Tuesday, 16 November 2010
BATH FILM FESTIVAL'10
It’s time to stuff the popcorn under one arm; grab a large coke with the other, sit back, relax and enjoy the film. Bath Film Festival is back, 20 years old it’s uninhibited, coming of age and care free. (http://bathfilmfestival.org.uk/) The Film Festival has taken over a number of venues throughout Bath; grabbing hold of the Rondo Theatre (http://www.rondotheatre.co.uk/), the Little Theatre Cinema (http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/The_Little/), Komedia (http://www.komedia.co.uk/bath/), and Chapel Arts Centre (http://www.chapelarts.org/) with ease. With the unexpected addition of the Eastern Eye Restaurant, Bath City Farm and a surprised venue which will be texted to the audience on the day of the screening.
The breadth of the programming reflects the spread of screenings (http://bathfilmfestival.org.uk.s22659.gridserver.com/2010-festival.html). It’s literally everywhere and everything. With documentaries, preview screenings, artists moving image exhibitions (AMIE), Bath debuts and the largest film industry in the world - Indian film. Sound to silence, unique screenings and Q&A’s. There is so much on offer that I never get tired of searching through the programme. I could look at it again and again without it feeling familiar, getting a giddy bubbling of excitement as I pick and choose from this chocolate box of entertainment. What’s brilliant about the festival’s programming is the fun of exploring it. The films have been cherry picked, they’re all of a high quality and stem from a true understanding and appreciation of film. 
I was swept up by the Festival at the Little Theatre Cinema, for the screenings of Peepli (Live), The Arbor and Mary and Max. A sprightly Indian satire, a riveting AMIE documentary and a dark multi-awarding winning animation – that’s just a small slice into layers of variety of film on offer. You too can take a bite as I’ll be posting a trailer of each. But it was the atmosphere that really caught my attention. The general buzz of excitement at the availability of these films was infectous. 
The Film Festival has been embraced by the city, most shows are sold out and special screenings have proved so popular that extra dates have had to be added. I was struck by the hype around the films. As the audience was gagging to be let into the screen I could catch the odd comment about how they’d been eagerly awaiting a particular screening. However, as a student, I did notice a lack of this particular audience. Most members seemed to be thirty plus, I don’t feel it was the programming that alienated students, more just a lack of promotion to this group. It’s clear that the Festival values its audience and cares for their enjoyment: ‘if you build it, they will come’. We’ll keep building if you keep coming. It’s not just about the audience; the Festival has a local feel to, with support from local businesses (http://bathfilmfestival.org.uk/support-us.html) there is an overall sense of community. 
There’s no doubt that the event has been a success. It seems to be growing with each year, building on knowledge from the last. I think I’m lucky to have walked in on it at this particular age, at its unarguable prime.
Monday, 15 November 2010
BRITISH ART SHOW In the Days of the Comet
For the first time the British Art Show has landed in Nottingham, but this comet barely scorches the floor. Like a comet, the British Art Show is rarity. Held every five years in select venues, this year’s hitting Nottingham, London, Glasgow and Plymouth. My expectations were heightened merely by the fact that it’s so long awaited, so selective, showing recent works by thirty-nine well-known contemporary British Artists. But there was no explosion. There were no fireworks. Just flatness, as I was faced with an exhibition that seemed too familiar, too safe and too…underwhelming.
Walk into Contemporary and you are greeted with Edgar Schmitz sound installation. The cinematic sounds invoke the giddiness of a coming attraction. As the familiar music fanfares through you, you enter, to infinity and beyond. However, the gallery feels like any other exhibition I have seen at Contemporary, their programming fits so perfectly together, but lines are so heavily smudged they start to merge. The art’s interesting, and there were some genuinely provoking and beautiful pieces. George Shaw’s paintings of Coventry council estate, the detailed scenes eliminate people and activity to give a bewitching quality. Wolfgang Tillman’s ‘Freischwimmer’ is an immense piece of abstract photography. The show presents a well-presented range of painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, video, film and performance. Each separate Gallery had a unique feel; I was impressed by how Contemporary made the separate spaces feels so relevant and reflective of the art in it. 
The show is held across three Nottingham venues. Entrance to the exhibitions at Nottingham Contemporary and New Art Exchange are free. At Nottingham Castle entrance is free, too, with a passport that has been stamped at the other two venues. I thought this was an interesting idea as it creates a sense of communal involvement and encourages participants to visit all three venues; unfortunately it’s had some negative feedback. Visitors have not always grasped this concept so turn up at the Castle expecting to be allowed in.
Generally audiences that attend modern and contemporary art exhibitions are quite specific. Nottingham Contemporary tries to attract and reach out to an audience beyond the norm. The venue runs an excellent learning scheme, reaching out to families, schools, colleges, young people, communities and groups. It’s currently working with organization One Nottingham, exploring the valuable role the arts play in empowering communities. British Art Show also ran an Information Centre. Run in the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, it encourages people to get involved in contemporary art and learn about the show, allowing the British Art Show access to a whole new demographic. Staff are also very welcoming and accommodating. They blend seamlessly into the background, readily available with ‘handouts’ of knowledge. The British Art Show is guaranteed to be popular. It’s an event of national importance, and with Nottingham Contemporary working so closely with the community, crowds will surely grow. It doesn’t hit like I hoped, there was no explosion but sparks can start fires.
Friday, 5 November 2010
The Unilever Series: AI WEIWEI
On the approach to the Tate’s Turbine Hall there is hardly any suggestion to the sea of sunflowers in the distance. They blend so perfectly into the greyness of there surroundings that it’s only until you look closer you can see them for what they are. All hundred million of them. Each individual painted, each individually made, it’s so breathtakingly unbelievable that it seems almost unreal.
The Turbine hall is an impressive space to fill, five floors tall with 3,400 square meters of floor space. Between October and March of each year it becomes the home too large specially-commissioned works by contemporary artists, in a series sponsored by Unilever. The series was planned to last 5 years but due to its popularity has been extended until at least 2012. I have visited other works in the collection, such as Doris Salcedo’s ‘Shibboleth’ (http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/dorissalcedo/default.shtm) and Miroslaw Balka's 'How It Is’ sculpture (http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unilevermiroslawbalka/default.shtm). Weiwei’s ‘Sunflower Seeds’ are in keeping with the Tate’s series. Each piece was interactive, allowing the audience to experience art in a very physical and personal way. They provoke thought, The seeds of doubt: Unfortunately the exhibition has become rather less interactive with the decision to corner off the piece. There were fears that the ceramic dust could be a risk to visitors and staffs health, especially over long term exposure. Mark Brown, Guardian stated “It was like looking at an empty beach from a packed promenade” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/oct/15/tate-modern-sunflower-seeds-ban). Looking at the vacant piece, I have to agree, but there was also something mystifying about that. It was so vast that its emptiness made it haunting. Although this is not how Weiwei envisioned it, it has in no way lost any of its beauty.
The Turbine hall usually draws in a large audience because it is free so accessible to a large number of people. It’s always well publicised and eagerly anticipated. However, I noticed that with this exhibition the audience weighted more towards the under thirties bracket. The pieces at Turbine are normally more interactive, this attracts a larger audience as people visit for different reasons and you often get people visiting for the fun of interaction not just for the aesthetics. The Tate’s decision to barricade the installation may result in a shift in its demographic and an adverse reaction from those who feel the piece has been comprised. Cynics might construe that this decision is a publicity stunt. Apart from restricting the installations potential the Tate did manage to produce this piece, as always to an extremely high standard. Everything was basic, easy to follow and well presented. The installation also included a short film about the making of the seeds and a series of interactive booths where visitors could film there reactions to the piece and post questions to Ai Weiwei.
I thought this piece was almost other worldly in its beauty. I would urge everyone to go and see it, let me know what you think. Has the Tate been too precautious? Has it become too compliant with laws, too timid and keen to please – after all, isn’t art here to break the barriers?
Thursday, 4 November 2010
I am emma, the arts explorer
What I'm about. I'm an arts management student staring up at the big wide world at art and saying 'hello, I'd like to join in'. Off exploring, collecting and generally sticking my nose into anything that interests me in the art world. From music and film to art and theatre, I'll be there, watching, waiting and reporting to you guys. So stick around. Things are about to get messy.
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