The world has moved on since I was 10. My early artistic endeavours mainly focused on reproducing classic Marvel comics covers with occasional forays into fantasy architecture. My children are fortunate to have more insidious distractions as well as expanded creative opportunities.
I try to provide them with tools rather than instruction (endless pencils, pads, noise making devices etc) but one of them at least has found expression through gaming.
They frequently claim that Minecraft is educational, reciting minerals, elements, crafting techniques, comparative religion etc (I made the last one up, but give them 6 months…) in the same way Marvel instructed me in astronomy, physics and comparative religion.
GBoy has however used the materials at hand to create some megalithic public sculptures which I have to say are really quite inventive, referential and impressive.
The first one (above) is called ‘Big One’. This based on a Pokemon called Tyeflosion (a fire type Pokemon from Joto, or so I’m told) but it apparently went horribly wrong. It is however quite big.
This next one is called ‘The Ultimate Wither’. The Wither are undead things in Minecraft world. The Ultimate Wither is an improved undead multi headed skeletal entity.
This one is ‘The Danger Tree’. One of the last in the series this an ever lasting forest fire.
The next one is called ‘Scared for a change…’. This is an Enderman, a very large one that was supposed to be the ultimately terrifying one but ended up (despite its size) looking frightened. An interesting allegorical take on the nature of power.
This is ‘Big Cat (literally)’. Looks quite Sphinx like, G likes wild life programmes and had also seen a Youtuber who had made a giant cat sculpture. It seems to me that the internet and Egyptian cat worship are linked. Jung was probably right, the archetypes preceded us.
‘Pokeball’ pretty much speaks for it self. An important part of his mythology and fascinations. Some connection to arson apparently??
This is ‘LEGO’. This illustrates the brand penetration inflicted by movie going and the veneration it instils
This one is called ‘Web of Parkour’. It’s a floaty Brancusi style column inspired by children jumping on walls and a spider in the bathroom.
The next is called ‘Another Game’. This is based on a piece of game merchandise that he had seen previously. It looks pixel wide retro to me but with the scale in Minecraft land and the atmospheric night stylings it achieves an imposing and primal state.
This is the last one. It’s called ‘Colour is Alive’. I really like this. It was like a Damien Hirst fly extravaganza. There are ‘things’ growing under the glass floor. It was a breeding / spawning experiment with Minecraft life form. It used magic sand and other gaming rules to keep the things alive. Like Hirst and his honey & butterfly’s.
There is quote somewhere in the back of my head, relating to the best camera being the one you have with you or the most useful tools being the the ones you have when the fire of inspire strikes. We just need to build some of these.
adrian4 
YSP & Hepworth Wakefield
A couple of weeks ago I had a random day off work with no commitments that couldn’t be ignored. The weather wasn’t entirely clement but with an intention to do something I’d hoped to do all summer I took a ride up the M1 to Bretton and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. There are 500 acres of open country park which hosts some of the most important modern sculptures by artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Anthonys Caro & Gormley, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elizabeth Frink, Jaun Miro, James Turrell, Ai, Weiwei, Lynn Chadwick, Marc Quinn, Julian Opie & Richard Long.
A steady walk around the grounds takes upwards of 3 hours with the enticement of another artefact in the distance to keep you going. I had hoped to take some ‘proper’ photographs but the light was flat & grey. The best results came from Hipstamatic using a near monochrome fine grain high contrast film.
This first set of pictures are all YSP. Highlight for me was the James Turrell Skyspace which only the experience of it justifies. The Turrell pieces are more commonly known in the wide open spaces of North America but this construction in an old Deer shelter on the estate is graced by the noise of crows and our steel skies. The 20mins I spent there was fortunately solitary and all the better for it.
Click on a single image to open the gallery view.
The gallery spaces are used for temporary exhibitions and currently they have work from artist Bill Viola – not an artist I was previously familiar with. One of his large digital projects was also placed in the Chapel on the estate. This was a stunning piece relating to Ascension & Recension. The short film below gives a flavour of the work but its better seen and experienced with scale the artist intends.
After exhausting the collection at YSP (and my legs) as I was in the area I went over to the Hepworth Wakefield. This is wonderful contemporary art space built to place and celebrate the work of Barbara Hepworth and host temporary exhibitions. Its a surprisingly expansive space with numerous galleries. The current show by Enrico David was defiantly worth a look but the numerous Hepworth pieces and reproduction casts contributed to an engrossing view. This is the gallery view…..
Follow the embedded links for more information about both places.
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Tagged as Ai, Anthonys Caro & Gormley, arbara Hepworth, Bill Viola, Bretton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elizabeth Frink, Henry Moore, Hepworth, Hipstamatic, James Turrell, Jaun Miro, Julian Opie, Lynn Chadwick, Marc Quinn, Moore, public sculpture, Richard Long., Sculpture, Wakefield, Weiwei, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, YSP