Liverpool Gallery Trip
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
The Walker was the first gallery I visited during my trip to Liverpool, featuring both contemporary and historical exhibitions, but mostly archived pieces made from the 18th century, and onward to more present times. The first exhibition I viewed was an installation by Benedict Drew, named "KAPUT", featuring a dark, neon lit room containing large video screens, constantly looping the same footage in 5-10 second intervals. Above the screens sat a large picture suspended in the air of an aged man, wires and cables protruding and piercing his eyes, connected to this "machine" of an installation, below in the centre of the room laid a black platform, containing musical equipment (possibly pedals for the audio used in the footage) and a mound of wires and debris.
Moving on I began viewing the more historical pieces, which took up most of the rooms in the gallery, featuring paintings from many different art movements through the ages, from impressionism to surrealism and cubism, a varied array of styles and techniques. A section I spent a large portion of time in was the sculpture room, featuring many busts and figures of roman legends and royalty, it was presented so well, the white walls and wooden flooring of the room allowed the sculptures to stand out, showing their true beauty through the massive detail in the artisan carving and sculpting of the pieces, the time they took to make is mirrored through their sheer excellence. Overall, this gallery was an interesting visit and definitely aided in giving me inspiration for my own work.
Tate Liverpool, Liverpool
Containing much more modern and contemporary art, the Tate Liverpool was the last gallery I visited during this trip, featuring more current and upcoming artists, with work varying from performances to films and photography. The ground level featured a performance piece, with 2 robots and an assortment of video screens, the robots conversing with one another and taking orders from a master computer in the centre, this concept seemed too far fetched for me, it was interesting to see robots being incorporated into an art piece, but the concept of them communicating and reaching a "higher power" was way too difficult to comprehend, given they reveal very little information on what is occurring.
The next exhibition on the higher level featured work by Tracy Emin and William Blake, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Blake's pieces on display, as I have researched his work previously, and enjoyed his depictions of religious and symbolic scenes in a renaissance style. Tracy Emin's piece however, did not sit well with me, the only piece being "My Bed", sitting in the middle of the room, I fail to see how placing a piece of furniture, surrounded by litter and empty bottles to replicate it being "lived in", in an exhibition space could be interpreted as such a brilliant, groundbreaking piece of work. Despite the guide giving me insight into her life, talking about how she was "depressed" and "not wanted, even before birth." I am not impressed and expected something more from such a praised and recognised artist.