Celebrated for his gigantic, stainless steel 'Cloud Gate' sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Anish Kapoor is changing the cultural environment with his public works.
1.Research Kapoor's work in order to discuss the ideas behind 3 quite different works from countries outside New Zealand.
2.Discuss the large scale site specific work that has been installed on a private site in New Zealand.
3. Where is the Kapoor's work in New Zealand? What are its form and materials? What are the ideas behind the work?
4. Comment on which work by Kapoor is your favourite, and why.
Youtube has some excellent footage on Kapoor-take a look at Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy!!
The first piece I researched was Anish Kapoor's towering sculpture “Tall Tree and the Eye” which sits up in the courtyard of The Royal Academy. The steel structure, which is an arrangement of 76 shiny spheres which bubble up to 15 metres high, and is inspired by the words of the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Kapoor is intrigued by the empty spaces between the shapes he has made and the reflective overly polished surfaces. "Now it is up, I am surprised by its fragility," said Kapoor. “You cannot tell how it has been put up and that is part of its mystery and dignity”
ReplyDeleteThe second piece I researched is an untitled (2007) monumental sculpture in Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art. The sculpture, made of highly polished, resin fibreglass in a deep red is the most significant work by Kapoor in an Australian state public art gallery collection and was commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees in 2006 to mark the opening of GoMA. This piece reflects Kapoor’s mastery of his chosen materials and offers visitors the artist’s response to the Gallery’s architectural space.
The third piece I researched is a giant C shaped mirror, installed in the South-Downs above Brighton UK, by Anish Kapoor, creative director of Brighton Festival 2009. Made in 2006 of stainless steel I love how this is similar to other works of Kapoor with the reflective and curves surfaces.
“The Farm” is an outdoor installation set on a private estate outdoor art gallery in Kaipara Bay, north of Auckland. This is Kapoor’s first outdoor sculpture in fabric; “The Farm” is designed to withstand the high winds. The sculpture is made-up in a custom deep red PVC-coated polyester fabric, and is supported by two identical matching red structural steel ellipses that weigh 42,750kg each. The fabric alone weighs 7,200kg. The ellipses are sloping - one horizontal, and the other vertical. The sculpture which sits through an engraved hillside, gives a kaleidoscopic view of the beautiful Kaipara Harbour at the vertical ellipse and valleys and hills from the horizontal ellipse.
The sculpture is located in Kaipara Bay, north of Auckland on a privet estate. The sculpture is made-up in a custom deep red PVC-coated polyester fabric by Ferrari Textiles maintained by two identical matching red structural steel ellipses that weigh a massive 42,750kg each. The fabric alone weighs 7,200kg. So this is a very heavy installation. I think the idea behind the piece is to make the most of the views of this isolated area in the farm? And to give the views of both sides –the valleys and land, and the seaside a more artistic feel.
Even though this is one of his most famous works, “Cloud Gate” would have to be one of my favourite pieces of Kapoors work. The massive structural piece sits as a centre piece in Chicago’s Millennium Park. I love the bean like shape which curves in the middle in which bystanders can walk through. Also I like the mirror like effect it gives and how because it’s curved like a bean it somehow distorts the mirror reflection. The sculpture is made of 168 steel plates welded together and took two years to complete. This piece weighs around 110 TOONES! And cost around 23 million to make!
REFERENCES
http://fabricarchitecturemag.com/articles/0110_sk_sculpture.html
http://www.sculpture.org.uk/image/910000000542/1/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anish_Kapoor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate
http://www.arts.qld.gov.au/artsupdate/2007/november/november07-21.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd-dLefl6fU
http://www.lisahumphreys.com/2009/05/anish-kapoor-c-curve-brighton-festival-09/