I had a fascinating day yesterday. A Uni visit to the Sainsbury Centre – what a fantastic building by Norman Foster ! But to stay on the point…. we had a most informative session with Alex and Kimberley looking at ‘the art object’ and collections within the gallery with reference to how they should be displayed and how viewers interact with objects and art in general.
The clever way we were asked to introduce each other was through choosing an object, seemingly at random, and then talking about it as we said our names to the group. This was just the start of illuminating thoughts on how we connect with the world. The whole visit lasted for 3 + hours and was interactive, surprising and thought-provoking. All within wonderful surroundings. It prompted me to look with new interest at my own small collection of objects. Each one has a special meaning and significance for me. The importance we place on inanimate objects can be quite revealing and lead to questions about hierarchy and meaning….but that’s another whole new blog.
Today I awoke to hear that Howard Hodgkin had died and the papers are full of reviews and obituaries. Only recently I rediscoveredHis work and blogged about it back in December 28. Since then I have been looking at his work and articles written about his painting. I found that many of his ideas concur with my own. In fact I’m coming to the conclusion that most, if not all, painters arrive at quite similar views. There’s really only one universal subject or aim and that is to reflect on the world in which we live. It’s all a vast commentary on life itself. He insisted that his work was figurative although to the untrained eye it certainly looked abstract. The term abstract can be confusing. Much art is abstracted rather than abstract. It has been one of my ongoing struggles to decide if my own work is figurative/impressionistic/abstract expressionistic or some sort of hybrid mixture? The millions of different interpretations of the subject are what makes it so fascinating, never-ending, frustrating and elusive. But thank goodness for the endless challenge.
I look forward to the forthcoming exhibition of Hodgkins work at the National Portrait Gallery which now will no doubt be a must-see show.
