Summer Exhibition

I took time off work this week to go to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy.

It wouldn't normally be something that I'd visit but having seen a Culture Show special on the topic, I was intrigued. The premise is that members of the Academy display their work but in addition, the invitation is thrown open to anyone to enter a piece of work to be considered - generally over 12,000 pieces are entered and in the end 1200 are chosen to hang alongside the Royal Academicians. The result is for me a wonderfully eccentric hotch potch. I suspect for those who truly appreciate art some of the entrants work is of no value, but I am a complete novice on this front, so I'm still very much swayed but what I'm instinctively drawn to, be it because of it's aesthetic quality, skill or that simple, unexplained reaction of ' I like it'. The stand out pieces for me were Endless Sugar by Cornelia Parker - I'm not sure why 30 pieces of flattened silver plate suspended from the ceiling so they float a few inches from the floor should be so beautiful but it is. There were two pieces entered by no RA artists that I wanted to see as they were featured on the culture show - Meyer's Encyclopedia Vol II by Alexander Korzer-Robinson and The Infant by PJ Crook. The first piece was created by the artist beginning at the back of a book and cutting round selected illustrations, by carefully working through to the front continuing the process, a 3D collage is created. PJ Crook's work has a fairy tale quality and she paints on to the rim of the frame so it feels like the painting is continuing beyond the canvas. In the end I spent the most time in the room devoted to the architectural works, somewhat surprising for a girl who loves photographs and pleasing colours to be so transfixed by a model of Kings Cross Station! But art does have a way of surprising and as one who has so little knowledge of what constitutes great art, it is important to keep an open mind. There were some photographs and abstracts created with laser cut card, the advances in technology mean it is possible to create, if for some items in model size only, what has only been imagined previously. There were a couple of beautiful photographs of the University and Cultural Centre in Zlin Czech Republic, such glorious and rich purples. I was so fascinated by this collection that I was seriously considering purchasing a model of the Manhattan Sky Podium - it was like a model village for grown ups and I was beginning to imagine the stories of those who lived or worked in these buildings. I suppose that, as opposed to a painting, sculpture or photograph where the creative process is complete and the object is to enjoy or inspire, the models allow the viewer to enter the process and take it further, moving the object from inanimate to alive with their imagination.

One thing I noticed was my frustration in wanting to know more about the artists thought process and motivation - being more of a connoisseur of literature, I am used to being able to engage with a writer's process as a story has a beginning and end, even if it surprises you, but art is an entirely different story - it is possible to appreciate it whilst really having no idea what it's meaning is.

I did know something of Jeff Koons whose large coloured stainless steel sculpture greets visitors in the courtyard. The piece is entitled colouring book. In an interview Jeff revealed that some of his fascination with imagery connected with childhood is due to losing the custody battle for his son who lives in Rome with his mother. Colouring book is a joyous piece, which is nearly transparent from some angles, however knowing the story of the sadness the artist feels at the separation from his child, it is possible to sense a quiet longing in the sculpture also. 

The Summer Exhibition was a wonderful experience and I fully intend to go next year to be bemused and dazzled!

                                                   Coloring Book by Jeff Koons