a) Saskia Leek
b) Fiona Connor
c) Dan Arps
d) Alex Monteith
This week we will be visiting the Auckland Art Gallery to view, research and write about the artists selected for the Walters Prize 2010. Discuss the work in the gallery with your tutors and other students and answer the following questions.
1. What is the background to the Walters Prize?
** Named in the honour of artist and graphic designer Gordon Walters, this prestigious award was put in place to celebrate contemporary New Zealand art produced by Kiwi's.
2. List the 4 selected artists for 2010 and briefly describe their work.
** Saskia Leek - soft pastel colours depicting rigid shapes. e.g. snowy mountains, houses, rocks etc. Combining the 'prissy' with the 'edgy'.
Extract from Video Documentation, Installation by Alex Monteith (2008)
Fiona Connor - structural, strong, skeletal. Questions relationships of the interior to the exterior.
Dan Arps - structured, staged mess. Everyday mess. Making something out of nothing. Utilizing the useless?
Alex Monteith - bikes, peak hour traffic, semi-illegal activity.
3. Who are the jury members for 2010?
** Jon Bywater - Programme Leader, Critical Studies at Elam School of Fine Art, The University of Auckland.
Rhana Devenport - Director, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
Leonhard Emmerling - Visual Arts Adviser, Goethe Institute, Munich, Germany, former Director, ST PAUL St, AUT University
Kate Montgomery - Director, Physics Room, Christchurch
4. Who is the judge for 2010 and what is his position in the art world?
** Vicente has been director of Tate Modern since 2003, and has been a prime mover in the Tate’s global success. Not only has he led the Tate through an exciting period, but from 1989-96 he was artistic director for The Valencia Institute for Modern Art (IVAM), Spain, and before it opened he was Chief curator of IVAM. Throughout his career he has organised and curated internationally renowned exhibitions of work by contemporary artists, making him the perfect choice to be this years judge.
Fiona Connor, Something Transparent (please go round the back) 2009 (exterior view)
5. Who would you nominate for this years Walter's Prize, and why? Substantiate
you answer by outlining the strengths of the artists work. How does this relate
to your interests in art? What aspect of their work is successful in your opinion,
in terms of ideas, materials and/or installation of the work?
**I would nominate Dan Arps for this years Walters Prize. I feel that his strength to make the 'useless, useful' was an interesting concept. The materials used not only shocked me, but also allowed me to step into his shoes; To toy with my imaginative thinking and see what I could come up with, using Arp's materials. Funnily enough, even though I found this piece as an ugly disturbance, I couldn't help but stay tuned when viewing his work. I kept searching over and over and over for something, I don't know? Anything! Something out of place, out of context. Something considered perfect, in amongst the trash. Unsuccessful I was. But I guess it was this attraction that kept me alert and entertained. A tonne of useless junk, turned into a piece of carefully thought out and planned piece of art, incorporating the idea of 'bringing what belongs outside, inside' and testing an audiences mind is in my opinion, delightful!
6. Comment on other blogs from your ALVC group to agree or disagree with other people,always backing up your answer with clearly stated reasons.
**
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SOURCES:
http://www.google.co.nz/images?hl=en&q=walters%20prize%20auckland%20art%20gallery&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1600&bih=740
http://www.google.co.nz/#hl=en&source=hp&q=walters+prize+auckland+art+gallery&aq=1&aqi=g8g-m1&aql=&oq=walters+prize+&gs_rfai=&fp=c971ae18321bff61
http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/whats-on/events/2010/july/the-walters-prize-2010
http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/whats-on/events/2010/october/walters-prize-2010-winner-conversation-with-ron-brownson
I like the term 'skeletal' to describe Fiona Conners work. When looking at the work it reminded me of scaffolding but i love the term 'skeletal' to replace it. I will agree that Dan Arps had a way to shock the audience. I do like how he used everyday materials to create his more sculptural pieces. I like how you call is 'useless junk' which turned into 'piece of carefully thought out and planned piece of art'. It is funny how we throw things away without realizing they have potential to be turned into something else. I feel like Arps is someone who appreciates the smaller things in life and this has come out through his work. One thing however that i did not like too much, is that it was hard to tell if some things were art or just dropped on the floor. But then again i guess getting reactions like that is what art is all about.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with your vote for Dan Arps's work. although Alex Monteith's work was interesting and did draw my attention st first, i found that such work is easy forgettable. where as Dan Arps work reels you in, and what at first seems like a joke becomes something thought provoking. I couldn't help but to argue with his place in the exhibition at first, when you see a screwed up newspaper left on the ground, your first thought would be to throw it away. Arps has taken old useless belongings and turned them into works of art. The saying "one mans trash is another mans treasure" comes to mind, even though even the presentation of it was not of a proffessional standard either. But it really made you think, and it kept me in that are for longer than any other parts of the exhibition.
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