Jaume Plensa @ Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Today I am rolling on to Simon's turf and writing a blog on our visit to the Jaume Plensa exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It’s really my turf too as Plensa hails from my second home, Spain. During my studies I created many projects and a dissertation on Spanish art/artists and the very famous sculptor Antoní Gaudí so I feel like this is something of interest to me too.

Last Friday I had the unique opportunity to attend the private viewing of Plensa’s exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and see Plensa in the flesh. Firstly, I must say that my view on art has always been quite simple. For me, art is good for one of two reasons: either because it is technically exceptional or, and most importantly, it moves me in some way; the expression of the artist has managed to work its way through me and touch my emotions. My view has never changed no matter how many books I have read on the analysis of art.

I can say that Plensa and his work tick both those boxes and seeing his work at YSP has reaffirmed that sculpture really stands out and is one of my favourite forms of art. Seeing the photographs of Plensa’s work beforehand was nothing by comparison to being surrounded by his work. I was in awe of everything I saw and I shamefully admit, even though I have visited so many art museums and parks in Spain, this is actually the first time I have had the pleasure of visiting YSP. I cannot put my finger on what exactly made me feel the same calm I feel while walking around Park Guell (created by Gaudí in Barcelona), but it was so nice to feel it again; that inspiration and contentment that comes from the mixture of nature and art together.

''Plensa often refers to his belief that our life experiences leave indelible yet invisible marks on us which can be read by those who know us best. This belief is expressed in a family of figurative works with text tattooed across their skin. Even when the face or the body seem closed and focused on internal thoughts, the words on these figures give us access to what is happening within the body.'' YSP

When Simon and I arrived, I spotted Plensa straight away and I was very excited he was at the event. After looking around the exhibition I saw him talking to his friends and associates in Spanish and I took the opportunity to eaves drop. As I closed my eyes I could imagine myself back in Spain, being around my creative friends, talking music, art and philosophy. People were congratulating him and I almost felt like a kid again. I wanted to say "hello" to him but I was a little scared. As I have a slight obsession with the great late Catalan artist Gaudí (as well as having love for Dalí, Miro and poet Garcia Lorca), and I never had the chance to meet him, I knew I needed to step up, congratulate Jaume and get a photo with him or regret it forever. Forget your 'celebrities', these are the kind of people I want to have the pleasure of talking to! After passing him a few times as I wandered around the exhibition I finally asked him, nicely, in Spanish to have a photo with me. He was so gracious and kind, and after our snapshot I congratulated him on the exhibition and ran off all happy and kind of in love ;). Yes I am a geek and yes I don’t care :-) At this point I think Simon had bailed on me and told his art friends he didn’t know who I was (although he did stay around long enough to take the picture.)

The exhibition itself was inspiring. Everything about Plensa's work is people orientated, whether it be the actual physical statues or simply the words of different people used in his work. The use of poetry mixed with art was so interesting and I spent almost 15 minutes reading along the Twenty-Nine Palms lettered curtains, bumping into people along the way. I read the Spanish, Catalan and English language and I only read a small part of the full length of the curtains. These were taken from some of Plensas favourite poets. The trees with bronze versions of Jaume's body hugging them created a peaceful feeling and yet again, I circled them all to read of the names [of famous musicians] printed on them. Having not read a lot on Plensa beforehand I felt like his personality was coming across to me through his work; the effect poetry and words have had on his life. This is important to me as I find the biography of an artist just as interesting as the work itself.

I felt so many different emotions while entering each exhibition room. At first I was happy and calm walking outside and seeing the various figures, made from letters and symbols, shining in the sun. When I entered the rooms with the lit up figures I felt the panic, the stress and the anxiety that the figures did. The most bizarre feeling I felt was when I entered the room with the elongated stone heads. I felt like I was in a stretched photo and my eyes just would not adjust, the whole effect of the room was quite trippy. Some of the heads were carved and finished, others seemed half done. It felt as if they were once big ancient statues that had fallen down and these were the remains.

In Jerusalem AKA 'the gong room' it was nice to see so many people interacting with the art. Even the gongs were inscribed with words, which were from the Songs Of Solomon. I love anything biblical so after attempting to successfully 'gong' a gong (to no avail!) I walked around and had a read of each text and then had a look at the rest of the exhibition. It included quotes from Plensa himself, a piece of art which seemed like a hanging mobile made from metal and filled with poetry and a room full of models of all his work. All in all an amazing experience and I already have my books on Plensa and his work on order! Congratulations Jaume Plensa and we hope, once again, you will enjoy your time here in Yorkshire.

Photo Tour

When we arrived the sun was shining and the atmosphere was lovely at YSPThe Heart Of Trees: A bronze cast of Jaume himself, surrounding the trees The figures covered in the names of famous musiciansA photographer capturing the letters on the statuesInside the House Of KnowledgeThe House Of KnowledgeThe figures are made from 8 different alphabets and overflow The Hearts Of Trees, the large wired heads above the gallery and Plensa's other works in the distanceThe view of the heads from aboveTwenty-Nine Palms, curtains made from poems in many languagesSpanish poetry within the lettered curtains Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil PanicStressHysteriaThese alabaster heads are like an optical illusion; as if the room has been stretchedSome of the heads are finished, some are not, adding to the confusionJerusalem; The gong room All the gongs engraved with words from the Songs of SolomonWord of Spanish Poet Jose Sorente on a piece shaped like a kids play mobileIn The Midst Of Dreams: a tribute to Oscar WildeAnd finishing off with one more photo of the amazing curtains

The Hebe Week In Pics

People enjoying the glorious Leeds weather this week @ Granary WharfA canal boat @ Granary Wharf, LeedsThe Hebe Team head to BlackpoolI dont think it's sunglasses weather...Pap does!Pap takes in the English scenery before he leaves us for SwedenCrazy Craig and Bonkers Ben... Only in Blackpool :)Having a bit of fun on the pierHank Williams = LegendFood @ Neon Catcus, Leeds

Looking back to the Perverse Library, and ahead to a residency at the Whitechapel Gallery

Greville Worthington's 'Black Library' containing carbonised books, on display at Shandy Hall as part of The Perverse Library exhibition.Back in October 2010 I worked with the Laurence Sterne Trust and a York-based artists' publishing collective, information as material, on an exhibition of 'conceptual writing' at Shandy Hall in Coxwold. The Perverse Library (previous blog posts can be found here and here) was a success for all involved with good coverage in the press, including a review in the Independent and a feature in the Guardian Guide, inspiring lots of people to make the journey up to North Yorkshire.

Visitors to The Perverse Library gather around 'Invisible Bookshelves', now on display at the Whitechapel Gallery as part of information as material's yearlong residency.True to the spirit of Laurence Sterne, an opening party (the 'Grand Vernissage) was held on the final day of the exhibition. With the aid of a double decker, red Route Master bus (lent to us by a friend of the museum - thank you!) more than 50 people descended on Sterne's former home for a day of viewings, guided tours and conversation, followed by an evening of local cider and home-made curry at the village hall where a new documentary film, Making Nothing Happen, was premiered in the presence of its subject, the expatriate Czech artist and winner of the 2009 Northern Art Prize, Pavel Buchler. Two new information as material publications (The Perverse Library, by Prof. Craig Dworkin and Getting Inside Jack Kerouac's Head, by Simon Morris) were also launched on the night.

A view through the 'Invisible Bookshelves' onto John Baldessari’s 'Learn to Read' poster (2003)I could spend the next five minutes listing all the fascinating people I met at the event, but I won't. Instead, I will say that looking around throughout the day and seeing major artists, curators, collectors and the directors of national art institutions sharing cider and conversation with exhibition visitors, students and local people made me proud to be involved in a project that, despite the challenging and conceptual nature of its content, managed to remain totally welcoming to a truly diverse audience.

One name I will mention is Clive Phillpot, former director of the MoMa library, with whom I talked about a truly amazing project he co-curated at the Pompidou Centre, Paris. For Voids: A Retrospective, Phillot and his colleagues managed to make a successful case to the Pompidou to empty their galleries, in order to make space for the recreation of nine historic ‘empty’ art exhibitions, including Yves Klein’s legendary ‘The Void’. An epic achievement by any standards and totally relevant to The Perverse Library, an exhibition curated by a team interested in "works by artists who use extant material – selecting and reframing it in order to generate new meanings – and who, in doing so, disrupt the existing order of things."

Simon Morris and Nick Thurston unloading at the Whitechapel ready to install 'Invisible Bookshelves' in the Foyle Reading Room.Shortly after the exhibition I was invited by information as material to join their editorial board (to which I said YES PLEASE!), and shortly after that we were offered a yearlong residency at the Whitechapel Gallery in London (yes, it really is all down to my joining the board... honest!?). The programme for information as material's time as Writers in Residence will be announced at a launch event in London, on 28 April 2010. Tickets for the launch event can be booked online now.

The sign at Aldgate East, something I hope to see lots over the year or so.I'll be posting the odd update about the residency, as well as the odd interview with the artists involved. So, as they say, watch this space...

All information as material publications, along with the new documentary film about Pavel Buchler are avaliable to buy from www.informationasmaterial.com

The Hebe Week In Pics

A colourful office is a happy officeThe Leeds Kirkgate MarketThe butchers row in Kirkgate MarketThe sun shining through the roof at Kirkgate MarketFun on Filey Reighton beachAmazing view of FileyAnd an beautiful view of Leeds from Granary WharfLead singer, Giuseppe of iCALLSHOTGUN @ Full Circle event, LeedsUnder the arches in LeedsiCALLSHOTGUN playing @ Full Circle, LeedsEating out @ Jinnah Leeds (Very sweet Korma and Tikka)Passing Leeds Girls abandoned building, where i took part in a fashion show for Breast cancer, memories :)

My Internship In The Fashion Industry

Blumarine A/W 08 show in Taipei 101's 84th floor.MS YAMING multi brand show including MMM, Balenciaga, CDG, Junya Watanabe, R by 45RPM, Undercover.Stephane Dou A/W 08.Blumarine after party.Blumarine A/W 08 backstage.Jimmy Choo bags piled up before the photo shoot.

Lately we've been busy planning several new fashion projects and it reminded me of the time I did my Fashion PR internship back in Taipei. It was amazing to be involved in fashion shows and openings for brands like Maison Martin Margiela, Comme Des Garçons, Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, Georg Jensen, Blumarine and many many more.

My internship started in the summer of 2008, with fashion PR agency STARFiSH Concept. As then a second year fashion marketing student, I knew it was crucial to take the initiative and be active. STARFiSH Concept has an impressive track record of working with international brands, so I sent my CV to them even though I knew they were not recruiting for interns. A few days later, I got a phone call from one of the directors herself, and after the interview, 2 months in the Taiwan fashion world began.

 

I started with the not so glamorous stuff. My job included photocopying, answering phone calls, sealing invitations and arranging press kits (arranging each press release in the right order and into the right envelope part, not the advanced writing press release part!). After a while, my superb photocopying and envelope sealing skills landed me more important role in the company. By the end of my internship, I was lucky that I got to see every step of the process of constructing a successful event. One minute I could be sitting in the same table and having a meeting with brands like Georg Jensen, Blumarine, and Banana Republic and the next minute ordering food for the whole production team before a show. At the events one of my jobs was to remember all the A-list guest's names and where they would be sitting on the front row, so I can greet them and take them to their seat. The next day I would be taking a £2,000 Blumarine dress to tailor to fix, guarding it with my life. Other jobs included contacting journalists, confirming RSVPs from the important guests, model castings, and handling lots and lots of the unplanned situations that would happen at an event... Well actually the agency directors would handle most of them, I would handle situations like when I accidentally pressed the emergency button in the bathroom of Georg Jensen's Taiwan headquarters.

Maison Martin Margiela rehearsal.Me and colleagues after MS YAMING show.Those two months were an amazing experience for me. The fashion industry is an extremely fast paced and brutal world, and in many ways is very different to other professions. But just like other industries, fashion has it's own cycles and it's own rules. When I started my fashion marketing and communication course at IED, I quickly realised fashion can be one of the most superficial industries, yet there's so much thought and creativity put into the strategy behind a brand, a show, or a collection. 

 

During my internship, my directors were always looking for talented people to join their team. From what i could see, the fashion marketing/ communication/ PR they (and the industry in general) were looking for people that have a knowledge of fashion, fast reactions, understand trends, tact, decent writer, and good looking or well dressed... and very few people can reach all of those levels, I wish I could have even 60% of the elements I listed. That's why it often needs a team with different strengths to execute a fashion event, and then many of these teams to create a fashion industry.

 

Looking at where I am based now, I think this is what needs to happen in Leeds. We need to grow and develop the best individuals we can. This means we can then have great teams creating amazing events and projects. If we do this often enough and more importantly well enough, we can begin to build an industry here. At Hebe we often talk about 'creating the industry we want to work in' and hopefully we will be able to contribute to and help that happen.

This is Taiwanese fashion brand Stephane Dou's A/W 08 fashion show that I was involved with.