On 9th and 10th February I was in Leeds and first of all stopped by at the Henry Moore institute to see their current exhibition ‘Becoming Henry Moore‘. As the strap line goes:
‘To coincide with the 40th anniversary of our founding we’re proud to present Becoming Henry Moore, an exhibition charting the artist’s creative trajectory from 1914 until 1930.’
I always have time for Henry Moore and it was an enjoyable exhibition that focused on the young artists formative years. It explored his early influences, his relationships with key figures such as his art teacher, his time at the front in World War One and the effect this had on his determination to move forward with his plans to become an artist. A very interesting show.
At YSP in the bothy gallery they have ‘Revolts & Revolutions‘ and the strap line goes:
‘Creativity has long been associated with vanguard ideas: art and music can give a voice to the unheard, power to the vulnerable and celebrate the human capacity for positive action, even in adversity.’
There were very interesting works in this show, some of the highlights were :
- Ruth Ewan – ‘A Jukebox of People Trying to Change the World’, 2003/17 (left)
- Yoko Ono – ‘All White Chess Set’, 1962-70 (top right)
- Martin Boyce – ‘Souvenir Placards’, 1993 (bottom right)
I thought that Yoko Ono’s work is very powerful and that the piece by Martin Boyce demonstrates how an artist can extract visual images from reality and then use them as their own material.
The final exhibition ‘The Garden of Good and Evil‘ by the Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar was the main show on at YSP. As a person, Alfredo Jaar has a social consciousness that is the size of a sky scraper. This has been the key influencing factor in his work. The strap line goes:
‘Widely regarded as one of the world’s most politically engaging and poetic artists, Alfredo Jaar addresses human trauma and the politics of image-making, creating visually and emotionally stunning works.’
His work is hard hitting, but not in a shockingly graphic way. He uses the source material very cleverly to create installations that are powerful, engaging and moving.
In the project room there was an interview with the artist and I jotted down a few things that he said, which I felt were profoundly true:
- He has faced a ‘huge dilemma on how to present the work, while preserving the dignity of the people’
- ‘The heart of an exhibition is the spirit of the artist’
- He has a ‘Cartesian outlook that is very logical to make sense of the world’
While this type of art and exhibition may not be for everyone, I was glad to have came across this artist and glad to have seen this exhibition.