1.
'Cloudgate' was the first work I became familiar with by Kapoor. This concept of this massive sculpture in Chicago was inspired by the properties of liquid mercury, and it's ability to distort reflection. Reflection is the major component in this sculpture, not just for its sheer aesthetic concerns, but also to turn the sculpture into something that can be interacted with. The work also acts as some kind of entrance way into an altered dimension, where the sky, city, ground and viewer are all projected onto the same plane.
'Sky Mirror', outside the Rockefeller Center in New York City is another work of Kapoor's using reflections and mirrors. It is a larger scale version of his previous 'Sky Mirror' sculpture in Nottingham, England. Standing 3 storeys high and weighing over 35 tonnes, the huge concave mirror reflects the sky high above the sky scrapers of New York City down to the ground, a level usually dominated by the gray tones of the "concrete jungle". Once again, Kapoor's obsession with creating non-objects that seem to camouflage into their surroundings is at play here, as is his "gateway" or "portal" themes used in some of his other works.
'Svayambh' was a very unique work - consisting of a massive red wax block, which moved through the gallery (Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany) on a form of sloping rail. The work "svayambh" is a Sanskrit word that actually means "shaped by its own energy", and that's exactly what the work is. As the block slowly moved through the gallery, it was shaped by what is came in contact with - walls and doorways wore down the block into a self made sculpture of sorts. A very interesting and different work, it brings to mind ideas of memory and the motion of life, how experiences shape everything.
2. 'The Farm' is a private art park just outside of Auckland City established by wealthy business man and art collector Allan Gibbs. The park has been the site of some of the most epic sculptures in terms of size, and the artists who have envisioned and produced these amazing works are some of the most recognizable names in art today.
3. In 2009, Gibbs commissioned Kapoor to create a sculpture for his site, called 'The Farm' (named after The Farm itself). Kapoor's work is an incredibly massive steel and fabric sculpture that explores the concepts of space and time, and the engineering of the human body. A long, stretched and twisted "horn" of bright red material, the work stands boldly against the green backdrop of the farm. With the wind that blows in from the Tasman Sea, the sculpture itself seems to "breathe" at times, as the wind ripples through the flexible walls of the sculpture.
4. My personal favorite work by Kapoor has to be 'CloudGate'. Not only was it the first work of his I had heard of, but it holds extra value as it's an image that immediately springs to mind when I think of Chicago, one of my favorite cities in the world and a place I am looking forward to visiting. I love the way the work captivates it's viewers, and how it seems weightless despite it's massive size. It's very dreamlike, and while it demands so much attention, it does not grab it from the beautiful skyline of the city - rather, it amplifies it.
Hey Shannon, great interpretation of Svayambh. It seems like everyone is a big fan of Cloudgate. Though I love all of Kapoor's works I think his metal works are particularly impressive. Describing them as dreamlike is spot on, the works seem almost too perfect to be real, but maybe this is why they seem to make everyone happy.
ReplyDeleteI love that someone with as much depth and intellect as kapoor keeps his work so simplistic. I think art has succeeded when it looks effortless (though not in a Dan Arps way lol).