不知道 i don’t know

Shu Yong at Highlight Gallery

Highlight Gallery have just opened a group show called Body Media, and although I’ve not been in to see the show yet, it’s been difficult to miss the piece that they’ve placed outside the gallery.

Highlight Gallery is right by one of the entrances to the 798 Art District in Beijing, so placing this particular sculpture outside the gallery, beside the main road was always going to be somewhat problematic (is it obvious what they are? Clue: there’s a tiny woman flying behind them and to which they are connected). And this is the result.

Just a quick post before I leave for Beijing in a few hours time.

I had a few hours spare yesterday morning, before I had to go to the airport to pick my parents up from their holiday, so I made a swift trip over to Kew Gardens to see the Henry Moore show.

Henry Moore, Large Reclining Figure, 1984

This is a great collection of 28 sculptures, placed within the landscaping of these botanical gardens. There is a real sense of these pieces working well with their surroundings. And it’s good to see them being used!

Despite the warnings, the pieces were being used as playgrounds by children who had been dragged along by their parents. I felt annoyed at first that I wasn’t able to appreciate the pieces in some kind of ‘pure’ state, without the distraction of people clambering over them, but I soon realised this was a great way to appreciate the pieces, by interacting with them, not just viewing them from afar in stately isolation.

Of course, this brings up questions about the preservation of art, questions which usually seem to be concerned with commercial value (as in “to touch a piece will reduce it’s value”), but I actually think we shouldn’t be so precious about these works where a physical relationship adds so much to the appreciation.

Following up on the previous post, I think I should justify in some way my comments about the work I saw while in Beijing. By “justify” I mean present some kind of record and evidence for my reactions. To recap, some of the architecture, photography and sculpture appealed to me, but by and large much of this was by foreign practitioners.

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