Feb 2012
Lost is Found
05/02/12 14:30
Yesterday I found myself braving the weather reports and heading off to the Cornerhouse in Manchester for a curators talk on the Lost is Found exhibition. Well there was snow happening outside of the train window and it was cold, but not as bad as I had expected. And unfortunately, the curators talk was not as good as I had hoped. Neither were the two exhibitions to be honest.
Now, regarding the exhibitions, I have to be honest and say that this just my opinion based on my taste and also my practice as a photographer. Some people will no doubt have really enjoyed them. For the curators talk, well, the curators were young and I’d guess that for at least one of them, it was the first time they’d done something like this - very nervous to say the least, as I’m sure I would be too. That’s something that will get easier for them, and I really wouldn’t hold nerves against someone. Where it did suffer was the way that the three curators passed between each other and moved all over the gallery. I felt like I was an 8-year old playing football, and the curators were the ball; we followed them around the gallery as they pinged from piece to piece and machine-gunned their way through their notes - it felt like it only took 5 minutes to go through half a dozen different artists work, although to be fair it probably took 10.
As for the work itself; there was the work from 9 NW artist on show, all working in different media to show “beauty in the redundant and discarded”. It all sounded a little pretentious to be honest, especially when reading the various statements in the show guide. That said, I did find some things interesting. Lucy Ridges’ work showing two images combined was surreal, but why use discarded frames? Did this add or detract meaning? The work was described as “a bewildering, unfinished idea with an open narrative.” Should it be displayed if an unfinished idea? And pictures of naked women really play on secret desires? I’m being harsh here, but as I said, I did like the work. I also liked Jessa Fairbrother’s projected slideshow, although without being told, I would have missed the red dress being overtly symbolic to femininity, but perhaps I just don’t think about things like that too often. I’m not sure what that means about Jon Barraclough’s “Brazilian” though (not really a Brazilian, drawing from his Everything and Nothing - you’d have to see it to understand).
I don’t think it’s coincidental that I preferred the photography based exhibits, but I thinks the inferred meanings behind some of them left a little to be desired.
Now, regarding the exhibitions, I have to be honest and say that this just my opinion based on my taste and also my practice as a photographer. Some people will no doubt have really enjoyed them. For the curators talk, well, the curators were young and I’d guess that for at least one of them, it was the first time they’d done something like this - very nervous to say the least, as I’m sure I would be too. That’s something that will get easier for them, and I really wouldn’t hold nerves against someone. Where it did suffer was the way that the three curators passed between each other and moved all over the gallery. I felt like I was an 8-year old playing football, and the curators were the ball; we followed them around the gallery as they pinged from piece to piece and machine-gunned their way through their notes - it felt like it only took 5 minutes to go through half a dozen different artists work, although to be fair it probably took 10.
As for the work itself; there was the work from 9 NW artist on show, all working in different media to show “beauty in the redundant and discarded”. It all sounded a little pretentious to be honest, especially when reading the various statements in the show guide. That said, I did find some things interesting. Lucy Ridges’ work showing two images combined was surreal, but why use discarded frames? Did this add or detract meaning? The work was described as “a bewildering, unfinished idea with an open narrative.” Should it be displayed if an unfinished idea? And pictures of naked women really play on secret desires? I’m being harsh here, but as I said, I did like the work. I also liked Jessa Fairbrother’s projected slideshow, although without being told, I would have missed the red dress being overtly symbolic to femininity, but perhaps I just don’t think about things like that too often. I’m not sure what that means about Jon Barraclough’s “Brazilian” though (not really a Brazilian, drawing from his Everything and Nothing - you’d have to see it to understand).
I don’t think it’s coincidental that I preferred the photography based exhibits, but I thinks the inferred meanings behind some of them left a little to be desired.
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