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False Impressions? asks whether any art can be truly original
and whether artists ever escape their debt to tradition. The artists
involved have created their own unique works, inspired by famous
images, which challenge the viewer's knowledge of art.
The exhibition runs from 28th May to 21st June at the University
Gallery, University of Essex, as part of the MA Gallery Studies
course. The private view will be held on Tuesday 27th May from 6pm
onwards.
Included are works that are inspired by well known artworks by
other artists. These inspirations can be immediately apparent or
more subtle. They can derive from appreciation for the underlying
work; they can be an homage to another artist or they could carry
the meaning of the 'original' further, transferring it into a new
time. Regardless of whether the 'originals' are 50 or 500 years
old, no matter whether Renaissance or Pop Art, they are all linked
through modern context and contemporary art. The transfer into contemporary
art can be shown through the changed media (as for example Rosie
James' work Floppy Stack which uses textiles for Donald Judd's
plexiglass segments) or through slight alterations of the depicted
object (Root Cartwright in his Homage - Warhol's Brides Stripped
Bare, a parody of the instantly recognisable Campbell's soup
cans).
False Impressions? forces us to look more closely at what
we initially take for granted. The accepted 'truth' of the images
we see everyday is undermined in the neutral environment of the
art gallery. In Monumental Bargain Susan Pui San Lok puts
her own 'label' onto a pile of T-shirts and parodies the elevated
status of fashion by placing them out of reach on a plinth. The
artist Keran James will erect the Hollywood sign on the hills above
the Gallery, drawing parallels with the production of art and the
movies, and the fantasy of both worlds. Reality is questioned in
a more literal way by Phil Toy's Real Slides which, instead
of being facsimiles of larger images, are actually beautifully crafted
works in themselves.
False Impressions? is both a visually stimulating exhibition,
with many striking and powerful images, and a richly textured one
which reveals layers of meaning on closer inspection. By bringing
these works together we want to direct the viewer's attention to
how we are influenced by the 'image' of iconic images. This exhibition
is extremely relevant now, when the potential for original thought
is being questioned, and should not be missed by anybody with an
interest in the future of artistic invention.
University Gallery, University of Essex, Colchester, Tel.: 01206-873184
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