HART magazine
dilettante n.f. personne qui pratique une activitĂŠ, un art pour le plaisir IV
October Issue
Editor
Azmina Abdulla
Sub-Editor
Jessica Anne Rahardjo
Events Coordinator Kitty Whittell
Illustrator
Jodie Buggea
Writers
Mayanne Soret Jazzy Wong Kitty Whittell Katrina Man Jodie Buggea ThĂŠo Le Gal
October Visits Guide, p. 26
Illustration Š Jodie Buggea
From the editor Dear fellow art historians, This is the first issue of this academic year. It was originally meant for incoming students, as a way of advertising the events that we produce throughout the year, as well as the opportunities with the magazine. However, over the course of the summer, and thanks to the new additions to the committee, we were able to gather a very interesting set of articles, which we hope you will enjoy.
We are also pleased to welcome once again the articles from the Ecole du Louvre magazine, Louvr’Boite, which are designed to promote an exchange between both our universities and provide a different view. This year, we will produce four issues, including this one. The next one will come out mid-November. If you would like to write for us, submit illustrations, or any other ideas, please feel free to contact us and we will make it happen! Heart from HART, Azmina
Louvr’Boîte 08
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art 20
polke/richter 12
From Venetia to Barcelona 24-25
Vivian Maier 15
October 2014 26
The Girl Who Cried Internship 18
Kitty’s Choice 28
Louvr’Boîte
Le rapt de la Joconde By Théo Le Gal, Ecole du Louvre
It is a banal day, which begins in sweltering heat, that Tuesday, 22 August 1911. The
Translated by Azmina Abdulla
We must think the unthinkable: the Mona
Lisa had been stolen.
painter Louis Béroud went to the most famous Parisian museum in order to sketch for his
The Louvre closed its doors and immedi-
next painting, The Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
ately alerted the highest authorities. Earlier
That morning, around eight o’clock, he passed
this afternoon, sixty police inspectors invad-
through the gates of the Paris museum and
ed the palace and began to sift through the
naturally entered the Salon Carré, where the
museum. The first hours of the investigation
portrait of Leonardo is displayed alongside
inform nothing except a time zone, the steal
other masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.
is situated between seven and half past seven in the morning of Monday August 21. There is
Only drawback of the early day, the loca-
also a major malfunction of the surveillance
tion of the Mona Lisa is empty. Yet the artist
service pointed out. That Monday, most of
is not alarmed beyond measure. The short
the guards were busy moving works in the
getaways of the Mona Lisa to the photo-
museum instead of guarding the collections.
graphic studio of the museum do not surprise them anymore. The patient painter wait-
The news of the disappearance of the
ed a few hours before inquiring, to a guard,
Mona Lisa spreads and the scandal breaks.
about the return time of the Mona Lisa. The
In the absence of a culprit, we need leaders
latter upon verification tells him that the
and on August 31, the museum director, The-
painting is not at the photographic studio.
ophilus Homolle, resigns. The satirical press and cartoonists seized of the case (“How
The Gioconda has disappeared!
do you monitor the Louvre? Ho! Molle!).
At the end of the morning, a wave of
The police gradually reconstitute what
panic overtakes the museum. People are
they think is the sequence of events. Ac-
running everywhere in order to find the
cording to them, an individual managed to
painting and ultimately, its frame is found
get himself locked in the museum to spend
in the service stairs leading to the Salon Car-
the night, to then unhook the painting in
ré. But still no trace of the Italian beauty.
the morning. He then borrowed the back
6
Illustration © Marine Botton
stairs where they found the frame and ex-
At the reopening of the museum, many
ited through the Visconti door. This ver-
visitors crowd into the Salon Carré to see
sion of events will prove false later on.
with their own eyes that nails that held, not so long ago, the Mona Lisa. The new popu-
The investigation stalled and tempers
larity of the picture, or rather of the void he
flare. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire is
left, becomes embarrassing for the museum
imprisoned on the basis of inappropriate
management and another masterpiece of the
words as well as his bad frequentation, and
Renaissance, the portait of Baldassare Cas-
the painter Pablo Picasso is questioned at
tiglione by Raphael, is displayed in its place.
length. Meanwhile, at the Louvre, a thumbprint is found on the abandoned frame that
The searches do not amount to much and we
is compared to the fingerprints of 257 em-
are gradually forced to the idea that the Mona
ployees of the museum, without result. Fi-
Lisa will not return to Paris, following what we
nally, the Friends of the Louvre decide to of-
already describe as the “blow of the century”.
fer a reward of 25,000 francs, an enormous sum for the time, to anyone in possession
We have to wait until 1913 for the inves-
of information needed to find the painting.
tigation to progress. We would have found
7
Louvr’Boîte
the Mona Lisa. And she would be in Italy,
He takes it down from the wall and goes to the
in Florence. Indeed, in the beginning of De-
service stairs where he abandons the frame
cember 1913, a man contacts Alfredo Geri,
and hides the work in his shirt before retrac-
a Florentine antique dealer. He claims to be
ing his steps. Then, he exited the museum
ready to sell him the masterpiece of Leonar-
again, through the inverse way, by borrowing
do da Vinci. The antique dealer and the mys-
the main staircase of Victoire de Samothrace
terious man agree on a meeting in the hotel
and the service door through which hehad en-
room of the latter to proceed to an expertise.
tered earlier. He thus quickly found himself on
Geri goes to this Florentine hotel and finds
the quais where he simply took the omnibus.
no painting in the room, only an ordinary
Vincenzo Peruggia has just realized one of the
toolbox. This is when in to the great surprise
most incredible steals of the 20th century.
of the antique dealer, the man revealed the false bottom of this box which contained the
During his trial, Peruggia, whose motives
portrait of the woman with the mysterious
remain unclear, claims to have acted in a pa-
smile. Alfredo Geri, aware conscious of the
triotic fervor to return on Italian soil one of
seriousness of his discovery, gives the alert.
those many masterpieces victims of the robberies of Bonaparte, only it was easier to steal
The next day, on December 12th, 1913,
the Mona Lisa that the Wedding at Cana by
the Florentine police arrests a certain Vin-
Veronese. Why not? But the Mona Lisa was
cenzo Peruggia. This man is a 32-year-old
acquired from in an entirely basis by Fran-
glazier who turns out to be one of the work-
cois Ier. The defense of the Italian glazier
ers who proceeded to the framing Leon-
proves yet smart for catalyzing a movement
ardo’s picture. He reveals to the investi-
of support in Italy. Thus, the man was sen-
gators the facts which took place on this
tenced to only one year and fifteen days in jail.
August 21st, 1911 without clearing up the real motivations which had urged him to act.
And the Mona Lisa in all of this !
That morning, Peruggia, in worker’s
The Mona Lisa was brought back to
clothes went to the Musée du Louvre with the
Paris, some time later, on a first-class car-
firm intention to steal a masterpiece of Italian
riage specially chartered for her. And on
art. It would be, the Mona Lisa. He gets into
January 4, 1914, the work reinstated its
the museum by a service door and goes direct-
location amongst the collections. Howev-
ly to the Salon Carré where he knows where to
er, if before this adventure Mona Lisa was
find the work, having worked on its framing.
famous, she has since become legendary.
8
First Thursdaysi Meet at 6:30 in front of Whitechapel Gallery Gallery Crawl to be followed by a social Coordinator: Mayanne Soret
plan 01/ WHITECHAPEL GALLERY
04/ VYNER STREET GALLERY
Social Sculpture & Kader Attia 77-82 Whitechapel High Street. E1 7QX Closest tube station: Aldgate East www.whitechapelgallery.org
23 Vyner Street. E2 9DG www.vynerstreetgallery.co.uk
02/ ACME PROJECT SPACE
05/ RIVINGTON PLACE Rivington Place. EC2A 3BA www.rivingtonplace.org
44 Bonner Road. E2 9JS www.acme.org.uk/projectspace
06/ MAUREEN PALEY
03/ STOUR SPACE
21 Herald Street, E2 6JT www.maureenpaley.com
7 Roach Road. E3 2PA www.stourspace.co.uk
SAVE THE DATE History of Art Society Induction Friday Sep 26, 2:15 Bedford Way LG04
A brief overview of the society’s activities and the positions available.
Features
polke/richter richter/polke By Kitty Whittell, Co-Chair of UCLHoAS
* We are very excited to welcome Robert Brown of Christies to the department to begin this discussion as he speaks on their recent exhibition Richter/Polke. Join us on the 7th of October at 6.00pm in Seminar Room 4. All are welcome to the talk. There will be a reception in the common room afterwards.
12
Artistic collaborations could be considered a thing of the past, cropping up occasionally in the forms of Gilbert and George. The art scene today tends to revolve around the juggernauts of contemporary art. Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Jeff Koons make headlines on a weekly basis, and their perpetual successes at the auction house have caused them to dominate the past three decades. Perhaps it is this that makes Christie’s latest show interesting by comparison. It brings the postmodern duo, Sigmund Polke and Gerhard Richter into consideration and in a way revels in the artistic double act. Grappling with the post-war atmosphere in Germany, Polke and Richter represent a displaced generation. The desire for their parents’ was to pretend that the events of the previous decade had not occurred, to distance themselves from the national trauma and to embrace a future entirely separate from the misdemeanours of the Third Reich. The art that was produced reflected this general state of repression with many artists insisting painting was dead and choosing to imitate American trends of minimalism and conceptualism. However, Richter and Polke chose instead to engage directly with this unhealthy desire to forget, emulating the mocking humour of the German Dada movement to achieve this, whilst pulling it into their own contemporary style. They used commercial imagery and techniques from popular media to create satirical paintings of the environment of denial in the 1950s. They expressed their frustration at American capital-
ism seeping into Europe and commercialism that was celebrated in Pop Art. The pair were critical of the pretentions of conceptual and minimal art, and sought to undermine the existential meanings and abstract thought behind the work of artists such as Morris and Andre. Both Richter and Polke used this displacement and repression to feed their work, such as those featured in the Galerie H exhibition of 1966. As both artists’ careers progressed, their techniques went in notably different directions. Richter describes this transition for the pair, “Polke drifted away to the psychedelic direction and I into the classical.” Perhaps Richter is referring to notable incidents involving hallucinogenic toads? Polke certainly chose to push the material boundaries of painting, at one point receiving complaints at the high levels of radioactivity present in several commissions after experimenting with the aesthetic properties of plutonium. On the other end of the spectrum, Richter was engaging with a prolific range of techniques, progressing from photo-realism to pure abstraction, culminating in the squeegee paintings exhibited in his Tate retrospective in 2011. He is now considered the jack-ofall-trades of post-war painting, pushing the medium of oil painting well into the 21st century. This dynamic duo rejected the death of painting and pulled it into a new age of art. Their progressive style and experimental techniques have set a standard for contemporary artists and provide a rich source of discussion for us today.
13
8
Features
Vivian Maier’s Great Fiction By Mayanne Soret, Events Manager for UCLHoAS
It is no casualty for an art film to be
printing of which, Maloof discovered the
brought under the spotlight of commercial
great tale of Chicago’s streets at the dawn of
cinemas, movie trailers, and giant London
the 1960s. He then investigated and found
Underground posters – but it is the case for
the owner of these brilliant shots: the un-
the new documentary Finding Vivian Mai-
known Vivian Maier. Unfortunately, as in
er. To cut a long story short, John Maloof,
every good story of lost genius, the artist
a young estate agent, historian and car boot
died shortly before Maloof could find her.
sale aficionado, purchased in 2007 a set of abandoned boxes during the auction of a
The Vivian Maier case was this year’s
storage garage. The boxes contained thou-
artistic success story. The uncanny, deep,
sands of undeveloped films, through the
empathy one has with Vivian’s subjects
15
Features
and the intuitive grace of her clichés
the nanny is historically linked to the
are indeed proof of her unquestionable
working class women – in stark con-
talent to capture the ephemeral Amer-
trast to the fantasy of the bohemian
ican streets of the late 1950s and ear-
artist, who detached from the earthly
ly 60s. Yet, it seems that the art world
constraints of modernity, surveys the
was shocked by something else than
streets in search of the human essence.
the experience of Maier’s talent. The movie barely comments on the work.
This disturbance might come from a
Rather, it settles around Maloof’s awe:
certain idea of what production means
“Why would a nanny be taking these
to us, for each object produced is an ob-
pictures?” Maloof was desperately try-
ject to be consumed. Therefore Maier’s
ing to build a fitting character for the
work does not exist as long as it is not
art market. Throughout the film, we
on the market. The myth of the artist as
witness the construction of the myth
a pure creator automatically rejects the
of a secret persona, chasing clues such
possibility for the artist himself to mar-
as the nanny’s desire to get a lock for
ket his creation, questioning a undeni-
her room, her use of fake names to
able authenticity to his own statue. This
develop her films or her friends in-
is what Mark Rothko designates as the
sisting on her ‘unique’ personality.
Law of Compensation, taking as an example the blind Homère, as if the artist
This anxiety around the fiction
was due to renounce something to re-
of Maier’s life is brilliantly highlighted
ceive the ideal inspiration (La Réalité
in Rose Lichtermarck’s NY Times arti-
de l’artiste, published 1998.) However –
cle on the subject. For her, Maier has
and this even more at stake for the mod-
been mystified as a romantic charac-
ern market – there is a need for the art
ter to suit the traditional appeal of the
to be on the market to have a presence
artist. She emphasises that the role of
and a virtual existence. Then is Mai-
8
16
er still an artist, as she renounced the
not accept that art be produced for the
market? Maybe the exact anxiety of the
simple pleasure of the practice in itself.
Maier fiction is the reasonable freedom
The story of Vivian Maier never exist-
that has opened in the working place
ed. To seek out the photographs and
for one’s to choose a personal path of
the person was only pretext to an excit-
life through a career. It is a wonderful
ing fiction, prepared for the entertain-
thing to make of a passion a profession,
ment-hungry 21st century art crowd.
but to use it as a resume of a career choice would be to ignore its existence
Vivian Maier perturbs because
within an economy. I do not intend
she wanted to be known as a nanny.
here to impose any judgments on the
Our problem with this false dichoto-
marketisation of creation; simply, to
my between the anonymous working
make of a passion a profession means
class and the mystical artist life might
to create a consumable product out of it.
come from our struggle to recognize the persistence of intimacy in an exhi-
There is something disturbing about
bitionist society, and it might as well
the idea that a person producing what
come from our denial that an artis-
would be recognized as art would chose
tic creation can be a business like any
not to be publicly acknowledged for
other. The diffusion of art is an abil-
their production; that this person would
ity to market a certain product that is
reject the possibility to build a capital
the Work of Art, and if being an artist
on such a flourishing background as
requires talent, the social position of
1950s street photography. The motive
the former is not required for the lat-
that Vivian Maier had to not share her
ter to be. Maybe, this is where the
photographs will remain a mystery,
true Vivian Maier thought us a lesson.
but we cannot stop asking why she did not want them to be out there. We can-
\
17
Features From past experience of summer work,
often reluctant to assign tasks that required
the phrase ‘gallery internship’ tends to in-
an invested explanation of the company
spire in me memories pertaining mostly to
and how the different jobs were carried out,
being confined to a desk with a company
which inevitably left menial errands to my
computer to drag me through large stretches
disposal. Many stationery cupboards have
of achieving absolutely nothing. Occasion-
been immaculately tidied and reorganised
ally, my boredom was alleviated by the odd
as a consequence.
milk run for the communal pantry. Perhaps on a busier day, I would be granted the op-
I would hate to sound ungrateful for the
portunity to showcase my hapless commu-
opportunities I have had in the past. In fact,
nication skills – receiving a phone call from
there are many aspects of the jobs I have
an especially important client, who was no
done that I have thoroughly enjoyed. How-
doubt dazzled by my ineptitude.
ever, it goes without saying that unpaid work experience presents certain limitations, and
Alas, my days as an intern or sitter at
while providing insight into the careers of
various commercial galleries around Lon-
the staff, it understandingly lacks a practical
don riddle me with mixed feelings towards
aspect to the education of the field.
such a role. Due to the short stints I tended to work at each establishment, usually rang-
Looking past some subpar memories
ing from one to two weeks, the workers were
of gallery internships in London, though, I decided to venture yet again into the world of the commercial art market. However,
The Girl Who Cried ‘Internship’
it wasn’t only driven by the promise of my
By Jazzy Wong, Events Manager of UCLHoAS
weeks at FOST Gallery in Singapore. Estab-
parents that “the postgraduate job market is just so much more competitive these days”, no doubt a notion haunting most students in this day and age. The circumstances were different for my internship this summer – it was a gallery in Singapore, a far cry from the familiarity, and dare I say monotony, of the commercial spaces that puncture Mayfair. With a little bit of string pulling and an immense amount of luck, I landed three lished in 2006, the gallery occupies a modest yet versatile space at Gillman Barracks, a complex of converted military blocks
18
dedicated to nurturing Asian as well as inter-
contemporary. In fact, their exhibitions of-
national contemporary art. Safe to say I was
ten showcase unconventional materials and
quite out of my depth – admittedly, I can
subject matter. Palimpsest, the exhibition
barely keep up with the exhibitions around
that had ended promptly before I arrived,
London, let alone those halfway across the
featured lacquer projections by Vietnamese
world.
artist Phi Phi Oanh. Compounded with the non-canonical Asian and Australasian influ-
Fortunately this was not even a slight
ences of the gallery’s represented artists, it is
issue. On my first day, my intimidated dis-
not hard to see why the works that are pre-
position quickly dissipated when I was
sented are exciting and novel.
introduced to my ‘mentor’, Andrea, and the gallery’s founder and director, Stephanie Fong. I was surprised to learn that the smooth and seamless clockwork of FOST’s operations were solely down to the hard work of these two women. To my relief, I could not have been welcomed more kindly. Of course I displayed the initial ‘I’m new here, please do not hate me’ behaviour that involved talking overly stiffly and replying with a robotic politeness. However, that soon evaporated as I realised that I wasn’t, as I had previously expected, seen as just an ‘errand girl’. In fact, I wasn’t treated at all as just a temporary liability. Right off the bat, I was assigned to reformat CVs, handling the measurements of the works, and arranging wall labels. I was lucky enough to have joined FOST right before the opening of a new exhibition by prominent Singapore artist Jimmy Ong, whose gestural charcoal works became my second home for the next few weeks. FOST’s roster of artists encapsulate the cutting edge and experimental spirit of the
Looking back, the relatively small size of the gallery and the staff was a blessing – it meant that a lot of tasks that I had not expected to accomplish were entrusted to me. Beyond the administrative chores such as answering the phone, supervising visitors and organising the gallery archives, I had the opportunity of overseeing some of the PR and marketing, updating the gallery’s Instagram for instance, as well as promoting the gallery’s presence by contacting the concierges of major Singaporean hotels. It is difficult to articulate how fortunate and privileged I feel having been at what I would consider the forefront of the gallery’s operations, actively contributing to the running and upkeep of its exhibition. Yes, that sounded soppy and cliché, yet it doesn’t make it any less true. Beyond any of the job specific skills I was introduced to, the most significant thing I learnt was the importance of taking initiative, and being as proactive as possible. No matter how apprehensive or inexperienced you may be – if you behave like an anxious intern, that’s all you’ll ever be.
19
Unscripted
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art COPENHAGEN By Katrina Man, Events Manager of UCLHoAS
8 hours later and I had fallen in love.
also allows the viewer frequent visual access
Louisiana, Copenhagen’s Museum of Mod-
to the enclosed sculpture garden, providing
ern Art, had exceeded all of my expectations.
an ever-present link between the artworks
Located just outside of the city center in a
and nature. The importance of this connec-
quite and unassuming suburban town, Loui-
tion quickly becomes apparent, as nature
siana acts as a shiny white beacon of artistic
is a main theme of the exhibited artworks.
enjoyment.
Thus far from being an autonomous modernist institution, Louisiana is instantly and
Firstly, the visitor is struck by the slick
constantly established as at one with nature.
architecture of the museum building. In the true modernist style, the building is a mass
Exhibitions of works by Hilma af Klint
of pure white with accents of wooden pan-
(1862-1944), Emil Nolde (1867-1956) and
eling. Yet, the vast use of glass to compose
Philip Guston (1913-1980) comprised three
the building provides the museum with an
of the key temporary exhibitions held at
intrinsic feeling of lightness and transcen-
Louisiana this summer. Of the three, the
dence. Natural light can freely flood into the
exhibition of Hilma af Klint’s work, a 20th
exhibition spaces, illuminating artworks in
century Swedish artist, was the most capti-
a vibrant and pleasant way. By extending
vatingly delivered. Positioned in the south
their opening hours to 10pm in the summer,
wing of the museum, the viewer had to walk
Louisiana brilliantly takes advantage of this
along a curved corridor with a comprehen-
natural light, allowing the more subdued
sive biographical timeline of Hilma af Klint
evening light to provide a different viewing
stretched along the wall. The process of the
experience. As well as this, the use of glass
viewer physically walking along the corridor
20
whilst reading about the artist’s life, provid-
lowing the bold spiritual forms of af Klint’s
ed an interesting processional and cathartic
paintings to fully captivate the viewer.
element as the viewer became acquainted with the artist’s whole history. Then, the
The Hilma af Klint exhibition was very
viewer was confronted with a pre-exhibition
well complimented by the Emil Nolde retro-
room in which a small selection of works by
spective, which continued the central theme
other 20th century artists was displayed.
of natural elements but in a much more ex-
Here, the viewer was able to gain a contextu-
pressive and richly colored manner. Again,
al grounding of the period in which af Klint
the curation of the exhibition enhanced the
worked, allowing the viewer to better under-
viewership of Nolde’s work, as the grey and
stand af Klint’s influences and how she was
deep purple walls underscored the passion
both similar and different to her contempo-
and often-unsettling drama that Nolde por-
raries. This plays a particularly crucial role
trays in his works. The exhibition was orga-
for this exhibition, as af Klint is a generally
nized thematically, which successfully drew
unknown artist, primarily because she de-
the viewer’s attention to various themes,
manded in her will that her most important
such as Nolde’s journey to the South Seas,
works should be kept away from public dis-
Berlin’s nightlife and religion, which, as well
play for at least 20 years after her death. In
as natural landscapes, are also important
the huge rooms at Louisiana, af Klint’s large,
subjects of his work. Thus, Louisiana ensures
abstract paintings concerning nature, evo-
that the exhibition is a truly comprehen-
lution and death can freely swell and dom-
sive and enjoyable retrospective of Nolde’s
inate the walls, allowing for an immediate
works throughout his long career, enabling
and direct relationship to the viewer. As well
the viewer to map Nolde’s development as
as this, the plain framing of the artworks ac-
a German-Danish artist during some of the
centuates the paintings subtly whilst never
most major and turbulent events in Europe-
detracting from the artworks themselves, al-
an history.
21
Unscripted Whilst the theme of nature and a similar
pinks give the depicted body parts and ob-
historical context are two factors that con-
jects a constant appearance of raw soreness.
nect af Klint and Nolde’s work, the works of
This is of great contrast to the optimistically
Philip Guston, also displayed as a temporary
colored, abstract forms of af Klint’s works
summer exhibition at Louisiana, appears
and the vibrantly painted landscapes and
to be a random choice. Guston was an im-
nightlife scenes seen in the Nolde retrospec-
portant 20th century American painter who
tive. Yet these differences make the Guston
played a key role in the Abstract Expres-
exhibition very refreshing, as Guston’s more
sionist movement. Yet, in the later years of
personal and darker critical approach to pro-
his life, Guston made a dramatic return to
ducing his artworks confronted the viewer in
creating figurative art and it is this period of
a more challenging way. Furthermore, Lou-
drawings and paintings that comprised the
isiana’s placement of the Guston exhibition
Louisiana display. In these works, Guston
below ground level and thus separate from
portrays deconstructed, cartoon-styled body
the af Klint and Nolde exhibitions, success-
parts and everyday objects and activities
fully establishes this exhibition as distinctly
such as painting, smoking and eating. Gus-
different and further underscores the deeper
ton’s overwhelming use of fleshy reds and
and darker issues explored in Guston’s work.
Aside from these impressive exhibitions,
the gardens with no barriers around them,
another great feature of the museum is un-
allowing the wandering viewer to fully expe-
doubtedly the enclosed sculpture park. The
rience each one from various viewpoints, in a
extensive green expanse of the garden with
completely uninhibited manner. The lack of
the beautiful sea at its rear provides the per-
barriers also demonstrates how these sculp-
fect backdrop for various iconic sculptures,
tures are not put on a pedestal by the mu-
such as works by Moore and Calder. These
seum and are not glorified by the museum
sculptures are spaciously sprinkled around
as canonical artworks that must be viewed
22
in a certain, awe-like way. Thus the viewer is
This pretty weak and vague attempt at jus-
simply able to experience them in their raw
tifying Louisiana as the collection’s home,
states. Moreover, the sculptures can still be
combined with the lack of knowledge given
experienced whilst inside the building due to
to the viewer about the displays, indicates
the many windows. Each window provides
that Louisiana is aware of how awkward this
its unique frame, thus effectively adding to
collection appears in this museum dedicated
the multiplicity of viewership of these works.
to world-renowned modern artworks. This would perhaps explain why the collection
However, there is one area of the muse-
has been somewhat embarrassingly shoved
um that stands out as a definite weakness:
into an easily forgotten section of the muse-
the Niels Wessel Bagge collection. The col-
um’s south wing, which only the occasional
lection consists of over 450 Pre-Columbian
visitor would stumble across. Thus, these
objects, such as bowls and handcrafted fig-
potentially very intriguing and interesting
ures, originating from North, Central and
objects become the only odd and unfortu-
South America. The historical objects are
nately neglected part of the museum’s dis-
randomly arranged on shelves in transpar-
play.
ent cabinets, looking completely out of place against the stark white modernist backdrop
Above all, the Louisiana Museum of
of Louisiana’s museum walls. Aside from a
Modern Art is an excellent museum of a di-
few A3 information sheets kept sheepishly in
verse range of modern artworks of local and
one corner, the display is desperately lack-
international importance. The curation of
ing any information. Thus, the viewer is left
both the temporary and permanent collec-
largely clueless of the significance and his-
tions, as well as arrangement of the sculp-
torical context of these objects. Further to
ture gardens, ensures that the viewer can
this, the website proves to be equally unin-
fully experience the artworks in an uninhib-
formative, with Louisiana claiming that the
ited manner. Vitally, the museum building
collection “highlights the encounter between
itself optimizes the visual experience of the
modern art and ethnographica”, allowing
artworks in every way. Any trip to Copenha-
the “modern observer to recognize, in these
gen would definitely not be complete with-
objects, aesthetic idioms close to our own”.
out a visit to this wonderful museum.
23
Walk to work. Zattere. Arrive at work. Palazzo Venier dei Leoni.
Pause work. Marino Marini.
Look up. Canale Grande.
Look left. Accademia. Back Inside. Arco di Petali, Calder. Back in position.
Rotazione.
Femme Assise II, Miro.
Jackson
Pollock.
Guarding over. Pame ya ena cafe.
Pausa. Si. Closing
Positions.
Kapoor.
Corner Pub. Ponte del Formager.
Artifice.
Fondamenta
Nuove.
Taxi in arrivo. Arrivo.
Partenza per Cape Cod. L
o
v
e .
Vs ENETIA
TVDIVM
Flâneur
Illustrator By Jodie Buggea, for UCLHoAS . La hted scale model s to view a rig et re ith st w e st th ra h nt co ug ds in Walking thro is Pedrera stan m Th . nu ng ag m iri ’s sp di in deur of Gau an gr of Barcelona is e th e th The orhé, but it is Sagrada Familia. e th , us sounds like a clic op y er are an scribe it. Ev es of the former av w c ni only way I can de ga s ld ewing the ked down ho r the eyes after vi fo s si street that I wal oa , st pa yet-to-beof the city’s ic spikes of the at the rustic charm am dr ll du only way vast rows of ed church. The et pl unlike London’s m co ild ctures – ocks. The bu r both of the stru fo up grey apartment bl is ity un ady the the comm ada Familia is alre gr Sa ings’ designs echo e th ild architecere there. Bu ominent piece of pr t driven atmosph os m s ge ed and its have flat the city’s skyline, on ings on corners re tu s ea ar will make the open d eighteen spires ne that contribute to an pl ly al ci e world. This is espe llest church in th ta e between them. th it ds oa of many many crossr era is made up dr Pe apparent at the La nt ta aximum urse, the cons t each is given m ye , ls in the city. Of co ve le erc added to Ba to the building’s sun may have also sunlight thanks . of-eight design lona’s allure. twisted figureso al de anding front faça toni The freest An gaping is r e fo er g th in e w this, allo A big nam to ds ad va no roof terd as an in let light in. The to s le Gaudi – applaude ho An e. ing to the s architectur was blinding ow tor of Barcelona’ ce ra eov m natural modernist sunlight and light g in advocate of the az bl om fr tion. Here inspiration used in construc e ment, he took on st ld or w more akin e natural artment block is ap religion and th e th of n io vast numan extens ulpture garden; sc a around him. As to of ee afted into had a degr chimneys are cr of rs this, his designs be e er th s. A hush ce said that tic twisting form as symmetry – he on nt fa hu a ds of tourcture than ds over the crow en sc was no better stru de d re te ls e in a muis was bo though they wer as , man skeleton. Th ts is em st sy most promiweights’ . The attic is the by his ‘hanging um se ssu ld nary arches, Gaudi wou execution of cate nt of construction. ne rm fo to di painstakstrings thinking of Gau d pend weights from an , es ch ar on pieces odels of hanging weights y upside-down m gl in in ed at preciate the is incarn ring makes me ap st before the design of ed w lo al e. size. This e that much mor stone, in its full uch architectur m w ho e in rm him to dete r described could support. Gaudi’s professo weight each arch r fo es ch a ‘madtenary ar either a genius or as Gaudi utilised ca m hi t gh ei w sion certainld great ’, and that impres their ability to ho an m om fr d nstructe throughout his whilst being co ly followed him u’d have to have light materials. life. Certainly yo order to come alities of both in qu , a er dr Pe La sions that are I went around with ambitious vi up . ew vi on this day. model is ing carried out to be where one such ill st od m e splay of th The method of di a mirror lies be– e el is innovativ allowing visitors neath the model,
AATC
October 2014 THE MUST-SEE Malevich Tate Modern - Until Sun Oct 26
This incredible retrospective of Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) follows a chronological read, starting with Church (1905) and ending with a series of 1930’s portraits. The infinitely famous display of Black Square (1915) is re-enacted in the corner of a room, producing again a gravitational center moving the visitors to the core of the avant-garde.
Truth and Memory: British Art of the First World War Imperial War Museum - Until Sun Mar 8, 2015
This major retrospective reveals how artists helped commemorate WWI and shape a memory of the conflict that endures to this day. The display features some of the most iconic images of this history, including paintings by Paul Nash, CWR Nevinson, Stanley Spencer and William Orpen.
Anselm Kiefer
Horst: Photographer of Style
Royal Academy of Arts Sat September 27 - Sun December 14
Victoria & Albert Museum Sat September 6 - Sun January 4
This first major retrospective of Kiefer’s work celebrates this German artist’s heavily textures paintings, including elements of everyday life and industrial materials. This show promises a powerful and unique encounter with modern art and materiality.
A retrospective exhibition of Horst P. Horst’s 60-year career. Starting with well-known fashion shoots for Chanel, Schiaparelli and Vionnet in the 30s, and combined with archival unpublished pictures, as well as insights into Horst’s 1940s studio.
Joan Fontcuberta: Stranger Than Fiction Science Museum’s Media Space Until Sun November 9
A retrospective of three decades of this Spanish photographer‘s work, challenging institutional authority - religion, biology, and the museum. His work is diverse and his photographic technique echoes that of Neue Sachlichkeit.
26
Photo’Month
HIGHLIGHT CLOSING SOON
Primrose: Early Colour Photography in Russia Photographers’ Gallery Until Sun Oct 19
Placing the history and evolution of the medium at its center, this survey exhibition takes us all the way back to the hand-painted photographs from the 1860s. Looking particularly at the ways in which photography was exploited throughout Russian history for the propaganda of its utopian vision of socialism. Traces of War: Landscapes of the Western Front Fleming Collection Until Sat Oct 18
Looking back on the devestations caused WWI on the landscape of Somme, and forward to the power of nature’s renewal.
View From Here: The British Council Film Collection British Council Until Wed September 24
The British Council Film Collection is well known for its documentaries, from your basic history of cricket to the splendours of the industrial revolution. Their aim is to promote British culture around the world. Here, these pieces are presented physically, not digitally, in order to showcase some contemporary ‘remixes’ of the original films, creating new relations between Britain’s modernity and our present day.
27
Kitty’s Choice
Isokon Gallery Lawn Road Flats This iconic building of the 1930s is a pivotal example of modern architecture. Designed and built by Wells Coates the flats evoke to utopian ideals of the period, and with the tenants ranging from Walter Gropius to Mohaly-Nagy the gallery is definitely worth a visit for those interested in modernist philosophy and the Bauhaus. Closing October 2014
Tower of London Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red A major artistic installation sees the Tower of London’s famous dry moat filled with over 800,000 ceramic poppies to create a powerful visual commemoration for the WWI Centenary. The ceramic poppies are available to buy for £25 each and the net proceeds, hoped to be in excess of £15 million if all poppies are sold, will be shared equally amongst a group of carefully selected Service charities including the Legion. Closing November 11th 2014
Victoria & Albert Museum Introductory Tours This daily tour will end in December this year, and is definitely worth attending if you are new to London. The hour-long sessions start at 10.30am and occur at regular intervals throughout the day. The tours engage with the History of the museum and its construction, whilst familiarising any newcomers to one of London’s most important collections. Closing December 2014
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Louise Bourgeois Drawings on Paper Tate Modern With the blockbusters of Matisse and Malevich going on at Tate this summer the smaller shows have been slightly overlooked. However if you head upstairs the elegant drawings of Louise Bourgeois are a quiet haven at the moment. The show is free and an example of the prodigious artist’s scope and process. Closing April 2015
Columbia Road Flower Market This market is an icon of East End London life. Every Sunday the shops on the road open and the street is filled with flowers and plants at low prices and high variety. With the popularity of the market there have been a number of gallery openings on the street that are worth visiting, with notably floral themes. Not to mention the short walk to the Whitechapel Gallery at the other end of Brick Lane where Kadia Attir’s Biblically themed installation opens in November. Every Sunday, 8am-4pm (variable)
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