Selfridges holds the museum of everything

The museum of everything (that nobody wants)

I have been dragged to the museum of everything 3 times now and every time I can't help want to leave almost immediately. I try to give every artist my time of day to appreciate what they have created but the carnival style of the exhibitions makes me feel like the shows inside should be exciting and intriguing while to me they give me the opposite feeling, as if there is too much substance on show in such a confined space.

The latest exhibition was in Selfridges in London but was still as claustrophobic and 'wacky' as the others, with its multicoloured streamers and makeshift interior walls giving the exhibition a shabby feeling which is then contrasted with the open, tidy stairway (part of Selfridges) that breaks the overall atmosphere  for the exhibition. So it's not the works themselves that I have a problem with it's the way they are presented.

So, on a lighter note one of the artists I was mildly fond of was Ted Willcox and his embroidered pin up girls, I liked how he used a craft skill such as embroidery to portray these women on such a bright patterned background as although the background is so busy the women are still the main focus.

Exhibition #3 is now closed, but Exhibition #4 is on its way later this year.

The Power Of Making

One particularly inspiring exhibition that I visited earlier this year was at the Victoria and Albert museum, the Power of Making had a large and specially crafted range of objects varying from robotics to handmade clothing and even everyday essentials such as saddles for riding.

Although there were many different types of crafts, there was one that stood out to me as a thing of beauty and immense skill by Dalton Ghetti, called 'Alphabet'. While a pencil is a conventional tool for artists to create work Ghetti has used them in a completely different manner where the pencils themselves are the works of art. Each of the pencils is carved into to create the incredibly fine lettering on top, which I feel has a quaint quality to them as well as being mindboggling in their technical skill used in their creation.

But what I find most amazing is the process he uses to create the miniature works, he uses needles, blades and special knives to form the tiny sculptures and he took around two and a half years to complete his alphabet. Although lettering isn’t the only thing he sculpts as he has done things such as suspended hearts, buttons and chairs all on from the lead in a pencil.

Grayson Perry Talks at UEL

Grayson Perry has an interesting insight into the art world and life in general, as a person he is humorous bridging on sarcastic and he captures an audience with a quiet confidence that makes him personable and relatable, despite his unique lifestyle.

From his talk at my university I learnt a number of things some of which pop up in everyday life others I feel have helped opened my eyes a little more:

Firstly don’t take art to seriously, as 'art' is made in the eye of the beholder as Perry explained that for a while he struggled to be counted as an artist as he made his ceramic works critics said that he wasn’t an artist he was a craftsman, which in my opinion is like an artist but involves actual skill, while an 'artist' can create work that mainly lives though the process of thought.

Secondly mistakes can make the best works, he said that he could work from morning till dusk for a week and in his opinion his work still may not be good enough, we have to push ourselves to improve as you know your own capabilities better than anyone.

And finally you know you have made it when you have your own gift shop.

His latest exhibition was at the British Museum, "The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman".

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/grayson_perry.aspx