Archive Advent

⭐ #ArchiveAdvent Day 23   
by @kitty.g.d ⭐⠀  
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‘To convince others, you have to convince yourself’⠀  
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It’s nearly Christmas and time to wish an early happy birthday to Louise Bourgeois. Born in 1911 on Christmas Day, Bourgeois is best known for her dynamic sculptures, drawings, and prints. Overlooked for much of her life, she is now considered to be an icon of Western contemporary art. ⠀  
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But, did you know that Modern Art Oxford played an important role in in bringing Bourgeois to the attention of the British public? ⠀  
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We presented the first ever UK retrospective of her work in 1995 when Bourgeois was in her mid-80s. The exhibition included the first example of perhaps Bourgeois’s best-known work, her spider sculptures. A cage-like body containing a granite egg is balanced atop eight spindly legs. Symbolising her mother, the spider simultaneously evokes a sense of fear and protection. ‘Like a spider my mother was a weaver… Like spiders, my mother was clever… [they are] helpful and protective, just like my mother’.⠀  
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Bourgeois’s ambiguous feelings towards motherhood carry over into her resistance to being classed a feminist artist; ‘I am not interested in being a mother’ in the art world. She has, nevertheless, been of particular inspiration to many feminist artists.⠀  
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As we reflect on the year past, Bourgeois’s work encourages us to find beauty in the disturbing and powerfully argues for the value of creativity, even in the most difficult of times. ⠀  
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Today’s post was written by volunteer, Kitty Gurnos-Davies. Her interest in women’s artistic practices meant that she was particularly excited to discover that Bourgeois has important links with the gallery.⠀  
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#ModernArtOxford #ChristmasCountdown #LouiseBourgeois #sculpture #maman #FeministArt #WomenArtists ...

⭐️ #ArchiveAdvent Day 22 by Faye ⭐️⠀  
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‘I like to see art as being a return to the senses’ - Richard Long, London ⠀  
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Giving us a reflective moment, this labyrinth shows nature as a source of wellbeing, something we sometimes lack in these times. 2020 has reshaped our way of living since we spend most of our time at home now. A number of people living in the city only have a limited access to green spaces. ⠀  
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Richard Long is one of the best known British land artists. The land art movement is a practice which emerged in the late 1960s in both America and Europe, the movement integrates aspects of minimalism and conceptualism with a direct engagement in the landscape. Long’s work has been exhibited in Modern Art Oxford in December 1971, 1979 and again in 2016.⠀  
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Today's post was written by Modern Art Oxford volunteer and hospitality student, Faye.⠀  
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#RichardLong #ModernArtOxford #LandArt #ChristmasCountdown #GreenSpaces #Wellbeing ...

⭐ #ArchiveAdvent Day 21 by @kelialia ⭐️  
 
"This constructed space is our attempt to demonstrate an idea - the idea is a place for people - a place where you can meet - to look - to feel - to listen- to move - to laugh - to cry - to love - to protest - a place for people.” ⠀ 
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Space has been on our minds this year, maybe too much. Always aware of our 2m distance, our homes, our rooms, we have had to reimagine, or perhaps reckon with, what the space we are in means to us and to others. Peter Jones and Maurice Agis brought these questions to Modern Art Oxford around this time in 1966 in an exhibit meant for interaction called “Space Place.” The artists asked us to question how we actively make, interact with, and experience space. We want to ask you the same. ⠀ 
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Show us the spaces and places that you're grateful to have made for yourself this year. It could be a room you’ve come to love, your favourite tree to visit, or the chair that has brought you comfort during long days. Post a picture to your story and tag us so that we can celebrate the way we’ve made space for ourselves during difficult times, in whatever form that may be.⠀ 
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Today’s post was written by volunteer and Master's student Kelia Brooks.⠀ 
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#SpacePlace #WorkFromHome #ParticipatoryArts #PeterJones #MauriceAgis #ModernArtOxford #ChristmasCountdown ...

⭐#ArchiveAdvent Day 20   
by @monahui ⭐️⠀  
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“My work is supposed to be boring.” ⠀  
  
This French conceptual artist described his early works as “boring." But in fact, Daniel Buren is constantly trying to give freedom to his viewers, as he allows personal preferences and interpretations when we are looking at his works of art. Once he even stated that he wanted to eliminate his personal taste from his art, and that his taste is “irrelevant.”⠀  
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In Buren’s "Intervention II, works in situ,” exhibited at Modern Art Oxford in 2006-07, he explored the relationship between the space and his work. In this case, the exhibition room at the gallery and his magenta, cyan, process blue, red and orange coloured window pane filters. Taking Buren’s suggestion of personal interpretation when confronting his art, he also welcomes reflection and interaction.⠀  
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In the sense of reflection, 2020 could have been the year that humanity reflects.... upon the pandemic. The travel restrictions and isolation at home have allowed us to have more time on self-investment, planning the future and exploring our intrinsic selves. ⠀  
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What have you been reflecting on in 2020? ⠀  
Today’s #ArchiveAdvent post was created by Modern Art Oxford volunteer and art lover, Mona HuI⠀  
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#ModernArtOxford #Advent #Christmas #DanielBuren #colours #ConceptualArt #stripes #reflection ...

⭐️ #ArchiveAdvent Day 19 by @andresnavah ⭐️⠀ 
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Have you seen the horizon lately?⠀ 
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Maybe listened to your heartbeat? Or drawn a map to get lost in?⠀ 
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These are all activities which gallery-goers would have been invited to take part in by @YokoOno in her 1997 exhibition ‘Have you seen the horizon lately?’ ⠀ 
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Today we’ll focus on her series of featured instructional pieces. Perhaps when considering our current collective experience of confinement and isolation these works are once again relevant. In these moments of hardship, as time drags out and many of us are restricted from spending time with our loved ones this holiday season, it can be beneficial to escape into the simple tasks or prompts for imagined scenarios which create poetic experiences out of the mundane.⠀ 
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Most of these welcoming works were made early on in Ono’s career and despite their simplicity, went to become greatly historically significant through their role in the subsequent development of participatory practices. The works have a built-in playfulness and inclusivity often left out of the gallery. In fact, they’re designed to not require the gallery or any specific place at all. They can be performed anywhere by anyone (like right here, right now), their only requirement is a happy participant willing to become part of the piece in their compliance. ⠀ 
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The beauty of these works is that you can contribute to them as well. Not only by performing them, but also by sharing them. Why not create your own instructional pieces? Get lost in tasks you can perform right here right now! Let their products be gifts or perhaps let the gift be an experience in itself.⠀ 
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Today's post was written by Andrés Nava H, a visual artist, writer and Photography undergraduate. 
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#ArchiveAdvent #ModernArtOxford #Advent #ChristmasCountdown #YokoOno #ParticipatoryArts #lookupatthesky ...

⭐️ #ArchiveAdvent Day 18 by @dom_rowland ⭐️⠀ 
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“I am full, and I am invisible” ⠀ 
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David Austen works as a painter, sculptor, printmaker and filmmaker. A truly multidisciplinary artist who portrays his vision of a stark yet endearing world. In December of 2010, Austen brought his film ‘End of Love’ to Modern Art Oxford. Describing the piece as ‘a musical without music, performed at the end of the world’ the film is a dark vaudeville of bitter and mournful characters shot in the darkness of an empty London theatre (a very recognisable sight for many of us this year!). ⠀ 
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Each character is a twisted yet recognisable archetype from the world of theatre - an old moon, lovers on the run, a dark angel, a homeless Santa Claus, a lonely astronaut, a love-torn dandy, a betrayed Cyclops and an aged Jack the Giant Killer - Their monologues are harsh and direct often lamenting on ageing heartache and loneliness. They are marginal figures, all of them broken and homeless, and whilst they may appear brutal and unlikeable, they are also fragile, exposed and frightfully human.  
 
For many marginalised and vulnerable individuals, Christmas is especially difficult and the lesson learned from Austen’s film is an important one - no matter how outwardly difficult and combative people can be we are all deserving of the same basic kindness and respect. So, during this strange festive period, find ways that you can help the homeless, the elderly and the lonely in your local area by your donating and volunteering your free time. ⠀ 
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Today’s post is by Dom Rowland, Modern Art Oxford Events Assistant. #ModernArtOxford #Advent #ChristmasCountdown #DavidAusten #artfilm #EndofLove #theatre #volunteer #BeKind ...

⭐ #ArchiveAdvent Day 16 by @emilyunravelled ⭐⠀ 
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“Look after my cells safely till after Xmas”⠀ 
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In November 1989, Helen Chadwick’s Viral Landscapes were exhibited at Modern Art Oxford over the Christmas period. The exhibition displayed a series of panoramic landscapes which were created by Chadwick as an emotional response to nature, identity, and the AIDS crisis.⠀ 
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Born in Croydon in 1953, Chadwick became known for her theatrical and often challenging artistic style. To create Viral Landscapes, Chadwick took long walks along the Pembrokeshire coastline, threw paint into the ocean waves, and even layered the photographs with her own body cells. She explained this decision in 1989, saying “There are fragments of the inner self, of cells, but they are out in the open, completely vulnerable and free.’ The final landscapes are an expression of the uneasy coexistence between humans and nature. As we countdown to Christmas, Viral Landscapes challenges us to think about how we might take better care of our environment this festive season.⠀ 
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Like Chadwick, over the past year many of us have found ourselves feeling more connected to nature. Some of us will have found comfort outside as we took our daily exercise. For others shielding inside their homes, the outside world has felt like a dangerous place. What could you create to show your own relationship with nature?⠀ 
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Landscapes shown as a panoramic series measuring four feet high and fifty feet in length. Created using digital layering of paint, photography, and body cells taken from the mouth, ear, blood, cervix and kidney.⠀ 
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Today's post was written by Modern Art Oxford volunteer and arts and crafts fan, Emily Whittingham⠀ 
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#ModernArtOxford #ChristmasCountdown #archive #HelenChadwick #sustainable #environment ...

⭐ #ArchiveAdvent Day 13 by @kasia_ziniak ⭐️  
  
‘Everything had broken down and new things had to be made out of the fragments; and this is Merz. It was like a revolution within me, not as it was, but as it should have been.’⠀  
  
Immersive yourself in creativity and using found objects around the house create a ‘Merz’! Artist Kurt Schwitters most well-known for his collages called ‘Merz’, would use the fragments of found objects and materials to create reflections of experiences. ⠀  
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Like Schwitters, reflect on the memories and experiences which happened throughout the year by creating a collage. Incorporate found objects, from old magazine and newspaper clippings, paint, delivery packages, artwork or photographs, to capture the change within our world!⠀  
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Kurt Schwitters’ work was exhibited in Modern Art Oxford in December 1997. The German artist was involved in both Dadaism and Constructivism. He transformed appropriated imagery and text into dynamic compositions attempting to make aesthetic sense of the world around.⠀  
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Today's #ArchiveAdvent post was written by Modern Art Oxford volunteer and undergraduate Fine Art student, Kasia Ziniak.⠀  
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#ModernArtOxford #Advent #ChristmasCountdown #kurtschwitters #collage #collageart #merzwerbe #paperart #cutandpaste #Christmas2020 ...