Author Alain De Botton has been arguing for some time that there is something inherently wrong with the way art is presented in museums. Not for him the notion of art-for-arts-sake. It is a question of curatorship to some degree, but also an inability on the part of administrators to define exactly what purpose an art museum is meant to perform.
Journal
Robert Rosenblum 1927 - 2006 /
One of my favourite art historians, Robert Rosenblum is credited with challenging accepted norms of modern art and its history. He believed that Modernism had a much longer history than people assumed. Instead of examining and judging works of art within time-specific frameworks, Rosenblum tended to critique art regardless of its associated movement or place in history.
Rosenblum believed that Modern art can trace its roots back to the French, German and Danish painters (who worked mostly in the Neo-Classical style) of the late 18th-century. Rosenblum constantly confronted formal ideas of Modernism and even art history itself, and challenged those in the art world to view Modern art as a vast well of ideas rather than being a product of particular timelines.
Of Impressionism, Rosenblum wrote that it rejuvenated Western painting and forced us to rediscover what children had always known, that the most immediate spectacle of light, colour and movement, perceived before the brain can sort out other kinds of order, is a tonic, joyous experience.
Of contemporary art he said (rather sadly, I suspect) "We're in what might be called, in the phrase of the day, a Postmodernist situation, and the feeling that Modern art can be heroic, that it makes a difference to the world, all this seems sort of quaint and nostalgic rather than a part of living reality."
Dealing With Asperger's /
A confronting exhibition is about to end at Latrobe Regional Gallery. It's called Splinters Of The Minds Eye by Neale Stratford. In this show, Stratford interprets the real world through the veil of Asperger's Syndrome with which he was diagnosed years ago.
"I explore the gaps between internal and external realities, examine wanton desires and delusional thoughts within the context of everyday reality in the understanding of the paradox that is me." Stratford's work puts me in mind of Bill Henson but with a powerful psychological twist. References are made to anxiety, depression, introversion and autism that are part of his daily existence. But at least Stratford has the ability to deal with his "disability" creatively. I can't imagine what it must be like for those who can't.
Melbourne's Lost Biennale /
When an art exhibition sticks in one's mind after 17 years, it tells you something. The 1999 Melbourne International Biennale was an initiative of the Melbourne City Council, The Ian Potter Centre and Arts Victoria and the exhibition "Signs Of Life" was staged over several floors of a rundown former Telecom building in Russell Street. It was a venue which according to reviewer Helen Stuckey came with no institutional baggage and was totally innocuous.
Shadow Of Falling Stars - Ugo Rondinone
Travelling from floor to floor was a journey of exploration and discovery and each level varied dramatically in character and light. The most successful works were able to adapt the environment to their particular needs - there was video, installation, sound, sculpture etc. For me, the most memorable work was "Shadow Of Falling Stars", by Ugo Rondinone. In each corner of the room, video monitors were mounted high up (like surveillance equipment), 2 showing a figure walking, the other 2 showing a young girl dancing in slow motion. Opposite the entrance was a wall of roughly finished timber painted dark green and in the centre a pink window overlooking the city. Add to this the soundtrack of the artist repeating a languid dirge and it made for a very disturbing atmosphere. I was going through a relationship breakdown at the time and he tapped into my emotions very succinctly.
On another level, the entire floor was covered in a field of clover by Nickolaj Recke, and then there was Mariele Neudecker's aquarium sculptures - dark and mysterious.
Sadly, the building was earmarked for renovation into apartments immediately after the exhibition, thus denying Melbourne of an ongoing venue for cutting edge art from here and overseas.
The Renaissance - A Fresh Perspective /
My favourite art historian/critic Waldemar Januszczak is at it again. Following on from his excellent series on the Rococo and Baroque, he now turns his attention to the Renaissance in his latest series The Renaissance Unchained. Given the mountains of material that has trawled through this period of history, you have to wonder what fresh perspective could Januszczak offer.
He challenges the accepted line put forward by the world's first art historian Giorgio Vasari that the Renaissance began in Italy and that Michelangelo was at its centre. Januszczak argues that being the first to put pen to paper on these matters meant Vasari's views "could harden quickly into art historical certainties that were passed from generation to generation. And these weighty certainties were not easy to challenge." So Januszczak makes a case for the Renaissance having its origins in Flanders and Germany.
Given that the series Rococo was not screened on either the ABC or SBS, I assume the same will apply this time around too. I am only discovering these series by checking out the BBC4 website - rather sad really.
Art And Sport /
Who says art and sport don't mix? Some years ago, Spanish artist and prankster Maurizio Cattelan came up with a large black granite monolith listing the results of every match lost by the English national football team between 1874 and 1998. Measuring 3 metres in width, it was clearly a swipe at the fraught relationship that has existed for years between the English and their national team.
Last year it sold at Southeby's London for $840,000AUD to an anonymous buyer from France - it figures.
Unemployed Arts Graduates; Are Universities To Blame? /
Author Alain De Botton says yes, they are. In an article posted online he argues the world seems to have forgotten what the humanities, including art and culture are for. So we have scores of arts graduates finding the world has no demand for their specialized skills and interests. Instead, they spend their time dispensing coffees and waiting tables - if they are lucky, with years of expensive study in their chosen field seemingly going to waste.
De Botton argues that universities seems to be almost apologizing for having a humanities faculty, fearing they can't compete with science and technology, economics etc. He says the way humanities are taught is dry, arcane and irrelevant to the needs of society.
"This represents a gross neglect of what the humanities are really for: they are for helping us to live and to die. The humanities are the closest things we have to a replacement for religion. They are a storehouse of vitally important knowledge about how to lead our lives".
So he proposes that universities be completely reconfigured to include a department for relationships, and institute of dying, a department for self-knowledge, centres for raising children, reconnecting with nature and dealing with illness. Given that we don't seem to be able to manage relationships too well, raise kids effectively and look after the environment and are terrified of death, there seems to be a massive untapped market for study in these areas. The key point here is that study in the humanities, if correctly targeted can have a therapeutic affect on society, which we desperately need in these increasingly troubled times.
Howard Arkley /
For someone who was never entirely convinced of the work of Howard Arkley, the current exhibition at Tarrawarra Gallery was a revelation. The key to appreciating his paintings seems to be to stand as close to them as you are allowed in order to appreciate his technical skill. His death from a heroin overdose in 1999, just shortly after making it to the Venice Biennale, added extra poignancy to the exhibition. There is an almost manic quality to some of his work which may be an indicator of his eventual demise.
