Funny Finland?

PS1 - Arctic Hysteria: New Art from Finland
June 1, 2008 - September 21, 2008 (although it was still on when I went on the 29th of September).

This exhibition which brings together some of Finland's wackiest and surprisingly funny works. The stand out work was a collection video taped performances of workshops undertaken by artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen with a variety of groups across the globe. These workshops create comic songs derived from complaints brought up at the community workshops. Discussing serious political complaints in Singapore to wondering why the beer is expensive in the Birmingham, England city centre.

The joy derived from these works shouldn't be underestimated - sometimes people connect more discussing the things that annoy them more than the things they love. Brillant! Check out all the performances at www.complaintschoir.org.

Architecture exhibitions at MOMA NY

Dreamland: Architectural Experiments since the 1970s
July 23, 2008–March 2, 2009

This exhibition on the Architecture and Design Level of MOMA, NY captures the inventiveness that the New York architectural landscape inspires and the invention of a modern city. This collection of imagined and real buildings captures the Utopian concepts that emerge out of such a large and busy city. 

     

Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling
July 20–October 20, 2008

The fabrication of buildings has been the modern dilemma for architects and this beautifully curated exhibition demonstrates the variety as well the bizarre concepts in the creation of quickly built homes. The collection of models and a large life size pre-fab post-war building captures the lack of character in these buildings. Images of Japanese and other nationalities buildings are very interesting in comparison. 

Olafur Eliasson Waterfalls in NY

This amazing installation by Olafur Eliasson in conjunction with the New York Government has put together these waterfalls all around the Brooklyn bridge area. These amazing waterfalls use the water from the river and then pump it back. The sunlight catches the flow of water and rainbows are created. It is quite spectacular. The industrial nature of the works means that it actually hard to tell it is an artwork as opposed to just water recycling but that does make the work very interesting. The work will only be on until the 13th of October check out the official website http://www.nycwaterfalls.com/

BCAM AT LACMA

The LACMA in Los Angeles has recently undergone a big renovation so my timing in visiting it was pretty perfect. However in what seems to be an amazing addition is the Broad Contemporary Museum of Art. Broad, (named after the benefactors Eli and Edythe Broad - not as in general art) is an astounding collection of what is basically the best and comprehensive contemporary & pop-art collection I have seen.

Including works by Damian Hirst, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Cindy Sherman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Baldessari, Jeff Koons, Chris Burden, Mike Kelley, and Richard Serra.This private collection which has been donated is not only a whos who of names but some of their most astounding and important works. This collection is basically gasp after gasp for those of us to don't live next to the MOMA or a similar institution.

Clearly it is Eli Broad's intention to make this rival and it does the likes of New York or London in terms of the collection and breadth of works. The security obviously was very tight, so I couldn't take photos however check out the online collection at the LACMA website.

the getty - LA

My first international post from lovely LA:

The Getty Center is on top of an LA Hill looking down on the massive 405 Highway and the rich houses of Bel Air. This building just screamed the money and donations that American's contribute to the arts here and this building has the best of everything and the nicest tram leading up to the gallery I have ever seen.

Although the Getty Center by Richard Meier is an style an amazing piece of Modernist architecture has some classic modernist moves. From the eaves "that represent what the building purpose is", to the geometric use of squares and light coloured materials.

This is a really awe inspiring building and the although the museum's contents have absolutely nothing to do with Modernism it is still an amazing example when people have too much money and too time but do something great with it.

I heart Shaun Gladwell

Finding this hilarious sticker on the back streets of Chippendale was amusing for a few reasons. One the person who wrote it had enough knowledge about him to spell Shaun correctly. Obviously it can be spelt Sean and a variety of other spellings.

The second amusing thing about this is that this sticker is obviously homemade & I haven't seen it anywhere else and the HATE is filled in.

The sticker could have been put there by a skater - although Gladwell is usually the poster boy for the urban dwellers. The skater kids might not be feeling the love.

Gladwell is one of those artist who have also risen to "fame" quite quickly and reasonably well-known by the general public. Although he has been a little overexposed you can't hold that against him and some of his recent works have been very engaging. Shaun should probably take this as a compliment at least people know who is he enough to hate him.

The art of shopping

Walking around Sydney shops recently it made we wonder how much design has infiltrated our public spaces. Although crazy shop front windows have always been a sales technique, the front of any well heeled designer stores are starting to look remarkable like some kind of art installation but with more clothes.

This may well be a case of shops becoming more savy but mostly it is a bit of fun. Many fashion labels now work with artist in the creation of t-shirts and shoes and other customized items. But one has to wonder how much artists are getting paid for their contribution to these ventures - rather than the more traditional designers.

Check out these two shop installations - one for the Spring in David Jones and one for Louis Vuitton.



Both seem to grasping on to some coolness factor here although the age bracket viewing the Spring Fashions at David Jones was a little more interested in the Birds of Paradise (the flowers). Louis Vuitton seems also to be grasping at straws a little, my motto withstanding - CCTV is all over the art scene at the moment so they are at least on the pulse.

Surprise attack gardening

A trend that seems to around at the moment is "guerilla gardening" which was started in New York in the 1970's, but is currently undergoing a revival. This random joyful expression changes public spaces and involves groups of people getting together to create gardens quickly and in strange and unusual urban spaces. The beauty of this seems to be that completely unwanted and unloved spaces are used and with rent and space pressure a little garden could go a long way. There is a story about this in the current YEN magazine and a website tropolism has a decidated section to pop-up gardens in New York City. I wonder however are there any Sydney Guerilla Gardeners out there?

Sydney Design Week 2008

Sydney Design Week recently rolled around again and the unbelievable may have happened, my undying love of laser cut jewellery may finally be over. I do love the stuff however there are so many one can see in a day. Many of the designers at the Young Blood Market although they seemed very talented and had great work on offer - the repetition from booth to booth and from this year to last year was not especially inspiring. Some very interesting artists had taken over the bottom courtyard and were creating artwork on the spot for donations. This was a great addition and added a bit of spontaneity to an otherwise nice day out for a bunch of yuppies. Thank God for artists that need a bit of cash!

Welcome!

Welcome to constructing art! I hope you enjoy my posts about Art, Design & Architecture in Sydney & Australia. Please feel free to email me through the about me section regarding any upcoming events that relate to my blog, inc. exhibition openings and talks. I look forward to all your comments & hope you enjoy my international posts from next week.