Oxford Brookes Architecture Exhibition
28th May 2010
I went to the end of year exhibition at Oxford brookes University where my sister, Amy is studying for a Diploma in Architecture for part 2 accreditation from RIBA / ARB. All levels of Archiecture students were exhibited on different floors and the third year undergrads and first year diploma students were the most impressive. The first year diploma students were split into units of roughly 15-20 students and each unit tackled a different issue. The unit I focused on duriong the exhibition was DS2 Place-nomics, which looked at solutions to social problems and the downfalls architects are currently suffereing as a result of ignoring the real needs of communities and environments. This was the unit Amy studied in and her work focused on community housing around a theatre. The work was very impressive and beautifully and very imaginativly exhibited. For example the DS2 unit chose to display each individuals work in an A1 strip from floor to ceiling with a blind covering the entire length which had major facts and information effecting the project printed onto it, as you read the facts and lifted the blind the work was revealed. There were many beautiful models, a model for one unit was created of the whole area but visitors to the exhibition could chose which project from the unit to place on the site. There was another whivh had each project projected onto the site with shadows showing the passing of a day, each day there would be someone elses project displayed.
It was quite an imtimidating exhibition to go to only a week before your own Landscape Architecture exhibition opened!!
Showing posts with label exhibitions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exhibitions. Show all posts
Design Museum 22 May
Visited the design museum to finnally see the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year 2010, and also the David Adjaye exhibition on Urbanisation in Africa. The Insurance Design exhibition was really interesting. The winning design - the foldable plug by Min-kyu Choi, was impressive. The UK plug is something which is so unescessarily bulky and cumbersome, but also tolerated without question in day to day life, so to create such a simple and user friendly solution, I think, was very clever. Other designs which I was impressed / inspired by include, a product called 'clouds' which is an installation / starage / furniture / partition wall combo creation, by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Kvadrat. Basically a series of cells constructed from felt and connected together with custom fit elastic bands. the beautiful thing about the product is that the form and size of the 'cloud' is entirely down to the individual user. I really enjoyed the creation of something beautiful which can also be unique to everyone. Also the nominees for the interactive award were interesting and often alot of fun! Bloom (by Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers), which is an iphone / ipod touch application design was fun. the idea was to create music compositions by touching the screen in different places, this also created a ripple effect visual and when the application was left idle it would repeat the most recently entered composition on a loop. The BMW concept design was fascinating but with the desciption of its fantastic ergonomic form and unusual material, and also the surreal aesthetic; all you wanted to do was have a touch - and you obviously (but dissapointingly) weren't allowed. The most beautiful intallation I saw during the exhibition was without doubt 'Soma' by Ayala Serfaty. It was a light intallation constructed of light filaments which are woven together and then sprayed with polymer to create a glowing skin-like crust.
(Below: Folding plug design by Min-Kyu Choi, Cloud by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Kvadrat, Soma by Ayala Serfaty)
I was surprisied to see the Highline project as a nominee for the architecture award, only because it feels like its been around longer than it actually has, I think. Where it was maybe under celebrated in the Brity Insurance Design Awards, it has now made it up by winning a D&AD 'black pencil' award in the environmental design category.
LINK to D&AD website
I then went on to see the also long awaited David Adjaye Urban Africa exhibition. The introduction to the project was really interesting. Different characteristics of each African country were shown through mapping the whole continent in different styles. Giving you as the viewer an opportunity to understand each individaul country in the context of the Afican Continent. However when I moved into the exhibition I was slightly dissapointed. Each capital city in the whole continent was represented through a series of photographs, intended to encapture the feel of the whole city and the urban context of each city. I felt a little let down, and I don't really know why - the few Cities in Africa which I have visited and were represented, were represented well by the photographs. I think I was just expecting more analysis, more of a study.
(Below: Folding plug design by Min-Kyu Choi, Cloud by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Kvadrat, Soma by Ayala Serfaty)
I was surprisied to see the Highline project as a nominee for the architecture award, only because it feels like its been around longer than it actually has, I think. Where it was maybe under celebrated in the Brity Insurance Design Awards, it has now made it up by winning a D&AD 'black pencil' award in the environmental design category.
LINK to D&AD website
I then went on to see the also long awaited David Adjaye Urban Africa exhibition. The introduction to the project was really interesting. Different characteristics of each African country were shown through mapping the whole continent in different styles. Giving you as the viewer an opportunity to understand each individaul country in the context of the Afican Continent. However when I moved into the exhibition I was slightly dissapointed. Each capital city in the whole continent was represented through a series of photographs, intended to encapture the feel of the whole city and the urban context of each city. I felt a little let down, and I don't really know why - the few Cities in Africa which I have visited and were represented, were represented well by the photographs. I think I was just expecting more analysis, more of a study.
Serpentine Pavillion 2010
French architect Jean Nouvel has been asked to design this years Serpentine Pavillion (a temporary pavillion which is designed by a different architect each year since 2000, often an architect who has not had the opportunity to have anything built in the UK before). The proposal (below) is intended to refer to classic british icons, such as the route master buses / red telephone boxes / post boxes. The materials, glass, steel, fabric and polycarbonate, are also inteded to reflect this concept. The pavillion declares it's presence in Hyde park through it's vibrant colour and a 14m free standing wall next to the building.
French architect Jean Nouvel has been asked to design this years Serpentine Pavillion (a temporary pavillion which is designed by a different architect each year since 2000, often an architect who has not had the opportunity to have anything built in the UK before). The proposal (below) is intended to refer to classic british icons, such as the route master buses / red telephone boxes / post boxes. The materials, glass, steel, fabric and polycarbonate, are also inteded to reflect this concept. The pavillion declares it's presence in Hyde park through it's vibrant colour and a 14m free standing wall next to the building.
below - video about previous Pavillions from different architects over the years.
Dilston Grove Arts Venue
Dilston Church is due to reopen it's doors as a contemporary arts venue at an opening event on the 27 may, after two years and £870 000. The building is a grade two listed church and has hosted exhibits by various artists before, including; Ackroyd & Harvey, Richard Wilson, Mike Nelson and Shauna Illingworth.
Dilston Church is due to reopen it's doors as a contemporary arts venue at an opening event on the 27 may, after two years and £870 000. The building is a grade two listed church and has hosted exhibits by various artists before, including; Ackroyd & Harvey, Richard Wilson, Mike Nelson and Shauna Illingworth.
The New Faces: a Photographic Exhibition At The Book Club. It was a series of protraits and photographs by Dean Chalkney. I really liked the laid back style of the photos, and the moments which were caught seemed natural and yet well orchistrated.
"All the participants are in their late teens or early twenties, trying hard to be 'faces' on today's mod scene. Dean first encountered them last summer when they dropped into his monthly night club in north London. They would appear, dance and, after a few visits, even DJ. He became fascinated by their moves and by their style and the idea for 'The New Faces' was born"
The Real Van Gogh - The artist and his letters
20 / 03 / 2010
"They say a picture is worth a thousand words, yet in ‘The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters’ words redefine our understanding and appreciation of one of the most revered figures in the Post-Impressionist movement. Through the juxtaposition of Van Gogh's letters and his art, we see his life, work and passions illuminated as never before."
The exhibition was at the Royal academy of Arts. It was an amazing exhibition which really gave insight into what Van Gogh was all about. it was fascinating to me to see how he struggled with perspective for so long and it was interesting to see the progression through his work, as you walked through the exhibition. I found the earlier pieces of work sometimes very crude (mainly the perspective paintings in oil), and often beautiful in an almost romantic way (ink sketches and line drawings on a plain background). the later work where he really embraced colour were fantastic. I was so glad to finally see some. Among my favourites was "sower with setting sun" (below); the colours were almost luminous, the green was so vibrant against the purple fields. Another favourite was the sunflowers, as i used sunflowers among other organic forms in my art at sixth form and on my art foundation at Norwich. The colours were really beautiful which made me realise how badly most of the paintings reproduce - they were all far more beautiful in reality. Some of the colours eg. bright pink have faded over time to almost white (eg. below in "blossoming Almond tree"; the blossom were originally a much brighter pink).
Above: Blossoming Almond Tree, (Feb 1890) Vincent Van Gogh Below: Sowers with Setting Sun, (nov 1888) Vincent Van Gogh
I did enjoy letter aspect of the exhibition; although most were in dutch and french they were often illustrated with rough sketches of whichever painting he was working on at the time. These sketches, which he referred to as 'croquis' or 'scratches', were beautiful, and with a few of his earlier pieces I actually preferred them to the painting itself. Most of the letters were addressed to his younger brother Theo (an art dealer who supported Van Gogh financially and morally throughout his career) other letters were addressed to his younger sister Willemien and artist friends Anthon van Rappard, Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard. Sir John Soanes Museum - 20th march 2010
"Soane was born in 1753, the son of a bricklayer, and died after a long and distinguished career, in 1837.
Soane designed this house to live in, but also as a setting for his antiquities and his works of art. After the death of his wife (1815), he lived here alone, constantly adding to and rearranging his collections. Having been deeply disappointed by the conduct of his two sons, one of whom survived him, he determined to establish the house as a museum to which 'amateurs and students' should have access. "
Ecobuild 2010
Earls court.
The usual products were on display this year, and I didn't spend long in the main hall, looking around. I did attend several interesting seminars though, including a series on Urban planning and the public Realm. This included a series on the following: 'Making space for food', 'Incorporating trees' and 'Can healthier environments be designed?'
Martin Kelly, managing director of Capita Lovejoy chaired the series called 'Incorporating trees' which was interesting as he came to give talks on the same subject during a focus week at university, which I found really compelling. I am finding more and more that trees are a major consideration I have whilst designing a Landscape, and that there importance is becoming something that I am quite passionate about.
"Trees are widely understood to be central to a better environment, and this seminar explores concerns and practicalways to include more trees in urban and peripheral environments, how they can mitigate urban heating, and how to manage their ongoing maintenance."
The other Lectures which really had an impact where the series called 'Can healthier environments be designed?' in particular a seminar given by Rachel Hine, who is the Assistant Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Environment and Society, University of Essex. She spoke about The therapeutic effect of nature, and the impacts on mental health, which is very relevant for me, as the title of the CS Essay (dissertation) I am writing at the moment is: Ecopsychology; The effect of nature and Landscape architecture on the human psyche. The research that has been done at the University of Essex by Rachel Hine is really interesting. What really interests me is the suprisingly strong correlation between the decrease in mental health in the UK and the rate of Urbanisation, indicating that people are healthier if they have easy access to green space.
The Photographers' Gallery
17th February 2010
Deutsche Borse Photography Prize 2010
The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize rewards a living photographer, of any nationality, who has made the most significant contribution, in exhibition or publication format, to the medium of photography over the previous year.'
I went to the photographers gallery to see the work of the four finalists; Zoe Leonard, Anna Fox, Sophie Ristelheuber and Donovan Wylie. I found looking at the work really interesting, i decided to look through the whole exhibition without reading any of the accompanying explanation/ commentary, so as to interpret the photographs as they are, with no preconceptions or expectations. And it was really refreshing. They were depressing, impending, bizarre, and very different from artist to artist. All seemed to demand attention and evoke a strong feeling. After having read the accompanying notes about the photographers and their chosen subject matter, i just felt the same reactions in a more comprehensible context.
The photographs which had the most dramatic effect, for me, were by Donovan Wylie. He exhibited a series of photographs of the Maze prison, which once housed both loyalist and republican prisoners in Ireland. I think he really conveyed a sense of weight with the photographs, I felt that the series was photographed in reflection to his own personal experience of the building and feelings about the building. There was a wall display of clippings and artefacts from a scrap book on the opposite wall to the photographs, which visually gave the exhibition more context and a vague explanation. It was clear from the scrap book clippings what the show was about, but the photographs had an eery mystery about them. I can clearly picture now the strong lines and use of perspective to direct the viewer to through the photograph, there was something very blunt about the images.
(http://blog.magnumphotos.com/images/wylie_LON83745_Comp.jpg)
I went to the V&A to see the Decode exhibition, i'd heard a lot about it before going, so my expectations were high. I was not disappointed, I thought it was awesome. The exhibition was based digital and interactive design, works featured were mostly existing although a few were created especially for the exhibition. One thing that I really liked about the exhibition was that it was fun for everyone, you don't have to be into art or design specifically to enjoy the exhibition.
"The exhibition explores three themes: Code presents pieces that use computer code to create new works and looks at how code can be programmed to create constantly fluid and ever-changing works.Interactivity looks at works that are directly influenced by the viewer. Visitors will be invited to interact with and contribute to the development of the exhibits. Network focuses on works that comment on and utilise the digital traces left behind by everyday communications and looks at how advanced technologies and the internet have enabled new types of social interaction and mediums of self-expression."
http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/decode/
Outside in the John Madejski garden there were a series of small screens in the water as you approach the screens you see yourself digitally reflected on the various screens, the reflections are then reflected again into the water, it's strangely calming and sombre feeling.
I followed two little girls around the exhibition and they loved it, it was good for me to see how responsive the interactive peices were, because they got really in to it. very good, loved it.
V&A Decode generative identity from postspectacular on Vimeo.
The Unilever Series: How It Is
Miroslaw Balka
6.2.10
"The latest commission in The Unilever Series How It Is by Polish artist Miroslaw Balka is a giant grey steel structure with a vast dark chamber, which in construction reflects the surrounding architecture - almost as if the interior space of the Turbine Hall has been turned inside out. Hovering somewhere between sculpture and architecture, on 2 metre stilts, it stands 13 metres high and 30 metres long. Visitors can walk underneath it, listening to the echoing sound of footsteps on steel, or enter via a ramp into a pitch black interior, creating a sense of unease.
Underlying this chamber is a number of allusions to recent Polish history – the ramp at the entrance to the Ghetto in Warsaw, or the trucks which took Jews away to the camps of Treblinka or Auschwitz, for example. By entering the dark space, visitors place considerable trust in the organisation, something that could also be seen in relation to the recent risks often taken by immigrants travelling. Balka intends to provide an experience for visitors which is both personal and collective, creating a range of sensory and emotional experiences through sound, contrasting light and shade, individual experience and awareness of others, perhaps provoking feelings of apprehension, excitement or intrigue."
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unilevermiroslawbalka/default.shtm
VAN DOESBURG & the international avant garde
Constructing a new world
Tate modern 6th February 2010
I went to the tate modern today to check out the new Van Doesburg exhibition, which is running until May. It was fantastic. The range of design genre he dipped into during his career was phenomonal and cutting edge for the era. he originally trained briefly as a singer/ actor until he decided to be a painter and then gradually through his career became interested in typography, design and architecture. Theo van Doesburg was born as Christian Emil Marie Küpper in 1883 in Uttrecht, and his early paintings were reminiscent in style and subject matter to the Amsterdam Impressionists. In 1913 Van Doesburg was heavily influenced by Wassily Kandinsky, after reading his book 'Rückblicke', and began to experiment with abstraction.
"Like kandinsky, he saw abstraction as directly embodying the spiritual qualities that he believed to be fundamental to all works of art. It could be means of expressing the artists inner emotions, or of representing the mystical forces underlying the visible world, reflecting the doctrine known as theosophy."
(Gladys Fabre)
During Van Doesburgs two year service to the army in 1915, he came into contact with the work of Piet Mondrian. The complete abstraction of reality portrayed in Mondrian's work appealed to van Doesburg and he contacted Mondrian. Together with other artists Bart van der Leck, Anthony Kok, Vilmos Huszar and J J P Oud, he and Mondrian founded the magazine De Stijl. De Stijl, as a magazine and a movement, was a major element in Van Doesburgs life and featured broadly in this exhibition. The paintings were predominantly large canvases of vertical and horizontal grids with blocks of solid primary colour, although Mondrian often strayed from the restricted palette of primary colours. The paintings originally were based on a physical object or form, but evolved eventually into independent compositions of geometric grid and colour. I found the paintings bizarrely enchanting.
Theo van Doesburg: Counter composition VI 1925
In 1919 Van Doesburg created a new type face which i recognised instantly; It is created in line with the De Stijl movement of straight lines with no curves in squares and blocks, with capitals used where necessary, to keep the uniform shape. It was fascinating to see how this was developed and to understand the reasoning behind it. Van Doesburg felt a unity between his De Stijl movement and the Dada movement in the early 20's, there was a whole room dedicated to this during the exhibition, which i found really interesting. I was introduced to the ideals of Dadaism in my foundation year in Norwich where I had a fantastic lecture on it, however I have never properly looked into it, so it was interesting to see a portion of the exhibition focused on Dada.
Theo van Doesburg/ Cornelus van Eesteren: Perspective with final colour design, shopping arcade with bar restaurant, Laan van Meerdervoort, The hague 1924.
Van Doesburg's major inputs into the design and architecture world where during the period between 1923 - 1930. He met architect Cornelis Van Eesteren in 1922 and collaberated with him in creating a series of architectural models based on the idea of planes floating in space using black and white and the primary colours. The ideas behing De Stijl architecture and design influenced, Rietveld, Oud, De Marle, Gorin and Eileen Gray. the major project displayed in the exhibition was the Aubette building in Strasbourg. This was redeveloped in partnership with Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp into a Cafe, restaurant, Ballroom and Cinema complex. the new aethetic he created with this design he termed Elementarism. Displayed along with the ork in this room was a fantastic quote from van Doesburg:
"The point is to situate man within painting, rather than in front of it . . . Man does not live in the construction but in the atmosphere generated by the surfaces."
The National Portrait Gallery
31st January 2010
Had a wonder around the National Portrait Gallery, through the gallery displays. One of the displays I found interesting was the "Twiggy: A life in photographs". It was interesting to see the style changing with Twiggy's age. She was so iconic as a model and the images in the show were iconic in representing the times as well as the person. Other gallery displays at the time i visited included; John Gibbons: Portraits, Chasing mirrors, Jane Bown, Format Photography Agency 1983-2002, Salome: Oscar Wilde and Maud Allan.
David Adjaye
In march the design museum are hosting an exhibition based on David Adjaye's study of urbanism in Africa. I'm really excited about it, having previously traveled in Africa, and I also find his work and his design ethic interesting.
"This detailed survey will reveal a unique snapshot of life in Africa today, documenting the nature of urban life in a developing country, a unique geo-cultural survey profiling the African city in a global context."
(http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2010/urban-africa-a-photographic-journey-by-david-adjaye)
His design for a bus shelter featured in a previous exhibition at the design museum last summer (video below)
NLA
15th January 2010
"Our programme of exhibitions, events and publications brings together leading professionals in the public and private sector, politicians and the general public, to share knowledge and identify the challenges and opportunities of the capital's built environment."
I went to the NLA for a morning talk and a wonder around the exhibits which are there, amongst which is the fantastic model of central London by Pipers- 'International leaders in architectural model making'. It is a beautiful model and I always find it fascinating to see London from that perspective, on my flight to japan in the summer i noticed the city from above. It is so huge and such an iconic landscape.
David Chipperfeild Architects
The Design Museum
"With a style that is restrained, quiet and thoughtful, David Chipperfield is of one of Britain’s leading architects. He has a huge international reputation and completed buildings in China, Japan, Italy, USA, Spain and Germany. Chipperfield produces subtle and sophisticated buildings, from museums to homes, with an acute sensitivity for materials and a powerful awareness of their environment."
The exhibition was fantastic, the models on display were some of the most beautiful models I have ever seen, I think I was more impressed with the models than the actual design in some cases! There was one model made out of marble. crazy. I thought it was a good representation of high quality work, however i didn't find the architecture itself very inspiring.
University College Hospital
October 2009
There was a small art exhibition along the entrance to the university college hospital:
"The art in the new University College Hospital has been made to create a welcoming, uplifting environment for patients, visitors and staff and in so doing improve patient well being, boost staff morale and widen access to the arts across the trust. Recent evidence shows that an engaging and stimulating hospital environment can assist in quicker recovery rates for patients as well as help with the recruitment and retention of staff."
The artwork was from the Slade School of Fine art and the exhibition seemed to be based along the lines of nature / gardens and the artists' perceptions of and reactions to these things. There were several peices which i found beautiful and interesting. One piece in particular caught my attention, which was a black and white photograph of a garden from outside the garden with the tree (which looks like a monkey puzzle or chile pine (Araucaria araucana)) painted in black acrylic paint. It is a really strong image from an interesting view point. There was also a beautiful 3D piece which created a bizarre optical illusion, but was just pins stuck into a surface, simple but beautiful and interesting.
Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design
V + A
" The fairy tale, which to this day is the first tutor of children because it once was the first tutor of mankind, secretly lives on in the story. the first true storyteller is, and will continue to be, the teller of fairy tales."
Walter Benjamin
I went to see this exhibition after the Teach-in in the V + A. It was a selection of furniture and product design based on fantasy and fairy tale. I found it a fascinating exhibition; disturbing and bizarre, but enthralling. Topics ranged from classic fairy tales referring to childhood and good vs evil to more sinister and adult fears and fantasies. The exhibition was split into three sections; The Forest Glade, The Enchanted Castle and Heaven and Hell. Some designs which really caught my attention were 'princess Chair', 'Witch chair', 'Petit Jardin chair' and 'Fig Leaf wardrobe' all the work of Tord Boontje; I felt his work really captured the inspiring and magical essence of the fairy tale, which I personally find inspirational and have used as a concept in a Landcsape project for a childrens playground (Hampton Hill Junior School, Adult Learning Facility 2008). I especially liked the complete contrast between the child like innocence and fairy tale- princess- magic evoked in 'Princess chair' and the cynisism and evil refelected in 'Witch chair'. I found it interesting that you, viewing the object, can form such a strong emotional response to an inanimate object based purely on preconceptions conceived at childhood. All of the objects and furniture in the exhibition seemed to be created to make people question their perception of everyday objects.
Radical Nature Exhibition - Art and architecture for a changing planet 1969 - 2009
BARBICAN GALLERY 3rd October 2009
"The beauty and wonder of nature have provided inspiration for artists and architects for centuries. Since the 1960s, the increasingly evident degradation of the natural world and the effects of climate change have brought a new urgency to their responses. Radical Nature is the first exhibition to bring together key figures across different generations who have created utopian works and inspiring solutions for our ever-changing planet."
http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=8908
Tomas Saraceno, Air-Port-City. Henrik Hakansson, Fallen Forest, 2006.
The exhibition was a fascinating insight into the way artists and architects percieve nature and the effects of global warming, climate change and other environmental issues. What I found especially interesting was the amount of work on display by artists in the 60's and 70's, it struck me that although possibly artists were aware of the impacts and consequences of the way we live and the impacts our lifestyle has on the environment, it is only now that it is deemed suitable for public viewing. One environmental artist which especially interested me was Agnes Denes, her projects are a large scale and so stand out and really make a statement, the two examples in the exhibition were: Wheatfeild- A Confrontation, 1982, in which two acres of landfill in new york were planted and harvested as a wheatfeild. And, Tree Mountain -A Living Time Capsule- 11,000 Trees, 11,000 People, 400 Years, 1992- 1996 in which a conical mountain in Finland was planted with Fir trees.
I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and it made me think twice about environmental issues and look at them in a different way. I found it very inspiring to see artists and architects taking notice of such vital issues.
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