Art Reviews: New Books for Your Coffee Table

We receive some fantastic art books through our doors at Aesthetica and we thought we'd share our views on some of the recent publications that have passed our way.



We Are Congo
Rankin/Oxfam
Oxfam

Rankin (b. 1966) is one of Aesthetica’s favourite photographers and so we were delighted to receive his new book, We Are Congo, made in collaboration with Oxfam. Rankin is famous for his omnipresent work in the fashion world but this collection of work pursues a different theme and gives a new insight into a photographer most renowned for his iconic images of celebrities such as Kate Moss and Madonna. We’ve covered other ways in which Rankin has subverted the fashion photography world in Aesthetica before and you can read about his other projects by clicking here.

The photographs presented in We Are Congo are all inspired by, and taken during Rankin’s recent Oxfam trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The book is divided into four sections. The first is a collection of images each accompanied by a touching love story. Amongst these is 51 year old Charles, a retired dancer who describes how the violence and disruption in the Congo has affected the life he had hoped to live with his beloved wife. The stories are both heart wrenching and hopeful. In the accompanying photographs the personalities of the subjects shine through in their expressions. They evoke the feeling of warmth, love and hope; things that even war cannot seize from humanity.

The second section is made up of images taken by the people of Sange themselves. Whilst in the Congo, Rankin held photographic workshops to teach the local community about photography. In this set of photographs the Congolese people take on the role of both photographer and subject. Their images of teenagers playing football, mothers feeding their babies and grinning school boys create an intimate depiction of lives lived with love, in spite of difficulty and anguish.

Set against a white background, the subjects of the photographs in the third section depict those people who fled conflict to find refuge in Mugunga Camp. Similarly to the 32 page panoramic portrait in the final section of We Are Congo, Rankin captures snap shots of the Congolese people displaying their bravery and determination in their search for peace.

In We Are Congo the photographs displayed do not depict victims of war and horror but rather people who are full of dreams and hopes. Rankin’s photographs capture the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Filled with photographs expressing deep love and determination, the pages of We Are Congo let us know that there is the chance of a better future for the Congolese people.

All proceeds from sales of the book will be spent on Oxfam’s emergency work in the DRC.

Ruth Sweeney




For Love and Money: New Illustration
Liz Farrelly and Olivia Triggs
Laurence King Publishing


Today visual stimulation takes on many forms and in today’s society illustration can be seen in all mediums, most noticeably for commercial, environmental and political use. Illustration has come a long way from simple drawings and has developed to cover every aspect of our lives, from 2D to 3D, from glossy magazines to advertising campaigns, from fashion to the blockbuster cinema and even to our mobile phones. The ever-growing interest in illustration by all areas of the media demonstrates the power it has in influencing our present society.

This book aims to display illustration artwork at its very best and highlight the diversity of which the genre can achieve. Never before has one genre covered such a range, from its combinations of drawings, painting and collage, to computer manipulation with digital software, photography and text, thus demonstrating there are no boundaries when it comes to this area of art. The book showcases 89 different innovative young individual’s portfolios, referencing spectacular images alongside mini question and answer features with the artist. It offers a small preview into the work of each artist, taking you on a journey into his or her created world. However, this only lasts for a few pages before you’re being thrown towards the next artist.

An aesthetically pleasing journey with beautiful images, which give you an insight into the mind of the creator, it is a wonderful reference book for any established or aspiring illustrator and is also able to capture the imagination of enthusiasts.

For Love and Money: New Illustration is an astounding collection of bright colours, bold prints, quirky photography, intricate patterns and some of the most amazing visual images I have seen in a while. It is truly inspiring and a must-have for anyone with any interest in illustration.

Lisa-Marie Ryan




Bridget Riley – Retrospective: Musée d’Art moderne de la vile de Paris
Ridinghouse

Bridget Riley (b.1931) is a well known for her paintings of optical illusions created from geometric shapes, and bold colours. She is widely recognised in Britain and the USA today but her influence in France is less established. Yet, it is from the Bridget Riley – Retrospective at Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2008 that this latest catalogue of her work is derived. Between 12 June and 14 September 2008, the gallery was given the opportunity to take a fresh look at the artist and her work, and to display a collection of paintings and preparatory studies not yet seen together by the public.

This heavy volume contains a foreword by the curator, Fabrice Hergott, and several commentaries upon the artist by different writers, which are written in French and English. The book makes a fascinating reading experience, as many of the accounts explore Riley’s artistic progress and her place in the art world today. Her first paintings portray influences from the Impressionist Seurat, and her later development towards the style of Matisse. An interview with the artist by Lynne Cooke reveals interesting details about her working processes and the concepts behind her paintings. A catalogue of the Riley’s paintings is reproduced in high quality colour, and includes images of her preparatory studies which reveal the evolution from her initial ideas to the finished work.

Whether you’re interested in looking at the mind bending optical illusions of the paintings, or want a more detailed retrospective on the artist herself, this catalogue from Ridinghouse allows you to dip into different ideas and opinions on this great modern artist.

Rachael Boon

Recently, we’ve been chatting with The Works Art & Design Festival, and I wanted to update you with what they’ve planned for this year. If you haven’t come across the Festival before, it’s based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and over the past 25 years, every June they have been spreading art through the streets, office towers, malls, banks, restaurants, hotels, essentially making every location in the city part of the Festival. This guerrilla approach captivates a city and explores its inner dynamics. Begging the question, what can we learn from the place in which we live?

Bringing art into the public realm for 13 days, the Festival turns everyday people into artists, critics, and patrons. With 30+ exhibition sites, The Works brings Edmonton and its visitors a range of artistic experiences—from exhibits for viewing, to workshops for making and creating. Earth is the theme for 2010 and a definitive sign that summer has arrived is when The Works’ tents and Giant Gateways go up - transforming Sir Winston Churchill Square into an epicenter of public creativity and festival fun. How does The Works do this? An eclectic array of artisans, international food vendors, LIVE music and artist demonstrations, workshops and lectures that reflect the exciting changes and arising issues in art and design. It is truly a city-wide art extravaganza. Entering The Works’ 25th year of bringing visual arts spectacle to the streets, Festival organizers are getting ready to celebrate.



Since 2008, Festival Directors, Amber Rooke and Dawn Saunders Dahl, have been working up to the 25th anniversary with a core series of themed exhibitions. Staying current with concerns of the time, the overarching topic for three years has been Sustainability and Environmentalism. Sustainability isn’t only about recycling and being green, though this is one of The Festival’s values. Sustainability extends from ecological issues through to societal issues. Sustainable design, through to designing a sustainable future. In terms of the visual arts, each year’s theme has been an element that relates to both art and sustainability: Water in 2008, Heat in 2009, and Earth in 2010.

The Works Canadian Aboriginal Artist Program, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, brings Aboriginal Artists, Curators and Collaborators to exhibit, demonstrate art making processes, and to discuss issues of Aboriginal Art in Canada. Featured inside The Works Big Tent for Festival 2010 will be artists Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Olivia Kachman, Leah Doiron and Maureen Enns exhibiting works that touch on sustainability and connections to the land, as well as the challenges that artists with Aboriginal heritage face whose work is ‘contemporary’ versus ‘traditional’. These important discussions will continue in upcoming festivals, as the program is slotted to continue through to 2011.

The upcoming Silver Anniversary promises to be as exciting and diverse. The Earth theme will see a holistic approach to the visual arts, considering art creation, spectacle, criticism, and activism. Featured on the main Festival site, Sir Winston Churchill Square, will be a wide and diverse array of artists at work. ‘Evolve’ by Tina Martel is a project that will involve paper casting 5 Smart cars, emphasizing the idea that although environmentally we remain “thin, fine and so easily broken”, we are taking steps to reduce, reuse and recycle. “Auto Park” by Laura St. Pierre is an outdoor performance installation creating a series of portable, partially enclosed growing spaces using the shells of six defunct cars as their main structure. Featured on The Works South Giant Gateway will be Michael Markowsky, an ambitious artist who aspires to be the first to paint on the moon by 2030, will be abstractly painting the earth and space LIVE for 13 days. American artist, Charles Wissinger was commissioned to design the North Gateway. Local artists and Works Festival interns will also be painting this design LIVE on site within the structure of The Works to Work internship program. Featured within The Works Downtown 30 + exhibits will include Kevin Friedrich’s exhibit “Beating Around the Bush” a slightly dark, yet humorous look at the human condition in response to over mechanization and fast obsolescence. As well, Chris Flodberg exhibit “Giardia and Other Recent Paintings” contains large salon style canvases focusing critical and creative lenses on the passiveness and vagaries of human perception.

There are also many opportunities to creatively participate in the Festival. These opportunities run from favourites, such as the Smaller Than a Breadbox Exhibit, in which artists show works smaller than 3x3x6 inches, and the Annual Chalk Art Contest, to special exhibits, such as that honouring the late Edmonton arts reporter, Gilbert Bouchard. For this, artists were invited to make a piece “For Gilbert” that will be exhibited on Sir Winston Churchill Square during the Festival. Perhaps designing and building is what you are interested in, so you can join the M.A.D.E. crowd, transforming scrap wood into furniture right there on-site. There are also opportunities to sign up for a free walking tour and let yourself rediscover the city with critic’s or art lover’s eyes. After your tour, be persuaded to be part of The Works Figure Drawing Workshops and settle into a picnic table to find a piece of charcoal and a drawing board. Or get the whole family involved and bravely tackle the glue and glitter of The Works Family Programs tent. There are no fees and no limits to creation.

With these projects, programs, exhibits, and installations, The Works Art & Design Festival is a forum unlike any other in North America for spectators and participants to experience the visual arts. Don’t miss out-June 25- July 7, 2010. For more information about participating in exhibits, projects, or as a vendor, or to volunteer, see www.theworks.ab.ca

Images:

(c) Ford Interior – Laura St. Pierre
(c) Casting tire – Tina Martel

Review: Hermann Obrist at the Henry Moore Institute

Last week a comprehensive exhibition on Hermann Obrist (1862 – 1927) opened at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds. Hermann Obrist: Art Nouveau Sculptor is the first UK exhibition of Obrist’s work and it showcases the range of his extraordinary output, bringing together two-dimensional drawings, photos, letters, source illustrations, embroidery and sculpture.

Beginning with a display of his inspirations and personal musings, the exhibition takes you on a journey from Obrist’s inner workings to the realisation of his concepts. A postcard depicting a shell is reflected by a sculpture in plasticine, demonstrating Obrist’s process and highlighting the importance of nature in his work. Both the natural and the spiritual worlds inform Obrist’s work: he studied medicine and was affected from an early age by supernatural visions.

The first room contains Obrist’s studies and embroidery, decorated with his notorious ‘whiplash’ curves, and leads through to the next space. Tall and bright, the second room provides the perfect showcase for Obrist’s fantastical sculptures, which twist and spiral in a style reminiscent of Antoni Gaudi, a contemporary of Obrist’s.



The exhibition contains almost every surviving piece from Obrist’s output and offers a compelling insight into the artist’s vision, revealing him as a man of many skills who produced a significant body of work. The Henry Moore Institute is also involved in a collaborative research exercise, designed to bring Obrist back into the public consciousness as an artist of note.

Hermann Obrist: Art Nouveau Sculptor is accompanied by an exhibition on the Mezzanine Gallery of Alina Szapocznikow’s (1926 – 73) work. ‘Out of My Mouth: The Photosculptures of Alina Szapocznikow’ is a collection of equally improbable sculptures, though in this case they are crafted from chewing gum and captured for posterity in black and white photos.

Hermann Obrist: Art Nouveau Sculptor runs until 29 August at Henry Moore Institute, Leeds. The Institute is open daily and entry is free. For more information visit www.henry-moore.org

Interested in sculpture? Read our current issue or from our archives, Hybrid Sculpture (2008) at the Henry Moore Institute.

Credits:
Hermann Obrist
Model for a hill-top church
Undated
Plaster cast
Museum für Gestaltung Zürich (Museum of Design Zurich) /
Arts and Crafts Collection / Zurich University of Arts
Photo: Heinrich Helfenstein ©ZHdK

Hermann Obrist
Movement (detail)
1914
Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Kunstgewerbesammlung.
Photo: Heinrich Helfenstein © ZHdK