses and even prime real-estate property that can’t rent or sell otherwise. This pattern vaguely resembles cyclical gentrification patterns: art galleries take up spaces in cheap, abandoned warehouses in poor neighborhoods and establish a cool factor in said neighborhoods; then, young middle-class people start moving in because of cheap real estate and a new vibrant cultural and artistic presence. The current situation is a bit different, however, because these art galleries are not necessarily moving into cheaper, poorer neighborhoods; they are establishing themselves in rich neighborhoods where the real estate is priced too high to sell at the moment. Gallery organizers pay a small price to rent the spaces or nothing at all. Some aspiring art dealers, like James Tregaskes, are even using their empty apartments as galleries. I always pay special attention to the comment section in articles, and this one had particularly interesting takes on the subject. Dr. Krishna Kumari Challe, from Hyderabad, India, writes that the new monetary accessibility of art spaces could also revolutionize foreign art, in particular Indian art, in the West: “This sounds very interesting. Because artists from third world countries should be millionaires & billionaires to organize shows in the West. Only well established artists can have shows there now. Upcoming & new artists can only dream about the shows there. So the exposure of art works of these artists in the West is almost nil! Now they too can have shows at least in London.” These free and cheap galleries have the potential to revolutionize contemporary art by giving more artists with humble pecuniary backgrounds the potential to exhibit. Moreover, the low gallery rent is allowing artists to place less emphasis on drawing in a large audience in hopes of paying off gallery costs. Essentially, this means that with less focus fund raising, artists will place more emphasis on developping a more sincere result. How exciting is that?