Ellen Gallagher
Two major exhibitions in Liverpool at the moment seem to try and cover an enormous amount of ground, to varying degrees of success . What is basically 'Art by Black People' (Afromodern at TATE Liverpool) and 'Art by Women' (The Rise of Women Artists at The Walker) try and encapsulate a whole history of both black artists and female artists.
The approach is fairly similar in both exhibitions- a potted and selected history of the genres (if subjects this big can be described as genres), in a kind of hodge-podge of artists that are only connected by their colour/gender.
Afromodern certainly comes off best from the two - especially as the theme is slightly tied down by its sub-heading (Journeys across the Atlantic or something similar) so does at least restrict the theme to a manageable amount. Beginning with a neat voodoo documentary and ending with what was my favourite piece- Ellen Gallacher work (above, I have no idea what its called). Theres stuff in between all this, but I cant remember what- a Basquiat, but I've gone off Basquiat a bit.
The Rise of Women Artists also have some standout pieces - some ears by Louise Bourgouis, a couple of old paintings by people I'd never heard of, but I was so disillusioned by such a vague a theme, that I couldn't concentrate on the artwork, especially the older works, many of which have been shown before. It almost ignores feminism (a info panel is about it), and concentrates on any artwork available to hand by a female, some of which is certainly worth seeing (I wish I could remember the artist who painted Chinese designs on skulls - they were neat).
I am fully aware women had a tough time getting in shows and whatnot, but this is a massively out of date suggestion to say this a current problem - only a couple of weeks after The Armoury Show in NY- which included more women than men.
Maybe we're doomed to an endless supply of shows about or by women, and the gender issue is an eternal solution to gaps in a galleries programme.
No comments:
Post a Comment