(no subject)
I've always found Francis Bacon's paintings more disturbing than intriguing, but I really couldn’t miss an opportunity to see a retrospective of an artist who many see as the most important British painter since Turner. Bacon is made all the more exceptional to me as he was almost entirely self-taught - and had a good nose for paint.
The exhibition was excellent bringing together approximately 70 of the most important paintings from the artist's turbulent life, including his portraits of Pope Innocent X and celebrated triptychs such as Three Studies for a Crucifixion. The show is beautifully displayed to take us through Bacon's career chronologically and thematically. What it did for me was to focus attention on the specificity of Bacon's art by making us see how much of it is rooted in visual (as opposed to emotional) experience. This was the first time I’d seen Bacon’s work properly (i.e. fur reals) and I got a proper sense of why he has been seen as both powerful and compelling; you don't need to study the intricacies of art history, you just have to look at those shocking, disturbing and sumptuous canvases.
One section of the exhibition, themed around Bacon's late lover George Dyer, has imprinted on my memory: An eerie triptych tells the story how, on the night of Bacon's first great triumph (a Parisian retrospective) his lover stayed up in the hotel bedroom and took an overdose. Vomiting into the basin, hunched over the lavatory, he died alone under the stark electric light. Visually, the work is both macabre and painful.
The one thing that did annoy me, and probably can't be avoided given this exhibition's popularity, was the crowd - there really were too many people. So, I chose not to frustrate myself by trying to see things sequentially. I wouldn’t mind seeing it all again actually, but I won't be able to before the exhibition finishes on 4 January 2009.
Besides Francis Bacon, we also had enough time to head to the wonderful Foyles for some book hunting before heading home to attend what was billed as "South Park Night". This basically involved attendees pre-choosing favourite episodes of said show and then watching them. We also had homemade Banoffee Pie and Strawberry Cheesecake (plus my Pumpkin Pie) to enjoy. I can take or leave South Park, but I will admit that I did find the episode It’s Christmas in Canada rather amusing.
This week has been busy. I was in Bristol for a meeting on Monday and at a conference yesterday. As the conference was (thankfully) close to home, I made time at the end of the day to visit the Annual German Christmas Market. Sadly there wasn’t enough time to have a glass of Glühwein, but I found a few gift ideas, so I’ll need to head back very soon (plus the Craft Market wasn’t quite set up yet). However, I did manage to bring home some proper, delicious Christstollen. Nom.
The exhibition was excellent bringing together approximately 70 of the most important paintings from the artist's turbulent life, including his portraits of Pope Innocent X and celebrated triptychs such as Three Studies for a Crucifixion. The show is beautifully displayed to take us through Bacon's career chronologically and thematically. What it did for me was to focus attention on the specificity of Bacon's art by making us see how much of it is rooted in visual (as opposed to emotional) experience. This was the first time I’d seen Bacon’s work properly (i.e. fur reals) and I got a proper sense of why he has been seen as both powerful and compelling; you don't need to study the intricacies of art history, you just have to look at those shocking, disturbing and sumptuous canvases.
One section of the exhibition, themed around Bacon's late lover George Dyer, has imprinted on my memory: An eerie triptych tells the story how, on the night of Bacon's first great triumph (a Parisian retrospective) his lover stayed up in the hotel bedroom and took an overdose. Vomiting into the basin, hunched over the lavatory, he died alone under the stark electric light. Visually, the work is both macabre and painful.
The one thing that did annoy me, and probably can't be avoided given this exhibition's popularity, was the crowd - there really were too many people. So, I chose not to frustrate myself by trying to see things sequentially. I wouldn’t mind seeing it all again actually, but I won't be able to before the exhibition finishes on 4 January 2009.
Besides Francis Bacon, we also had enough time to head to the wonderful Foyles for some book hunting before heading home to attend what was billed as "South Park Night". This basically involved attendees pre-choosing favourite episodes of said show and then watching them. We also had homemade Banoffee Pie and Strawberry Cheesecake (plus my Pumpkin Pie) to enjoy. I can take or leave South Park, but I will admit that I did find the episode It’s Christmas in Canada rather amusing.
This week has been busy. I was in Bristol for a meeting on Monday and at a conference yesterday. As the conference was (thankfully) close to home, I made time at the end of the day to visit the Annual German Christmas Market. Sadly there wasn’t enough time to have a glass of Glühwein, but I found a few gift ideas, so I’ll need to head back very soon (plus the Craft Market wasn’t quite set up yet). However, I did manage to bring home some proper, delicious Christstollen. Nom.