Two Installations from Tate Britain and Tate Modern / London part 2

Panoramic view

If in "Part 1" I talked about a fog sculpture this time it's about a light sculpture. Light sculpture, not really made entirely out of light, but out of neon lights. This time I knew what to expect, I knew how it looked, but I was still curious to see it live.

Cerith Wyn Evans first came to attention as a filmmaker producing experimental films and collaborative works. He has subsequently expanded his practice to incorporate sculpture, photography, film and text to communicate his interest in language and perception.The sculpture is called Form in Space... by Light(in Time) is made of almost two kilometres of neon light suspended from the ceiling .

Picture from below

To me the shapes made a lot of sense, and it also looked like very neat and simple light painting. Very soon I read the artist's statement saying how he drew the routes of planes he saw on the sky, which impressed me and it gave it even more meaning or substance. Though, of course, you can chose to see what you want and interpret it how you wish. I chose to enjoy it.

It was changing shape depending where you stood, it would change the whole meaning and effect, but from what I saw people usually chose the same place to look from. It consisted of 3 part, very clearly stated in the text but also very logical and visual: the work emerges from a single neon ring before developing into a collection of three discs reminiscent of the diagrams opticians employ for testing eyesight. These are the ‘Occulist Witnesses’ which Marcel Duchamp referenced in his sculpture, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) 1915-23. The installation culminates in a maze of complex lines that trace the trajectory of alignments, gestures, folds, orientations and footsteps.

The work has been created for the annual Tate Britain Commission, supported by Sotheby’s, which invites a contemporary British artist to create a new artwork in response to the grand space of the Duveen Galleries at the heart of Tate Britain.

 

I personally saw it three times or more; very pleasant, peaceful and interesting each time. How it was made I don't know, I know that it took 25 people and 19 full days to put it up, and surely a lot of more before that. 

Pictures: Zamfirache Teodora-Stefania

Info: http://www.tate.org.uk/about/press-office/press-releases/tate-britain-commission-2017-cerith-wyn-evans-forms-spaceby-light

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/tate-britain-commission-2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39406291

MATCA; Alternative Art Space, Interview with Matei Tosa

Matca is a recently opened gallery, or as the founders usually call it "alternative art space", in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was founded by a handful of local artists such as Matei Tosa, Alexandra Mocanu and Alexandru Muraru. Above it's their official logo.

Matei Tosa is a graphics graduate from the University of Arts and Design from Cluj-Napoca and one of the founders of Matca.

Matei, in the courtyard of the gallery

TEODORA(ME): How did you get the idea to open the gallery? How did it all happen?
MATEI: Well there was this Biennale on the Internet, called Worldwide Apartment and Studio Biennale and you had to apply with a project, either a solo show or a group show but it was very important that the event happens in a non-gallery or art space. They said to use apartments or studios, or something similar, but not a gallery or a special place for these kind of things. That's when I cleared my garage and did it all there. Against my expectations a lot of people came and it was quite successful. But there wasn't yet the idea that we'll found an art space, only after the second event.

T: But at the second event you already had the name?
M: Not really. After the second one we applied at the City hall for some funds, and so we needed a name for the project, the art space. It all happened very fast.

T: Why "Matca"? How did you guys choose the name?
M: It had to have a name and Matca is all we could agree on. We would say all kinds of words out loud to hear how they sound, I don't know how we eventually got this name. "Matca" also means "reunion" and we went for this meaning rather than the queen of bees. Because it represents what we want, a reunion of people our age, that we can discuss with and learn from.

T:What other choice of name did you think of?
M: I'm embarrassed to say. (laughs) We had "Sugar Cube Art Space".  I completely hated it.

T: How is Matca different from other art spaces?
M: It's different because it doesn't yet have a defined identity, we don't have enough experience in the area and we wanted to go step by step. Matca builds it's identity step by step, we don't have an exact definition. It's a gallery for people our age.

Installation from the latest event

T:What is the process at Matca, how do you find artists? How does it all come together?
M: It's usually people who we already knew from before, friends, people we appreciate and want to work with. We sit and discuss among each other and then with the artists.

T: How does everyone from the group show agree to be placed under one big concept?
M:It all works very natural, Alexandra, she's our curator, she grabs input from me and Alex and makes a concept. We're happy with the outcome, we can't complain. That's why we chose people with who we have things in common so we don't really have unpleasant debates.

T: At this point do you make money from the gallery?
M: No, we only just started. We're too small for now, but for the future, of course it's what we want. But it has to happen step by step, we want to make people curious and interested in us first.

T: What's your motivation?
M: The feedback from people, from everywhere, good feedback. I'm doing it because I'm passionate about it, and by helping others I'm also helping myself, my own visibility as an artist.

T: Tell me something about your work.
M: I draw. That's what I've been doing since I was a kid.(laughs) I'm interested in the image, the problems of perception that an image can cause, depending on the context you put it in, or by removing the context. How do you manage to connect to things from different contexts that don't match, that's one of the problems of perception that I believe it's interesting. For example I photographer my curtain today, a detail from it, and put it as my Facebook cover, and it looks like an abstract composition. And it may seem like something else depending who's looking at it. So, yeah, usually the problem of perception.

T: Alright, that's it. Thank you very much.
M: No problem, it was a pleasure.

Images and information: https://www.facebook.com/matcaartspace/
For more: https://www.instagram.com/matcaartspace/

Personal opinion on Expo Maraton Cluj/ UAD

If it's Tuesday it's Expo Maraton, if it's Thursday it's Expo Maraton! This was happening for the whole month this May, and for the last 7 years, here in Cluj-Napoca at the University of Art and Design.

Expo Maraton is an event created both for our university and the large public of Cluj-Napoca, it is a practical exercise for the visibility of young artists. It's happening during May every year, two times a week on Tuesday and Thursday.

The project works mainly in favor of promoting the artistic debut of UAD students, supporting contemporary art by making it more accessible and easy to find and understand to the large public.

It consists of a competition in which UAD students apply with a concept, an exhibition idea/ project. Sixteen of them will be chosen and will exhibit for one day, two students each Tuesday and Thursday as you may have figured by now!

This year's participants

I absolutely loved the event! Very well put together, everything felt like it was going exactly as planned. It always started at 7:00 pm and not a minute later. The atmosphere was perfect, loads and loads of people were coming. Usually people from outside the university cannot come inside, but during Expo Maraton all kinds of people come to the event: tourist, artists, curators, gallery owners, teachers, friends and family of the students and others.

The garden of Casa Matei

Inside the gallery of Casa Matei it was very crowded, you could move around but it was rather stressful, knowing that the event only lasts about an hour. The time is more than enough, most of the time I wouldn't spent an hour in the gallery, i would say it's pretty easy to make an opinion, but seeing the works between the many people and walking around was quite an adventure. A lot of them were enjoying the wine and snacks and talking to each other instead of circulating and going outside.

Which takes me to the next big part! Everyone got the chance to vote three aspects of each exhibition, giving points from one to five for the following:

1. The aspect of the exhibition
2. The quality of the works of art
3. The concept

The urn, almost full of votes

This year they didn't provide pens or pencils, and even though for a whole month I went to the event two times a week I always forgot to bring a pen! Not a problem though, with so many people around. Voting itself I believe gives a strong feeling of importance and involvement, courage and trust in your own opinion, and the feeling that your voice is heard. The votes materialize in prizes, such a trips to different Biennales: Liverpool, Venice,  Documenta, Istambul etc. The sponsors of Expo Maraton also give personalized prizes like: money, gifts, group shows and solo shows.


At last but not least, I want to mention the 1 Minute Challenge. Initiated only last year as part of the project Expo Maraton, students from the department of Photography-Video-Digital Image Processing are asked to join to make videos for the chosen artists, visual portofolios that were displayed on a T.V in the night of the exhibition and online one day before.

The event happens in a great and fast rhythm even for the viewer, but I'm sure that for the artists, coordinators, and volunteers it's even faster and a lot of work.

It's definitely an event to look forward to every year!


Images and information: https://www.facebook.com/ExpoMaraton/?ref=br_rs

Two Installations from Tate Britain and Tate Modern / London part 1

Tate Modern, in the afternoon, right after admiring Saint Paul's Cathedral for half an hour. I enter from Thames' side very tired, looking for a bathroom and a coffee. No expectations for anything. After around 20 confused steps inside I see something amazing across the hall, outside. At first I thought I didn't see clear, then I thought there was a water fountain and because the wind was blowing it created a strange effect, then it hit me: It's fog! But how can there be fog when it's noon, and Spring, sunny and rather warm!

I go straight outside, being drawn towards the mystery, very curious.

There were maybe 5-10 minutes where I was just watching without thinking and enjoying the moment, and my life in that moment. It looked like fog, thick fog. A lot of people and children were running, playing and taking pictures. There were moments when there was clear, nothing, then it would be even thicker and darker than before. It ran through my mind that it can be an installation.

I looked at the kids coming out of the fog, their clothes were completely wet. Nothing made sense, but it was amazing. I stepped inside the fog. It devoured me in two seconds, I lost the contact with the outside world, with anything real, all I saw was white. But the wind was blowing, at times I would see the buildings surrounding me, and at other times I would see nothing, not even my own feet. I was taking some steps, with no notion of space or time, no landmark, it felt like I was walking nowhere, the space felt endless.

I decided to stay in one place. Only at the last second I would see when someone was next to me. I would see them like a black shadow or a shape, only extremely close I would see details. I might have stayed inside the installation for 3 minutes, but it certainly felt longer. I stepped outside.

Yes, it has to be an installation. A great one. But I wasn't sure though, I forgot I was at a modern and contemporary art museum, I thought it was just happening to entertain people, something like a different kind of water fountain but not art. I looked for something, a title, a concept, the name of the artist but I didn't see any. I found later that day that it was in fact an installation. It was basically water being sprayed out through some hoses, plus white light and soundscapes.

                   

It's called London Fog #03779 created by the artist Fujiko Nakaya. It only lasted for a week, and I was lucky enough to see it, and enter it, without even knowing about it.

Pictures from above: Zamfirache Teodora-Stefania

Info:  http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/special-event/fujiko-nakaya-london-fog-03779

Pictures and other people's experiences: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/fujikonakaya/

David Hockney - Solo Exhibition Review

SOLD OUT! Or even more than sold out? The tickets for David Hockney's latest exhibition in London at Tate Britain were sold out online, weeks before the end date.

David Hockney (born  1937) is one of the most popular and widely recognised artists of our time. After first coming to public attention in 1962, while still a student at the Royal College of Art, he went on to produce some of the best-known painting of the 1960s.

I personally went in the last few days. At 10 o'clock when I arrived at the gallery there were hundreds of people on the stairs, at every entrance, ready to pop inside at any moment. I knew there was a very limited amount of tickets left for sale at the ticket shop, but I really wanted to see the exhibition. I knew about it since the begging of the year but never got the chance, I couldn't miss it this time. I didn't even know where they sold tickets and when I arrived there were already at least 100 people in front of me waiting in line. They were selling fast, but I got one from 4 p.m.

I came back at 4 p.m pretty excited to "meet" David Hockney in "person". It was like a lesson of history, travelling back in time, from the beginning of Hockney's journey, while he was still a student. It was the first opportunity to see this early painting alongside with work in a variety of media.The work spans from 1960s through 2013. The exhibition is arranged chronologically except for the first room, where there were mixed from different periods.

In total there were 12 rooms, extremely different from each other in style, theme, technique, colours, mediums. You could really see him experimenting, and trying very different techniques from panting, drawing and sketching with liners or charcoal, photography, collage, video, video installation, iPad drawing, iPhone drawings. Hockney's work questions the conventions of picture-making and he's very versatile. I was very pleasantly surprised by the different art works.

He could do both very clean surfaces with no details, and at the same time you would see extremely detailed and carefully done areas, you could see patience and precision, also a greater kind of knowledge and understating of things. He would have in one room very vivid colours, and right before it only tones of brown, then very detailed portraits in thin black liner, then collages made from Polaroid photographs or video installation. Amazing, I loved it!

There were a lot of people, old and young, tall and short, and even though we would enter a group every hour it was still difficult to move around and see the art works in some rooms. Going through all the rooms took me two hours, it didn't seem like it, and at the end I felt my head heavy with information. It was an inspiration and a great exhibition.



Info: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/david-hockney
More, and artwork from the exhibiton: https://www.instagram.com/david.hockney/

                                                      

                        A visual diary, from 2011-2014

                  speaks truly honest about who I am. p.s. I'm the curly girl