YEAR TWO
Soul of a Nation – Art in the Age of Black Power
This is one show I have been wanting to attend for some time as I felt it was relevant to my recent works and the direction it is taking. I really believe that this sort of rebellious work is really making an impact on todays society. The fact that there is now a whole exhibition dedicated to giving black artists the same chance as white artists in Western culture is something great and should happen more widely, however the fact that t needs to have this type of pressure on it just because it is an all black artist exhibition gives me a sense that we still need to address the issue that they are not more widely praised or integrated.
The Black Panther Newspaper was the most widely read Black newspaper in the United States, with a weekly circulation of more than 300,000. It sold for 25 cents. It was one way that black people could be connected and have a voice in the USA. Other artists that I found really interesting Normand Lewis who mainly worked in black and white, to reflect racial relations. Another artist I liked was Dana C. Chandler 1941 Fred Hamilton Door 2, when Dana witnessed police using violence to stop peaceful protest. And shot through Fred Hamilton’s door, who was a Black Panther, while he was in bed and killed him. (Photo see slideshow). Another artist Betye Saar, who I respect for her ideas, hers sculptures are composed of fragmented relics and ordinary objects, she said, ‘its a way of delving into the past and reaching into the future’. Her memorable subject matter includes: life, death, bones, birds, sirens, moon, sun and fetish charms.
The show was full of really diverse work, its started out with more black power, fighting the government work around race, and them quickly moved into more work that is done by black artists. One I particularly liked was Merlin Edwards Lynch Fragments, and his curtains. He attacks racism in a more tangible way, and it really caught my eye. I loved the abstract sculptures and how they draw you in. ‘Curtains’ was also really interesting, Edwards said that he liked using barbed wire because it is never linear, and isn’t straight forward. And it is hard to control. Thinking about it, i’m not sure if it meant anything to his work.
Basquiat – Boom for Real
Basquiat at the Barbican centre was an interesting one. Not knowing much about him as an artist. I was mainly looking at his style and what his work meant form me. Personally I wasn’t quite sure at first. His work was very expressive and colourful, and you could tell he was influenced by pop culture of the 1980s. With his album cover for ‘Beat Bop’. Some of my favourites were King Zulu, Estrella, Jawbone of an Ass, King of Zulus, and Boone.
His work seems to be very influential on the modern art today. In some way I feel his work is somewhat simplistic and doesn’t require much thought or skill at first glance. Yet when you look into the words he uses in his work they are really inspired and connected to him and his work progressed and developed. Though his work I feel I could take some inspiration from how free he was with his work, and maybe the topic of race that he connects with so much. I also like how he represents himself in his work a lot. And I feel like a lot of artists should take that tip. Another thing about this exhibition I really liked was the atmosphere. It was upbeat and load which was more inviting to me, rather than the cold silence that most exhibitions have. I felt like Basquiat’s personality was put into the exhibition, as there were lots of interviews playing and recordings of him reading his poems, in the room full of his sketchbook pages.
YEAR ONE
The British Museum – The American Dream
Going to this exhibition this late in my project was quite good as it opened my eyes to what I could achieve next in my projects as I would really like to keep this way of working in such large scale. The main artists that made an impact on me was Robert Rauschenberg. His lithography (I am yet to try) and screen printing collaborations are really inspiring me to try more creative ways of working and ,mixing different medias.
He concentrates on making work a sensory overload for the viewer with lots going on in his large pieces. Which is something I feel like I have achieved. I am especially interested in his stoned moon series and his booster series.
Old Spitalfields Antique Market
On my next trip (that wasnt on this list) i went to an antique market because i saw on social media that there wsa going to me a taxidermy stand there. A s my project seems to be heading in this direction i wanted to go and check it out to see what it had to offer. When i got there it was something that i had never thought to have existed. It was surrounded my high end retail shops, yet,when you walked inside the confines of the market it was like a charity shop antique fair free for all. It was huge, ans full of amazing and strange things. From old biker jackets to record player, cameras, strange books, compass’s to all the taxidermy i was interested in. I even ended up buying some deer horns and a taxidermy fox head, that was originally from a museum in Paris. The day was very successful, and i felt like i has a lot more information, not only from looking around but from talking to the people that owned the stalls in there. I will most certainly be going back there.
Natural History Museum
As my last museum I wanted to keep it in line with my last three and keep it all about the animals and history of the. As I walked around I was mesmerized as I always am in this museum. I love the range of animals in this place, from a tiny bug to a huge dinosaur. What I wanted to take away from this museum was a large amount of drawings and sketches to fill out my sketchbook, as I want it to mainly contain lots of animals and humans and the development through time and also through the evolution of the animals too. As this is what i am mainly interested in for my project, the evolution and how strange but amazing it is.
Horniman Museum
I decided to go to this museum is because it kept in order with the last museum I went to, as it wall bursting with similar things. Like taxidermy the development of animals in the womb, skulls, fish, bats, large deer heads. It was a really good place to sit and draw. I seem to really enjoy the company of dead animals, with there fake beady eyes and somehow feel quite content. I spent a good few hours in there, and took down a lot of drawings and notes on the animals in there. I feel like it will start to shape my project a little more if i visit a similar place next. I can keep the ball rolling, and it will help more ideas come to some depth. Overall I really enjoyed this museum and it is full of breathtaking artifacts.
Hunterian Museum
So far this has been my favorite museum because it is rammed with amazing and unseen artifacts that you would never find anywhere else. From teeth, to bird skeletons to the tallest man, fetus skeletons, mice, reptiles, fish, skulls, pickled monkeys, babies, two headed calf skull, and an array of dissected species. This museum is right where i wanted to be. It made me really excited about my ‘what is it brief’ because i feel like i could really link it with the IWM museum. With death, and the eeriness and how i could link it through history with the bird skeletons and the human skulls to Hitler and the Eagle symbol. I will be hoping to go down a route that I can use my findings from this museum and go back thee further into my research and get more primary research.
Museum of Childhood
When at the Museum of childhood I almost felt unwelcome, it didn’t have a nice vibe about it. As soon as i walked in i saw a lot of creepy eery dolls and ancient toys. While looking around we found troll dolls, shadow puppets and old rocking horses, these were some of the better things in there. There were also things like wooden statue like things that seemed very odd. But by far my favorite things in there were the were the shadow puppets, because they were so detailed and amazing to look at. The Japanese and Chinese dragons were so detailed and although they were shadow puppets they were coloured and had a lot of fine detail that wouldn’t have been seen on the shadow, witch may seem unnecessary, but i liked that. that all this thought was put into the process of making them. overall i wasn’t too keen on the museum as a whole.
Imperial War Museum
While going go the Imperial War Museum I experienced a lot of contrasting feelings. I felt so welcome and a warming feeling filled me heart. While being in such a harsh and impacting environment i felt like i could view all of the objects and read all of the facts about the War (1 and 2) and also the modern wars going on. Everyone was so untied and was experiencing it all together, young and old. The music and atmosphere was want made me feel so welcome. This video was all about the war soldiers and while other things where going on, this is a still from the video in the museum.
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