Judging by the location of the photos from my trip to the
Yorkshire Sculpture Park,the fallen leaves, Autumnal colours, you can probably
tell that these were taken quite a while ago (maybe October...maybe!) I am a
massive fan of Henry Moore and the whole concept of his work sitting in the
natural setting so felt the need to put these up at last. I didn't see as much
as I would have liked due to an inappropriate footwear/mud situation but saw a
lot of his better known pieces. The actual scale of the pieces is really quite
phenomenal, something you can't judge in books or from photographs.
I was really excited to learn that as well as the gardens,
there is a gallery within the park that holds major exhibitions. Annoyingly I
don't have the exhibition information, seeing as it feels like an age ago that
I actually went. Fortunately I do remember the artist's name, Jaume Plensa, a
Spanish artist that deals with spiritual issues through his sculpture with an
interactive element, which made a change. Some of his pieces were exhibited in
the park space outside and continued nicely into the rooms in the actual
gallery, including a room filled with giant gongs that the onlooker was allowed
to strike, filling the place with a chaotic yet calming sound. Rarely do I look
at pieces in exhibitions and feel blown away but his illuminated heads were
unbelievable.
The illuminated faces were a particular highlight, the way
they were carved/lit/the proportion of the features made them look as if the
faces were projected onto the stone. The backs were crumbling as if some
ancient artifact that had been around for thousands of years. The execution was
perfect, as something like this could have ended up a disaster without having
the same impact. It was refreshing to be able to walk in and around the
sculptures, something I admire with artists that want people to look and
interact with their work rather than observing the 'Do not touch' signs that
often accompany art and sculpture. Not only was it unexpected, I was impressed
with the exhibition and people that know me will know how picky I am with my
art and the style that I like.
ps..Liu Wen was not at the exhibition... I came across the
image on Jak and Jil soon after the exhibition and noticed the same sculpture.
It helps that I love her jacket too!
