Invisible: Art of the Unseen Photocredit: Hayward Gallery
The background
The Hayward Gallery in London has opened a show, Invisible: Art about the Unseen, with 50 “invisible” works of art, including works by Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono and Yves Klein, reported The Independent. There’s an “empty plinth that Warhol once stood on,” for example; the artist Tom Friedman has asked a witch to curse a particular patch of air. It costs £8 a head.
The show is a meditative oasis
Frankly, said Laura Mclean-Ferris on The Independent, whilst wondering whether she should put her hand through the supposedly cursed air patch, it wasn’t worth a “showdown” between her and the air. She thought the whole thing “refreshing and timely”, being a “meditative oasis” away from everything. It’s both “historical and contemporary.” It shows that we need to engage with art to gain its magic.
The show is profound
Jonathan Jones in The Guardian said that there were some very scary pieces, particularly The Ghost of James Lee Byars, which requires nothing more than its title and “a darkened room.” Though the show is about nothing, it succeeds “because it is in on the joke.” It’s “a seriously brilliant jest,” a “genuine history of art.” He got all Platonic, too, suggesting that all the visible word is, is “a veil concealing truth.”
The catalogue’s better
Richard Dorment on The Telegraph said it was “fascinating.” The artists use invisibility in many ways – such as Maurizio Cattelan, who reported that an invisible artwork had been stolen to the police, and exhibits their “solemn” response. It certainly gives you a lot to think about, but he enjoyed “reading the punchy catalogue” more than the “show itself.”
There’s lots to appreciate
Agata Gadka on The Upcoming said that the show made you question what art was. It’s basically what people say is art – even if you can’t see it. The show combines humor and horror; it’s “sophisticated and demanding”, but there’s a lot to “appreciate.”
Writing about Invisible show at Hayward. Tempted to post blank white page in response to ‘invisible art’ but suppose will have to use words
— Sue Hubbard (@Sue_writer) June 14, 2012
