Welcome to the first edition of The Half-Grown Notes. I did change the name (several times, in fact) since I announced it previously, but the content will be much the same as I said it would be.
Recent art news: Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool replaced one of their most popular exhibits, questioning ideas of race and beauty in the art world
Books: reading less and getting more, Anna Karenina vs War and Peace and some new favourites
Playlist: inspired by the non-finito discussed in ‘The Process of Creation’ post, a selection of songs that are somehow both eerie and comforting, fearful yet nostalgic
Highlighted artist: Kara Walker
Other thoughts: choice feminism and the general election
Enjoy :)
The Playlist
Melancholy, hypnagogic, non-finito
(Preferably, play in this order:)
Just for loving you I pay the price by Cindy Lee
Chiyu by tripleS
A word I give by Goldmund, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Be my shining star (instrumental) by Cindy Lee
Poison Cookie by Lava La Rue, Audrey Nuna
Adams: Phryian Gates, Pt. 2 by John Adams and Rolf Hind
Tomorrow’s Gone by Charlie Megira
Art News
The news to highlight this month, is that of the Walker Art Gallery replacing the centrepiece of their sculpture room. The popular exhibit of ‘The Tinted Venus’ was replaced with Zak Ove’s ‘Lost Soul VI.’ It stands out, not just because of its central place, but also because it differs in style and subject to that of the Neo-classical works around it.
As part of a community-led project, this statue was put there so as to open up a dialogue about the ideals of art and beauty and their connection to race: why were all these white figures seen as worthy of being in the gallery and this statue not? How is the gallery upholding racist beauty ideals through their limited curative scope? It’s a deliberate confrontation of the gallery’s colonial ties, highlighting the educational power these spaces have in controlling our perceptions of history. What may be seen as being a heavy-handed gesture, actually recognises that this is the only way of true making change: you have to be confrontational. Here, they create a self-reflective dialogue through not just the artwork, but their action of placing it there- it’s a reminder of curatorial power, it’s pointing out to the viewers that they are seeing what they are because a curator put it there and thus they see art history only through what the curator dictates they do. In other words, I applaud the gallery for their action.
Bookshelves
The first post of the year, if you can recall, was ‘What I read this year.’ Here, I recounted my favourite reads of 2023 and ended with 104 books. But this year is a different story: coursework, exam prep, and getting a smartphone for the first time has led to me to getting through only half the amount of books I’d read by this time the year before. But another reason, is the longer books I’ve been reading. This has taught me that there is a lot of value in reading slower: rather than quickly skipping through several shorter works, I’m able to devote time to a larger book that I’d otherwise miss if I was intent solely on getting through more books.
Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is one such book. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed it though. That is, I am happy I read it but after War and Peace I was left with certain expectations, which were met by this work. The first half was enjoyable, but the second half a little tiresome. I tried to go back to my reading journal to remind me just why I didn’t enjoy it as much, but all I seem to have written was “War and Peace was better.” I was a little disappointed, I think. If you’re starting with Tolstoy, I recommend The Kreutzer Sonata and then War and Peace.
Min Jin Lee’s ‘Pachinko’ was great, but ‘Do not say we have nothing’ by Madeleine Thien was beautiful. Here are a few of my favourite lines:
“The ancients had imagined white as the colour of funerals, of fulfillment, loss and contemplation and how the white sky seemed to erase the earth.” p. 102
“Around us, the first movement expanded, turning like smoke.” p. 455
“When I was alone, I often asked myself, can a single hand cover the sky? How can we live like this and see so little?” p. 458
The book was lyrical, if a little confusing. But as soon as I accepted the complexity of the perspectives, I was able to enjoy it more. It was a touching reflection on both generational difference and shared history, bought together by a fascination with music that transcended time and space. [
Another great read was ‘The Whole Picture’ by Alice Procter. One of my favourite non-fiction books now, I believe. Here the authors maps out colonial ties to museums, art galleries and other spaces of education, teaching how art has kept and threatened cultural boundaries through a variety of examples. She spoke of the importance of, not just of art, but also of writing about art. Read in a dip of motivation, I suddenly had the urge to get back to work, knowing that there is the possibility of forging change.
Half-Grown Ideas
This section will just be little snippets of ideas that aren’t able to fill a whole post for whatever reason (they aren’t related to my work, aren’t fully-formed yet or are just a little random.)
Choice feminism is good way to ignore how the patriarchy effects our choices, and thus is a good way to completely side-step social issues in favour of the illusion of individual choices.
The recent general election was actually my first experience of the British political system as a voting. It’s messy. That’s my verdict. But I am happy with how it turned out, relatively anyway. I have hope for the future for the first time in a while.
Highlighted Artist
Following on from Alice Procter’s book, I present to you, in this first edition of The Half-Grown Notes, Kara Walker. Procter specifically focused on Walker’s monumental sculpture ‘A Subtlety,’ a work I’m not sure I’d come across before. It’s difficult to miss and even more difficult to forget. As in all of her artwork, this piece explores intersections between race, gender, stereotypes, history and perspectives, asking the viewer questions of how we view others base off the cultural stereotypes that have arisen from history and, in turn, how we interact with the work itself.
What intrigued me the most about this work, was how it engaged the audience. This is in terms of surface, closeness, and through the camera lens: some licked her chocolate attendants, some posed inappropriately, others saw understood what she represented in the context of the space she was placed in. The Domino Sugar Factory used sugar that farmed by slaves, making the placement of this monumental ‘sugar baby’ purposeful on Walker behalf, and yet, despite the sign outside shedding light on the message behind the piece, people still interacted with the work in a way that was far from appropriate.
Walker often draws from racist caricatures, this time using the ‘black mammy’ stereotype in her first sculptural work. Rather than explaining exactly what this work could mean, I invite you to respond yourself considering the following…
Pose
Colour
Audience interaction
Audience identity and understanding
Relationship between space and art
Caricature
Artistic intention
And that’s it for this first edition. Just to add, I am considering increasing the amount of these posts to maybe every other week, or every week, but for now please look forward to the August edition!