Exhibitions, Art.

jenks

thread death
i went to both the exhibitions at tate britain. the human all to human one i was not interested in, and as an aside i'd never registered before how catoonish bacon is, the war one was the best thing ive seen in some time. crammed with amazing work. highly recommended.

I went to Aftermath at the Tate today - went with low expectations but like you i was really taken aback by how well curated it was. Some fantastic german prints in there. - definitely worth a trip down Pimlico.

FWIW i enjoyed the All Too Human exhibition - mainly for the three or four artists that i didn't know - I am not a huge Bacon fan - find his work too cold and unaffecting.
 

jenks

thread death
Stumbled across this today

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/prints_of_war_and_peace.aspx

Really love Nevinson's stuff, clearly an incredibly talented artist

It's a very small exhibition, mind you, but free entry and then you've got the rest of the British Museum to go to, which ain't bad (leaving morals aside)

Some good Nevinsons in Aftermath - i think he gets overshadowed by some of his peers - Nash, Ravillious, Lewis but when he's good he's really impressive.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I'm in Sevilla, been checking out some paintings. I think Spanish art (pre modern) is not interesting when not gruesome/gothic/full of pitch blacks and browns and blood reds.

An avalanche of kitschy Catholicism out of which juts the jagged jet black peaks of Velasquez and Goya, Zurbaran and El Greco. You don't really realise how good the really great painters were until you see them juxtaposed with the merely very good painters. I mean to say that you see these Carravagio knockoffs, a thousand times better than anything I could ever paint if I practiced my whole life, but still just obviously not on the same level as Caravaggio himself.

The one Goya I've seen here stood out more for its originality of vision, surrounded by stock poses and scenes. However, I do like that you get all these versions of the same Biblical scenes - St Whatshisface in the wilderness, St whosehischops full of arrows etc.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Forgot to say that Murillo was another A1 painter, albeit less interesting than Valesquez, more use of cherubs and so on.

The Zurbarans and Velasquezes in the National gallery are great examples of that weird masochistic gothic aesthetic that appeals so much to modern taste.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Youre in sevilla? (Thats where I live). What you think of the city? How you dealing with the heat? Its been in the high 30s all this week still, cant wait for autumn to kick in now.

Dont think ive been to any art galleries in the 7 years I've lived here, didn't even know there any goyas here tbh! Madrid is the place to go for art, obviously.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Ah, lucky you! Shame I didn't realise, could have hit you up for recommendations for food etc. The heat has been punishing tbh, but I think the city is great. You're probably absolutely right re: Madrid being the place for art. I'm here with my family, so haven't been getting drunk either, which I assume is fun here.

As always embarrassed by my English monolingualism too.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
The Reina Sofia is great as well. Must admit I found the prado a bit boring cos I'm a philistine when it comes to old paintings (plus horrendous queus to get in), but the black period goyas they've got are amazing.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it, corpsey. Sevilla isnt any good for nightclubs but for casual drinking outside on terrazas all year round its sweet.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
In complete agreement - large stretches of the Prado were achingly dull. Didn't have any queues though when I went. The El Grecos, Goyas, Boschs and Las Meninas make it worth the price of admission.
Some amazing Spanish and Latin American artists I'd never heard of before at the Reina Sofia. Have to admit to being a bit disappointed by Guernica though...can't manage expectations well enough sometimes.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Paintings like Geurnica have been so widely reproduced that I don't think you can really see them even when they're right in front of you.

Other than stuff like the Sistine Chapel ceiling which just can't be reproduced, especially in a book or on a tea towel.
 

jenks

thread death
Things I am looking forward to:

Christian Marclay's The Clock at Tate Mod

The Assyrians at the British Museum.
 

luka

Well-known member
Paintings like Geurnica have been so widely reproduced that I don't think you can really see them even when they're right in front of you.

Other than stuff like the Sistine Chapel ceiling which just can't be reproduced, especially in a book or on a tea towel.

youve already seen them under optimal conditions. the intersection of you and image is where the magic happens. how can a meeting in a crowded gallery, sober, distracted, compete with solitary, possibly stoned, communion? it's almost impossible unless there is a particularly fortuitous conjunction of events.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
youve already seen them under optimal conditions. the intersection of you and image is where the magic happens. how can a meeting in a crowded gallery, sober, distracted, compete with solitary, possibly stoned, communion? it's almost impossible unless there is a particularly fortuitous conjunction of events.

Depends on the painting and the presentation of it, really.

Some paintings need to be seen full sized, full textured, etc., but sometimes paintings are so badly lit that you're better off looking in a book.

Re: going to galleries sober - I try not to :cool:
 

luka

Well-known member
sure, and things like van goughs have a textural quality the page cant capture, but the point still stands
 

luka

Well-known member
in the flesh its the same image with greater degree of granularity. its like hearing the same song on different sound systems. sometimes it can be revelatory. but you always understand it even at low bit rates
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
The Prado is worth a visit for this painting of OG Tyrion Lannister, if nothing else:

bufon_small.jpg
 
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