Wednesday 24 June 2009
Money Shot
No, the gaping, blank expression isn't her imitating a blow-up doll passively awaiting seven inches of hot meat in her mouth; she is in fact bored shitless and yawning at the tedious fucking sexism, stereotyping and god-awful sexual innuendo which has become an advertising horse as dead and flogged as the one inside that burger bun.
Tuesday 23 June 2009
John 'Hoppy' Hopkins: Against Tyranny
Check out my review of his retrospective exhibition:
Nuclear scientist, squatter, trans-Siberian hearse driver, raver, convict, photographer and founder of the first sub-culture newspaper (the International Times), John ‘Hoppy' Hopkins in all his varied incarnations is exhibited currently at the Idea Generation gallery with his retrospective collection Against Tyranny.
‘Hoppy's images pull no punches and show an empire in decline,' says the blurb from the gallery. The way most people speak of the 60s, it is painted as quite the opposite of a decline; it was a period of ascent out of the cultural stagnancy of post-war gloom towards a vibrant era of music, youth culture and copious drug use, wasn't it?
Not so, say Hopkins' pictures of the slums. In one photograph titled ‘Poverty', a woman sits in her one-room makeshift bedsit, eking out the rest of the time she has left before the bulldozers come to clear the path for what will become the Westway. Behind her on the wall, two painted dancing figures contrast with the impending devastation of not only a building but also her life possessions, in what seems a cruel mockery. It's a powerful reminder that London was actually pretty shit back then. Just watch Withnail & I (again) if you want to see evidence of a decade that was more about wrecking balls than good vibes.
CND, the Vietnam war, the US civil rights movement and the UK's first wave of immigration dominated the social agenda. As a documenter and activist of the protest movement, Hopkins brought a very 60's perspective to the cause; LSD. "The effect is to kick your frame of reference and give it a good shake," Hopkins said of the acid experience. "[Taking it] helps us recognise we're all part of the same tribe".
His candid documentary-style photographs of street protesters seem naive in retrospect. Back then whole movements were borne out of protest, in contrast to modern protests that look more like art festivals.
A sign of quality in art is when it can be enjoyed without knowledge of the meaning. Hopkins' studied portraits (of Malc X, MLK, Lennon and Burroughs to name a few) are strong even without the knowledge of the personal relationships he had with his subjects. Yet somehow, while knowing his history with Burroughs, Ginsberg et al doesn't detract, it doesn't add anything either as you may have thought it would. Possibly because Hopkins' own role as protagonist imposes to the point of being dominant.
His opportunistic snapshots (Smackhead, Prostitute) are much more visceral and allow his talent as a photographer to breathe without the dulling layer of explicit socio-political comment. Couple, 5am is a beautiful, working class evocation of Robert Doisneau's Kiss by the Hotel De Ville.
The Psychedelic posters are impressive artefacts of graphic design, but the style has been ripped off so many times that they look like pastiches. Thanks a lot Austin Powers.
The spectre of the future casts a shadow over the whole exhibition. CND didn't really achieve it's goal; Vietnam is Iraq; we can see live pictures of US journalists being beheaded by insurgents on Youtube. Black and white photographs of protest marches for immigrant equality inspire a nostalgic hope that you can't help feeling is a little false, knowing that we have just elected the BNP. Knowing what we know now about the modern world, Hopkins' images feel quaint. But on the other hand they capture a spirit and optimism, a rare determination to effect change. At a time when the sentiment of this exhibition should be more relevant than ever, it throws into sharp relief the modern apathy towards those same issues that remain today. Perhaps what the world needs is more LSD...
URL to original article on Don't Panic's site here: http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/john-hoppy-hopkins
Nuclear scientist, squatter, trans-Siberian hearse driver, raver, convict, photographer and founder of the first sub-culture newspaper (the International Times), John ‘Hoppy' Hopkins in all his varied incarnations is exhibited currently at the Idea Generation gallery with his retrospective collection Against Tyranny.
‘Hoppy's images pull no punches and show an empire in decline,' says the blurb from the gallery. The way most people speak of the 60s, it is painted as quite the opposite of a decline; it was a period of ascent out of the cultural stagnancy of post-war gloom towards a vibrant era of music, youth culture and copious drug use, wasn't it?
Not so, say Hopkins' pictures of the slums. In one photograph titled ‘Poverty', a woman sits in her one-room makeshift bedsit, eking out the rest of the time she has left before the bulldozers come to clear the path for what will become the Westway. Behind her on the wall, two painted dancing figures contrast with the impending devastation of not only a building but also her life possessions, in what seems a cruel mockery. It's a powerful reminder that London was actually pretty shit back then. Just watch Withnail & I (again) if you want to see evidence of a decade that was more about wrecking balls than good vibes.
CND, the Vietnam war, the US civil rights movement and the UK's first wave of immigration dominated the social agenda. As a documenter and activist of the protest movement, Hopkins brought a very 60's perspective to the cause; LSD. "The effect is to kick your frame of reference and give it a good shake," Hopkins said of the acid experience. "[Taking it] helps us recognise we're all part of the same tribe".
His candid documentary-style photographs of street protesters seem naive in retrospect. Back then whole movements were borne out of protest, in contrast to modern protests that look more like art festivals.
A sign of quality in art is when it can be enjoyed without knowledge of the meaning. Hopkins' studied portraits (of Malc X, MLK, Lennon and Burroughs to name a few) are strong even without the knowledge of the personal relationships he had with his subjects. Yet somehow, while knowing his history with Burroughs, Ginsberg et al doesn't detract, it doesn't add anything either as you may have thought it would. Possibly because Hopkins' own role as protagonist imposes to the point of being dominant.
His opportunistic snapshots (Smackhead, Prostitute) are much more visceral and allow his talent as a photographer to breathe without the dulling layer of explicit socio-political comment. Couple, 5am is a beautiful, working class evocation of Robert Doisneau's Kiss by the Hotel De Ville.
The Psychedelic posters are impressive artefacts of graphic design, but the style has been ripped off so many times that they look like pastiches. Thanks a lot Austin Powers.
The spectre of the future casts a shadow over the whole exhibition. CND didn't really achieve it's goal; Vietnam is Iraq; we can see live pictures of US journalists being beheaded by insurgents on Youtube. Black and white photographs of protest marches for immigrant equality inspire a nostalgic hope that you can't help feeling is a little false, knowing that we have just elected the BNP. Knowing what we know now about the modern world, Hopkins' images feel quaint. But on the other hand they capture a spirit and optimism, a rare determination to effect change. At a time when the sentiment of this exhibition should be more relevant than ever, it throws into sharp relief the modern apathy towards those same issues that remain today. Perhaps what the world needs is more LSD...
URL to original article on Don't Panic's site here: http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/john-hoppy-hopkins
Monday 1 June 2009
The Bunker at the Centre of the Universe
This week I went to look at some art underground...
n an inconspicuous car park entrance next to a shopping mall on Kingsland Road, an abandoned post-war bunker spreads out underneath Dalston, East London. You didn't know that did you?! This outwardly unidentified space has been empty for years, unusable due to lack of electricity or any other utilities. The Bunker is only yards away from a busy high street but once inside, it is another world altogether – cold, damp, dark and eerie.
Catherine Borra of the nomadic art space collective known as The Centre Of The Universe, has had designs on The Bunker for a while and with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland, has now managed to realise her vision in this venue.
Undeterred by the challenges of the environment, Borra has curated an exhibition that is a response to the space it inhabits, and to the arcane and troubled history it recalls. “I wanted to try to juxtapose something positive with this structure, which is so austere”, explains Borra. “It has this Second World War modernism which is very cold and formal, yet on the other hand its whole reason for existing was to protect people”.
Sheltering within The Bunker’s walls are works from three different artists – Justin Gainan, Jenny Moore-Koslowsky and Pim Conradi. “We chose these artists because of the way they relate their work to their environment," says Borra. “They go beyond simply creating artworks to something which is much more functional."
Moore-Koslowsky and Gainan are both completing MAs in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, while Conradi is currently artist-in-residence at Area 10 in London. The Bunker is his first public appearance. The inexperience of all three is evident. Although in concept and execution they are very different, there is a common theme of uncertainty around how to position themselves.
Conradi is candid about the fact that what he calls his ‘visionstructures’ are constantly evolving as he analyses “the relationship between human life and the biosphere”. In what you could call the 'main room’ of the bunker, Conradi’s timber dome dominates. It looks geodesic but in fact none of the supporting struts are straight lines – every part of the dome is curved in a sort of rebellious two-fingers to the convention of construction and also to The Bunker itself with all its linear right angles.
This confrontational spirit is carried through into the rest of the exhibits. Gainan’s minimalist sculptures are sincere and without irony. They are almost accusatory – challenging the onlooker not to take them seriously. Moore-Koslowsky’s work echoes Russian socialist propaganda aesthetics in the register of Rodchenko, yet by removing any reference to political ideology she preserves only the pioneering energy of propagandism and proposes neutrality as a different type of activism.
It’s a brave effort from Borra to create a positive and progressive event in such an inhospitable space. However, ultimately it is the space itself that is the most engaging, eclipsing the artists’ work within. That’s not to say she has been unsuccessful, it is thanks to The Centre of the Universe that this fantastic space has been given the chance to be the centre of attention.
URL to original article on Don't Panic's site here: http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/home/the-bunker
n an inconspicuous car park entrance next to a shopping mall on Kingsland Road, an abandoned post-war bunker spreads out underneath Dalston, East London. You didn't know that did you?! This outwardly unidentified space has been empty for years, unusable due to lack of electricity or any other utilities. The Bunker is only yards away from a busy high street but once inside, it is another world altogether – cold, damp, dark and eerie.
Catherine Borra of the nomadic art space collective known as The Centre Of The Universe, has had designs on The Bunker for a while and with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland, has now managed to realise her vision in this venue.
Undeterred by the challenges of the environment, Borra has curated an exhibition that is a response to the space it inhabits, and to the arcane and troubled history it recalls. “I wanted to try to juxtapose something positive with this structure, which is so austere”, explains Borra. “It has this Second World War modernism which is very cold and formal, yet on the other hand its whole reason for existing was to protect people”.
Sheltering within The Bunker’s walls are works from three different artists – Justin Gainan, Jenny Moore-Koslowsky and Pim Conradi. “We chose these artists because of the way they relate their work to their environment," says Borra. “They go beyond simply creating artworks to something which is much more functional."
Moore-Koslowsky and Gainan are both completing MAs in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, while Conradi is currently artist-in-residence at Area 10 in London. The Bunker is his first public appearance. The inexperience of all three is evident. Although in concept and execution they are very different, there is a common theme of uncertainty around how to position themselves.
Conradi is candid about the fact that what he calls his ‘visionstructures’ are constantly evolving as he analyses “the relationship between human life and the biosphere”. In what you could call the 'main room’ of the bunker, Conradi’s timber dome dominates. It looks geodesic but in fact none of the supporting struts are straight lines – every part of the dome is curved in a sort of rebellious two-fingers to the convention of construction and also to The Bunker itself with all its linear right angles.
This confrontational spirit is carried through into the rest of the exhibits. Gainan’s minimalist sculptures are sincere and without irony. They are almost accusatory – challenging the onlooker not to take them seriously. Moore-Koslowsky’s work echoes Russian socialist propaganda aesthetics in the register of Rodchenko, yet by removing any reference to political ideology she preserves only the pioneering energy of propagandism and proposes neutrality as a different type of activism.
It’s a brave effort from Borra to create a positive and progressive event in such an inhospitable space. However, ultimately it is the space itself that is the most engaging, eclipsing the artists’ work within. That’s not to say she has been unsuccessful, it is thanks to The Centre of the Universe that this fantastic space has been given the chance to be the centre of attention.
URL to original article on Don't Panic's site here: http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/home/the-bunker
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)