Robert Morris-Untitled (1965-71)

Robert Morris firmly believed in stripping his artwork down to its most fundamental features. His “Untitled” sculpture is a great example of Minimalism. Made in the years of 1965-71, the sculpture consists of four mirror plated glass and wood cubes arranged as if they had been placed in the four corners of a square.
What I liked about the sculpture was the ever-changing aspect as you view the cubes from different angles. When the viewer looks at one of the cubes from a certain angle, you can see a tunnel like structure formed due to the reflection of two mirrors bouncing off one another. The idea is quite a simple one, but is very effective and allows the viewer to interact with sculpture.
The four mirror plated cubes use the gallery as well as the viewer as part of the artwork. From different angles, different parts of the gallery room, as well as the reflection of the people inside it, can be seen. In a way the objects and people in the gallery room at the time contribute to the art, otherwise it would only be four mirrored cubes; it is how the cubes reflect its surroundings which make it a truly special piece of artwork.
I think it would be interesting to see a bit more use of the reflective feature. Colour and lighting bouncing off the surfaces of the mirrors could have been used as an additional feature. It would create a more interesting visual effect and perhaps it would have allowed the viewer to interact with the sculpture more. But then again this would probably go against the idea of minimalism and keeping a piece of art down to its most essential elements.

Telling Lies - Film review

The film, Telling Lies, is a phone conversation between five people, who confront each other about affairs they had the night before. Whilst the conversation can be heard, captions on screen show what the people are actually thinking. It’s a chance for the viewer to get into the minds of the
various characters and I believe this is what makes the film truly unique. The film has the ability to relate the situation to its audience, making it funny because of the realistic truth in the scenario.
The visual aspect of the film consists of different coloured text on screen for the five different characters which enlarge and shrink in accordance
with their tone of voice. An on screen distortion effect is used when the phones are ringing throughout the film. The sound aspect of the film is a very important one. Not only because of the obvious conversation between the different people, but also because of the different background sounds which are played as different people are being called. An example of this would be when the main character Philip phones his friend Darren and music is heard playing in the background. This gives the impression of being somewhere totally different, creating a more realistic effect.
This film is a great example of sense in simplicity. What makes it so good, is its simple yet inventive approach as well as its ability to relate to the audience. The film shows a good balance between sound and visuals. The visual element is not to overpowering as to distract the viewer from the conversation between the different characters.

Mr Jessop - Review

The short animated film, Mr Jessop, is definitely one of my favourite films viewed this semester. The film is very fast paced and at times it’s almost like the character is riding a rollercoaster to get to his destination, by whizzing around corners and going through the tunnels of the underground. The drawings are very distinct in there simplicity and resemblance to cubist style paintings.
The animation shows human expression and emotion so accurately, you cannot help but laugh and relate to certain events. One event in the animation which grabbed my attention was the scene in the department store, in which two women are arguing and eventually one pulls out a gun. During the argument you can see the characters around her pretending to mind their own business when in fact they are curiously enjoying the row. One woman then shoots the other and after realising what she has done, screams and runs away. The other characters in the department store than crowd around the pool of blood in excitement, each of them whispering to each other like blood thirsty vampires. At one point a young child is seen swimming in the blood and even tasting it.
The obsession for cleanliness shown by the personality of the wife, was what I found particular comical. She is constantly seen scrubbing and cleaning and at one point is even seen cleaning the thorns of her cactus.
Parts of the animation are quite unclear and seem a bit random. I didn’t really understand the significance of the husband, wife and cat spraying perfume into their eyes.
The well observed aspects of social interaction coupled with the exaggeration of animation, make this short film truly one to remember.

Tate modern - No woman, no cry (1998)

Chris ofili’s turner prize winning piece, No Woman No Cry, depicts a woman in silent sorrow as teardrops stream down her face, each holding the image of black murder victim Stephen Lawrence. The artwork, which won the turner prize in 1998, has a very traditional African painting style to it, with the vibrant colours and simple shapes. What had drawn me to the painting at first was its uniqueness, not only in the style in which it had been painted but also the range of different materials and techniques used to create the piece, such as acrylic and oil paint, polyester resin, paper collage, and even elephant dung.
Once the viewer gets an understanding of the message behind the artwork that is when the painting is truly complete. The woman in the painting could represent the mother of Stephen Lawrence or could simply represent all mothers or people who have lost a loved one through gang violence. The woman’s face looks emotionless, it is only clear that she is upset with the presence of the teardrops, which could symbolize the deep internal grief she is feeling, due to her tragic loss. The net-like structure, covering the entire portrait of the woman, could represent the feeling of being trapped and alone.
I would have liked to have felt more emotion from the painting, to get an idea of how the woman is feeling deep inside, but then again I believe this was not really the artists aim. He symbolically wanted to show emotion using elements like teardrops and the net, rather than simply showing feelings using the woman’s facial expressions.