Virgin Burners

Here is an article I have entered into the Guardian travel writing competition about my trip to Burning Man this summer:

This is not a city in the conventional sense. For starters it only exists for five days of the year. This is Black Rock City – the temporary community that emerges out of the dust of the Nevada desert by forty thousand odd travellers looking for a very different type of city break.

I have arrived at the Burning Man festival; an event so called for the burning of an effigy, that often appears in such lists as: “101 things to do before you die”. It is not a festival in the traditional sense, as it has no organised music or installations - instead it runs on a policy of ‘gifting’, where ‘burners’ bring and exchange artistic gifts in whatever way they see fit.

“That’s a bit hardcore for you!” was the damming response of a friend upon hearing that I would be travelling to Burning Man with my somewhat worldlier sister. I could not help think of these words as we wound down our window to meet our official ‘greater’ who was clad in little more then a leather thong.

This larger then life lady directed us to our camp on 10 and Detroit (the city comes complete with street names) and we made our way across the ‘playa’ in our shaky RV (caravan to you and me) approaching some indeterminate objects appearing out of a cloud of dust.

The sun went down as we set up camp and on seeing the stunning horizontal landscape with its red hues; I knew we were a long way from the muddy festivals of England.

The size of Black Rock City means that bicycles are essential for moving around easily – we had decorated ours with ribbon and flowers and, so that they may be seen at night, a copious amount of UV sticks. The first time we voyaged out at night out measly efforts were put to shame. Here is but a short collection of the sights that greeted us in the middle of the desert: a large mobile neon yacht filled with revellers (just one of the many so-called ‘mutant vehicles’); 50 foot flame throwers; a fully working grand piano; a plethora of stadium-sized sound systems and stages satisfying the hedonists; towering sculptures of silver dancing women; a phone box; and many economically dressed people.

And so for a week this surreal place became our home. At night we danced and were beguiled by the many spectacles of light and sound; at day we wondered the streets of Black Rock getting a massage at a holistic camp or becoming shiny at ‘glitter’ camp. It seemed as if there was a place to satisfy every craving and desire. By the end of the week I had been transformed- albeit temporarily- from a retiring wallflower into a free spirited ‘burner’.

Looking in the wing mirror as we drove away on our final day, dust had filled the sky and the mirage of Black Rock City was no more.

David Hockney @ Nottingham Contemporary

At Nottingham Contemporary they are currently showing a David Hockney retrospective until the end of January. For such a small exhibition which is held in only two of the rooms at the new gallery they really managed to create a narrative of how his personal art has developed over his career. I especially loved the piece entitled "Life Art for a Diploma" in which he mocks his lack of interest in his colleges life drawing classes which needed to be completed for his course. This showed a ironic and satirical nature of his work that later developed into his famous depictions of californian life.

A short but sweet little exhibition.

Nottingham Contemporary

This week a brand new contemporary Art gallery has opened in my old stomping ground of Nottingham. It sits on the crest of a hill which has provided the Caruso St John architects with a unique site that they have taken full advantage of. They play with its various aspects and levels; framing the appealing views with carefully placed windows as well as carving out some new rights of way for any pedestrian. Unlike the design of many contemporary art galleries the architects have not been brazen with its form- it sits comfortably within the existing skyline, yet not too comfortably that it is not intriguing. I especially loved the lace imprint made onto some of the exterior concrete panels, a little nod to its site on the edge of the old lace market.

All in all I can hardly criticise any initiative that adds exciting new architecture to the city skyline, let alone free Art to the residents of that city... a resounding thumbs up!

Quote of the Day

" A building should be to a city as a brick is to a brick wall"

- Mamdar Puranik

Radical Nature @ The Barbican

I trekked across London last week to catch this exhibition before it closed. Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a changing planet was to me a bit of a disappointment. I don't want to be too harsh as individually there where some exciting pieces; instead my dissolution rests with the organizers of the exhibition, who put together something that was shoddily presented and with no real narrative to drive the spectator through the space. Dealing with such a relevant issue of the relationship between nature and architecture it failed to make any clear statement- most of the pieces being highly conceptual and unable to relate to contemporary life. The curators chose pieces that were not subtle about their chosen subject, In fact many seemed to shout "Im an artist dealing with nature!", an example of this poster art being the section of rainforest tipped on its side in Henrik Hakansson's Fallen Forest (2006). Having been to so many wonderfully exhibitions of late that employ a meaningful narrative that enhance the spectators experience, it was hard to feel that they had got the most out of this topic at the Barbican.

Telling Tales @ The V&A

This current exhibition explores the unique and high-end pieces of contemporary designers who deal with themes of opulence, fantasy and nightmare. We visited on a busy saturday afternoon which meant that the surreal atmosphere constructed by the curators was partly destroyed by the bustle of visitors. Spectators 'oohd' and 'arrd' at the sensationalist design pieces - a favorite being the bath in the form of a boat. Personally, I enjoyed many of the pieces, and found the theatrical stage set upon which they were placed was a good way of presenting them in there full glory. The latter part of the exhibition which dealt with the theme of nightmares was less successful in this regard. Pieces where obscured by fragmentary viewing windows which, instead of providing a justified framing became irritating, complicating the spectators experience to an unnecessary degree.

Serpentine Pavillion 2009

I went to visit the new serpentine pavilion last week with Ricardo and Beefy in a rare moment of sunshine across London town. It is designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA. By reading the information available I learnt that the intended effect of the thin aluminum sheets that forms the piece, was to blend into its surroundings - almost camouflaged. Although on first arrival you are met by an apparent airiness, as my friends pointed out, the low sheets and haphazard arrangement was somewhat imposing.