Come take a walk through Jupiter Artland with me.
My very first field trip was to a wonderful place full of artists creations and artworks; Jupiter Artland. This blog will be me writing about my favourite pieces of artworks that I saw that day.
The very first creation I saw was from an artist named Anya Gallaccio, the piece was called “The Light Pours out of me”.
Now I am not the type of person that gets wowed by everything they see, actually very rarely is there something that gets my full interest and leaves me thinking about it after its gone but when I do I am left thinking about it forever more; in this case I left wanting to know more about the artwork I just saw. So I assume you’re looking at this photograph thinking I am crazy for choosing this artwork as one of my favourites but the reason lies within the sculpture.
So let me paint you a picture, imagine me, somebody who’s first thought is to think negatively before positively (a blessing and a curse), getting a 20 minute bus to the middle of nowhere to walk around in the freezing cold (while choked with the cold, may I add) and rain to come across a square no larger than 2 car parking space with ground cut of it to allow you to walk down into the ground… did i mention I’m claustrophobic? Anyway ignoring my brain I walked down into an even smaller space to find all of the four walls covered in purple/violet crystals. Now I know that was an anti-climax but something about it just made me feel so calm and humble, it made me want to grab a blanket and pillow get comfy and stargaze all night. But interesting enough when I went home I read up on the piece of artwork I was so reluctant to walk into and those feelings I just painted for you are the reasons she built the space. Anya Gallaccio wanted people to question weather or not they should walk through the gates and down the stairs into the space with four walls full of crystals and feel “grandiose” and “intimate”
That is why “The Light Pours Out Of Me” by Anya Gallaccio is one of my favourite because before you even see what’s inside the room you start going though a series of emotions.
Now onto one of my other favourites, the “Love bomb” by Marc Quinn. Funny enough all of the other students that I have talked to and all of the lectures have a very clear hate for this sculpture, I am not sure why; maybe because on first look the sculpture is not that aesthetically pleasing, when you think about it; but I don’t think that’s the reason because this lecture is all about not just looking but seeing what is in front of you.
I have to admit on first look I wasn’t taken a back by it’s design although i was pretty impressed by the size of it, 12-meters high, but when I started to actually begin to see the design it started to become one of the things that I will think about forever more. Marc Quinn made this sculpture to resemble a flower like shape, he took the everyday design of a flower, once such a beautiful, delicate and maybe even seductive shape turned into a piece that “demonstrates the ways in which human desires are now shaping the natural world”. Maybe I am just a sucker for anything romantic but for me it’s a combination of the back story, the shape, the colours and the in your face design that puts it on the list as my favourite.
The last design on my favourite list is called “A Forest” by Jim Lambie, i’m not entirely sure why this wall of mirrors made it on to my favourite list, I think it’s because it wasn't what I was expecting to find in the middle of a forest but then again none of these design were. It was weird for me to be walking around with a group of people I don’t know all that well and find myself standing in front of a mirror with them, all of us standing awkwardly trying to get a photograph to record our siting of the design. I liked the idea of being able to see myself and my unusual surroundings as vein as it may sound.
Well that concludes my Jupiter Artland and my top 3 favourite designs. I hoped you enjoyed the read and found it interesting to read about. If you are ever in Edinburgh I would highly recommend going to visit the Artland (maybe on a warmer day).
This course is enlightening me to the design world and enabling me to have a free decision in my design choices, I think this course was the right way to go to travel down the path I was waiting to travel.
Drew Moody
