Sunday, August 29, 2010
Event Review
Assignment 1 - Event review
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Intro
For my event review I went to the Art Gallery of NSW. There were a few reasons on why I chose to come to this gallery. First of all it was in an area, which I been before so I knew I would not get lost. I also found that the artists were of different nationalities which mean that there would be different techniques used in the paintings and sculptures, like I found out while at the White Rabbit, the diverse cultural backgrounds of the artists means that they all have a different purpose on why they have composed the piece the way it is. Another reason why I chose to go to this gallery was that there was no entry fee except for certain areas of the gallery but the free sections were more than enough.
I was only allowed to take pictures of art that the gallery owned and the pieces of art they didn’t no pictures were allowed to be taken. The size of the gallery was huge and the different variety of cultures and periods of art showcased was something I was highly impressed by. There were also many different styles of art. There were pieces of art that I did and did not like for different reasons. Some pieces I liked because it looked like a lot effort had gone into the piece even if I didn’t like the piece itself very much but could still understand what the artist trying to get across or what I thought they were trying to get across, there were others which I felt had no meaning behind them and was left somewhat confused.
What I liked the most was that I got to see art from different parts of the world and the different cultures of the artists I found to be highly intriguing. The quality of the art I thought was of a high quality. In the aboriginal section, I was not allowed to take pictures of the aboriginal art but I was so impressed because of the effort and time put into each piece of art.
To be honest I did not think very much of Australian art before I walked into the gallery but when I went to see the 19th century Australian Art section, that changed my mind. I wasn’t sure that like the aboriginal pieces that the Australian 19th century pieces had that same deep meaning behind them but I didn’t seem to mind, I still enjoyed looking at them.
The art pieces that I saw at the gallery have really opened my eyes and made me appreciate different styles of art. When I now look at art I accept that not everyone thinks the same way and that art is subjective, but most importantly I was always against art pieces not having a meaning behind them but now I am a lot more open minded. Overall I enjoyed going to the gallery very much.
About the Gallery
Traditional rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne played an important role in the establishment of the gallery. The fact that Melbourne had established an art gallery in 1861 encouraged Sydney, who believed that their city should own a collection of art worthy of the best. Yet few of Sydney's citizens seemed willing to support the project. Ten men started the NSW Academy of Art which played an important role in the gallery’s formation.
The precise date on which the Art Gallery was founded is a debate. Administratively, however, the Gallery owes its origin to the NSW Academy of Art.
The director of the gallery is a man called Edmund Capcapon.
The gallery advertises themselves in a number of different ways, they advertise in bus shelters, banners hanged around the city, art newsletters, magazines and journals and examples are The Sydney Morning HeraldArt Almanac. The Art Almanac is a popular monthly art magazine which lists galleries and their exhibitions. and the
The Art Gallery of NSW consists of 5 floors of at least 15 gallery spaces exhibiting the permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions. Galleries displaying temporary exhibitions are usually open for approximately 3 months. The permanent collection rarely changes. The curators will usually swap major works depending on outgoing loans, events or other building changes within the gallery. There is no set time for these changes.
The gallery get many different people coming into the gallery as they have different style from different periods in time and the exhibitions they hold are of different art styles, artists and again art periods. The gallery targets not just art lovers but also school children holding tours for them. The older art lovers are satisfied with the older sections like the 19th century Australian Art and the younger people are satisfied by the Contemporary Art section.
Address:
Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Contact details:
General Switchboard: 9225 1700
Information Desk: 9225 1744
General Fax: 9225 1701
What's On Line: 9225 1790 (Recorded Message)
Australia-wide toll-free number: 1800-NSW-ART (1800-679-278)
General Email: artmail@ag.nsw.gov.au
Opening hours:
Open every day 10am - 5pm
Every Wednesday until 9pm for Art After Hours
Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Pricing
Entry is free except if you want to see any of the exhibitions there is a cost involved.
Alfred Stieglitz (17 June - 5 September)
Adult: $10
Concession: $8
Member: $8
Family (2 adults, 2 children/students): $28
Family 2 + 3(2 adults, 3 children/students): $28
Companion (for holders with Government issued companion card): $0
Paths to abstraction (26 June - 19 September)
Adult: $20
Concession: $15
Member: $15
Family (2 adults, 2 children/students): $55
Family 2 + 3(2 adults, 3 children/students): $55
Companion (for holders with Government-issued companion card): $0
Favourite pieces
Haft, by Anthony Gormley, 2007
What I love most about this piece is the creative thinking that is involved. The placement of each of the blocks made to represent a man who has no face yet we are able to recognise that the subject is unhappy judging by his posture and that he has his head down. By the subject having its head down it is an indirect gaze I feel that it isn’t really offering us to look where it is. This is one of my favourite pieces as I feel it is well constructed. As the statue is of the whole represented participant means that it is in the social space of the viewer. This is because of the way that I have taken the picture, by me taking the picture the way I have framing the subject as being in the social space but in the gallery depending on how far away the view is then the framing changes then so does the proximity.
Maddona C, by Bettram Mackennal, 1906
This piece was one of my favourites as I saw quite a few sculptures this is one of my favourites as it shows a lot of emotion. The represented participant is the sculpture and it is in the personal space of the viewer as you can’t see below the shoulders but it still depends where the viewer stands when looking at the sculpture but this picture that I took would classify the sculpture as being in the viewer’s personal space. The subject is looking down therefore it is an indirect gaze and the head is slightly slanted down giving me the impression that she is ashamed.
Vive l'Empereur, by Alphonse de Neuville, 1891
This painting was my favourite piece from gallery, not only because I think it is well painted but also because it is the biggest art piece I have ever seen. What I believe to be the main participant, the man in the front is on a higher angle where we have to look up at him so that means he is more powerful than us and as he is in front of the of other men on horseback that means he is the leader which makes sense him looking down at us as it emphasises his position as the leader. Due to the framing of the represented participant being a long shot we still feel connected due to the action involved in the painting but I believe he is in the social space. The main represented participant is not looking directly at us, it is an indirect gaze so that means that they are offering us the viewer to scrutinise the image and contemplate and find a meaning of it.
Disliked pieces
Sparks encounter, by John Olsen, 1960
I don’t like this painting as I fell confused on why something like this is considered be art. It looks to me as if a child has painted it and seems like no effort and though has gone into it. When I look at this painting I see scribbles and paint splatters and doesn’t look very appealing. I see no represented participant and no gaze of any sort.
Houndstooth, by Debra Dawes, 1991
I am confused trying to find out a meaning behind it but I just can’t. I don’t know what they represent, I don’t mean to be that harsh but I just don’t understand the meaning and why they were painted this way.
Blue black indigo black, by Bob Law, 1977
When I look at this painting I am even more confused on why this is considered to be art then the pieces before and this piece I liked the least. It’s a few colours mixed together to make black, I can’t figure out what the artist was trying to achieve, I’m not sure it has a meaning, leading me to question whether it even had a purpose. The style of these images is abstract impressionism which I am personally not a fan of.
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