Whitworth Art Gallery

Before I start connotations and analyzing different pieces of work I liked at Whitworth Art Gallery - It is essential that I state that the camera I was using at the time was inadequate and therefore I did not achieve the best photographic results. However...

I thought that the exhibitions at Whitworth were amazing!

There was an aesthetically pleasing, feminist installation by blahblahblah which consisted of cut-out quotes in the glass of a greenhouse. The bright tubes of light from within the house, lit up the feminist quotes to suggest the importance of equality for women and to value their opinions.

Though I think that this installation is interesting, I'm not sure if this will influence my work on UNIT X.

I was very surprised to find one of my favourite screenprints by Richard Hamilton (1922-2011) as 'Release' was originally being held in TATE  MODERN and I have never had the chance to see it in the flesh. I love this screen print because it captures a significant moment in history, the swinging sixties to be precise, when Robert Fraser (Art Dealer)and Mick Jagger got arrested for being in unlawful possession of several different drugs. After court, they both were sentenced to imprisonment which Robert Fraser thought was very amusing - he even had his limo ready to collect him after he served his time. He loved the attention from the paparazzi. 

In 1962 Robert Fraser, also known as 'Groovy Bob' opened the first art gallery at 69 Duke Street in London in the sixties which was popular amongst many people including The Beatles, Peter Blake, Eduardo Paolozzi, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha etc. Robert Fraser also sold the work of Rene Magritte, Jean Dubuffet, Balthus and Hans Bellmer.  

Decorative paper walls.

  

Colourful prints made by students.

Micheal Andrews (1928-1995)

'The Blue and Yellow of the Yacht Club' 1969

Oil Paint on hardboard.

I really love the contrasting yet complementing shades of yellow and blue and the rich tones of the skin on the yachts man.

David Hockney 1937

An amazing English painter, printmaker, stage designer and photographer.

Ceiling to floor installations of compressed instruments and utensils made from metal.

 Cai Guo-Qiang - 'Unmanned Nature'

This spectacular gunpowder drawing and installation was utterly breath-taking and one of my favourite pieces from Whitworth Gallery. Cai Guo-Qiang used gunpowder, fuses and cardboard stencils to create forms on the colossal pieces of paper. The spontaneity of the resulting explosions and flames were controlled through wooden boards, rocks and other materials, which influenced the the impact of the explosions to create the final piece.

 Close up of the gun powder drawing.

Portraiture at the Whitworth Art Gallery. 

Abstract mark making with watercolour paints.

Mechanical pencil drawing.

Despite seeing all of the different types of art work in the gallery, from giant gunpowder drawings to metal and light installations, I still am drawn to all forms of portraiture and will continue to research salient aspects of portraiture from all eras.

My trip to Whitworth Art Gallery was inspiring, however I still feel as if I have no specific direction in which i'm going to take.