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Pens, Paper & Crayons
Apr. 26th, 2008 03:24 pmIf you live in London (or are visiting) and love books, you should check out the free exhibition at the V&A, Blood on Paper - the Art of the Book. The exhibition showcases books by various artists from the 20th and 21st century, who either combine words with painting & images, or turn books into art objects. Highlights, for myself, included Ode à ma Mère by Louise Bourgeois, where a black & white etching of a spider, together with a poem, show the artist's love & hate relationship with her mother; and Pablo Picasso's Deux Contes, with delicate engravings and poems.
The actor that I hire once in a while to pretend to be my boyfriend wrote a post about the exhibition before we visited it. He had read an article in The Guardian some weeks ago which sparked his curiosity and gave us the idea of visiting the V&A yesterday evening. I agree 100% with what he wrote about Damien Hirst:
Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin (thankfully absent from the exhibition) epitomize a certain segment of the art world: their work is hinged on their celebrity status, their lust for money, and their very trite and obvious themes. They scream for attention with narcissistic pieces that never leave any lasting impression or say anything too important to the viewer (unless you are as shallow as them.) Another baffling piece in the exhibition is a collection of photos, letters and random detritus found in Francis Bacon's studio. The piece is dated 2006, so it was put together by somebody other than Bacon. Crumbled and paint-splattered items frame an open suitcase. I remember reading sometime ago a story about a man who had stored Francis Bacon's garbage after he passed away and who had made a killing when the stuff was auctioned. So, basically, someone framed and hung Francis Bacon's garbage, called it art and didn't even have the decency to put their own names to it. Can they really put Bacon's name to it if he never intended to have it displayed that way? (or displayed at all?)
The actor that I hire once in a while to pretend to be my boyfriend wrote a post about the exhibition before we visited it. He had read an article in The Guardian some weeks ago which sparked his curiosity and gave us the idea of visiting the V&A yesterday evening. I agree 100% with what he wrote about Damien Hirst:
I cringed with Morrison [the guy who wrote the piece for The Guardian] when I read that Damien Hirst called his contribution to the V&A show I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, With Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now. If we often judge a book by its cover, we certainly judge an artist’s book by its title and this one says Damien Hirst’s book is a shit read.
Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin (thankfully absent from the exhibition) epitomize a certain segment of the art world: their work is hinged on their celebrity status, their lust for money, and their very trite and obvious themes. They scream for attention with narcissistic pieces that never leave any lasting impression or say anything too important to the viewer (unless you are as shallow as them.) Another baffling piece in the exhibition is a collection of photos, letters and random detritus found in Francis Bacon's studio. The piece is dated 2006, so it was put together by somebody other than Bacon. Crumbled and paint-splattered items frame an open suitcase. I remember reading sometime ago a story about a man who had stored Francis Bacon's garbage after he passed away and who had made a killing when the stuff was auctioned. So, basically, someone framed and hung Francis Bacon's garbage, called it art and didn't even have the decency to put their own names to it. Can they really put Bacon's name to it if he never intended to have it displayed that way? (or displayed at all?)
