October 10, 2008

Contemporary Art.


Last week I visited the largest museum of modern art in Scandinavia, called Aaros. It was open to the public in 2004 and has since hosted exhibitions by many famous artists, both domestic and international. I have to confess that I am not a great fan of Modern art. I think mostly I do not understand it. I am much more captivated by the Renaissance period and the works of Michelangelo, DaVinci or Raphael. I actually do like some of the Impressionism painters, but when it comes to Contemporary form of art, I feel at times lost. I do admit being very ignorant in this field and therefore I do not like to criticize it, nor am I easily dismissing it.
Nevertheless, on my recent visit I saw a very interesting exhibition piece by the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, called "Omgivelser, 2007" (translated as "Surroundings"), that is on permanent display in Aaros. It can be described as a small room, covered by mirrors in such a way, they give a feeling of endlessness and suspension in vast space. It was extremely intriguing and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this sensation, feeling almost like a child in a mirror maze. In some way it made me realize, that perhaps art is not meant to always just be visually exquisite, realistic and esthetic. Sometimes art is also just meant to provoke feelings of any kind, whether it is detest or fascination, beauty or contemplation. And sometimes art is suppose to just be fun.

2 comments:

will said...

I suspect for every person asked there will be a different response regarding "what is art".

Thankfully there are audiences for all sorts of art.

I consider myself to be an artist but I have minimal interest in showing the world what I do - that just doesn't matter to me. What is important is the process of doing art - of self expression. Once a piece is finished, I set it aside and prepare myself for the next creation. That's the moment of art.

Gallery shows offer two things: Justification (notice and awareness) and money for the artist.

Zuzana said...

Very insightful, Bill.;) Thank you for stopping by.