As I went round this exhibition I realised that I had been aware of Peter Blakes work for years. I knew of some of his more obvious works but there were other images here that I recognised. The type of images I liked or disliked when I first saw them, but either way a few years ago I would have been less interested in the artist than their appearance.
His work that’s on display here dates from the 1950’s to the present day. There were some of his most famous pieces displayed alongside ones that I had never seen before. The one that has stuck in my mind was the following image.
It was in the ‘Wrestlers and Pin-up Girls part of the exhibition, I spent ages just looking at it. I guess it’s one of those portraits that although you see the subject’s image itself, I could also a likeness to other people I had seen or knew. I have looked at a couple of portraits so far in my blog, to me this stood out in a different way to those of Mavis Roper, Luciano Bonacini and Henrich Nauen. Nauen’s work all seamed to be about reflecting the person’s character, and Roper’s about capturing the moment. Luciano Bonacini’s work was a display of his ability and opinions, where as this portrait of Peter Blake’s to me shows yet another thing altogether. This seamed to be about the subject’s interaction with the viewer and in a sense it’s seduction of the viewer. The subject is obviously a very beautiful woman, however there is something more captivating than just her looks, this appears to be in the eyes and the way that they hold your attention, it really is a fascinating portrait to look at.
There were various other of Peter Blake’s work which caught my eye, a couple of which I have shown bellow. I particularly liked his use of 3D sculpted objects, combined with 2D painted areas, it served to emphasize certain areas and make everything more exciting to look at.
There were several other pieces within this exhibition I could spend ages commenting on. Although I may not have personally liked them all, they were undoubtedly full of attention and detail. The bit of the whole exhibition that interested me the most was one that I nearly missed. We were about to leave when we noticed a sign saying ‘From this moment on’. This section was far more separated than the rest of the exhibition had been. Peter Blake himself described it as something that is ‘beyond the show and beyond the catalogue... the start of the next bit of my life’. These were paintings that are yet to be completed and are therefore still taking shape.
Apart from the fact that it enabled you to see how he built up and actually constructed his paintings, it lets you imagine what is yet to come. There was obviously a plan for each of these canvases, quite how detailed this will have been I don’t know, but I would love to see these again in a few years time to see what they have become or even if they have progressed at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment