The Serpentine Gallery - Gustav Metzger: Decades 1959–2009

*This piece took a while to sink in. It wasn't till the loop of the child talking that I started to break the piece down more. It's a political statement, but I don't understand it. Maybe as time progresses it'll make more sense.*




*The conceptual element in this piece gives the artist the control over what the piece is, the themes were laid out as to what topics the viewer could choose from the current papers. It gives the viewer an element of control as they pick the actual pages displayed on the wall to create the conversation. One was "What it is like to live in today" which allows the viewer to respond on a very personal level. It creates an environment which makes people feel like they have control when actually it's very minimal which reflects the current state of democracy *

*These pieces were very interactive. I participated with the piece up on the wall but I didn't have the courage to do the one on the floor. It was mostly children that got into the piece, and adults would watch and smile. There was a very weird atmosphere in the room from these pieces. All the viewers could feel it, we all felt like a different sensory experience was expected in order to understand the piece, but were people ready to get down on the their hands and knees? A different level of interaction. When in the wall piece, was viewing with a stranger but felt very intimate, like we were sharing an experience together. However couldn't work the image out. I struggled to break the piece down but when leaving the show I heard a father say to his child "what does it mean?" when the son said he didn't know the father replied "In order to see an image for what it is sometimes we need space from it".*


*Second time I have viewed this work. Very hypnotic. The size of the screens encapsulated the viewer. I was more interested in the technique of how this was created. Was asking question about how the projectors were programmed into working together. I associate this work a lot which escapism. It is something to occupy you for however long you want to look at it, a little like my string pieces. I'm struggling to break this piece down though.



This ability to create a discussion about current affairs is something I want to potray in my work. I don't want to be a political artist but I believe it's an artists responsibility to create discussions about the current world