How Long Do I Let My Brows Go?

Charles Avery: The Charles Darwin

I admit, I have a strange weakness for Museums of Modern Art. Perhaps because of the difficulty of finding one in our country, or perhaps one of the few places that do not know what you can find or, at best, is because it is a different museum where there is more than the walls to show what can be called art. I do not know, but the truth is that every time I find myself in a city that has one of these museums, I end up researching and enjoying those buildings filled with works of art by artists who still breathe among us and those yet to be studied in any school in the world. I did it in Glasgow, I did in Stockholm, I did in New York and I did it in Edinburgh. In the case of Edinburgh, Carla was there celebrating his last hours with 23 years (I thought it would be a good birthday a few days together in the Athens of the North).

Carla Here we can see in front of the Museum of Modern Art in Edinburgh

the day before the age of 24 years.

In Edinburgh there are museums of all kinds, in almost any street (of writers, toys, clothes ...) but leave the last day of our stay to go to Museum that I really wanted to visit, the Modern Art Museum. Quite far from downtown (we were in a taxi and live an adventure of almost two hours walking to return) they arrive you realize you're facing something different, and even without having seen nothing and have the sensation that has received worth going.






This is the lake next to the Museum of Modern Art in Edinburgh
.

There

an exterior door, which gives, it seems, some land belonging to the museum, as if it were a palace. Here awaits you a short walk down a path with benches along the garden and many trees (of course, nature, and the green vegetation throughout Scotland, is impressive) where I saw the original lake I've seen in my life . At the end of the path, and waits for the Museum a large building, which gives enough respect to a classic Greek facade (not the only place in town where you have the feeling of being in a Greek temple, I guess that's why they call the Athens of the North) and realizes the importance of the place you're about to visit.

Inside, we found a wonderful exhibition of Charles Avery (1973, Oban, Scotland ) called "The Islanders: An Introduction" (The Islanders: An Introduction). One of the things that attracted attention was the variety of exposure and never seen in a conventional museum, the author presents "the world" through pencil drawings. These drawings were often very large, and we surprised that some of them, the lines deleted were distinguished and were part of the composition, giving a sense of dynamism and movement in many cases. also in some of these pictures using china ink pen to emphasize a detail about the rest, as if there really was part of what appears in the rest of the scene.

In these drawings and many other items in the collection are portrayed an alien society, which creates a visual rejection (almost forcing you to look away to another place) reloaded , decadent and in some cases, after seeing the sights and mutant animals displayed a society that has survived some kind of catastrophe. In this world, there are recurring elements that appear in several parts such as: small oriental man in the hat, which seems to drag on all the places left for this "new" society, but as if nobody would listen, as if there were ( in a part where you see this little man with oriental hat twice in two different poses, the author calls it "Cosciencia", perhaps a message that has dragged on for a society without knowledge or awareness, with only the intention of trading) like the tiny little men dressed in top hat and tuxedo in a very aristocratic pose but in places it does not seem to correspond qu surrounded by people who belong to another class, and he did not even pay any attention, leaving them still more out of the scene.

; coscienza 60.5 X 27.5 cm - 2008

Another way that the author had this collection of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in Edinburgh, was to sculpture. Here highlight these mutant animals almost aversive, and perhaps, represent the survival of something catastrophic, that the author seems to indicate that occurred. And that has also meant that there existed a natural choice among animals that have survived, which have received the strongest species survive. In this case there seems to have been no known species, but has required the union of two species or two individuals of the same species to adapt to changing times. As if the author will talk about a new origin of species (" The Origin of Species " is a book by Charles Darwin in 1859, and speaks the evolution of species. Even until his sixth edition in 1872, the book's title was: " The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life"). In addition, these creatures also represent the world today, in what has become a distortion, an abomination of what it was.

Apart from the sculptures, the theme of animals, new species that have survived, those abominations which they have been, come to a more realistic (some pieces were incredibly real) for which the author used the process of taxidermy, with perfection and detail we come to believe that species, that this animal existed. You can only know that it was not possible because representations of these animals were invented by the author, a mixture of more than one animal known or existing. Again, the author again gives rise to new species with their own hands. This time, taking it a step further, making the whole museum becomes a real world, in a world created by him in his world.

The museum also facilities you would find that exposed an apparently disordered, called enough attention. But this mess was not exactly a random fact, but deliberate and logical, which is another way to continue supporting the atmosphere of the exhibition, the entire museum. An atmosphere of chaos in this world represented by Charles Avery and every time we see them as real.

Apart from all these elements The exhibition was full of text: philosophical propositions, and extensive text explaining the works, where you can get a glimpse of what the world has created, as has given rise to these new species, and even some of the reasons have led the author to make this exhibition.

even as a curiosity, for this fictional society, for this world that falls apart labels created cans and other products. As if, even though everything is shut down, the business side, the economic and even advertising culture, they should also be part of any world inhabited by humans ("Another criticism of the author of the society in which we live? ) In fact the business (bars, shops etc ...) is also repeated several times in his drawings. This drawing in pencil ("Avatars", 2005) covers virtually every sense and meaning of the exhibition, the world it reflects. business We just discussed, the new species that have given rise. Is interesting and representative to the name, Avatars, which can arrohar more light on the intentions and meaning of the work. Under the Hinduism, an avatar is the earthly incarnation of a god , particularly Vishnu . The term means "one who descends', The word is also used to refer to embodiments of God or highly influential teachers of religions other than Hinduism, especially adherents to Dharmic traditions when trying to explain to people like Christ. Thus animals these abominations to the eye may be a superior being reincarnated, a better kind, a reincarnation of a living being better, but they are trading with them again to place man, society, the world into chaos, because they are selling gods, they have lost all values. There is still no hope ... Formally include those pen strokes that should be removed (which any artist, designer or architect would have wiped) but that he left with the intention of forming part of the entire composition, in this case, is in the Points leak.

The clearest example of dirt, chaos and loss of values \u200b\u200bin our society, which catches the sense of religious and spiritual transformation, and purity and pollution, it corrupts and does not respect is: House of Eternity. A hexagon glass walled by mirrors, illuminated by a rainbow spectrum of lights in the ceiling and floor, and tables like a living room style tiled Victoriano.Permite the audience to visualize a section of the world of the Islanders and have faith in their possession. The Seagull is a higher being called Mesud reincarnated. The symmetry, pattern and appearance resembles the architecture of the Middle East in particular a mosque or temple.

But back to the society of missing values: Charles Avery characterizes his worshipers as outsiders, seeking the eternal life promised from a few seconds inside the chamber. Sacred as defined inside a dark, dirty and with bad intentions, with queues for the stand of a bright and promising eternity. The gaze of the outsider is the dispossessed people take turns trying to enter the chamber of eternity for warmth, no sense of occasion, devotion, or the excitement. And once again gives us a clear impression that he wants to use his fantasy world as a satirical mirror to our own society. (The mirror of the camera, a sacred place that reflects the meanness of the people in this society.)

Charles Avery is said to belong to a new generation of artists who belong to movimeinto "Altermodern" which means "The art is done now, in response to a global society and as a reaction against the standardization and marketing. " This explain the criticism to make and the portrayal of this society, even doing it from creating a shell company and to its fauna and religion. So if you walk into an exhibition like this, the evolution of species, their creation are no longer the responsibility of Charles Darwin and his book " The Origin of Species " and be passed on Charles Avery and his book: "The Islanders: An Introduction"

In conclusion I would say it was a pleasure to share with Carla that visit the Museum of Modern Art and enjoy her in this exhibition.

Moral: it is worth going to Museum of Modern Art.