25 February, 2010

The Whitworth Art Gallery



The first major UK exhibition of artist's wallpapers with work by over 30 artists including Andy Warhol, Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst.  Kitsch ideas of home decoration are turned upside down as artists subvert the stereotypes of wallpaper to hit home messages about warfare, racism, cultural conflicts and gender. 

Walking through the exhibition I noticed a lovely piece by Julie Verheoven  drawings of nudity which is only noticed at a seconglance. I was excited to see some of her work in real life I have been meaning to go to one of her exhibitions as I see her as an idol. I found other wallpapers interesting such as the eye's this is a freaky also but that's why I liked it. Their was also a few of Leigh Bowery's face on wallpaper which is a bit grotesque. I couldn't get the photos because their not available online and photographs were forbidden in the gallery. 

Wallpaper, Julie Verhoeven


After looking round the exhibition me and Shauna went and had a look round the exhibition 'The complete Roberta Breitmore' by Lynn Hersham Leeson. In San Francisco in the mid-Seventies, Leeson created Roberta Breitmore and performed this persona as a work of art over a four year period, documenting it through artifacts, photography, film and sound. This extraordinary body of work, which raises questions about the complexities of identity and the nature of the work of art, has been purchased by the Whitworth in its final edition, and is shown here for the first time in its entirety. Roberta Breitmore ended when 'she' went through a ritual exorcism in 1978, but her spirit survives in this documentation and the artist's later work. It was an unordinary exhibition to others I have been to but it totally inspired me by the way she displayed her work in the frames and in the desk's like her clothing, wig and glasses was a nice touch it was definatley worth the visit! :)