How Soft is Soft…and is it worse than HARD?

I just recently sold “Here and There Nora” through my Istanbul Gallery. The duo lends inspiration from Ibsen`s “A Doll House”.  In the play Nora realizes that she no longer wants to continue her false fasade, and she walks.

 

This duo is a “soft piece”.

By this I am referring to a somewhat sentimental base idea, as well as the formal aesthetic qualities of the duo. The shapes and lines of the sculpture are just barely convex…although lovingly sculpted, they are of a soft feminine, easily assimilated quality.

This is what I felt was needed to convey the base idea of the piece…the undecided Nora; will she stay or will she go….but still, gets me thinking.

Often in the world of art, this sort of piece is considered “Soft”, too feminine.

Feminine qualities are seldom appreciated as cutting edge.

 And now for two other pieces…exhibited at F15 in Norway…The bomb suit duo; Safe Shopper and Play Safe.

They have a clean conceptual idea: “In a future society gone bad, personal protection is paramount for mundane daily acts like shopping and playing.”

Aesthetically, the pieces are a mesh of clearly convex shapes with horizontal lines lending rhythm and structure…the grazed and cracked surfaces; which are on a conceptual level meant to symbolize the fragile state of being of their occupants, bind the pieces visually together….quite unlike the “Here and there Nora” duo, which is largely a soft continuous form.

The bomb suits are rougher, more direct, and I find myself more at ease defending them on an artistic level, than the softer “Here and there Nora” pieces.

It’s a mystery why I feel this way though….every idea cannot be executed in the same fashion and style if one wants to move and connect with the viewer.

But it has always been this way in the world of art….harder is better than softer…but they are actually just different, in fact.

 

Works by Caroline Slotte (NO) and Riikka Latva-Somppi (Fi)

 Tendenser Punkt Ø, Gallery F15, “Time Out”, curated by Heidi Bjørgan

Works by Caroline Slotte (NO) and Riikka Latva-Somppi (Fi)

As I mentioned earlier, this years exhibit at F15 consisted of several low key works. Caroline Slotte`s and Riikka Latva-Somppi are both worthy of a second look.

One in wood and the other in glass, really exemplify an almost vast ocean of difference of approach from Kim Simonsson`s and my own work. While we stand on a table shouting…they are underneath it.. almost whispering…but what an interesting whisper indeed.

 One of Riikka Latva-Somppi`s pieces consists of a large tear drop of glass, hanging from a thread…working as a sort of magnifying glass for the small Finish-German dictionary it partly covers. Magnifying the words; suru-sorge, sorrow and blurring all else around. The piece was based on the unexpected death of the artists mother, and this feeling of magnified sorrow she felt, while all else around her seemed to remain the same:

A brilliant and quiet homage to a very private sorrow.

Caroline Slottes work, “Unrecognizable Shit” consists of several everyday objects, carved (or perhaps milled) in paper thin wood. Her works were on exhibit on a small landing between the first and second floor of the exhibition…lying there, quiet as a mouse. Much was my surprise when I heard them “whisper”. A poignant reminder that the small, seemingly insignificant things in life can contain great value..if we only take the time to listen.   

"Time Out", Tendenser 2012 at PunktØ F15 Gallery, Norway

Exhibition at Punkt Ø Gallery F15, Norway

Tendenser (Tendancies), ”Time Out”, curated by Heidi Bjørgan

The exhibit at F15 is the 39^th of its kind, an annual event featuring new trends in applied art from the Nordic countries, this time around with Norwegian and Finish artworks.

Applied art is though a misleading description for the current trends from Finish and Norwegian artists/applied artists. The traditional materials of applied art; ceramics, wood, metal, glass and textiles are being brought to life through the medium of sculpture and installations, instead of through tableware and decorative textiles.

I have no doubt we will be seeing a backlash to this trend in years to come, but for the moment, Fine Art is the playing field for these artists, specializing in their respective materials.

This years` exhibit “Time Out” is curated by artist/curator Heidi Bjørgan.

Most of the pieces on exhibit are low key (perhaps a reflection of Heidi’s own artwork), and with a couple exceptions, bereft of vivid colours. If anything, the Finish selection is perhaps slightly more expressive than their Norwegian counterparts. Whether this is a national trend, a result of Finish saunas and good vodka, or just a result of this years` specific selection, is hard to say.

The title”Time Out” awakens my competitive spirit..we are in the middle of a match, bottom of the ninth, huddled around our coaches, getting pointers on how to crush the opposing team. It’s Norway VS Finland…and the winner is?

So let’s RUMBLE!:

Andrew Barton (NO) vs. Kim Simonsson (FI) 

Typical of Kim’s art is the use of figures from Japanese popular culture in combination with other elements. The figures presented at this years` exhibit, three pieces in all, tell the story of a Japanese girl, holding a dead deer, fighting a mythical swan-snake beast or stepping in a puddle of golden liquid. The combined affect of innocence and a deathly struggle is very striking and make his works memorable.

My pieces, two bomb suits for mother and child, hint at a dystopian future, where the mundane acts of shopping and play require the utmost protection. The bomb suits, representing a protective state of being, are combined with a grazed and cracked surface structure symbolizing the uncertain frailty of the occupants` existence.

I was personally looking forward to exhibiting with Kim, as there aren’t that many ceramic artists in Scandinavia producing large scale figurative works which can compete with their art academy counterparts in any venue. The typical game most artists with an applied art background play is one of seclusion. They exhibit at venues with other applied artists, seldom venturing into the world of hard core fine art. To use another sports analogy…Artists from the academies of Europe are playing in the first division, and artists with a design or applied arts background are competing against each other in the second division. The First division is where all the money and most of the talent is…but now and then a team from the second can go head to head with any team from the league above itself.

And as always in the world of art; it is up to the subjective opinion of the Audience to proclaim its winners. But I have a strong suspicion that the winner, in this case, is the audience itself: Witnessing a match of Skill and Vision between two worthy opponents.  

Received a three year work grant for artists from the Ministry of Culture in Norway.

Rabbits in space...but maybe other animals could be integrated in some way?.....perhaps a bomb suit for a small paris hilton dog would compliment the other bomb suit figures ?...or add too much humour?...hmm...uncertain...anyway..almost finished sculpting...a piece like this needs to dry..then fired to about 700C, then sanded to get the right finish and refired to 1200C...so still a ways to go...but like the result so far.

My daughter, 4 yrs old, declared...I do not like any of these sculptures...she was at my studio...so decided to do something about it...caving to popular demand.... she has been nagging me about an astronaut rabbit since I did the muslims in space series....so here goes...proving to be quite the challenge....a four year olds challenge... ;:-)

ceramicsnow.org/
or
http://www.ceramicsnow.org/post/19204728701/andrew-barton-final-frontier-soda-gallery-istanbul
Featuring a short article from the Soda exhibit in Istanbul

Ceramic art makes me cringe...often...it feels so domesticated....but that has partly changed the past few years. Ceramics are being used masterly by many talented artists to express their personal artistic visions.
Just from my little corner of the world, Norway, a new generation is emerging: Artists like Nils Martin, Øyvind Suul, Cecilie Lind, Mona Næss, and Ingrid Askeland (to name just a few) are really giving credit to Ceramic Art....or actually...giving credit to Fine Art, is a more correct statement.