Contemporary Art Class

After last week's rather disappointing exhibitions I thoroughly enjoyed this week's class and was pleasantly surprised with the high quality of both the work shown and the galleries themselves.

The first gallery was Plateau in the 19th Arrondissement. We were here to see the exhibition Alien Theory with collaborative video work by the Portuguese artists Joao Maria Gusmao and Pedro Paiva. On doing a bit of preliminary research on these artists I was able to find an interesting Guardian review of an exhibition of their's held in Birmingham. Although the work shown in this exhibition was new work, reading the article again after visiting Plateau, I was able to recognize the consistency in their working practice and chosen themes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/feb/03/joao-maria-gusmao-pedro-paiva



The unassuming exterior of the gallery.


The exhibition featured around 30 of their silent, short films projected by clattering old film projectors. Though some people found the noise irritating and distracting, I was comforted by their nostalgic rattling in the same way that I appreciate the banging of an old loom when I am weaving. As well as the short films, the exhibition also featured 2 entrancing camera obscuras- that of turning bicycle wheels and the delicate flapping of ornate Japanese fans.

The films themselves are dream like scenarios often wavering between the boundary of reality and fiction, wit and poetry. The artists draw influence form science fiction, myths and proverbs, ethnography and paranormal phenomena. Some focus in minute detail on simple events and occurrences such as the splash of a stone into a lake or the movement of a bird in front of a painted background. They give us a real sense of anticipation, of the imminent arrival of action which ultimately never comes. Timothy said that the artist like to play on the idea of boredom. But not once during the whole exhibition was I bored. I was truly captivated.

Other films told a narrative and gave me the impression they were concealing a hidden meaning. For example the pained expression of the blind man eating the watermelon or the chimpanzees who were fishing potatoes out of a pot which at first sight appeared to be full of boiling water. Though we the viewer interpret the water to be boiling and therefore dangerous to touch, the chimpanzees are evidently clever enough to realize actually an artificial trick and the water is merely bubbling by the presence of an air pipe but is totally cold to the touch. Are the artists trying to point out the ignorance of humans? Many questions remain unanswered and the guide informed us that the artists refused to give an explanation of their work. They prefer people to draw their own conclusions.

I was particularly drawn by the magical ambience of some of the films which showed a process. Such as the footprints which are used like casts and filled with liquid metal to create replica metal feet, or the slow spaghetti making process which was more like a hypnotic exercise. Not to mention the fruit which appear to be hovering and dancing as if acting out a balletic scene. It is by no accident that the artists have allowed their strings and other low-budget, low-tech special effects to be visible. They deliberately want to reveal to us the mainsprings of their making, which I believe adds to their innocent and naive appeal. In addition, the old method chosen means that the appearance of the films will become increasingly grainy and their quality will deteriorate with use. Many of the industrial design students struggled to comprehend this desire to age their work but I found it gave the films a softer more endearing appearance which added to their mystery and intrigue. The slow pace of the films also created a rather sombre and melancholic atmosphere which really gave one time to ponder the subject.










Within the Guardian review, I found these two quotes particularly relevant and poignant in relation to the exhibition-

"Inexplicably beautiful, arresting and incomprehensible"

"like some kind of old scientific demonstration film- except one is never exactly sure what is being demonstrated, or why".

The second exhibition continued the theme of surreal experience but in a completely contrasting way. The exhibition at Bugada & Cargnel Cosmicgalerie was the Works of Julio Le Parc from 1959-1971 entitled The Eye of the Cyclops. Much of the work was very interactive and reminded me a little of the Science Museum in London.

The work was very futuristic, innovative and rather surreal. It also possessed a dream like quality but of a totally different genre to that of the previous exhibition. The contrast between the two exhibitions, of nostalgia and silence versus technology and energy worked well. And despite their differences, I enjoyed each as much as the other.










We finished the evening once again in a tiny Parisian bar which was so stereotypically local, it felt as though we were entering a film set. I suppose this aptly carried on the dreamlike nature of the evening. With old, dusty Moroccan carpets on the table tops and a weathered old man in a suit serving behind the bar I felt like Alice in Wonderland. What a fabulous end to an enjoyable evening.