After a week incarcerated with my 20th century art text books felt it was time to experience the real thing, as well as attending a lecture to explain one aspect of the period-collage!!!!!
So I set off for Middlesbrough, to find the MIMA (Middlesbrough Institiute of Modern Art). I found an unexpectedly spacious modern building, in the middle of a large expanse of green , near the Victorian gothic style town hall (a symbol of past civic pride and the taste of that period). Quite a difference from the last time I visited that part of town!!!
I spent the time before the lecture looking at the current exhibitions. Despite all I've learnt,over the last few weeks, can't say I was impressed by the 'personal' images produced by Ben Nicholson, apparently 'one of the major figures of British Modernism'....... I did, however, stand in awe of the technical skill and tenacity of 'nationally recognised' local artist Richard Forster. He had produced amazingly accurate pencil drawings of photographs he has taken of the shoreline at Saltburn and the construction of Bauhaus designs in Germany.
The lecturer, Dr. Anderson, took us on a bright and breezy whistle stop tour of COLLAGE in the 20th century. With its roots in Print room decoration (lovely local one at Rokeby Hall if you like that kind of thing-I do, probably more than Moderism!!!) and Victorian scrap book making, it came into it's own in the 20th century. It peaked twice in popularity and useage.Initially developed by the Cubists Bracht and Picasso, it was taken on in the early part of the century by the Dadists for political means. Later it was again used extensively by the Post Modern Pop artists to raise questions about art and current concerns such as feminism.
Having briefly looked at the main exhibition of collage art- Transformer and Receiver, prior to the lecture I returned for another view, with the benefit of insights provided by the lecture. Must admit, although most not at all to my personal taste, it was interesting in its diversity, (film, printed banners, Grayson Perry vase, sculpture and many different kinds of traditional paper based collages, by many well known artists) as well as the varied messages the artworks were attempting to convey.
I think my personal favourite-if you can call it that, certainly wouldn't want it on my wall- was one which dealt with rape. A large scale work, it consisted of about half a dozen coloured copies/replications of famous past representations of women by the artist, under which were genuine newspaper articles, underneath those were simplistic sketches of articles and below those hand written transcriptions of rape accounts. I am sure the reason I took more time to 'look' was because one of the copies was a picture by the artist I researched for my dissertation. It gave me a new slant and made me think differently about the attitude of the original artist, as well as past viewers of art and representations of women. I guess successful art for me is that which engages us on a personal level, something that makes us stop and take notice rather than just walk on by........
The elephant dung picture (Pop corn) unsurprisingly left me cold, whatever it was trying to say!
Oh dear........think all that art speak is beginning to have an effect on my blogging ........................
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