A curious amalgamation of “portraits” awaits you as you set foot into the gallery space, ranging from the new to the icons like Lucien Freud and Gilbert and George, there is a portrait for everyone’s taste within these four walls.
Modern meets history within this gallery in a variety of ways, Qr codes set just within the door allow viewers to instantly acquire any information they could need about the exhibition without the cost of a booklet. Elements like this allow these small scale exhibitions to compare to those of the Tate. Showing how technology is beneficial in the construction of today's exhibitions, keeping pace with the world around them.
From this point however my judgement must turn sour as there is few and far between that sets this into the group of great exhibitions. Not to say that the art work is bad, no it is the space that has ruined this exhibition in my view, modern work could never function as it was meant to in such an old building. It creates problems which are too obvious, take Hew Locke's Jungle Queen II for example, a piece made with the intentions of being set against the floor reduced to being hung on the wall because of the traditional skirting boards. Not only affecting this painting, nearly every large scale creation is hung at the wrong height, all because of a piece of wood.
Modern meets history within this gallery in a variety of ways, Qr codes set just within the door allow viewers to instantly acquire any information they could need about the exhibition without the cost of a booklet. Elements like this allow these small scale exhibitions to compare to those of the Tate. Showing how technology is beneficial in the construction of today's exhibitions, keeping pace with the world around them.
From this point however my judgement must turn sour as there is few and far between that sets this into the group of great exhibitions. Not to say that the art work is bad, no it is the space that has ruined this exhibition in my view, modern work could never function as it was meant to in such an old building. It creates problems which are too obvious, take Hew Locke's Jungle Queen II for example, a piece made with the intentions of being set against the floor reduced to being hung on the wall because of the traditional skirting boards. Not only affecting this painting, nearly every large scale creation is hung at the wrong height, all because of a piece of wood.
The problems with the traditional features continues, now It's obvious this isn't the Tate and modern, but elements like display cases are an important factor in what makes the exhibition. With this museum even these look dated, you want to enjoy the work but you cant experience them to there fully glory as you are continuously distracted by the dated feeling within the room. Cramped is a word that would be best at describing the space, or lack of rather. Paintings seem to close together, sculptures almost litter the floor, while they are lovely they just get in the way when trying to view the paintings, especially the Freud.
Now the Freud, this is what made my opinion on this go south. From a distance the work looks fine, a great example of one of the best painters of his time, but move closer and you see it. Masking tape, yes masking tape is what hides the screws holding this piece to the wall. Not even hidden from view or any attempts to make the tape look less noticeable, okay it is painted white but with the painting being as small as it is you might as well have had them as a piece and not bothered with the Freud. This small detail has set my opinions of the exhibition low, in a modern setting this may have proven more successful, but for now the traditional setting has taken what could have been.
Now the Freud, this is what made my opinion on this go south. From a distance the work looks fine, a great example of one of the best painters of his time, but move closer and you see it. Masking tape, yes masking tape is what hides the screws holding this piece to the wall. Not even hidden from view or any attempts to make the tape look less noticeable, okay it is painted white but with the painting being as small as it is you might as well have had them as a piece and not bothered with the Freud. This small detail has set my opinions of the exhibition low, in a modern setting this may have proven more successful, but for now the traditional setting has taken what could have been.
References:
Fig 1: Art everywhere. 2003. Jungle Queen II. [image online] Available at: http://arteverywhere.org.uk/artwork/jungle-queen-ii/ [Accessed: 23 Nov 2013].
Fig 1: Art everywhere. 2003. Jungle Queen II. [image online] Available at: http://arteverywhere.org.uk/artwork/jungle-queen-ii/ [Accessed: 23 Nov 2013].