Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
cut papers
This is the performance artwork "Cut Papers" by Sachiko Abe at A Foundation. On the A Foundation website, Abe asserts that her work is "neither beautiful nor meditational," although this is the main thing I took away from the work. The work is apparently a "feedback loop" which places the viewer as the subject as much as Abe herself is. I'm not sure I understand how the viewer affects the work, but I enjoyed the atmosphere when the space was empty.
The artworks in the smaller rooms in the building were varied and each were extremely well realised, especially the durational drawings underneath the performance site. The amount of time Abe had so evidently invested in them was staggering. Whatever dynamic Abe feels the work has to do with the viewer, I think the work's real power and interest comes from the artist's experimentation with her own limits. The amount of willpower and focus obviously required to actualise the artwork was the thing that I found most affecting. The aesthetic presents was fantastical and escapist, although I did think it felt slightly detached from the concept.
The artworks in the smaller rooms in the building were varied and each were extremely well realised, especially the durational drawings underneath the performance site. The amount of time Abe had so evidently invested in them was staggering. Whatever dynamic Abe feels the work has to do with the viewer, I think the work's real power and interest comes from the artist's experimentation with her own limits. The amount of willpower and focus obviously required to actualise the artwork was the thing that I found most affecting. The aesthetic presents was fantastical and escapist, although I did think it felt slightly detached from the concept.
three short works in time
I went to see Andy Holden perform Three Short works in Time on Wednesday 20th October. It was a hybrid artwork combining sculpture, film and live musical performance. Some of the works, I felt, were greatly enhanced by the live musicians and the artist participation. The musical accompaniment gave a real poignancy to the footage shown, and at times an unusual humour. The performance element made the work feel more realised, like more of an event or happening. There was a sense of nostalgia to the footage shown which was very affecting.
Some of the other works, which Holden referred to as "in progress," to me felt slightly flat. The repetition of the footage and music felt slightly thin by the end. One piece, involving a child's toy that channelled spinning marbles through a series of platforms, really suffered because of the way Holden chose to frame the camera on the performance. The message Holden might have been trying to send about the marbles' descent, I felt, would have been much better expressed if the audience could actually have seen them spinning and falling.
I have included a link to a video of the piece which I thought was the most successful.
Some of the other works, which Holden referred to as "in progress," to me felt slightly flat. The repetition of the footage and music felt slightly thin by the end. One piece, involving a child's toy that channelled spinning marbles through a series of platforms, really suffered because of the way Holden chose to frame the camera on the performance. The message Holden might have been trying to send about the marbles' descent, I felt, would have been much better expressed if the audience could actually have seen them spinning and falling.
I have included a link to a video of the piece which I thought was the most successful.
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