DLA PIPER SERIES: THIS IS SCULPTURE, Tate Liverpool
With the first floor curated by Michael Craig Martin, and the second by Hemmingway and Son, this exhibition was bound to demonstrate contemporary sculpture at its best and propel the works on show into the 21st Century at full pelt. And that it did.
As I moved through Craig Martin's space, it was as though I became another object in his 3D wallpaper, which typically consists of multiple bright colours, overlaid with bold outlines of everyday household objects. Those items that we so frequently use and rarely think about the design and beauty of. Throughout the galleries, the objects on display mirrored Craig Martin's 2D pictures in his wallpaper, and set against the background of the vibrant gallery walls, the visitor becomes a moving component within it.
It's interactive. It's exciting.
As I pass through sculptures of doors and walk across sculptures of flooring, I notice how alive the other visitors are in the room. Like the children in DIjkstra's videos, there is conversation, discussion and an abundance of ideas, which is encouraged by Mike Figgis's films intermittently placed around the space. They document the thoughts and ideas of the public, about the sculpture on show.
You don't have to like Duchamp's Toilet, but at least have an argument about it.
Moving onto Hemmingway's space...in my headphones I collected from the entrance. A silent Disco. Why did nobody ever think of this before!? As I bop along to the sound of the Spicegirls and Cher, I linger longer at Renaissance figurines, mesmerised by multiple sculptures that I wouldn't usually take a second glance at. Young children are doing the same. The music channels through the space and brings the figures to life. The art is, once again, alive.
I only wished had someone to dance with on the 70's style flashing disco floor.
