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The Art of Nick Cave: Critical essays

University of Chicago Press

Birthday Party.

The Bad Seeds.

Grinderman.

Movie scores.

Poems.

Screenplays.

Acting.

Et cetera, et cetera.

The incarnations and collaborations of Nick Cave are manifold as is the quality of his artistic emissions, the breadth of which have some perceive him as a renaissance man.

The Art of Nick Cave illustrates Cave’s creative drive in a manner that will intrigue both the hardcore aficionado as well as the uninitiated, as it not only chronicles his multi-disciplinary contributions but also sheds light on them from an array of different angles, i.e. the critical essays have been penned by art critics, historians, psychologists and pedagogues.

Being an avid fan of Cave’s art, I find that the book does a great job at peeling away the layers of his emissions to a point where it adds dimensions to what can be interpreted on the surface.

While this might not seem to be a huge accomplishment given the often elusive and intricate nature of Cave’s approach to writing, it made me view some aspects from a different angle and lends perspective, especially since whatever he does is blindly celebrated by a devoted following that borderlines on the religious in terms of enthusiastic dedication.

Now, I am not saying that reading the critical essays is essential in a bid to find access to and enjoy Nick Cave and what he does, but it offers additional insights from academics, most of which display an astute understanding of his significance while still maintaining an objective viewpoint and only sometimes overinterpret and analyse in a manner that seems contrived.

The focus is on the 1990s, one of the more significant decades of Nick Cave as it builds up to him becoming a veritable mainstream popstar.

A book that provides a lot of interesting insights and facts and more than once made me revisit songs that I had not been listening to in more than a decade, only to reignite a new fascination for them.

Original Grin: The Art of Ron English

Thames and Hudson

In the realm of art, sometimes things are so overt that it could not be more covert or subversive, specifically when it comes to pop art. Ron English has established himself as a spearhead on the front of artists that lead corporate imagery ad absurdum by infusing his renderings with darker shades of satire, cynicism, surrealism and an idiosyncratic style that gives nods to a range of other contemporary artists yet plays in a league of its own.

It is not further wondrous that his oeuvre was attributed the label of being “propaganda” and that most of his creations and characters have become reference points that at times had tangible impacts on e.g. presidential elections, advertising campaigns and – as the ultimate quality endorsement – a cameo on The Simpsons.

Original Grin: The Art of Ron English is an opulently illustrated tome that compiles four decades of English channelling his alchemy in sculptures, collages, drawings, paintings, street art and everything in between, illuminated and embedded in an extensive interview that sheds light on his approach, methods and inspirations.
 
While all of us are more than ever willingly or not exposed to pop art with all its facets, the book is testament to the fact that English is truly an original artist.

I specifically like the at times subtle influences that can be traced back to the Viennese Actionists and Dadaists when he interacts with previously existing artworks and endeavours into the realm of performance art.

Given that he has been in the game for forty years, Ron English’s wide-ranging art is not only multi-disciplinary but also boundary pushing in that it has always been informed by his curiosity, which ensured that new influences and trends are effortlessly incorporated, signified and absorbed in a manner that creates a whole that is much bigger than the sum of its individual parts.

Japan Supernatural

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Sydney, Australia

Some claim that “supernatural” is in essence a null word as in that one man’s magic is another man’s engineering. Now, while there might be not unlike with many sayings a shrapnel of truth to it, there has certainly never been anything primitive about Japanese art: The meticulously sophisticated approach of Japanese artists to their respective crafts is undisputed and in terms of “engineering” it does not get much more imaginative than what the Art Gallery of New South Wales has curated under the moniker Japan Supernatural.

Centred around Takashi Murakami’s monumental 25 metre In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow, the works of the exhibition cover three centuries of Japanese art, comprised of paintings, sculptures, prints, paper lanterns and interactive touch walls, exploring the realms beyond nature and what has been attributed to being the creation of forces beyond that which humans are equipped with.

Highlights of the exhibition include the Japanese contemporary equivalent to Grimm’s tales, i.e. Miwa Yanagi’s twisted fairy-tales and Fuyuko Matsui’s elegant yet macabre depictions of death and decay, which are the nuances that throne above the backbone of older works that revolve around “yokai”, i.e. demons, ghouls, trolls or monsters. What never ceases to astonish and what I particularly enjoyed about Japan Supernatural is that one gets to closely examine the advanced printing techniques, which add depth and along with the non-traditional composition and perspective create a total that is much bigger than the sum of its individual components.

While it does not prove difficult to detect often obvious parallels to the depiction of paranormal phenomena known in Western cultures, the idiosyncratic Japanese approach to visualising the unseen infused by local folklore, superstition and the underlying belief that every thing is inhabit by a soul, adds a dimension that creates a sense of wonder – a sense of wonder that if one visits Japan, can still be felt and which counterbalances the conformity that informs all facets of the ever efficient Japanese society and which contemporarily can be found manifest in manga and anime.

In a subtle manner a red thread connects works from the Edo period via the classical dance drama of Kabuki to demonic incarnations of the present time and creates a cohesive whole that illustrates the high-value curation that continues to make AGNSW’s exhibitions dense, interesting and in this case, shows forces that make things very different to what we think they are, which in essence is one of the reasons I visit a museum.

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Image from exhibit website

KAWS – Companionship in the Age of Loneliness

Brian Donnelly is KAWS.

The man has been behind the moniker for a quarter of a decade and if you are not familiar with the name, I can guarantee that you would have come across one of his emissions in some sort or form somewhere as he and his art are omnipresent and have very much become an integral part of modern day popular culture.

Having collected some of his collaborations with Pushead and his toys released in Japan, I was intrigued when I learned about the National Gallery of Victoria, ever on the forefront of pushing the envelope in their endeavours to exhibit world class works in the Southern hemisphere, staging KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness.

With more than one hundred exhibits, the wide range of paintings, prints, alterations of existing artwork, sculptures and artworks that enter the realm of the abstract are on displayed, centred around his iconic figures, which incarnate on massive scale – a more than seven metre companion sculpture greets you before you even enter the exhibition.

While I have been familiar with KAWS and appreciated his incarnations in different shapes and forms over the years, it was impression to experience the collection that not only its what KAWS has become known for but also highlights the nuances and facets of his art.

Beneath the playful approach most would associate with KAWS having only experienced his toy like figures – which is not further wondrous as he honed his craft through stints at Disney and other animation studios - the exhibition does a fantastic job offering more for the ones in search for what is lying underneath and informing the man’s approach.

There are subtleties and cracks that allow for fragility and feelings of isolation to shine through – sentiments that are very much signs of the times we live in.

The exhibition and the fantastic accompanying catalogues, which can be ordered from the National Gallery of Victoria, highlights that there is so much more to KAWS than brightly coloured street art, graffiti and the subversion of advertising culture.

KAWS is a multidisciplinary artists that subverts popular culture but also manages to create a sense of belonging and connection, the latter of which can be literally felt through the joy children experience while they are experiencing KAWS: PLAYTIME, which despite being for the underaged is a tactile and sensory experience that very much encompasses the DNA of what is at the core of KAWS’ work.

The comprehensive exhibition catalogue lives up to the masterful curation previous NGV catalogues have become known and appreciated for and features more than two-hundred images, essays and and an elaboration by NGV’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Dr Simon Maidment.

Critical Terms for Art History

University of Chicago Press

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure and it is not much different with art. So how does one define and describe what art is objectively and accurately without letting preferences take over?

Critical Terms for Art History tries to offer a reference point when it comes to the vocabulary, methodology and terminology of the widely debated terrain that is art history. With essays that not only elaborate extensively on each term but also look at the issues and different interpretations different schools have, the tome serves as a veritable framework.

I find the elaborations especially interesting when e.g. “ugliness” and “beauty” are shed light on – face value terms that are often too quickly used in a superficial and judgmental manner.

Despite its head heaviness fret not as a Ph.D. is not necessarily required to understand it, but it is a nice intellectual workout. However, having a tad bit of art history and art criticism background will exponentially enjoy the benefits and enjoyment one will get out of it.

The authorities, expertise and variety of the authors adds to the subject matter as their individual background adds another dimension to their explorations.

I specifically enjoyed the demystification of some terms and the challenging of what is commonly perceived to be cast in stone approaches to art. The book is not exactly an exercise in iconoclasm but as despite what the title suggests, it steers clear from affirming established art critical standards.

A fantastically erudite source of information that I would recommend to anyone remotely interested in visiting museums whenever they have a chance.