Contemporary Art & Its Inspirations: Contemporary Art

Sorry for lack of posts, everyone. Its been one heck of a week, with midterm reviews, school closing for Easter Vacation (Passavacantie - 2 weeks) and having friends and relatives come in and out of town all week, and doing a bit of traveling myself. I will be backtracking a bit in my art explorations, as to catch up on all the exhibitions I have seen.

On the 3rd Thursday of every month in Antwerp, all of the local galleries and museums hold openings for all of the new exhibitions. With drinks and hors d'oeuvres, ambling through the streets of Antwerp; you could say it is the authentic European experience. On this particular Thursday, I made it just to the Museum of Contemporary Art (Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen - M HKA) to see their current exhibition:

Animism

(1/22/2010 - 5/2/2010)

Part One

A Collaboration between Extra City and M HKA @ M HKA Antwerpen, BE

(5/2010 - 7/2010)

Part Two

@ Kunsthalle Bern

The exhibition/publication project that is Animism showcases the reemergence of animism as a concept vital to contemporary times. The concept outlined by 19th century Anthropologists, such as Sir Edward Tylor (1871 book Primitive Cultures), suggest that animism is the "the theory of the universal animation of nature". Furthermore, Tylor reduced animism to an idea of simplistic concept and perspective on the world at large, that only "primitive" societies would believe in such an archaic and basic evaluation of nature.

This philosophical perspective provides the generalized belief that all animals possess an immaterial soul, hence placing humans and animals within a complex relation to one another. Although it can be assumed that humans have souls, and that humans are a distinct and sophisticated species of animal, we are inevitably just that; animals. Human beings, by nature, have a level of arrogance and a superiority complex that enables us to (primitively speaking) see all objects and subjects possessing human-like qualities and characteristics (i.e. souls, feelings, personalities, etc.). Similar to personification, man's perception of himself in nature can be seen from a child's imaginary friend to idol worship, the concept of "god making man in his image", to a "tribal-like" religion. This arrogance is what also stems the paradox of humans v.s. animals; the idea that somehow we are the superior, dominant species yet we long for the simplicity of existence that animals possess (after all what more could any being want more than to roll in mud and bake in the sun such as a pig? However we may front our disdain and faux supremacy, we still posses the envy and innate desire to be a contented animal).

Comprised of such ideals and philosophies as stated above, as well as each artists individual interpretation and conception; we have the exhibition Animism. The show consisted of installation works, photography, sculpture, performances, and video/film; every visual art form equally represented. Contemporary works meld with historical artworks to fully represent a century's worth of Animism in visual thought. The following images are stills and pieces from the exhibition:

Len Lye

Tusalava, 1929

16mm reduction from 35mm film, 10'

Daria Martin

Soft Materials, 2004

16mm film, 10'30"

Felix Regnault

Hommes negres - marche, c.a. 1870

Chronophotography

Etiennes-Jules Marey

Le vol du pelican, c.a. 1800

Chronophotography

Joachim Koester

Bialowieza Forest, 2001

Photography

Extra City

Agency

Assembly, 2010

Mixed Media/Installation

Other Artists from the show:

ART & LANGUAGE
Christian W. Braune & Otto Fischer
Marcel Broodthaers
Paul Chan
Didier Demorcy
Walt Disney
Lili Dujourie
Jimmie Durham
Eric Duvivier
Thomas A. Edision
Harun Farocki
Leon Ferrari
Victor Grippo
Brion Gysin
Igloolik Isuma Productions
Luis Jacobs
Louise Lawler
Angela Melitopoulos Maurizio Lazzarato
Wesley Meuris
Henri Michaux
Santu Mofokeng
Wincent Monnikendam
Tom Nicholson
Retro Pulfer
Jozeph Robakowski
Natascha Sadr Haghighian
Paul Sharits
Jan Svankmajer
David G. Tretiakoff
Rosemarie Trockel
Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven
Dziga Vertov
Klaus Weber
Apichatpong Weeraesethakul

Until Next Time,

-Laura

Though the historical art of the Rijks and Van Gogh Museums house some of the most prolific works the Netherlands has to offer, what makes Amsterdam's art scene thrive is its new galleries and alternative spaces, housing works by international contemporary artists.

One of the most interesting places I visited was an "Alternative Space" called W139. Its a large warehouse-like room, with incredibly tall ceilings and plenty of bare walls; a space devoted to the production and presentation of Contemporary Art since 1979. On an annual basis, this alternative spaces hold 8-9 exhibitions each year, always opening on Friday nights at 9pm. or in truth, whatever the artists and directors will. The space is open for all forms of interpretation and all art forms to participate.

The in-process exhibition Doktor Faustus (February 1 - April 2 [opening night]) was large murals by various artists based on the novel of the same name, "Doktor Faustus" by Thomas Mann. This rather complex book, written in 1947, encapsulates the Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkühn as told from a friend. It is, in essence, a retelling of the classic German tale of Faust (Faustus), a man who makes a deal with the devil for his soul in exchange for knowledge.

"The hero of the novel, Leverkühn, is an usually prideful, distant and gifted individual, far too clever for the arts, but who nonetheless fulfills a creative urge and with this, requires unrestraint which, in the idealized framework of the book, can be delivered only by evil. From a more political perspective, his demise mirrors the intoxication of the people by Fascism"

- Thomas Mann (in a letter to Albert Oppenheimer)

In truth, one could call the entire gallery a singular work of art; a giant floor to ceiling collaboration of artists "who transcend the obligatory reference to a shared theme and the endeavor to vanquish the wondrous fear of illustration that has held the visual arts captive for over a century". Being an Illustrator, naturally I slightly scoffed at this final remark, by curator Gijs Frieling. However, the works were quite powerful, intriguing and the overall impression of these tall, imposing walls was such that I could think of nothing but to give my full admiration to the works.