Friday 28 February 2014

La Bohème


Now, what better way than being whisked away on a surprise and end up seeing La Bohème at The Royal Albert Hall on the opening night! Well that is what happened yesterday evening and what an absolutely incredible surprise my dearest friend gave me, a pre-birthday present, and one to remember for ever.

I have for a long time wanted to see an Opera, knowing well that I would love every part of it and I was not disappointed for one second. Puccini's La Bohème is a truly stunning, deeply emotive tale of creativity, passion, love and loss and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra accompanying the story, it really was a stunning evening and a well earned reward. Thank you my dear Valentina.

Here is some more information and tickets here: https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/la-boheme/default.aspx  

Thursday 27 February 2014

V&A Museum - National Art Library


I am very, very pleased and honoured to announce that both my publications, "The Photograph As Contemporary Art" and the Special Edition of "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" are now part of the V&A Museum Collection in the National Art Library!!!

"The National Art Library is a major public reference library for the fine and decorative arts, and is the V&A's curatorial department for the art, craft and design of the book." 

See more information and access and opening times here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/about-the-national-art-library/

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Deacon & Hoch A Welcomed Re-treat

 
In between the editing and the blurring vision, a must needed escape for inspiration and sanity! I decided to visit two exhibitions that I have been meaning to see for a while and took a leisurely trip out to Pimlico to see the new Richard Deacon show at the new and reinvented Tate Britain and then onto the Whitechapel to the see the must anticipated Hannah Hoch!

Both shows very different in there approaches and ideas were such a welcomed space, both mentally and visually between all the digital files I am searching through. The Richard Deacon exhibition was wonderfully calming, pensive, where forms twisted and turned in ways you nether new could or imagined. The tactical quality of materials which was astounding, as turned wood sculptures were set against hard, sharp, shining Aluminium, it really brought to the forefront of your mind how natural and human materials can interplay against one another. 

Deacon's drawings for me, his works on paper which I didn't know much about, I found truly magical. The use of lines, shapes, drawn in pencil and pastel felt so fluid, full of life and energy, these placed against the background of the large scale sculptures made for a stunning visual experience as you saw the transformation, that fluidity transcend into the pieces. How can wood bend, fold, roll in that way, it felt as if Deacon has drawn these with just a larger pencil! A must see show and in one of my favourite galleries in London, the Tate Britain in my opinion one of the most beautiful spaces in the city, not to be missed.


Now to the Whitechapel and to see probably one of the most influential artists of my practice, so the pressure to deliver was much anticipated, but I must say it certainly did deliver. From a very young age I have been so deeply inspired by the Dadaists, the use of Photomontage and Collage and through such prolific artist as Hoch, this exhibition truly touched me deeply on many levels. 

It was wonderful to see her progression, the transition between gouache paintings, hand drawings of the female form, through to very iconic, canonic photomontages. Intermixed with documents, books, magazines of which her illustrations were published and scrap books, "Albums"  she created, literally cutting and pasting. Hoch's appreciation and understanding of how Photography, how Society, both culturally, historically recreated a much needed platforms for interrogation is truly inspiring and powerful. Her role as a women within such a movement is firstly to be praised, but secondly understanding the context in which she worked, a German artist within a Nazi rein only provides additional evidence of her passion, her bravery and true craftsmanship that paved the way for contemporary artistic practice and for that I am truly, deeply and eternally grateful and inspired.

A  few little quotes from the exhibition, in Hannah's words, which I think are beautifully poetic and really resinated with me, 

" I would like to blur the firm borders that we human beings, cocksure as we are, are inclined to erect around everything that is accessible to us. [...] I want to show that small can be large, and large small, it is just the standpoint from which we judge that changes, and every concept loses its validity, and all our human gestures loses their validity. I also want to show that there are millions and millions of other justifiable points of view besides yours and mine. Today I would portray the world from an ant's-eye view and tomorrow, as the moon sees it, perhaps, and then as many other creatures may see it. I am a human being, but on the strength of my imagination-tied as it is- I can be a bridge. [...]"

" The peculiar characteristics of photography and its approaches have opened up a new and immensely fantastic field for a creative human being; a new, magical territory, for discovery of which freedom is the first prerequisite."

A must, must see exhibition!!!

Friday 14 February 2014

從銀礦快樂情人節


(個特殊的選擇今天來慶祝聖情人,所以這裡是從銀礦存檔兩個偉大的圖像,認為他們說這一切,有一個美好的一天!)

A special selection today to celebrate St Valentines, so here are two great images from the Silvermine Archive, think they say it all, have a wonderful day!!!

Thursday 13 February 2014

112,861 Images And Counting...


So, 112,861 images have been reviewed, selected and edited, now only another 300,000 or so to go! As this Archive is so vast, and my previous visit to Beijing was in fact a year ago, I think that it is so important to re look at each and every image to refresh, excite and inspire my mind. So with that in mind, every second is spent reviewing the imagery and new selections made. 

Above is just a sneaky peak of my smallish selection from the 2010 folder, of which only a very small percentage makes my strict editing process, so to date the long list stands at 531... very much  more to be continued!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Collaborative Testing In Full Swing


2014 is truly about pushing forward and I can honestly say that the past month has been the most busiest to date! Setting up a wealth of exciting projects, plans and preparations for the next 2 years and what an incredibly inspiring journey it is going to be! And what better way to start this momentous year than with the finalisation of my collaborative project - The Silvermine in China. 

So with that in mind, every second of every day is spent looking through the remaining imagery, over 300,000 left to view, edit and test on. The imagery that I am so lucky to be working with, provides much ample food for thought and above is a little example of one of tests that I have made, a truly beautiful example of how the colours and tonal graduation change and alter when put through the process I have carefully created. 

Many more images to come, and much more information to be divulged so keep watching as new posts appear, but Beijing was calling and I couldn't wait to cave in, so China awaits! Until the next stage... 

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