Shriya NevatiaContemporary art scares me
October 26th 2006 10:37
I hesitate to enter a contemporary art exhibition. You just never know what is going to happen.
When I was studying the conservation component of my course, we were given examples of contemporary art; my group got a work of art made out of diesel fuel. We identified passing out, mass fire and toxic death as some of the “issues” associated with conserving the work. The other group had to study a work made out of raw meat.
Contemporary art scares me.
When I go to a contemporary art exhibition, I’m always waiting for the false ceiling to slide back and the raw meat to fall into my lap.
The Idea of the Animal showing at RMIT Gallery is an exhibition of contemporary art. By far the most arresting works in the show are Hubert Duprat’s Aquatic caddis-fly lava pieces. One of these works comprises a small perspex aquarium with lava moving around in their gold jewelry cocoons. There is also his film depicting a macro view of lava making one of the cocoons out of gold pieces and tiny discarded jewelry. In his work it is the lava which is the artist constructing beautifully intricate miniature transition homes.
One of the works shows empty cocoons. What happened to those caddis-flies I wonder? Did they fly away and become artists-in-residence at the Tate Modern? Another visitor stood in front of the tank with me and I said, “That one doesn’t look very healthy” and I pointed to one of the unmoving lava.
“It’s just tired!” she said optimistically. I just don’t know if this work is like, cruelty to bugs or something…
This is the conundrum of contemporary art; it is controversial and often so astonishing that it can change the way you think about the world.
When I was studying the conservation component of my course, we were given examples of contemporary art; my group got a work of art made out of diesel fuel. We identified passing out, mass fire and toxic death as some of the “issues” associated with conserving the work. The other group had to study a work made out of raw meat.
Contemporary art scares me.
When I go to a contemporary art exhibition, I’m always waiting for the false ceiling to slide back and the raw meat to fall into my lap.
The Idea of the Animal showing at RMIT Gallery is an exhibition of contemporary art. By far the most arresting works in the show are Hubert Duprat’s Aquatic caddis-fly lava pieces. One of these works comprises a small perspex aquarium with lava moving around in their gold jewelry cocoons. There is also his film depicting a macro view of lava making one of the cocoons out of gold pieces and tiny discarded jewelry. In his work it is the lava which is the artist constructing beautifully intricate miniature transition homes.
One of the works shows empty cocoons. What happened to those caddis-flies I wonder? Did they fly away and become artists-in-residence at the Tate Modern? Another visitor stood in front of the tank with me and I said, “That one doesn’t look very healthy” and I pointed to one of the unmoving lava.
“It’s just tired!” she said optimistically. I just don’t know if this work is like, cruelty to bugs or something…
This is the conundrum of contemporary art; it is controversial and often so astonishing that it can change the way you think about the world.
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