Monday 5 May 2014

Exhibition: Barbican - Radical Nature

Exhibition: Barbican - Radical Nature

I will be going to see the exhibition, Radical Nature that will be on at the Barbican. I have chosen this exhibition to go and visit as it embodies the theme i have been centering my practice around and my chosen Territories of Practice- Personalized Universes.


This exhibition is interesting as it explores in detail themes and issues such as: environmental activism, green design, sustainable architecture, outdoor art commissions and something that plays a key role in my work, mans relationship to nature.

A key question that i have been exploring throughout my work is the exchange that artists have with the natural world and how they use nature to make a statement. By going to see this exhibition i feel that i will garner a deeper understanding of this subject. I had been previously researching environmental artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, as i believe that artists such as himself have contributed greatly to the way peoples view on nature in art has changed as he creates works which incorporate every aspect of nature including earths natural cycles. Featuring in this exhibition is land artist, Robert Smithson whose work closely relates to that of Goldsworthy, who i have also briefly touched upon. Smithson is an integral figure of the land art movement and his infamous work "Spiral Jetty", is a grand statement of the role of nature in the everyday world.

I am also interested in this exhibition as it features not only art but the process of transformation of the art piece. I found it interesting that the work includes research material as well as items that have been recycled, showing a man made equivalent to the earth cycle.

After viewing this exhibition i would want to explore nature and its "ecosystems", as this exhibition also features works from artists such as Joseph Beuys, who didn't outwardly feature nature in his work but looked rather at systems, by using tubes and circuits, which highlighted the interconnections of the natural world. I want to explore this interesting aspect of his work, as he subtly comments and discusses questions such as natural vs artificial and nature vs man.


No comments:

Post a Comment