The Photographers Polaroids (not a great technology) and back to Jaspers

At The Photographers' Gallery again

Not everything can be good

It's some time since I've visited the Photographers Gallery and as they've got new exhibitions thought it was worth checking out - in truth a little disappointed -  Wim Wenders (Instant Stories) was a reminder for me how bad Polaroids were as a format and the trouble that had gone into displaying, mounting and framing made me think of  'polishing a turd' - I think better work could have been on show in this space.

Interesting from a sociological aspect 

Well staged but not sure about the quality

Likewise I felt that '4 Saints in 3 Acts' was interesting as history but not necessarily great photographs and was a bit surprised that Lee Miller was part of it. 

More RA

So as well as seeing Matisse I took another look at Jasper John's retrospective it really is pretty amazing - work stretches over his whole career and it's clear that his work is distinctive, has a style of its own but also experimental and challenging with some intellectual rigour.

East Meets West at RA exhibitions (82)

You say you want a Revolution

One of the fortunate by-products of my volunteering is that I'm able to get entry to some rather fantastic exhibitions and Museums.

I've not been to the RA (The Royal Academy) before but chance to see two sides of difficult challenges (East Versus West) felt like a real opportunity.

Started off with Revolution (It's in the air as recent V&A and the current Design Museum exhibition suggests).

The West takes on the East

Not at all sure that the layout and curation of the Russian  Art is wholly successful and as we know the way it all goes perhaps a video of 'Political' prisoners who were (generally) executed could be considered a little heavy handed.


 Noticed that BBC Newsnight's Steven Smith was looking  around the   'Revolution' exhibition - which I felt in places was a  bit depressing  to see.

Really nice pictures

In fact a reminder of how it all began to go wrong even before Lenin's death  and then with Stalin as boss those in the countryside and Artists began to suffer.

Having said that it was a revelation to find new artists and  some good stuff  from Kadinsky and Chagall for example and there were some film clips from influential pioneers like  an excerpt from Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera .

Great to see pictures by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin with his quirky use of colour - a favourite being the  Petrograd Madonna (1920) and thought the Girl in Football Shirt (1932) by Alexander Samokhvalov looked almost contemporary.

America after the Fall

This was a more manageable sized  and optimistic group of works.

Greatly  enjoyed seeing the Edward Hoppers  (Gas and New York Movie) and  Grant Woods' curious American Gothic (as I've been reminded of before) though in the America- After The Fall exhibition.

Very clear that the USA at this time was looking to Europe for inspiration with examples of surrealism and an early (non splattered) Pollock.

Doors

£105 90

Still Doors from the West End..

Well it was new once

Another posh looking door