The Emptiest Art Exhibitions and Gursky’s Union Rave

Posted byYan Sham-ShackletonPosted inConceptual to Renaissance Art

Conceptual Art

The Economist had a short article about overcrowded blockbuster exhibits at art museums. It was released in Feb 2003 but I still thought it was cool.

<img alt="artreview.gif" src="https://glutter.typepad.com/glutter/artreview.gif&quot; width="500" height="451" border="0" /

The top ten is pretty obvious in why they are popular, but I found some of the empty ones a little sad.

I would have gone to Buddha Awakenings and definitely the New York Renaissance show as I assume they mean the Harlem Renaissance which was the first time African-American images were created in a non degrading way and by Black people themselves.

I can see Richard Artschwager and Andreas Gursky may be construed as dull, since both artists have a quiet and staid sensibility. To me it would still be a fun afternoon, especially if you factor in the coffee at the museum. If nothing one should see Gursky’s Union Rave (below), which is one of my favorite photos of all time, and in real life it’s massive, and makes you feel like you are there.

unionrave
Click to Enlarge

However I do agree with the non shows at “Impressionists still life” (Name one fruit Monet painted!) and generally anything at LACMA is not worth going to anymore with the exception of the Friday night Jazz-drinks thing.

Borrowed from LeftCenterLeft

Published by Yan Sham-Shackleton

Yan Sham-Shackleton is a Hong Kong writer who lives in Los Angeles. This is her old blog Glutter written mostly in Hong Kong from 2003 to 2007. Although it was a personal blog, Yan focused a lot on free speech issues and democratic movement in Hong Kong. She moved to the US in 2007.

5 thoughts on “The Emptiest Art Exhibitions and Gursky’s Union Rave”

  1. I saw some version of Richter in DC, M. Barney in NYC, and a smattering of pomo stuff in Chicago. These were both empty next to the massive exhibits @ Chicago’s Art Institute where they pack ’em in like cattle. Big business: more traffic -> more contributors -> more donors. This strategy is based on popular impressionists (yawn) so I get to miss the crowds…
    So this LACMA is tired and I’ll miss Artmart by a couple weeks. Any recommendations for some date after the 28th.

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  3. re: Monet… Ya.. and the pair was boring as hell. So there.
    re: Big exhibits.. you are right. In fact I was in New York for the Matisse/Picasso as well as Van Gogh/Guagain and both times, I decided to just skip the whole damn thing coz I saw the photos of 40 people jostling to have a look, and I am short in comparison of people in the US.
    I was like.. I am here to get away from the crowds of HK. No, can’t deal…
    LACMA (Los Angeles County) got boring because most of the sponsors and donors were Japanese companies and Japanese people, so they ended up having lots and lots of stuff like “Traditional Japanese Kimimos,” “Japanese Prints of Landscape.” All very worthy, but not my thing.
    I never really thought about the “big business” equation of museums, but you are right on that too.
    Nothing exciting in HK that I am aware at the mo.
    Although I went to see a HK Brothel exhibit in the University. That was kinda boring too. Sigh. And all the big exhibits here that are cool, again, is packed to the point I find unbearable.
    Right. Can I say this without sounding horrible?
    People: I was wrong it was sad that those exihibitions were empty. In fact, I am happy that you don’t want to partake. Art is very uncool. Art is boring. It’s obnoxious and pretencious. It’s impossible to enjoy. Don’t go!!!???
    😛
    Yan

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