Two Horizons is the name of an exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art that I went to recently, but my topicality is lacking again because I notice it has just ended. No matter: I went so that you don’t have to, and I’m eager to share my thoughts – but that’s probably only because it gives me the chance to have a rant about conceptual art.
Taken from a private collection of fairly new art, it was a mixed bunch. I enjoyed a few of the pieces (but, let’s face it, good reviews are boring, so feel free to skip a few paragraphs.) Marc Camille Chaimowicz’s Man Looking out of a Window and Arch together were fascinating. The … read on »
Archive for the ‘art and architecture’ category…
Geology, Landscape, Architecture and Art
Wednesday was my day off between contracts and I visited the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow as I made my unhurried way from Hyndland to Leith. I liked the work of Ilana Halperin and Toby Paterson, partly because they’re interested in things that interest me.
Ilana Halperin’s work is about the relationship between geology and civilization, and includes pencil drawings, photographs and narrative. One collection is called Nomadic Landmass, drawings from which are currently displayed quite well at the website of the Edinburgh gallery Doggerfisher. I was particularly interested in the pencil drawings, because I’ve been doing a bit of that lately (see the drawing above.)
Nomadic Landmass is inspired by the short-lived island of Ferdinandea:
“…on the trade route between … read on »
Exclusive: Much-Awaited Purchase of Moleskine Sketchbook Awakens Long-Dormant Creative Fervour in Man, Aged 34
Drawn in pen, this elaborate doodle is interesting because while I was drawing it the black was the figure and the white was the ground. So the black was the thing to notice, and the white was just the space in between, the substrate. This was natural, as I was actually drawing the black on a white background. When I finished it (and I was satisfied to find that there was a moment when I realised, without any doubts, that I’d finished, because it was right) there was a figure-ground reversal and since then it’s the white shapes that I’ve noticed, lying on a black background, or in a black space. When I was drawing it I hadn’t realised that, … read on »
Ted Hughes and the 21st Century Zeitgeist
Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes
I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.
Inaction, no falsifying dream
Between my hooked head and hooked feet:
Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.
The convenience of the high trees!
The air’s buoyancy and the sun’s rayAre of advantage to me;And the earth’s face upward for my inspection.
My feet are locked upon the rough bark.
It took the whole of Creation
To produce my foot, my each feather:
Now I hold Creation in my foot
Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly -
I kill where I please because it is all mine.
There is no sophistry in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads -
The allotment of death.
For the one path of my flight is direct
Through the bones of … read on »
Festa Del Bus: A Whistle-Stop Tour of Italy
We just got back from our coach trip to Italy. The immersion in history, the visual spectacle and the cultural richness were stunning and moving and stimulating, and they left a lasting and important mark on my heart and mind.
First I want to say that whilst Ann came to be known as the Jackie Collins of the trip – inventing brilliantly entertaining and mischievous backstories, especially for the most enigmatic members of the coach party – I won’t touch on that side of things myself. What I will say is that the whole experience did demonstrate the truth of the maxim don’t judge a book by its cover: it was a great collection of people.
This was never really meant to … read on »
©2010 Alistair Robinson