Month: March 2007

Art e-Facts 42

  

Edward Kienholz emerged as an artist at the same time as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg in the US and was part of a generation of artists born between two World Wars.

His practice was informed by the emerging Beat Culture of the late 1950s and early 1960s in California, and was central to the development of the early Los Angeles gallery scene. In 1972 Kienholz developed a life long collaborative partnership with Nancy Reddin, who continues to make work since his death in 1994.

Kienholz sculpture takes the form of life-size environments; walk-in ‘installations’ incorporating everyday objects which critique modern society, and the political climate of the day. Compelled by a deep sense of moral justice and a provocative sense of humour, these uncompromising artworks continue to have a searing energy and pose a direct challenge to the viewer.

Art e-Facts 42

Chris Cunningham is internationally known for creating and directing music videos for artists such as Björk, Madonna, Portishead and Aphex Twin. In 1989, aged only 19 Cunningham was working on the satirical sketch show Spitting Image, sculpting character models, he later went to work as Stanley Kubricks head of animatronics and special effects for the feature film A.I.

In 2000 Cunningham exhibited Flex:

“…….a video which aims to awaken one’s senses through the sound of electronic music, unforgettable images of both sexual violence and breathtaking serenity”. Anthony d’Offay Gallery

Flex was shown for the first time in: Apocalypse: Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art at the Royal Academy in London.

Art e-Facts 41

In 2006 the American artist Paul McCarthy transformed a London warehouse into a massive installation inspired by one of the most popular Disneyland rides Pirates of the Caribbean (and subsequently the Hollywood film).
‘The Caribbean Pirates Project’ was the result of a four year collaboration with his son Damon and consisted of drawings, sculptures, video works and large installations. The work was the centrepiece of his exhibition ‘La La Land Parody Paradise’ at the Whitechapel. The work has been described as being influenced by global capitalism as epitomised by the Disney corporation, and the US invasion of Iraq.
for further information click here

Art e-Facts 40

 

In 2003 the Imperial War Museum commissioned the British artist Steve McQueen to produce an official portrait of the Iraq conflict.
The former Turner prize winner (1999) is perhaps best known for his gallery based black and white silent films (the most famous being the restaging of the Buster Keaton stunt of the falling house in Deadpan.(1997).
McQueen was never likely to produce a standard representational work and so it was when in February 2007 the final work was unveiled at Manchester Central Library in the run up to the Manchester International festival.
The work is a collection of 100 (approx) stamps showing personal photographs of British soldiers killed in the conflict. McQueen worked with the full support of the families of the soldiers. The work faced strong opposition from the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton has refused to allow the stamps to be a real commemorative issue.

For the background and full story:

www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART17087.html

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2308407.ece

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2308397.ece

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2031797,00.html

Art e-Facts 39

 

Alison Watt was born in Greenock in 1965 and studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1983 to 1988. She gained early recognition as a painter, winning the National Portrait Gallery’s annual award as a student, then a commission to paint the Queen Mother’s portrait in 1989. Inspired by the nineteenth century painter Ingres, Watt’s portraits often focus upon the drapery which is traditionally used as a backdrop for the sitter. In her recent large-scale works, the human figure is entirely absent, allowing the texture and folds of the fabric to take centre stage.

FOR INFORMATION ON FINE ART COURSES IN EDINBURGH PLEASE CLICK HERE