monkeys!

Well...time seems to be flying by, and a lot has been happening. I've started my art in the community practice module, which involves at placement at a local college working with students with special needs. We're currently joining in with their art sessions, which will lead to us organizing a workshop for the students to take part in. We will also be going on a gallery visit. It felt so great to finally be out of the studio and my room, and out into the public, working with REAL people! The group is small, but but they all seem very friendly, and are all extremely individual! I'm looking forward to getting to know the students better.
We decided to go visit the chosen gallery, Tate Britain, to plan ahead and see if there was anything in particular we wanted to show the students. The tutor suggested we could go to see the Tate Triennial 2006 exhibition. This was a varied exhibition, with a varied of work from new British artists. I've just realized that I got so absorbed in focusing whether the art work would be suitable for the students and in finding the different rooms around the gallery, that I forgot to take notes on the artists I liked and hated! I'll have to go back and have a second look. There were a few pieces I enjoyed, but really disliked the fact there were pornographic and slighty disturbing images spread through out the exhibition. The worst was in a side room with warnings, so that was ok in the sense it could be avoided, but one of the larger paintings within the main exhibition space was of a similar nature. I guess the style and what the artist was attempting to express about the dullness of ordinary life was interesting, but in the relation to taking the students or young children to the exhibition it makes it difficult and challenging. I know art is meant to provoke reaction and isn't always pleasing, but where do you draw the line between porn and art?!

Chris OfiliThe Upper Room 1999-2002

During our visit we also looked at the Upper Room exhibition by Chris O'fili. I have seen a few pieces of his work before, and love the depth involved in his work. Chris O'fili uses lays of build up the image, and often has hidden images with in the work. A great example of this is 'No Woman, No Cry' which was a tribute to the murdered teenager, Stephen Lawrence. On close examination his portrait can be seen in the tear drops of the woman, and within the first layer Chris O'fili painted the words 'Rest in peace Stephen Lawrence' and his dates. Chris O'fili uses a variety of material and sources to influence his work, from photography to the bible, and includes references of different cultures. The enter 'The Upper Room' you are led through a wooden passage with the only light source coming from slits along the bottom of the wall. This instantly sets the mood and atmopshere for the paintings. With in the room there was thirteen large paintings, with the largest at the end of the room. They are all identical in respect that the image is of a monkey with the painting set on top of two pieces of elephant dung, but each painting varies in the colours used. The canvases are said to represent the twelve Apostles, and the larger monkey being symbolic of Jesus. The spot lights used in the celling and the room being covered in wood, helps to create a peaceful environment almost similar to a chapel, adding to the suggestive nature of the paintings. The exhibition is a little difficult to find with in the Tate Britain, but its real worth a visit, and its free!