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Tall Tree and the Eye, 2009
– stainless steel and carbon steel |
Big space for sculptor to poke fun
In an unprecedented move, The Royal Academy of Arts has given over all its Main Galleries to one man, sculptor Anish Kapoor, writes John Evans
THIS is the Royal Academy itself on show. That is, its importance transcends even that of internationally renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor and is a phenomenon which says more about the 240-year-old institution itself.
An hour after its opening at the weekend a gallery attendant, working in a darker part of the prestigious institution, admitted that the 1991 Turner Prize-winning Kapoor was far more appealing to many staff than some of the long-standing academicians from the 18th century and most of their works on offer nearby.
Co-curator of this unique show Dr Adrian Locke was perhaps more direct. He said: “He’s someone who is at the peak of his game, ready to throw down a new challenge and to poke fun at the RA… and himself.”
It is unprecedented for a living British artist to be given such space for a solo show and no one had ever exhibited one work across all the Main Galleries, said Dr Locke. He added: “I like to think it represents the blood, sweat and tears of the artists who have spent their careers trying to get their works hung in the halls of the RA. He’s challenged people at every point.”
Anish Kapoor, who was born in Mumbai in 1954 and moved to Britain in 1973, and studied at Hornsey and Chelsea art schools. He has been a Royal Academician since 1999, lives and works in London, and is a Buddhist.
This show is no retrospective.
One highlight is the monumental Svayambh 2007, from Sanskrit, meaning self-generated, a train of red (some have said blood red) wax which moves at 6mm a second across the entire breadth of Burlington House, effectively closing off the entrances to two galleries. It was first seen in Munich in a gallery where Nazi art had been shown
Other works already seen include Kapoor’s cannon, this time shelling red wax across the gallery space, and Shooting into the Corner is a piece which is a constant reminder that this is a one-artist show, with a loud shot ringing out at regular intervals.
In addition there are early pigment sculptures, including Yellow 1999 and White Sand, Red Millet, Many Flowers, from 1982.
But it is with a new piece, Tall Tree and the Eye that he makes his dramatic opening statement in the Annenberg Courtyard in front of the academy building itself. Towering 15 metres and comprising 76 reflective spheres, highly polished, each and every way the viewer looks, there is change.
With the new works, Slug and Hive and Greyman Cries, Shaman Dies, Billowing Smoke, Beauty Evoked, the exploration of scale and use of space means a tight squeeze past the exhibits, some of which are extremely fragile, and the plea is, “don’t touch”.
Anish Kapoor disingenuously says he does not have anything to say as an artist. For example: “Of course as a man I feel very strongly about politics, about the environment etc. If I had something to say as an artist I think I would be a bloody awful artist, I might as well be a journalist.”
An art critic could say the same, in reverse. See this show and judge for yourselves. One thing is clear, in relation to artist and academy, as a modern blockbuster, this show is as much political as artistic statement.
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