There’s an interesting contrast of personalities but neither artist gives real satisfaction
Posted in General on 10. Aug, 2010
There’s an interesting contrast of personalities, but neither artist gives real satisfaction. Aesthetically, their work is superficial.Of the two, I prefer Starr. No such gallery would ever dream of forming a permanent collection. They will be competitive and international rather than local in their outlook and, at least for the moment, they will exhibit neo-conceptual art.Her grasp of these realities makes the Ikon’s Elizabeth Macgregor a formidable presence on the artistic scene.
The Royal Academy’s “Art Treasures of England” exhibition, with its Victorian atmosphere and emphasis on provincial independence, was widely admired. Yet we all know in our hearts that dignified regional museums are a thing of the past. Their day is done, if only because they have been so neglected that they can never catch up The future belongs to galleries like the Ikon. They will be successful and fashionable places close to commercial and entertainment centres. They will have a fast turnover of shows, energetic publicity departments and high-profile directors. Oozells Street is in the “Brindleyplace” development, which is being built with banks, office buildings, theme pubs, apartments and shops There’s an atmosphere of commercial enterprise. It feels like Canary Wharf, or many other places in contemporary Britain, and only Chamberlain’s school reminds you that this is Birmingham.British art life is full of such paradoxes.
But times change, and today Birmingham celebrates its artistic life in a different way. Now you walk from the Art School to the Ikon via the new International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall. To this day, there are local customs, traditions and folklore in the Black Country that simply do not exist in Birmingham. In a sense, the culture of the new big city resided solely in its local government, philanthropy and civic pride.