28
23 january 2012 Exeposé
Arts
Join the Exeposé Art Facebook group
Follow us on Twitter @ExeposeArts
Zoe Bulaitis & Laura Stevens - arts@exepose.com
Art attack
WE asked students to vent some of those winter blues with this sunny painting A Bigger Splash by national treasure David Hockney. His retrospective ‘A Bigger Picture’ opens this week in London, but what did you think? Luke Webber: Proof that Microsoft Paint isn’t just for children.
RAMM-ed down their throats?
Jack Flanagan headed down to the newly opened RAMM Museum to explore what Exeter’s new venue has to offer
THE opening of the RAMM on Queen Street has provided the population of Exeter with a centre for culture, history and education. An understated, neutral décor allows for real appreciation of the artefacts and items on display, which range from an immense stuffed bull giraffe, to an Inuit totem pole and a vast collection of impressionist art, currently on loan from museums around England. Of special interest is the Roman exhibition, which provides information on Exeter’s establishment and growth as a Roman settlement.
“Suggestions to ‘close your eyes’ and ‘soak it in’ encourage making an exhibition of yourself”
Ghost Writer is a special addition to the museum, designed by the Blast Theory team, who are described as ‘pioneers in interactive media’. Ghost Writer exists as a panel on the rear museum reception and on the screen is a phone number to ring. Upon ringing the number, you are received by a somewhat wooden, certainly impersonal, woman’s recording who begins to describe to you the Roman wall which lies outside of an adjacent window.
Somewhat like a tour, this unnamed woman leads you through parts of the museum, all the time encouraging sentimentality in the objects you encounter. The route you take is not set and relies on you choosing (via keypad) which room to visit. However, you aren’t given the chance to observe the room properly, but rather have to follow her narration, which guides you to set exhibits. While this is charming, suggestions to “close your eyes” and “soak it in” encourage making an exhibition of yourself. It’d be my opinion that: if you aren’t thrilled enough by museum exhibits already, this frozen hammy monologue will probably not achieve much in the way of inspiration. Another perspective, viewing Ghost Writer as an art exhibit, allows it to be observed as an interesting portrait of the self-referencing that occurs within museums. It removes the cultural, historical tone for a more personal sense of the items – the Roman mosaic on which a family once trod; a Japanese fan maybe used by a landed lady, or maybe a prostitute. There is a growing trend in museum display to extend the accessibility of museum exhibits to people who do not have a natural interest. This attempt at universal appeal, though valorous,
might in fact deter serious entomologists entering the “creepy crawly” section, or ornithologists invited to greet “our winged friends.” “Insects” and “birds” could just as easily replace these colloquial titles, but they would not generate the same excitement. Oddly, other disciplines, such as art and history, remain unblemished from the sensationalist initiative. Ultimately, the cost of this is a reduction in detail – and the credibility of the museum.
Sam Lambert: California Dreamin’. Joanna Spindler: Just the one deck chair seems a little lonely. If Hockney could please add a few more then I’d happily rescue the Exeter 3rd years from January blues! Rebecca Lodder: I think it’s great to get back to good old fashioned paintings where the picture is self-explanatory and not something you have to struggle to see what it is. I like the bright, block colours too, it gives a very 1960’s feel.
“A growing trend in museum display is to extend the universal appeal”
This would be my criticism of Ghost Writer, and the approach to natural history taken by the museum. And though I disagree with the action taken, I support the sentiment: that museums should make an effort to attract a wider audience. However, making exhibitions into sideshows reduces the quality of the items and their appeal to parts of their already sizeable demographic. Real progress would come in the form of changing advertising and public relations, and not from changing their already awe-inspiring appeal.
CAPTION COmpetition ! WE have an absolutely fantastic opportunity for all Exeposé Arts fans! We have managed to get our hands on four tickets (worth £100) to give away for FREE to see Tropicana- The Passion Tour 2012! What a great way to inject some colour into your frosty student homes and join the sultry ice show that promises passion, flair and sex appeal to melt away those January blues. These tickets are for the 14 February so we can give them away as a
pair or as a group of four depending on whether you want a super cheap date or a night out with friends watching smouldering Latin rhythms being grinded out on the ice. So how do you get to see this sparkly showstopper?! Join Exeposé Arts on Facebook (you’re not a member already?!) and write a caption for the photo of our polar bear relaxing on the ice and the funniest caption will win! We wish you all the best of luck!
Nick Vines: One can only assume from the faint horizontal lines throughout the piece that it was painted on cardboard. James Crouch: The mental image Hockney offers us is tantalizing: a summer holiday for us to indulge in on these cold January nights. Perhaps even reminding us faintly of a resort we have been to in the distant past. And as a thought, what could be nicer than jumping into a cool pool on a hot sunny day? Jessica Leung: There seems to be no story behind the painting and it feels like no emotion has gone into it. The ‘splash-marks’ may be the artist’s attempt to “paint a story”, yet the whole thing looks rushed. Won’t be finding this one in my living room! Charlotte Monk-Chipman: Thoroughly modern.