[wwreview]witty and authoritative reviews on diverse subjects full of subtexts
francischoll
listadmin@worldwidereview.com
Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:44:21 +0100
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Happy Easter and Waiting for Summer now, all's well in the world and the =
birds are singing.
We at www.worldwidereview.com present you two and a half terrible =
reviews (muck, mueck, and paradise). The site is better than ever, and =
we would love you to write for it. If you know better writing anywhere =
on the web then tell us or write a review.
With much love=20
from
Jasper Joffe
Rudi Scholl
Francis Scholl
and all the reviewers
to stop getting these emails, if you want to be out of the loop and =
unpopular, then reply with your address as subject.
I hate mueck
Reviews
From: David
Category: Exhibitions
Date: 24 April 2003
Review
I hate Ron Muceck's sentimental meretricious rubber props. They appeal =
to the vulgar skill brigade. I wonder how he did that they say to each =
other in their dull middle aged, middle class voices. It must be good if =
they couldn't do it themselves, but what can these people do?=20
Mueck is a charlatan in contemporary artist's clothes, the walls of high =
culture are rubble, so any thieving clown can steal some of great arts =
glory. Moneychangers in the temple. Mueck in the National. Titian =
wouldn't spit on him.
Click here to review this review=20
Ron Mueck's: Making Sculpture at the National Gallery (on now for about =
three months)
Reviews
From: Simeon
Category: Exhibitions
Date: 26 March 2003
Review
This is an exhibition that people seem to like. The young are coming and =
the old too. Mueck is the one of a number of artists, including R Kitaj, =
and Peter Blake, to have collaborated with the NG in recent years.=20
Did you know the NG is developing a new wing? Easy access, greater =
facilities are some of the words used to justify the use of lottery =
money and private benefactors (big banks). The theory goes something =
along the lines of them needing to attract a younger more fashionable =
audience. Mueck should help in this "strategic adjustment" of the =
gallery's "target audience".=20
The powers that be at the NG have cottoned on to the success of =
galleries like Tate Modern. There's rich picking to be made in =
contemporary art and don't they know it. Contemporary art is the =
adrenaline shot needed to make the NG funky, cool and a place to be seen =
in.=20
What Mueck's work in this exhibition has to do with the National =
Gallery's permanent collection is anybody's guess. Judging by the less =
than imaginative title of the Exhibition: Making Sculpture at the =
National Gallery maybe the organisers were asking themselves the same =
question.=20
The most consistent reaction to Mueck's work is the: "it's so life like" =
one. Once that's played itself out you start to ask where he's coming =
from. What's his view of the world? Let me explain.=20
As you enter the exhibition (just one room) you are struck by the =
spaciousness. Mueck has been selective and included three pieces, plus a =
smaller piece near the entrance to the show. In contrast to the rest of =
the NG, nothing hangs on the walls.=20
One piece of work is of a seven or eight foot woman, naked and heavily =
pregnant- a ripe giant about to burst. Her stomach is fully extended and =
her back distorted by the weight of her labour. The change in scale =
lends the work a kind of Disney quality that is both goofy and sad at =
the same time.=20
In another work the artist goes small. This time a mini woman (about =
quarter scale) reclines on a plinth after having just given birth. =
Attached to her by umbilical chord is a newly born. No medical =
paraphernalia is anywhere to be seen so any kind of context is missing. =
Everything is here to see (Mueck's no prude). The newly born looks the =
epitome of fragility and vulnerability, an impression intensified by the =
lack of any physical contact between mother and child. The mother looks =
at the child with some bemusement, as if she can't quite believe she's =
just given birth.=20
By far the most outstanding work in the show is a work titled simply: =
Man in Boat. Planted rather incongruously in the room a boat sits =
suspended on top of a wooden support. A tiny middle aged man with =
thinning, wispy hair and a rather anaemic looking complexion sits at the =
front of a boat with his arms crossed. A look of annoyance and =
frustration on his face. Technically this really is astounding. The =
level of detail Mueck is able to muster is breathtaking: from facial =
hair down to the man's stubby little penis. What's this every man doing =
in a boat, without a crew, on his own, lost at sea? The fact that =
there's no sea or water makes the piece enjoyably idiotic and borderline =
surreal.=20
What Mueck intends to say isn't at all clear. While I was looking at the =
pathetic figure of the man sat at the front of the boat the song =
"Message in a Bottle" by the Police sprang to mind. I thought of this =
anxious man in the context of that song and the work seemed to fall into =
place. "A year has past since I wrote my note I should have know this =
right from the start". "Only hope can keep me together" as the song =
goes.=20
Another work on a small scale packs a large punch. Again a newly born =
but this time without a mother or any other human contact apart from =
those who pass by to stop and stare. The baby seems to be crying, eyes =
closed it looks the very image of helplessness. Wrapped in brown cloth, =
rather too tightly to be comfortable, we aren't sure if the child is =
crying because it is alone or the cloth surrounding it is too tight. Has =
this child been abandoned and why is it wrapped like something out of =
the old testament? Is this a contemporary version of the Christ child =
abandoned because its mother couldn't afford to keep it or is it more =
mundane?=20
Scale is something Mueck likes. As in the work of artists like Claes =
Oldenberg (and the guy who wrapped the German Rheichstag) this is tricky =
game to play. How far can you go with just scale as a parameter for your =
art? Rachel Whitread suffers from the same problem in a different way. =
Like single issue politics artists can get bogged down in one =
preoccupation.=20
You'll enjoy this show and you'll be astonished at how he does it. Have =
a look at the large glass cabinet containing Ron's sketches and =
mock-ups. His drawings are rather lifeless but it gives you some insight =
into his working method. There's also a video presentation, though I =
didn't see that.=20
Click here to review this review=20
The great ocean road -near melbourne australia
Reviews
From: Murray Scholl
Category: Other stuff
Date: 17 April 2003
Review
The sea is love, I said seeing the sun set over the pacific. The great =
ocean road seems to begin somewhere around the horrible town of Geelong =
and continues until your petrol and civilization run out.=20
We rested one night in Apollo Bay and I barbecued steaks on a coin =
operated barbecue, and I fell asleep on the sofa drunk from the sea air, =
the laughter of friends, and dry sparkling wine. The sky over Apollo =
bay, so disappointing a place compared to the promise of its name, is =
dark with upside down stars and the sea comforting you with its roar to =
guide you.=20
Australia was the first place I saw nature. The rain forest and the sea =
not civilized by too many little houses and towns with amusement =
arcades. Nature, for I who had not seen it before as it no longer exists =
in Europe or America or most continents, frightened me because I had not =
seen it before. There was nothing to compare those cliffs and empty =
beaches with. No people seemed to have arrived yet. Nature scared me. It =
was new and not comfortable in my brain. I panicked and searched for =
comparisons, finding none I was left alone with what I saw.=20
At the final town before we turned inland and back to Melbourne, I =
walked barefoot through the settlement, to the petrol station which is =
also the fish and chip shop. Cute, we ate many fried scallops, oysters, =
crayfish, and fish, from the sea we had swum in on a picnic table by the =
beach. It seemed like California in the fifties. The car home I laughed =
until I slept. The sea is love.=20
Click here to review this review=20
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Happy Easter and Waiting for Summer =
now, all's well=20
in the world and the birds are singing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>We at <A=20
href=3D"http://www.worldwidereview.com">www.worldwidereview.com</A> =
present you=20
two and a half terrible reviews (muck, mueck, and paradise). The =
site is=20
better than ever, and we would love you to write for it. If you know =
better=20
writing anywhere on the web then tell us or write a review.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>With much love </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>from</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Jasper Joffe</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Rudi Scholl</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Francis Scholl</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>and all the reviewers</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>to stop getting these emails, if you =
want to be out=20
of the loop and unpopular, then reply with your address as =
subject.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<H2>I hate mueck<BR>Reviews</H2><!--webbot BOT=3D"FormInsertHere"=0A=
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Component to insert new results." startspan=0A=
--><!--webbot bot=3D"FormInsertHere" endspan i-checksum=3D"0"=0A=
-->
<P><B>From: </B>David<BR><B>Category: </B>Exhibitions<BR><B>Date: </B>24 =
April=20
2003<BR></P>
<H3>Review</H3>
<P>I hate Ron Muceck's sentimental meretricious rubber props. They =
appeal to the=20
vulgar skill brigade. I wonder how he did that they say to each other in =
their=20
dull middle aged, middle class voices. It must be good if they couldn't =
do it=20
themselves, but what can these people do?=20
<P>
<P>Mueck is a charlatan in contemporary artist's clothes, the walls of =
high=20
culture are rubble, so any thieving clown can steal some of great arts =
glory.=20
Moneychangers in the temple. Mueck in the National. Titian wouldn't spit =
on=20
him.</P><!--webbot BOT=3D"Include"=0A=
U-Include=3D"../_shared_elements/comment_on_this_review.htm" startspan =
-->
<P><A=20
href=3D"http://www.worldwidereview.com/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/Reviews_post.ht=
m?2425"=20
name=3Ddisabled webbot-href=3D"--WEBBOT-REPLY--"><FONT =
face=3DArial>Click here to=20
review this review</FONT> </A></P></FONT>
<H2>Ron Mueck's: Making Sculpture at the National Gallery (on now for =
about=20
three months)<BR>Reviews</H2><!--webbot BOT=3D"FormInsertHere"=0A=
DESCR=3D"The FrontPage FormInsertHere Component indicates the point in =
an HTML file where you want a default, Registration, or Discussion =
Component to insert new results." startspan=0A=
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<P><B>From: </B>Simeon<BR><B>Category: </B>Exhibitions<BR><B>Date: =
</B>26 March=20
2003<BR></P>
<H3>Review</H3>
<P>This is an exhibition that people seem to like. The young are coming =
and the=20
old too. Mueck is the one of a number of artists, including R Kitaj, and =
Peter=20
Blake, to have collaborated with the NG in recent years.=20
<P>Did you know the NG is developing a new wing? Easy access, greater =
facilities=20
are some of the words used to justify the use of lottery money and =
private=20
benefactors (big banks). The theory goes something along the lines of =
them=20
needing to attract a younger more fashionable audience. Mueck should =
help in=20
this "strategic adjustment" of the gallery's "target audience".=20
<P>The powers that be at the NG have cottoned on to the success of =
galleries=20
like Tate Modern. There's rich picking to be made in contemporary art =
and don't=20
they know it. Contemporary art is the adrenaline shot needed to make the =
NG=20
funky, cool and a place to be seen in.=20
<P>What Mueck's work in this exhibition has to do with the National =
Gallery's=20
permanent collection is anybody's guess. Judging by the less than =
imaginative=20
title of the Exhibition: Making Sculpture at the National Gallery maybe =
the=20
organisers were asking themselves the same question.=20
<P>The most consistent reaction to Mueck's work is the: "it's so life =
like" one.=20
Once that's played itself out you start to ask where he's coming from. =
What's=20
his view of the world? Let me explain.=20
<P>As you enter the exhibition (just one room) you are struck by the=20
spaciousness. Mueck has been selective and included three pieces, plus a =
smaller=20
piece near the entrance to the show. In contrast to the rest of the NG, =
nothing=20
hangs on the walls.=20
<P>One piece of work is of a seven or eight foot woman, naked and =
heavily=20
pregnant- a ripe giant about to burst. Her stomach is fully extended and =
her=20
back distorted by the weight of her labour. The change in scale lends =
the work a=20
kind of Disney quality that is both goofy and sad at the same time.=20
<P>In another work the artist goes small. This time a mini woman (about =
quarter=20
scale) reclines on a plinth after having just given birth. Attached to =
her by=20
umbilical chord is a newly born. No medical paraphernalia is anywhere to =
be seen=20
so any kind of context is missing. Everything is here to see (Mueck's no =
prude).=20
The newly born looks the epitome of fragility and vulnerability, an =
impression=20
intensified by the lack of any physical contact between mother and =
child. The=20
mother looks at the child with some bemusement, as if she can't quite =
believe=20
she's just given birth.=20
<P>By far the most outstanding work in the show is a work titled simply: =
Man in=20
Boat. Planted rather incongruously in the room a boat sits suspended on =
top of a=20
wooden support. A tiny middle aged man with thinning, wispy hair and a =
rather=20
anaemic looking complexion sits at the front of a boat with his arms =
crossed. A=20
look of annoyance and frustration on his face. Technically this really =
is=20
astounding. The level of detail Mueck is able to muster is breathtaking: =
from=20
facial hair down to the man's stubby little penis. What's this every man =
doing=20
in a boat, without a crew, on his own, lost at sea? The fact that =
there's no sea=20
or water makes the piece enjoyably idiotic and borderline surreal.=20
<P>What Mueck intends to say isn't at all clear. While I was looking at =
the=20
pathetic figure of the man sat at the front of the boat the song =
"Message in a=20
Bottle" by the Police sprang to mind. I thought of this anxious man in =
the=20
context of that song and the work seemed to fall into place. "A year has =
past=20
since I wrote my note I should have know this right from the start". =
"Only hope=20
can keep me together" as the song goes.=20
<P>Another work on a small scale packs a large punch. Again a newly born =
but=20
this time without a mother or any other human contact apart from those =
who pass=20
by to stop and stare. The baby seems to be crying, eyes closed it looks =
the very=20
image of helplessness. Wrapped in brown cloth, rather too tightly to be=20
comfortable, we aren't sure if the child is crying because it is alone =
or the=20
cloth surrounding it is too tight. Has this child been abandoned and why =
is it=20
wrapped like something out of the old testament? Is this a contemporary =
version=20
of the Christ child abandoned because its mother couldn't afford to keep =
it or=20
is it more mundane?=20
<P>Scale is something Mueck likes. As in the work of artists like Claes=20
Oldenberg (and the guy who wrapped the German Rheichstag) this is tricky =
game to=20
play. How far can you go with just scale as a parameter for your art? =
Rachel=20
Whitread suffers from the same problem in a different way. Like single =
issue=20
politics artists can get bogged down in one preoccupation.=20
<P>You'll enjoy this show and you'll be astonished at how he does it. =
Have a=20
look at the large glass cabinet containing Ron's sketches and mock-ups. =
His=20
drawings are rather lifeless but it gives you some insight into his =
working=20
method. There's also a video presentation, though I didn't see that. =
</P><!--webbot BOT=3D"Include"=0A=
U-Include=3D"../_shared_elements/comment_on_this_review.htm" startspan =
-->
<P><A=20
href=3D"http://www.worldwidereview.com/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/Reviews_post.ht=
m?2272"=20
name=3Ddisabled webbot-href=3D"--WEBBOT-REPLY--"><FONT =
face=3DArial>Click here to=20
review this review</FONT> </A></P>
<P><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </P>
<H2>The great ocean road -near melbourne =
australia<BR>Reviews</H2><!--webbot BOT=3D"FormInsertHere"=0A=
DESCR=3D"The FrontPage FormInsertHere Component indicates the point in =
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Component to insert new results." startspan=0A=
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<P><B>From: </B>Murray Scholl<BR><B>Category: </B>Other =
stuff<BR><B>Date: </B>17=20
April 2003<BR></P>
<H3>Review</H3>
<P>The sea is love, I said seeing the sun set over the pacific. The =
great ocean=20
road seems to begin somewhere around the horrible town of Geelong and =
continues=20
until your petrol and civilization run out.=20
<P>We rested one night in Apollo Bay and I barbecued steaks on a coin =
operated=20
barbecue, and I fell asleep on the sofa drunk from the sea air, the =
laughter of=20
friends, and dry sparkling wine. The sky over Apollo bay, so =
disappointing a=20
place compared to the promise of its name, is dark with upside down =
stars and=20
the sea comforting you with its roar to guide you.=20
<P>Australia was the first place I saw nature. The rain forest and the =
sea not=20
civilized by too many little houses and towns with amusement arcades. =
Nature,=20
for I who had not seen it before as it no longer exists in Europe or =
America or=20
most continents, frightened me because I had not seen it before. There =
was=20
nothing to compare those cliffs and empty beaches with. No people seemed =
to have=20
arrived yet. Nature scared me. It was new and not comfortable in my =
brain. I=20
panicked and searched for comparisons, finding none I was left alone =
with what I=20
saw.=20
<P>At the final town before we turned inland and back to Melbourne, I =
walked=20
barefoot through the settlement, to the petrol station which is also the =
fish=20
and chip shop. Cute, we ate many fried scallops, oysters, crayfish, and =
fish,=20
from the sea we had swum in on a picnic table by the beach. It seemed =
like=20
California in the fifties. The car home I laughed until I slept. The sea =
is=20
love.=20
<P></P><!--webbot BOT=3D"Include"=0A=
U-Include=3D"../_shared_elements/comment_on_this_review.htm" startspan =
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<P><A=20
href=3D"http://www.worldwidereview.com/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/Reviews_post.ht=
m?2364"=20
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review this review</FONT> </A></P><!--webbot bot=3D"Include" endspan =
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