2007年8月27日 星期一

藝術天價背後的代價—美術館將無力蒐購重要作品

【文/肯.強森(Ken Johnson);翻譯/熊思婷;圖/本刊資料室】

作者介紹

肯.強森(Ken Johnson),資深藝術評論家,《Art in America》特約編輯,也為《紐約時報》藝文版作者,同時也是《波士頓地球報》(Boston Globe)的藝術評論作者。

本文開始

今年5月15日在紐約的蘇富比拍賣中,羅斯科(Mark Rothko)一幅1950年的畫作以7,280萬美元賣出,這是當代藝術拍賣會中的最高價,而就在隔天晚上的佳士得拍賣會上,1963年一幅沃荷(Andy Warhol)的絹印畫也賣出7,170萬美元的成績。

姑且不談這些價格是否遠高過作品應有價格這個無益的問題,誰能精確將文化價值換算成實際金額?如果市場不斷上揚,目前的價格在短短幾年內看來便會像是特價,而一旦失去了底限,一些人勢必會損失一大筆錢。但,這又如何?最確切的問題,應該是藝術價格的通貨膨脹問題,究竟對藝術市場裡的「非玩家」會造成什麼影響?如果你之前沒想那麼多,現在應該是仔細思考的時刻。

購藏經費遠落後於市場價格

狂飆的藝術市場呈現出的最真實問題,並非攸關道德,也並不是金錢將性靈表現當成日常用品交易這回事,而是美術館所遭受的影響,這影響將牽連到喜愛博物館的大眾。

波士頓美術館(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)在這些年開闢了新的展示館來展出美國藝術,20世紀後期藝術與當代藝術也都擁有新的常設展區。但美術館的網站卻直批自己所擁有的當代收藏,距離表現20世紀晚期至今的重要藝術運動仍相當遙遠;波士頓美術館雖擁有為數頗多的沃荷作品,但只有一件羅斯科創作於1969年、不很重要的紙本作品。

波士頓美術館能補齊自己收藏上的落差,並從現今的市場中收藏重要的現代與當代藝術作品嗎?當代藝術部門的策展人布魯汶(Cheryl Brutvan)認為,美術館比較熱衷蒐購年輕與剛崛起的藝術家作品,因為那些作品價格還在能接受的範圍,而重要作品卻越來越難購得,想要購買那些作品,必須大力仰賴私人捐贈者的好心腸(拍賣會中沃荷和羅斯科的作品都是出自私人收藏)。

上揚的市場對一些美術館來說也有好的一面,因為它們已收藏的作品價值與名聲都會跟著上漲。玫瑰藝術博物館(The Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University)館長羅許(Michael Rush)指出,美術館中的永久典藏品自今年5月的拍賣會之後,價值已大幅提升,美術館有一件與7,170萬美元的沃荷作品《綠色車禍》(Green Car Crash)相似的作品,在佳士得拍賣會之前價值只有2,400萬美元,如今價格就漲了一倍。

增值的收藏可以吸引潛在的捐贈者,因為他們也想看到自己的捐贈位在名作之列;然而,現今的市場卻也讓擁有藝術品的收藏者考慮到大量的獲利,而不願意捐贈。羅許表示,在市場開始上漲之後,玫瑰藝術博物館的捐贈作品也跟著減少。

如同波士頓美術館,玫瑰藝術博物館也有一樣的作法,就是蒐購年輕藝術家的作品,因為它們的價格不似帕洛克(Jackson Pollock)和瓊斯(Jasper Johns)那樣昂貴;最近美術館籌了7萬美元,購買30歲的藝術新星—— 舒茲(Dana Schutz)的創作,她的作品還在美術館可負擔的價格範圍中。

美術館策展主導權恐受影響

美術館倚賴收藏家並不是一件新鮮事,倘若沒有私人收藏家各種形式的支持,在政府或私人機制之外,將不會有任何的公立美術館。然而最大的隱憂是,博物館越是因為金錢與藝術品來源(借展或受贈)之因而被迫仰賴收藏家,它們喪失原有立場與目標的風險就越高。美術館並不只是一棟建築物,也並非只收藏有價值的文物,最重要的,它應該是一個集合了一群專業、專注的人士,以他們的相關經歷、訓練、專長、創意與智慧,一同為藝術文化做出貢獻的場域。因此為了做好工作,美術館策展人必須盡可能地不受組織裡財務相關部門的干涉;這指出了市場中的高價對大眾的影響,當美術館策展的最高標準必須妥協,為的只是取悅可能成為(或者已經是)董事會一員、或捐贈金錢與作品的收藏家們時,美術館的觀眾無疑成為輸家。

當收藏家們選擇協助美術館,他們需要顧及美術館的收藏目標,儘管他們也擁有自己的收藏品味,這些品味不盡然與美術館相同。在藝術品成為炙手可熱的投機商品的這種態勢底下,收藏家與美術館之間的品味衝突,將會越演越烈。

美術館董事會的成員或許會慫恿策展人蒐購他們自己的收藏,或者為這些收藏策劃展覽,以此來抬高這些收藏的價值;而收藏家也會期望博物館展出自己擁有的作品,這兩者都必然使美術館在某種程度上的專業責任因此廢黜。即便沒有私人收藏家的協助,也能策劃出優異的展覽,但倘若美術館利用展覽之便,向潛在的捐贈者獻殷勤——如波士頓美術館幾年來沿用的策略——那麼便會將策展人理應著重的學術、創新、追求真理與詮釋展覽,和大眾所應得的服務給分散掉。

結語

無法增加館藏的博物館,很難在深度與廣度上繼續發展,是個已死或垂死的博物館。波士頓美術館面對的問題是,它的新館除了不斷進來的浮士德式(Faustian)的特價品外,它還能建立起現代與當代的收藏嗎?持續上漲的藝術價格,只會讓這些問題變得更難以解決,而現在我們能做的是留意那些降低標準以期望獲得短期(或長期)收益的博物館,它們所展現的妥協與堅持。

【典藏今藝術2007年8月號】

艾爾頓.強將打造私人美術館

【文‧攝影/王焜生】 

受英國皇室冊封為爵士的流行歌手艾爾頓.強(Elton John)於「威尼斯雙年展」(La Biennale di Venezia)預展期間現身英國館,參觀藝術家艾敏(Tracey Emin)的作品。艾爾頓.強收藏藝術品,從18世紀到當代藝術均有,並擁有超過2,500件攝影作品,總價值估計超過千萬英鎊。為了讓這些藏品有更好的收藏與展示空間,艾爾頓.強決定將位於溫莎城堡附近的豪宅整修改建,但因牽涉到當地建築法規,他正申請核可將豪宅的車庫全部打通成為他所有藏品的新居所,準備媲美巴黎羅浮宮。今年6月他於東歐烏克蘭舉辦演唱會之際,也到當地畫廊選購藝術家的作品,收藏數量仍在不斷增加中。

而在私人展示空間建造完成前,他也慷慨答應在其他國家的美術館舉辦其收藏展。從1991年起,艾爾頓.強便開始收藏攝影作品,至今擁有的作品與數量已稱得上世界十大,2000年底他第一次展示自己的攝影收藏,美國亞特蘭大的High Museum of Art展出約100位攝影家的380件作品,其中包括美國藝術家克洛斯(Chuck Close)為他所創作的人像。今年9月英國格茨海德的巴爾地當代藝術中心(Baltic Centre of Contemporary Art, Gateshead)將再次展出其收藏。此外,該藝術中心還將展出另一位英國收藏家薩布魯德維茲(Anita Zabludowicz)收藏之畢卡索到赫斯特(Damien Hirst),由尚斯(Jerome Sans)與該館館長共同策劃,據聞薩布魯德維茲將於秋季在倫敦成立自己的畫廊。

【典藏今藝術2007年8月號】

2007年8月19日 星期日

藝術品市場上演股市投機故事

新財富 vol.200708, Sun, 19 Aug, 2007
藝術品市場上演股市投機故事
王從卉


經濟高速發展的中國,猶如一片極富生命力的熱帶雨林,任何新鮮的種子都會在這裡以異
乎尋常的速度成長,也會以同樣快的速度變異。藝術品市場就是這樣一顆新種子,一個正
在開花結果卻長滿了中國特色變異細胞的生命體,這些變異體的毒素正侵蝕著行業的生命


    診斷如今的中國藝術品市場,有人會對比20世紀80年代瘋狂的日本市場,會提起
90年代後期泡沫化大崩盤的紐約,試圖警示20年後歷史正在重演。然而,中國的狀況似乎
總會出乎所有經驗學說的解釋和預言,只有從房地產、證券等類似市場成長中所呈現的「
中國特色」裡尋找似曾相識的痕跡和出路,才能更加全面地瞭解中國藝術品市場的發展現
狀。

    我們對比發現,當前的中國藝術品市場,正在重演上世紀90年代股市中的投機故
事。目前,市場資金的半數屬於短期投機資金,江浙炒畫團儼然成形,投機客們通過包裝
上市、肆意吹捧、對倒抬價等方式,進行短線炒作,製造虛假繁榮;部分藝術家、畫廊、
拍賣行、鑒定機構、媒體等產業鏈上的參與者也知假造假、賣假、拍假,從而加劇了市場
的渾濁。投機當道、信息渾濁、誠信危機,已成為影響中國藝術品市場發展的頑疾。

    相比成熟市場,近5年來,中國藝術品市場成長及演變的速度令人亢奮又擔憂。5
年前,央行存款利率不斷下調,A股在2000點以下徘徊,大量熱錢湧進樓市,炒得房價幾
年間倍漲。同時,藝術品成了瘋狂熱錢追逐的「高雅」投資工具。此後,在政府宏觀調控
之下,資金開始退出樓市,湧入藝術品市場。資金的氾濫,給本已急速升溫的藝術品市場
火上加油。一時間,藝術品投資被形容成繼股票、房產之後的中國第三大投資渠道。

    其實,所有的投資市場都一樣,狂熱的時候,一個本來小眾的市場會變成一個大
眾市場,瘋狂的投機和暴利現象無從避免。曾經在中國股市發生過的故事,在藝術品市場
裡再次上演。短線炒作、頻繁換手、新手投機、虛假信息、知假做假,這些曾經用來聲討
股市的熟悉字眼,再一次被用來形容眼下的藝術品市場。

    半數資金意在短線投機

    正如當年的股市是一個散戶市場,基金之類的機構投資者尚未形成,目前的中國
藝術品市場也仍是散戶市場,而且,真正意義上的收藏家和收藏機構群體並未形成。在這
個市場裡,充斥著被暴利神話吸引的投機客。坊間常有消息:「江浙資本要拿出50億元投
資油畫」、「山西的煤老闆們也拿出上億的資金瘋狂收購油畫」,行業內常聽見某某藝術
家的油畫作品被整體買斷,某某畫廊的油畫被山西老闆統統包圓兒。繼溫州炒房團之後,
江浙炒畫團的形成儼然已是事實,並已經顯現了對市場造成的衝擊。

    由雅昌藝術網編製的當代油畫指數顯示出了這一過程。自有統計的2000年以來,
100位畫家的油畫平均價一直以穩定並且緩慢的速度上漲,和國畫市場的大起大落完全不
一樣。但2005年以後,市場井噴了。2005年前的5年中,指數從1000點漲到了2300點,而
一年後,指數從2300點一下子漲到了6700點。一夕之間,油畫價格是過去的3倍,一年時
間濃縮了過去5年乃至更多時間的漲幅。

    一般而言,藝術市場的資本結構主要包括長期沉澱資本、中期投資資本以及短期
投機資本。這三類資本結構的比例分配是決定藝術市場是否健康繁榮的關鍵。通常,理想
的狀況是,由公共博物館和「鐵桿」收藏者投入的長期沉澱資本占20%左右;由機構投資
者、私人投資者用於對抗通貨膨脹、中長期投資藝術品獲得資本利得為主要目標的中期投
資資本占70%;專門進行短期投機套利的「游資」等短期投機資本應控制在10%以下。也就
是說,如果有70%以上的買家,對手中的藏品鑒賞精到、估價誠實、認真惜售,並中長期
持有,那藝術市場的繁榮與熱絡是必然的。

    然而事實上,目前中國藝術品市場的資本結構倒置。據業內人士的保守估計,市
場上的短期投機資本至少在50%以上,甚至一段時間內達到70-80%左右。如此之高的短期
投資資本比例,使尚處於初級階段的中國藝術市場上演著一出由投機者導演,由藝術家、
畫廊、拍賣行、批評家、媒體共同參與的投機故事。

    投機當道,短線資本瘋狂套利

    這些投機資本,雖然是藝術品市場的新手,卻是「短線游資套利」的老手。很多
股市等其他市場的短線行為也就被借鑒過來,運用得游刃有餘。

    手法一: 選擇「潛力股」包裝上市

    這些藝術市場上的短期投機資本,操作手段大同小異。最典型的做法就是,以很
低的價格買斷一位藝術家的大批作品,再斥巨資進行包裝,繼而將這些作品適時拋售。一
種更縝密也更有殺傷力的操作方式是,畫廊或經紀人與部分買家聯手,包買一位尚未出名
的年輕藝術家一定時期的全部作品,影響其創作的內容與方向,以便控制畫價在市場上的
升降。

    投機商包裝藝術作品的手法有兩種,一是進行媒體炒作,二是拍出高價,形成示
範效應。在拍賣會上,莊家會安排「畫托兒」舉牌,以防止流拍並互相競價,炒高價格。
的確,只要上了大拍賣會,常常一幅在畫廊幾千元就能買到的畫作也能漲到10萬元落槌成
交。而實際上,在這樣的炒作中,通常買者和賣者之間並沒有實際資金轉移,僅僅是在市
場上造成了某些作品成為投資熱點的假象,吸引後續投資者接盤。

手法二: 收買「黑嘴」混淆視聽

    在國際藝術品市場上,按照商業傳統對有潛力的藝術家進行一定的「包裝」,是
無可非議的。慣常的做法是出版畫冊、舉辦畫展、組織評價、組織研討會、與拍賣公司聯
手在拍賣會上推介作品,以引起人們的注意。也確有不少藝術品,由藝術市場推出而最終
引起了美術界的注意。然而,在中國,對於藝術家的學術及市場地位、藝術品的市場價值
判定這一核心評估,往往為一些投資者所操縱。一些藝術批評學者、媒體人士,為金錢收
買或屈服於生存壓力,犧牲公信力,淪為了製造虛假信息、誤導買家的炒作工具。

    因此,市場上常見一些藝術家未到應有的藝術地位,已被所謂藝術評論家捧成大
師、名家,一些藝術品也被吹成傑作、精品,通過幾次頻繁的拍賣,價格迅速飆升,時時
在報端製造「拍賣高價紀錄」的新聞,製造市場繁榮的假象,吸引更多信息不對稱的投機
買家入場接盤。在股市上頻遭打擊的「黑嘴」,在藝術品市場仍然肆無忌憚。

    藝術家、藝術經紀人或畫廊、藝術批評家、買家和收藏家、藝術專業及大眾媒體
、美術館和博物館、拍賣行,形成了藝術市場的生態圈。健康的生態環境是相互支撐、相
互制約、相互監督的體系。其中,透明、充足、真實的「信息」就好像是整個生態環境的
空氣,至關重要。可是,眼下的藝術生態圈正在經歷嚴重的環境污染,最明顯的就是空氣
(信息)渾濁。

    手法三: 莊家對倒抬價,引新手跟風接盤

    股市中常有的莊家炒作、對倒抬價,在藝術品市場也不鮮見。

    投機商在囤積藝術家的大批作品後,往往會透過畫廊或拍賣會,從事短期循環式
的漲價炒作。他們把畫家一定數量的畫作,分批連環出售,賣出再買回,以梯階式調價來
支撐不斷漲價的假象,等到畫價翻了數倍、數十倍、數百倍後,開始以較低的價格分批、
分處出清存畫,以便大幅賺取價差;然後,悄悄放棄繼續支撐該畫家的市場價格,任由畫
家與其畫價在市面上自生自滅。一些近幾年突然出現在市場上的所謂「黑馬」的曇花一現
的中青年藝術家中,就不乏這樣的例子。即便是已故藝術家陳逸飛生前早期也遭受過莊家
操盤操控價格的經歷,使得其市場價格的真實度和業界口碑一度受損。

    如此短頻快的運作方式,短期內看似使畫家出名,作品價格飆升,名利雙收;畫
廊、經紀人、投資人都大賺一筆,但卻導致了整個市場出現極高的換手率、虛高的價格和
名不符實的藝術家,造成泡沫下的虛假繁榮,使真正的買家、收藏家望而卻步。

    一如當年的股市,一些剛入市的新手往往因為跟風而成最後的埋單者,以與其藝
術價值不匹配的高價買下這些作品,並承受其價格下跌的後果。

    手法四: 利用槓桿以小博大

    相對於股票市場,拍賣市場還有一個讓藏家空手套白狼的空子。由於市場競爭激
烈,拍賣公司通常不願得罪經常競拍的老客戶,於是,他們拍下畫作後往往會延遲付款,
油畫則放在拍賣公司的庫房,春拍買的秋拍再賣,只須支付一筆3-10萬元的競拍保證金,
就可輕而易舉地賺取差價,時隔半年賺取50%乃至一倍也是平常事。回報如此豐厚,怎能
不讓場外資金趨之若鶩。

    誠信危機、知假造假、賣假現象氾濫

    「畫僧」史國良「作品打假事件」2006年被各大媒體炒得沸沸揚揚,並入選全國
21家專業媒體聯合推出的「藝術中國‧年度影響力」評選中的「年度藝術事件」,史國良
本人也入選「年度人物」。然而,史國良事件只是中國藝術品拍賣市場假畫現象的冰山一
角。書畫家們頻頻遭到假畫的侵擾,已故的如著名書法家啟功先生、劉炳森先生,健在的
如著名畫家吳冠中先生等,都曾飽受造假者的侵擾。

    如果說書畫古籍多有副本、臨摹是出於歷史原因,古時藝術家不斷多畫,一稿、
二稿、三稿,以多取勝,冀廣分佈流傳便於作品的傳播和流傳後世的話,那麼,現今藝術
市場知假造假、知假賣假就是行業性的畸變:利字當頭,不論真偽。其狀況愈演愈烈,氾
濫成災,嚴重影響中國書畫在世界拍賣市場的信譽,文化部文化市場司副司長張建新曾大
聲疾呼:「誠信危機是當前藝術品市場的致命傷。」

    中國書畫界造假、賣假、拍假現象氾濫的核心問題是:真偽鑒定的依據是什麼?
鑒定環節的監督機制是否存在?在中國書畫拍賣市場裡,最為諷刺的現象就是:某個知名
藝術家發現自己的一副造假作品在某拍賣行進行預展或拍賣,便公開宣佈該作品「不是我
畫的」,而拍賣公司便能通過各種手段,如媒體炒作和所謂專家鑒定團為作品翻案,確定
該作品不是贗品,照拍不誤。更不用說,被假畫侵擾卻忍氣吞聲的藝術家大有人在。

    藝術品拍賣,本是一件於藝術家、收藏家和公眾很有意義的雅事。可在造假、賣
假之風氾濫的書畫藝術市場,拍賣中卻往往是「假作真時真亦假」。拍賣公司和部分媒體
重利輕義,成為造假者的幫兇,更有甚者,策劃、參與整個造假賣假的過程,謀求最大經
濟利益。

    藝術品市場上贗品橫行早已不是什麼秘密,而是行業內不得不面對的現實。其原
因何在?筆者個人以為,主要原因來自於目前法律的缺位。《拍賣法》第61條規定:「拍
賣人、委託人在拍賣前聲明不能保證拍賣標的真偽或品質的,不承擔瑕疵擔保責任。」
該法律條款使得拍賣人和委託人不用為拍品的真偽負責,即使被發現贗品,也能輕鬆地擺
脫責任,更不用說追究為造假作品搖旗吶喊的不良媒體的法律責任了。


另一方面,藝術品不同於一般的商品,其真偽的鑒定需要高深的專業知識和鑒定技巧,標
準相對來說主觀化而沒有普遍純粹客觀的標準,依靠的是專家個人的專業誠信和監督機制
,因此,在鑒定監督機制不完善的情況下容易被利益集團操縱。而對於藝術家和藝術消費
者來說,打假舉證難,成本高,贏得官司的概率很小,即使贏了,也很難獲得合理的損失
賠償。這些原因都使得中國藝術市場,尤其是書畫領域面臨巨大的誠信危機。

    投機當道、信息渾濁、誠信危機,這三大癥結是目前中國藝術市場的頑疾,然而
頑疾不等於絕症。和許多快速發展的行業一樣,中國藝術品市場能否健康成長,要看其能
否克服同樣強大的變異力量。隨著法制的完善與健全,市場的進一步成熟與自然淘汰,通
過借鑒發達國家的經驗並根據中國國情進行制度創新,相信許多規則會建立起來,一個真
正繁榮的藝術市場值得期待。

2007年8月15日 星期三

The top 20 exhibitions of the season

From
August 15, 2007

Whether sacred, humorous, or merely thought-provoking, we pick this season’s best exhibitions

Painting of Liza Minelli by Andy Warhol

LONDON AND SOUTH EAST

Sacred
Magnificent exhibition of sacred texts from the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The show places them, and their content, side by side, and the richly diverse selection of exhibits ranges from scraps of papyrus rescued from Egypt to a leaf from the Lindisfarne Gospels, with its fine calligraphy, and a Dead Sea Scroll fragment never before shown in this country.
British Library, London NW1 (020-7412 7332, www.bl.uk), until September 23

Antony Gormley – Blind Light
Surprisingly dark, with many fascinating works. The star is the main installation from which the show takes its name: a huge Perspex box filled with a white mist of steam which makes it impossible to see much farther than a couple of feet. It’s an exceptional experience, taking you far beyond your comfort zone – installation art at its best.
Hayward Gallery, Belvedere Road, London SE1 (0871 6632500, www.haywardgallery.org.uk), until August 27

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
This year’s pavilion is designed by Olafur Eliasson, the Danish-Icelandic artist who was behind the successful Weather Project installation in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2003, and Kjetil Thorsen, the Norwegian architect. At the time of printing it still isn’t finished, but it’s described as resembling a “spinning-top”. It ought to be worth seeing. Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London W2 (020-7402 6075, www.serpentinegallery.org)

Zaha Hadid: Architecture and Design
After years in the wilderness, scorned as a “paper architect”, Hadid is suddenly everywhere. This show, the Design Museum’s biggest ever, is a primer in her spectacular vision. Models of her breathtaking buildings (built and not built) sit alongside paintings and design objects such as her Aqua Table for Established & Sons and a prototype car.
Design Museum, Shad Thames, London SE1 (0870 8339955, www.designmuseum.org), until October 28

DalÍ & Film
Fans of the moustachioed surrealist cannot afford to miss this witty look into the filmic influences in DalÍ’s work. His ill-fated collaboration with Walt Disney is well-documented, his films with Buñuel, especially the masterpiece Un Chien Andalou, famed throughout the world, but portraits of Jack Warner, the movie boss, clutching a fat contract and Laurence Olivier are less well-known. Brings out the insane humour of DalÍ.
Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 (020-7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk), until September 9

Dutch portraits: The age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals
The Dutch idea of bling in the 17th century was very different to ours, but they did like to show off. Rich (if black) silks and velvets and solid gold rings flash from these canvases. Thanks to the many wealthy merchants pictured, who commissioned paintings during a period of economic prosperity, masterpieces are the norm in this show. Frans Hals’s Portrait of Pieter van den Broecke is alive with twinkly laughter; Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp is breathtaking.
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2 (020-7747 2885, www.nationalgallery.org.uk), until September 16

How we are: Photographing Britain
How we are and how we were, from the beginnings of photography to today, how photographers have seen Britain. A (possibly too) vast show, with family snapshots, medical photographs and social documents as well as work by famous names such as David Bailey, William Henry Fox Talbot, Lewis Carroll and Julia Margaret Cameron. Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1 (020-7887 8888, www.tate. org.uk), until September 2

Hockney on Turner Watercolours
About 150 of Turner’s watercolours including the Blue Rigi, recently saved for the nation, chosen by Tate curators and painter David Hockney, who has recently taken up the medium himself. This is a rare chance to see so many of Turner’s watercolours because of their fragility. Elsewhere in the gallery, see Hockney’s new series East Yorkshire Landscapes.
Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P (020-7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk), until February 3

Ice Station Antarctica
A taste, should you be mad (or young) enough to want it, of life in one of the world’s most challenging environments. Visitors can ride a snowmobile, try protective clothing and be cheerfully plunged into temperatures of minus 10C (14F). The perfect family exhibition.
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 (020-7942 5000, www.nhm.ac.uk), until April 6

Eye-music: Kandinsky, Klee and all that Jazz
An investigation into the relationship between art and music at the beginning of the 20th century. The almost visual rhythms of jazz are expressed in work by Mondrian (who loved to dance), Stuart Davis, the American painter, and Bruce Nauman. Kandinsky’s splashes of colour are like trumpet blasts. An exhilarating show for more than just the eyes.
Pallant House, 9 North Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex (01243 774557, www.pallant.org.uk), until September 16

Stella Vine
When she emerged in 2004 in Charles Saatchi’s New Blood show, controversy snapped at Vine’s heels, because of her past as a stripper and for the edgy subjects of her paintings, such as Rachel Whitear, the overdose victim, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Now, in her first major show, she makes no attempt to shy away from it. We lap up the voyeurism of her paintings of celebrities – model Lily Cole, Pete Doherty – while remaining fascinated with the woman herself.
Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford (01865 813830, www.modernartoxford.org.uk), until September 23

SOUTH WEST AND WALES

If Everybody had an Ocean: Brian Wilson
Inspired by, and an homage to, the Beach Boys’ pop genius, this show avoids the many clichéd pitfalls its bizarre concept could have created. The Californian light shines through in work by Ed Ruscha and Joe Goode, but the darkness of Wilson’s descent into drug-induced hell is also there.
Tate St Ives, Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall (01736 796226, www.tate.org.uk), until September 23

Industry to Impressionism: What two sisters did for Wales
The majority of the works in the National Museum of Wales’s important Impressionist collection were donated by two women. Gwendoline and Margaret Davies were unmarried sisters who lived in rural Montgomeryshire, inspired to become active in the arts by a religious upbringing and a social conscience. Treasures include Renoir’s Blue Lady.
National Museum of Wales, Cathay’s Park, Cardiff (029-2039 7951, www.museumwales.ac.uk), until January 6

NORTH Centre of the Creative Universe
The subtitle of this show is Liverpool and the Avant Garde. The 2008 Capital of Culture is full of confidence and this exhibition highlights the many leading artistic lights that have been drawn to it. Yoko Ono’s “happenings” at the Bluecoat Gallery feature alongside work by Martin Parr and Stewart Bale’s photographs of the devastated postwar city.
Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock, Liverpool (0151-702 7400, www.tate.org.uk), until September 9

Andy Goldsworthy
A mammoth retrospective of works by this underrated artist, who works with nature to create moving and beautiful pieces in sculpture and photography. The more monumental works are the less interesting, but the lyrical photographs and the installations Goldsworthy has created with sycamore stems and oak branches are magical.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, Wakefield (01924 832631, www.ysp.co.uk), until January 6

The Dawn of Colour
A celebration of the centenary of the autochrome, invented by the Lumière brothers, and the birth of colour photography. Many images, from the likes of Lionel de Rothschild, Alvin Langdon Coburn and John Cimon Warburg, as well as many anonymous amateurs, seem timeless despite their age. The excitement of experimentation is palpable in photographs of tartan ribbons. A joy.
National Media Museum, Bradford, West Yorkshire (0870 7010200, www.national mediamuseum.org.uk), until September 23

SCOTLAND

The Naked Portrait
Does what it says on the tin but with sensitivity and panache. Nakedness, as opposed to “nudity”, is explored as a state of vulnerability or strength. Made up of about 150 works, the show includes pieces by Lucien Freud, and Robert Mapplethorpe, while sitters include Patti Smith, Ivan Massow and Linford Christie.
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh (0131-624 6200, www.national galleries.org), until September 2

Andy Warhol: A Celebration of Life and Death
Vast, thematically organised show that, amazingly, sheds new light on the work of one of the most important artists of his generation. Themes include consumer products, war, death and religion and death and disaster. Exhibits include his Liza Minnelli painting.
National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh (0131-624 6200, www.nationalgalleries.org), until October 7

Andy Warhol Posters
Organised in association with the National Gallery of Scotland, this exhibition complements the major Warhol show in Edinburgh with the posters produced by Warhol from the 1960s to the 1980s to publicise his exhibitions, projects and films, assisted by his background in the advertising industry. Includes some of his most iconic images as well as posters from Japan and Europe.
Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow (0141-229 1996, www.glasgow museums.com), until September 2

Picasso on Paper
More than 120 works on paper, spanning more than 70 years. Picasso’s ceaseless creativity is thrillingly expressed in these works, some dashed off in minutes in charcoal, some created in lithography or linocut. Includes his Portrait of Dora Maar.
Dean Gallery, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh (0131-624 6200, www.nationalgalleries.org), until September 23


2007年8月5日 星期日

The art of romance

From
August 5, 2007

Some singles agencies are offering love at first sight ... of a painting, a sculpture or a play

If summer sun is supposed to turn thoughts to romance, this year’s washout must be making the unattached feel as downcast as the overcast skies. But rather than moping, you can now look for love in places full of light, warmth and colour, but away from the whims of the elements – galleries. It used to be only in art-house films that romance sparked in, well, art houses. But every gallery-goer has sometimes found their attention drifting from a stunning artwork to an equally stunning fellow admirer. Imagine being able to answer the old couples’ question about where the two of you met with “In front of a large abstract, actually”.

Cue art2heart. Inspiration for Ranjit Majumdar’s agency came at a private view in 2004, where he noticed how many singletons were enjoying the combination of wine and stimulating atmosphere with a ready-made discussion topic on hand. Why not be upfront about the romantic possibilities?

London’s leading galleries have been keen to help. Last Wednesday, art2heart held an event at the Wellcome Collection, which serendipitously is currently staging an exhibition on the heart. Outings last year included the Wallace Collection and the Saatchi Gallery. “Charles Saatchi thought it was a hoot,” Majumdar revealed, as a happy hubbub went on behind us at a Hayward Gallery event earlier this year.

The crowd at the Hayward was a spritely mix, from business suits to bohos, although, as the champagne-fuelled conversation flowed, one woman laughingly confided that, an hour into the proceedings, nobody had yet asked her what kind of art she liked. While Lisa turned out to be a postimpressionist girl, those with more left-field taste might prefer to attend a Quixotic event. The inaugural night of this alternative to mainstream gallery dating was held last November at the Rich Mix art centre in London’s East End, with visual stimulation from DegreeArt.com, a leading online showcase for newly graduated artists.

Now, having taken time to establish a real-world presence with its own gallery on London’s Vyner Street, Quixotic will bring regular events to this East End area, which has become a burgeoning alternative to the West End gallery heartland of Cork Street. “Quixotic won’t just be a dating event or a private view,” says DegreeArts co-founder, Elinor Olisa. “It will gather people who like art in a relaxed atmosphere without gimmicky dating tactics.”

Before the internet and social-networking revolution, the main alternative to an introduction through work or friends or striking it lucky in the bar chat-up stakes was the lonely-hearts columns. Things got off to an unromantic start with the first personal ad, which ran in 1727. Tired of living a spinster’s life, Helen Morrison persuaded the Manchester Weekly Journal to accept a tiny advertisement to the effect that she would be happy to make the acquaintance of a pleasant gentleman to spend time with. Unfortunately, scandalised readers saw this plea as barely one step up from soliciting, and poor Morrison found herself committed to an asylum for four weeks as punishment.

Today, the lengths that singletons have to go to in order to meet new people are still maddening. What on earth would the 18th-century folk have made of speed-dating? Yet the cry of so many, after a singles night or an unsuccessful date, is that they could find “nothing in common” with the person with whom they were matched.

This is, of course, where cultural dating holds the aces. While galleries are providing one romantic forum, music provides another, through agencies such as Classical Partners. Its events typically involve a preconcert meal, then drinks or coffee afterwards to chat about the performance. Trips to overseas events, such as last weekend’s jaunt to a Munich Rigoletto, add glamour to a mix that, over the next couple of months, includes theatre, a prom concert and a flamenco recital in London, and concerts in Birmingham and Manchester. “A shared love of music and the arts is such a good starting point for a relationship,” enthuses owner Caroline Boon. “And people who love those things often share other interests – a love of walking, reading, other cultures.” The agency now boasts a wedding a month.

Personals, too, have taken on a new cultured sheen. When the high-minded London Review of Books decided to give ad space to Cupid, it was, according to advertising director David Rose, “a simple exercise to help people with similar literary and cultural tastes get together”. Nobody was quite prepared, however, for the first ad: “67-year-old disaffiliated flâneur picking my toothless way through the urban sprawl, self-destructive, sliding towards pathos, jacked up on Viagra and on the lookout for a contortionist who plays the trumpet”. Later came: “Public-school failure. Insipid, directionless, probably poor in bed” and “Tap-dancing classics lecturer. Chilling, isn’t it?” The tone was set for a gloriously British cult of comic self-deprecation that has now produced a book and reportedly attracted interest in Hollywood.

If their personal ads were scary, what might the advertisers be like in the flesh? The magazine decided to find out in 2005 when it ran its first singles nights at the LRB bookshop. “You’d be amazed at how easily a bookshop can be turned into a pot of simmering romance and sexuality,” says Rose. “And everyone was quite beautiful really.”

Rose believes the ads have been a force for good, as well as hugely entertaining. “People have become lazy about dating. They fill out a questionnaire and wait for the work to be done – like pressing a vending machine and waiting for the goodie bar to fall out. Cultural events, by asking people to think creatively and talk intelligently, require effort.

“The meeting of minds is more important than physical attraction in the long term,” he continues, before stating a truth often lost in the dating game. “After all, the brain is the largest erogenous zone.”

www.art2heart.biz
www.quixoticevents.co.uk
www.classicalpartners.co.uk