Odysseus searching for Europe / the statues that cannot see (Thursday 5 April 2007)
Artistic blindsight
compiled by Sophie Nellis
"If you blindfold statues people look at them differently," states Roma Tearne, a Sri Lankan artist and novelist, who has been blindfolding statues as part of a project on accessing audience responses through narrative.
At the end of March , Tearne blindfolded four statues outside the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, for her artwork entitled Visions. She had originally intended to blindfold the thirteen stone heads above the entrance to Sheldonian Theatre, which stands next door to the Museum, but Oxford University, fearing what this might lead to, refused to grant her permission. "We approached the Sheldonian to blindfold the statues outside but they said no because they thought it would encourage pranksters to put traffic cones or ladies' underwear on them," said Tearne.
Tearne's project began in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where her decision to put blindfolds on all the antique statues was met with great enthusiasm from visitors to the museum. Even the local police, arriving at the museum to investigate a stolen handbag, insisted on being photographed beside the statues. "Hello, hello," they said to the artist herself, "Never noticed these statues before. Would you like us to handcuff them luv?" For Tearne, this particular response exemplified the spirit of the project, "Defamiliarise the familiar and that's what you get. Not only were they looking, they were making their own narrative. Great!"
The public's responses to the blindfolded statues are as integral to Tearne's work as the blindfolding itself. She claims that denying the statues' sight makes them come alive, and encourages a creative response from the audience. This creativity was clearly evident when Tearne was invited to do a similar project in Rome - blindfolding the fanous philosopher Giordano Bruno in the Campo dei Fiori. The arrival of the police, who suspected that it might be a communist party rally, set the scene for an event of operatic proportions. "The Romans like to do things in style," claimed Tearne, "Pretty soon the cafes were doing a roaring trade in Campari, and as the sun went down on a 'blinded' Giordano, a passing jazz band began to play. Balcony doors sprung open and neighbours began to dance."
It has yet to be seen whether the residents of Oxford will respond to Visions with as much fervour and enthusiasm as the Italians expressed when Tearne took her project to Rome. It seems a shame that the Sheldonian Theatre has refused to support Tearne's artistic endeavors, but she remains optimistic, "What my students, who when told of the committee's decision were heard muttering "pants", will get up to is anyone's guess."
Roma Tearne is currently an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Fellow at Brookes University. Her first novel, Mosquito, is published by Harper Press.
Sources: blogs.guardian.co.uk/art and www.thisisoxford.co.uk
Odysseus on the move again
compiled by Cristina Martín de Vidales
Odysseus Searching for Europe is a European arts project organized by the Goethe Institut, which consists of a virtual journey through Europe inspired by the legend of Odysseus. Each country in the EU has chosen an artist to represent it.
This initiative, which coincides with the German Presidency of the EU, will present a number of alternative perspectives of Europe.
The Irish contribution to this quest for defining a European identity is represented by Gary Coyle with his work The daily practice of swimming.
The artist's work, based on daily swims recorded in a diary entry, a traced and scanned map, and a photographic work, highlights Joyce's influence on transport and maps. Dr. Christa Maria Lerm Hayes, curator of Coyle's work, points out the connection between the practice of swimming at Dún Laoghaire and the first point on Ulysses's map, the Martello Tower.
All the artists chosen, mostly by the local Goethe-Insituts, show different aspects of European identity based on a subjective view of their chosen location; the works can be seen at http://www.goethe.de/odysseus.
Sources: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1989525,00.htmlcontent
The statues that cannot see (Wednesday 28th March 2007)
compiled by Sophie Nellis
"If you blindfold statues people look at them differently", states Roma Tearne, a Sri Lankan artist and novelist, who has been blindfolding statues as part of a project on accessing audience responses through narrative.
Last Friday, Tearne blindfolded four statues outside the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, for her artwork entitled Visions. She had originally intended to blindfold the thirteen stone heads above the entrance to Sheldonian Theatre, which stands next door to the Museum, but Oxford University, fearing what this might lead to, refused to grant her permission. "We approached the Sheldonian to blindfold the statues outside but they said no because they thought it would encourage pranksters to put traffic cones or ladies' underwear on them," said Tearne.
Tearne's project began in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where her decision to put blindfolds on all the antique statues was met with great enthusiasm from visitors to the museum. Even the local police, arriving at the museum to investigate a stolen handbag, insisted on being photographed beside the statues. "Hello, hello," they said to the artist herself, "Never noticed these statues before. Would you like us to handcuff them luv?" For Tearne, this particular response exemplified the spirit of the project, "Defamiliarise the familiar and that's what you get. Not only were they looking, they were making their own narrative. Great!"
The public's responses to the blindfolded statues are as integral to Tearne's work as the blindfolding itself. She claims that denying the statues' sight makes them come alive, and encourages a creative response from the audience. This creativity was clearly evident when Tearne was invited to do a similar project in Rome - blindfolding the fanous philosopher Giordano Bruno in the Campo dei Fiori. The arrival of the police, who suspected that it might be a communist party rally, set the scene for an event of operatic proportions. "The Romans like to do things in style," claimed Tearne, "Pretty soon the cafes were doing a roaring trade in Campari, and as the sun went down on a "blinded" Giordano, a passing jazz band began to play. Balcony doors sprung open and neighbours began to dance."
It has yet to be seen whether the residents of Oxford will respond to Visions with as much fervour and enthusiasm as the Italians expressed when Tearne took her project to Rome. It seems a shame that the Sheldonian Theatre has refused to support Tearne's artistic endeavors, but she remains optimistic, "What my students, who when told of the committee's decision were heard muttering "pants", will get up to is anyone's guess."
Roma Tearne is currently an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Fellow at Brookes University. Her first novel, Mosquito, is published by Harper Press.
Sources: blogs.guardian.co.uk/art and www.thisisoxford.co.uk
