“London”, from season 10 of “ART21” features four different artists with quite different careers, passions, styles and visions for their artwork. The film begins with Anish Kapoor, who challenges the way in which we “know” geometry to make it “unknowing”. His illusionistic sculptures draw great attention as viewers question the possibility of the art and their perceptions of it. I was fascinated by the artist’s words that “truly opening oneself to oneself” as an artist “is that hardest work you can possibly do” (ART21, 12:20). By this I wonder if he meant allowing oneself to be completely free with creativity without self judgment, truly allowing free internal thought, something I struggle with when being creative.
John Akomfrah, the second featured artist, works to create a sense of belonging through his multiscreen films. The artist takes a unique view on his work and describes it as a way to bring the “past, present and future” into “some sort of whole” with relevance to black history (ART21, 19:42). I was intrigued by Akomfrah’s incorporation of past events to “make sense of the present” in supporting the black community through art. The concept of events in time coming together to create the present is what his artwork depicts though multiple physical screens at once making up a large screen film piece.
Also considering history, Phyllida Barlow is greatly inspired by the 1940s in London. During this wartime, London was in a state of constant destruction and reconstruction.Which she depicts through her sculptures of abandoned industrial objects. Neon colors are incorporated into her work, symbolic of industrial areas marking urban environments. Her approach was exciting as she developed pieces to create a relationship between “you, the work and the place”.
In terms of relationships in art, Christian Marclay is focused on the relationship between visual art and sound. He likes to “use the potential of images to create music” and vice versa. Marclay creates what he refers to as “graphic scores” which are essentially drawn visual representations of music scores. As a ballet dancer I have certainly understood how art and music can be connected. I have always thought of dancing as a way of showing music physically, yet hearing Marclay’s story allowed me to consider how an image can suggest sound as well.