Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Matthew Barney the 45 year old American artist who works in sculpture, photography, drawing and film, whose early works combined sculptural installations with performance and video has been featured by Carol Vogel in a New York Times article titled ‘Matthew Barney Heads to the Morgan Library’. Vogel states “…Barney, an artist with a cultlike following… fashions his sculptures out of unusual materials like tapioca (dumbbells) and petroleum jelly (a weight bench). His drawings are the least known of his works. But to a place like the Morgan they are also the most intriguing. “There will be many people who will be surprised to see a Matthew Barney exhibition here,” said William M. Griswold, the museum’s director. “But his drawings are central to what we do. Many of them explore aspects of his technical innovations and his process, which makes a show like this ideal. For many people it will be a real revelation.” …It is the first museum retrospective devoted to Mr. Barney’s drawings and will consist of about 100 works. They range from the late 1980s, when he was still an undergraduate at Yale University, to those he created in conjunction with his five-part “Cremaster” film cycle, produced between 1994 and 2002, to his current project, “River of Fundament,” his film and live performance collaboration with the composer Jonathan Bepler that was inspired by Norman Mailer’s novel “Ancient Evenings.” Loans for the exhibition are coming from museums here and in Europe as well as from private collections. Besides the drawings… the show will include some of Mr. Barney’s storyboards. To show the kinds of myths and legends that inspire his work he has chosen books and manuscripts from the Morgan’s own collection, like a 2,000-year-old Egyptian Book of the Dead, a medieval zodiac and a copy of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”

Inspired by Carol Vogel, New York Times ow.ly/iqW6r Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/iqVZF

Jeffrey L Sturchio the American Senior Partner at Rabin Martin and former CEO of the Global Health Council, the world’s largest membership alliance of public health organizations and professionals in more than 140 countries dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world, has been featured in an article by Isolda Agazzi on the IPS News Service titled ‘Tsunami of Diseases Waiting to Hit’ stating “A tsunami is looming on the horizon and the world is unprepared for it. This one won’t be a massive wall of water but a tidal wave of disease – and experts say the international community needs to act fast to keep it from crashing. “Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – cancer, heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, among others – have become the leading cause of death worldwide,” Jeffrey Sturchio … told a conference…  “Some 36 million people die from (NCDs) every year, 80 percent of them in low and middle income countries – a figure that will increase by 17 percent in the coming years and by 25 percent in Africa,” he added. Tuberculosis and malaria, in comparison, kill one to two million people around the world every year.“The disease burden is shifting to NCDs, but since developing countries still have to fight infectious diseases, they face a double burden,” Sturchio warned. However, developing countries do not appear to be paying adequate attention to the impending crisis. …financial resources are stretched thin, and it is unlikely that the funds needed to launch a massive global campaign will be readily available. “The reality is that in the last 20 years, tens of billions of dollars in official development assistance have gone to developing countries, mainly (to fight) HIV/AIDS, and it is unrealistic to think that the same will happen again, It will therefore be necessary to capitalise on existing investments and reallocate some of the resources already in circulation” he said.”

Inspired by Isolda Agazzi, IPS News Service ow.ly/in8m3 Image source Global Health TV ow.ly/in8iJ

Yinka Shonibare the 50 year old British-Nigerian artist best known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation, while acknowledging his physical disability as part of his identity and physically incapable of carrying out the making of the work himself, his conceptualism takes on a new angle. Shonibare’s work explores issues of colonialism alongside those of race and class, through a range of media which include painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, and film. Coline Milliard in an article published on Boulin Artinfo states “…Shonibare has long nurtured an ambiguous relationship with the Establishment, past and present. But the artist, a prominent post-colonialist voice in Britain – who …cherishes his recently awarded order of chivalry as Member of the British Empire with a pride that isn’t entirely ironic. Shonibare is a self-proclaimed dandy, an “insider and outsider,” and the 18th century, cradle of that empire, is a constant point of reference both for its political overtones and dazzling aesthetic. …The adoption of a motif so conveniently combining bright patterns and politics has been a blessing and a curse for the artist. Although it provided him with a “brand,” its repetitive use has led to a flattening out of his production, and accusations of one-trick-ponyism. …the fabric serves an array of distinct topics, of which post-colonialism and hybrid identity are only two of the most central. The omnipresence of conflicts, the threat of global warming, and food-sustainability are key concerns for Shonibare. …But no matter how idea-led, there’s always an obvious enjoyment of the material, of the colors, textures, or the craft of well-tailored garments in Shonibare’s production. “I may be interested in a number of issues, but primarily I am an artist, and my job is to take people elsewhere,” the artist has said. “My job is to create a wonderland for them.”

Inspired by Coline Milliard, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/in4R8 Image source Africa SI ow.ly/in4IN

Sarah Lucas the 50 year old British Artist who emerged as part of the generation of Young British Artists during the 1990s. Lucas’s works frequently employs visual puns and bawdy humour, includes photography, collage and found objects. Lucas has been profiled by Christina Patterson for the Independent titled ‘Sarah Lucas: A Young British Artist grows up and speaks out’. Patterson states in the article “[Lucas] says, “never been someone for make-up”. She has, in fact, had “fun” not “using her femininity” because “people find it so odd”. At the Groucho club, where the YBAs used to hang out, she’d stare at the women “in their summer dresses and perfume, flirting with men”, and enjoy the fact that she wasn’t. “You realise,” she says, “that you’ve got some other charisma.”You can say that again. It’s quite rare to meet a heterosexual woman who’s making no attempt at all to make herself attractive to men, but who – how shall I put this? – radiates sex. But it’s also quite hard to think of an artist whose work is so much about it. …This is what Sarah Lucas does. She takes… “ordinary things” …and she does something to them that can actually make you blush. She doesn’t just take ordinary objects and say they’re art. Quite a lot of the YBAs, and the people they have influenced, do. They seem to think that if you say something’s art it’s art, and if you say something’s shocking, it is. They seem to forget that the person to decide whether something’s shocking, or powerful, or moving, isn’t the person who made it.”

Inspired by Christina Patterson ow.ly/d0GVb image source Facebook ow.ly/d0Hzc

Process is very difficult and he was a trooper (May 27th 2012)

Emma Hack the Australian visual artist who combines canvas and body painting with studio based photography, renowned for her recent work with Australian musician Gotye on the video “Somebody I Used to Know” which also features New Zealand singer Kimbra, has been interviewed by Nicholas Forrest for Artinfo. In the interview Hack states “Natasha Pincus, the director/producer, wanted to create a blend of the bodies into a background to make them appear as if they are in a relationship whilst blended. Then Kimbra leaves the relationship as the paint disappears from her back. …The process is very difficult and he was a trooper — never complained even though in pain. In all, it took 23 hours to create the work on them both. He loves and understands the process, which makes it easy to work with him.  …It differs greatly from the art I create, which is what I want to do, creating in a calm environment with my regular models. The Gotye project is similar to a commercial gig, where I’m working for the good of the client and their needs — but it is a lot more demanding emotionally on me.

Inspired by Artinfo ow.ly/aYig3 image source adelaidenow ow.ly/aYi6u