What is Maximal Minimalism anyway?
Cerith Wyn Evans' so called 'Maximal-Minimalist' exhibition 'take my eyes and through them see you' at the ICA was cluttered with noise and pollution; pots plants, over-bearing white walls, huge windows.
Okay, so the actual visual element of the piece that the exhibition was named after is minimal: two rolls of blank film -one collecting the room's dust, the other collecting the scratches caused by repeated projection on to the screen. I like the idea, but came away slightly stressed by the mess of it all:
One of the works was broken upon arrival, the film projector of the other one was so noisy that it was difficult concentrate on the actual film. That eventually broke too.
The lady on guard (who'd previously attempted to introduce the exhibition yet was of little help when I questioned the suspiciously placed pot plants) attempted to fix the machine that had broken down but to no avail. So I left via another piece-'Please pay attention Motherfucker' - a stuffed magpie.
On hindsight, I'm hoping it was a set-up. That would have been truly contemporary.
I'm still yet to read all of the text heavy minimalist-maximalism-whatever brochure that came with the show. Maybe now's the time.
Okay, so the actual visual element of the piece that the exhibition was named after is minimal: two rolls of blank film -one collecting the room's dust, the other collecting the scratches caused by repeated projection on to the screen. I like the idea, but came away slightly stressed by the mess of it all:
One of the works was broken upon arrival, the film projector of the other one was so noisy that it was difficult concentrate on the actual film. That eventually broke too.
The lady on guard (who'd previously attempted to introduce the exhibition yet was of little help when I questioned the suspiciously placed pot plants) attempted to fix the machine that had broken down but to no avail. So I left via another piece-'Please pay attention Motherfucker' - a stuffed magpie.
On hindsight, I'm hoping it was a set-up. That would have been truly contemporary.
I'm still yet to read all of the text heavy minimalist-maximalism-whatever brochure that came with the show. Maybe now's the time.
Labels: art, exhibitions
posted by ∞ infinite ∞ at
8:15 PM
1 Comments:
sounds weirdly unstimulating. for me the ICA is pretty much the only gallery where the location undermines the work. how are you supposed to engage with contemporary, anarchic clutter when you've got the eerily quiet, manicured prettiness of the mall outside? not really feeling the juxtaposition.
u should come back there for dirty canvas on saturday tho - kode9, logan sama, the movement, and norwood's own l man!! should be live.
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