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piNK!

Pink is located within a large industrial building in the heart of Manchester. The small hipster cafe underneath sets the tone of a strong shared work community, with seating spaces intertwined with professional workspaces, it defines a modern take on isolated office conditions. The architecture of the building resembles a clean 1920s bank, with tiling details and contemporary features such as an out of order elevator shaft. Marble stairs led to the hidden away gallery space, bright open and deeply haunted. The space reflected a large New York studio apartment and gave space for the art to breathe. Hanging out the windows allowed me to place the setting, the combination of trains slowly passing, the distant city sounds and the sun seeping through large Georgian windows provided a gentle reminder of our urban surroundings. With big windows on either side of the room allowed enough light to cascade through, which is probably lucky enough considering the light fittings were last minute, this detail introduced us to the space more authenticity and to the curator and artist behind the exhibition. The exhibition itself took up only half the space available, an odd choice at first, but upon reflection it is clear to see how each art piece reflected and bounced off one another. An effect that would have not been gained in a wider space. The floors were covered in some sort of grey cloth, featuring multi coloured specks, making me think of the rough carpets from my primary school. This reflected the grey printed boards, placed to display more art pieces. The pieces of art seemed small and lost hung on the walls, often hidden away drowned by the grey carpet, it was then explained to us how the grey carpet was to reflect the historical values of the building, which was an old industrial fabric distributor. The head artist Kevin Hunt explained how he used the historical values of the building to lay the foundations for his whole exhibition. The grey carpet was used to reflect the “ugly”, certain fabrics are made rather for purpose and practical reasons rather to be used as fashion and created with beauty in mind. This was used as a metaphor highlighting the overlooked and overused, as well as paying respects to the history of the building. The viewing boards were handmade and practical, layered with printed papers that reflected the misting used on shop windows during renovations. This effect was carried out by creating one sheet of the pattern and printing it out multiple times in a3. This was cleverly used to symbolise a misinterpretation of art, as if the pieces displayed had no context and were allowed to just exist as a collective or uniquely as individual. The pieces themselves were a collective from three artists, reflecting themes of queerness, individuality and expression.

 My personal take on the gallery space reflects the important relation of interplay between art and viewer. At first glance a seemingly dull exhibition is reflected in the grey boards/ fabrics, adjacent to the minimal art on display. However, after walking around the exhibition had many subtle interactive qualities and the though process of the curation started to shine. With no structured direction in which to walk I started on the outside on the right. Paying attention to the smaller pieces were an interesting look, my favourite being the ceramic recreations of Cornish pasties. There were many of these pasties pottered around the gallery space each with a new design on them and reflecting different colours. It was interesting to note that the artists intentions came from his Cornish roots and tied the pieces into his childhood as a reflection of who he is now. Some of the smaller pieces were easy to overlook and went unnoticed until the third time around, one of these pieces was a little sculpting of someone’s buttocks. Once noticed this piece created so many silly questions that seemed too invasive to be inquisitive about. 

Whilst walking around the pieces were displayed in a myriad of ways, some placed on the ground standing by a plinth, some on walls in high spaces or resting on a radiator after asking the artist what the intentions were with creating a diverse handing, I received a lengthy answer. He explained that it was to provide the feeling of “abandonment” to create a space that reflected a half-finished opening job. The verse on the floor resting by the plinth was to suggest an art piece that was about to be displayed and to intern consider what the real art of the exhibition is.

The grey cloth? The pattern on the boards? Or the concept of preparation?

A piece that this applied to was a model of two martinis on a radiator, intentionally placed to appear as if they have been discarded after use. The glasses were two ordinary glasses brought from the store, however on closer inspection the olives used were bedazzled and looked glamorous. On reflection this was a symbolic theme that tied into a message of gender expression and queerness. 

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Number. 188 “EAT THE FROG”

Now, this is the kind of art I favour the most. I am drawn in by the outstanding graphics and absurdity of the piece, the bright colours and inaccurate drawing style makes me feel that the art was a second thought or just simply a doodle.

However, combined with the craftsmanship and thought put into the discrete messages, it, in turn, elevates the piece from seeming like random images combined with text to be something more profound. The images’ text “eat the frog!” is aggressive and makes me wonder if it comes from a third party compelling the main figure to do something they do not wish to do. Here is where I start to sound pretentious, as then relating the piece to a serious situation drawing from my own life or something going on in wider society. Personally, I find art in this style, helps me to cope with serious responsibilities that have an impact on my own life. The piece does this by visually conveying responsibility and turning it into a foolish little graphic, taking the seriousness out of life making things more manageable to deal with. Whilst looking at the art, I can also draw references to pop art and the works of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. The thick bold lining and bright primary colours represent the common characteristics of contemporary style. From referencing this it is possible to connect common themes between the art styles. For instance, Andy Warhol's intentions centred around consumerism, using objects such as soup cans to suggest how a mundane and ordinary object as such can be made into something of a higher value just by adding elements of artistic value and presenting it as a “high-value” art. Within “Eat the Frog” certain elements are seen to be common, such as the intentions behind the use of the frog, a frog is usually a slimy animal that is ranked as not having much worth however through the medium of art the frog is encapsulated to be of higher value. Word count: 344

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The Messy French Dresser.

This art piece felt personal to my own life, seeing the same piece of furniture in my own childhood home and decorating with memorabilia and odd souvenirs collected from throughout the years. The materials used are an arrangement of objects collected and curated by the artist (I would presume) that all have significance to themselves or a character they are trying to convey. 

After discovering a personal connection, I spent a while scanning the furniture focusing on the details I could bring out from the individual’s life. For instance, I can infer they are clearly religious and a fan of the royal family. The variety of religious memorabilia prompted me to think about all sides of religion down to the small communities it creates, of people sharing one interest of god, peace and harmony. When generally looking at religion, I draw connotations of the negative impacts and seemingly strict rules from the “higher ups”, however, this piece presented objects like sermon pamphlets and small pins preaching hope and community. This was a fair reminder of how easily a nicer side of religion is forgotten about and how small individual communities within the church have no intentions of bigotry and only seek comfort in a promise of life after death. The piece achieved this by presenting ideas of the family/individuals personality we would have of considered besides the religious aspects. For instance, the dresser was stationed with things like superman toys, baubles with family pets on them, dream catchers, leaflets of events and nods to popular culture like doctor who.

Word count:263

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The Messy French Dresser. 

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Textile dress

This piece was visually stunning from far away, my intrigue increased once I got closer and saw all the details and quotes that gave context to the whole piece. I particularly enjoyed the hopefulness of it all. Individual quotes and comments on people’s relatives etc. brought the concepts of art together creating a piece that had a strong sense of community. The mixed-media brought a visual sensation of joy. I paid particular attention to the comparison between the grey shirt to the colourful and vivid skirt, I thought this element really allowed me to focus on what was important as well as reminding me of the garments original intention to be a gown (giving the piece a meta feel). The experience of walking around the garment gave me a perspective that was ever-changing and allowed me to see the dress from all angles. I would say that the motion of walking reflected the “walk of life” on which I believe the dress was based. 

Going off my interpretations the dress’ themes centred around “things learnt in life” as well as influences other people have on us. Highlighting how this notion is impactful and colourful to the viewer who is living a similar life.

Word count: 203

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Textile dress piece.

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Photos from around Manchester and inside Home gallery. 

(Taken by me) 

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Trip to Manchester

Gallery one: Home  10/02/2022

A salon-style hanging whilst holding a contemporary exhibition was interesting and insulting on my senses. With art coming at me all at once, not allowing me to process each individual piece, which led to naturally focused on larger pieces and those that “stuck” out the most (this included bright colours, interesting textures, not hung etc.). I enjoyed the little quirky perspectives that each piece showed, all using contemporary themes which were not linking or connected. With the use of large spaces, the room allowed art to be loud without feeling claustrophobic. One drawback from the whole exhibition was the information plaques, I personally find it interesting for there to be context behind the art. Whilst drawing my own conclusions on art, I find a little extra knowledge to be beneficial for placing the piece in a correct context. Bearing in mind the context may be something I am not familiar with and therefore need guidance. However, after being provided with an information booklet detailing the art works’ name as well as the price I found myself going around comparing each art pieces’ price, making it into a fun game of guessing how much the art was worth. I do not know if it was just my childish ways telling me to do this or maybe I should be questioning a wider influence. 

Does my view on art change depend on how it is priced? Does this change the physical and emotional aspects of an art piece? 

After realising this I came to the conclusion that these questions are only relative to contemporary art. Considering art was affected by consumerism at the start of the 20th century when craftwork could be mass-produced. Compared to historical art that may be replicated now, originally was “made to measure” and therefore at one fixed price based on the quality of work. Critically, when looking at the pieces I saw a big difference in how each was priced, I feel this figure is based on a number of things including materials, size and depth but also non-visual elements such as emotional capacity within the art and how much the themes discussed had effected the artist. 

Word count: 365

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Photos from trip to Royal Standard. (exhibition space and examples of communal studio space area) 

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Visit to the Royal Standard

The Royal Standard, hidden within the Baltic triangle, is a combination of studio spaces and exhibition rooms. The communal aspect allows these separating elements to merge, creating an environment where both artist and practice can flourish. Ran by practising curators, the Royal Standard displays work from the likes of charities, local colleges, individual artists and art collectives. Their aims are clearly labelled as guiding lesser-known artists to discover their potential through the exhibition spaces they offer. The rustic gallery space is an open white canvas for artists to exhibit their work, although the gallery is only relatively new, being in the environment gave me positive affirmations of current art that reflected a diverse population.  

 Focusing on museology, the architecture of the building reflects an outdated industrial site, this continues into the interior; the gallery space is lit by overhead factory lights, exposed wires connecting heaters and plugs. Creating a juxtaposition between the diverse artists that may have not been allowed in these spaces prior to the 20th century. This contrasts to established galleries like Tate, showing an absence of the need for “higher art” and is more accepting of creative freedom and expression. Personally, I would say that the space is representative of contemporary art due to the lack of structure and “order” in the gallery space. The room was filled with music coming from the café behind, the café was full of leaflets and posters about upcoming artists and events, resembling a live community of upcoming artists that are thriving in their field. 

 Does this change the way a viewer perceives art? Would a more communal space allow for shared ideas and therefore a higher diverse response to the work displayed? Does this kind of acceptance allow “controversial” artists to grow? 

 Walking into the social area of the private studios, immediate comfort, chairs, sofas and odd bits from the reminisce of parties. Clearly the space was used for an expressive platform for artists to ground themselves within their art. Noticeably the residence seemed comfortable creating a home-like atmosphere that fed into new pieces of art being produced. Classically studio spaces are confined, solitary and only used for the purpose of art, however it is very clear to see how a more mixed bag of folk create a vibrant atmosphere which in turn becomes an influential element for the art produced. This contrast to a classical studio space is what defines contemporary art giving it features which reflect those surrounding the studio space. 

 Returning to the gallery space on the 29th for the opening exhibition; “phlegm”. Exhibiting works from resistant artists as well as local art students. The atmosphere reflected an edgy 21st century art scene, with a miss match of anything goes fashion. The exhibition pieces themselves all had a continuous theme of mixed media and textiles, showing pieces that used applique, layering, collage and embroidery. Displaying all the pieces together created the perspective of comparison, noticing how all the art differed helped differentiate between favourable pieces. The basic hang of a diverse range of pieces altered the way I perceived the art, allowing myself to draw conclusions and opinions based on how aesthetically the art contrasted. 

To critique the exhibition, I would only say that none of the pieces were titled, no information was given exemplifying the artists and their intentions. This did lead me to my own conclusions on the art however the missing information left me feeling unfulfilled with how the work was created. 

 Word count: 581