ReconFigure paintings

ReconFigure Paintings is a series of work that uses reproductions of historical paintings as a base for geometric abstracted marks, which block out the figure in the original compositions. The research explores contemporary painting as a parasitic practice on it's own lineage. The work was developed during a residency Standpoint Gallery, London during October 2011, which led to a solo exhibition presentation. Bracey spent much of his time in the National Gallery researching specific paintings, such as Delarouche's Execution of Lady Grey and Leonardo Da Vinci's Virgin on the Rocks, resulting in a triptych of new paintings in response to the Da Vinci and 2 new paintings in relation to the Delarouche. ReconFigure Paintings builds on research disseminated previously in the artefacts Transitory Paintings, Self Portrait, an artist's book of over 100 reflected self portraits in artworks and palette Parasite, where artworks were installed on the outside of gallery (Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Manchester Art gallery; The Collection, Lincoln and Wolverhampton Art Gallery, curated by Anneka French) walls. As part of the residency at Standpoint Gallery, Bracey delivered an in-conversation public talk with Peter Ashton-Jones editor of Turps Banana. The work has been further shown in Manchester Contemporary with Castlefield Gallery (2011), Art Gwanju:12, South Korea (2012), A Blind Python with Jewelled Eyes, Greestone Gallery, Lincoln (2012), A Private Affair, Harris Museum and Gallery, Preston (2012) Andrew Bracey, Jon Barraclough, Emma Stibbon and Julie McCalden, South Wales and Severn Office of the Canal & River Trust, Gloucester (2012), Possession, Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Bangkok, Thailand (2013), Mondegreen Ekphrasis, The Collection, Lincoln (2013), The Ends of Art, Beton7, Athens (2013)

The Role of Sculpture in Communicating Archaeology in Museums

In this article I discuss an innovative museum strategy that aims to create a more evocative and engaging visitor experience. I argue that the inclusion of contemporary art, and specifically sculpture in exhibition design, activates visitor agency, empowering the public to take part in interpreting the human past. I explore the unique sensory engagement sculpture provides and the important role this can play for the public presentation of archaeology. I also examine an existing project that has called upon sculpture as an interpretive resource at the National Museum of Scotland, discussing its impact on visitors and its contribution to the discipline. I conclude with a discussion of a selection of living sculptors including Rachel Whiteread and Antony Gormley whose work, I argue, signals exciting opportunities for future artist-curator collaboration. By considering both current examples and future possibilities, this article builds a case for sculpture as an important and dynamic tool for the public understanding of archaeology in museums

Street Art and Space

Various forms of street art, such as murals, anamorphic painting or urban interventions, become an important component of urban space. The paper examines examples of selected works of urban art in the context of space and its reception. These unexpected “events” entertain and educate. They become, on the one hand, a tourist attraction, and on the other hand, a major voice in the debate on the public nature of visual urban sphere. Although ephemeral and inconspicuous, usually reluctantly accepted by architects and urban planners, they successfully urge viewers to reflect on space and its existing functions

Rethinking Space, Light, And Pedagogy

Classic

The Dark Star of Baisun-tau: a history of cave exploration in Southern Uzbekistan, 1990–2013

Very little is known about the karst and caves in southern Uzbekistan, where some of the deepest caves in Asia have been discovered. In particular, the limestone plateau of the Baisun-tau mountain range has a tremendous potential for exploration. This region is also important for palaeoclimate studies, as it is situated in the transition zone between the Westerlies and the Indian Summer Monsoon. For more than 15 years Festival’naya Cave, now the Festival’naya–Ledopadnaya cave system, was the main focus of cavers’ attention. Then, in 2011 the great potential of Dark Star Cave was revealed, after extensive new discoveries were made. Since then, additional expeditions with international teams of cavers, led by the Ekaterinburg Speleological Club and with the support of the Speleological Association of the Urals (SAU, Russia), have continued the exploration of these unique high altitude caves of the Baisun-tau. Both the length and depth of Dark Star have been increased almost two-fold every year. So far, six entrances and 9,537m of surveyed passages have been discovered to a depth of −858m, and Dark Star has now become the focus of exploration for expeditions to the area

James Stirling and the Tate Gallery Project in Albert Dock, Liverpool, 1982-88

El proyecto de James Stirling para adecuar el viejo almacén de Albert Dock para la Tate Gallery en Liverpool contenía dos niveles de intervención. El primero afectó a la intervención en su interior, que el arquitecto pudo desarrollar, coincidiendo en el tiempo con un momento de madurez personal y con el final de algunas obras claves de su trayectoria. Analizaremos las estrategias que Stirling utilizó para organizar el programa museístico, poner en valor la herencia estructural del proyecto de Jesse Hartley, sin renunciar a las mejores condiciones expositivas que la experiencia en el diseño de instalaciones similares le había permitido alcanzar. El segundo nivel de intervención, cuya propuesta fue rechazada y no pudo realizar, contemplaba el proyecto de nuevos accesos y conexiones con el viejo edificio. Fue una época en la que las autoridades estaban apostando por la readecuación y rehabilitación de toda la zona de los docks, de la que Albert Dock era y es la joya de la corona. Analizaremos los contenidos gráficos y escritos del irrealizado croquis de 1982 y veremos la aspiración de Stirling de vincular la visibilidad del museo con la propia historia de la ciudad y la arqueología vital de su propia memoria, planteando estrategias formales que, aun estando presentes en parte en otras obras, muestran una innovación que surge del diálogo con las arquitecturas y los paisajes preexistentes que sirven de soporte al proyecto.James Stirling’s project to adapt the abandoned Albert Dock warehouse for the Tate Gallery in Liverpool involved two levels of action. The first affected the inside of the building, a task that the architect was able to complete, coinciding in time with his personal maturity and with the completion of some key works in his career. We analyse the strategies Stirling used to organise the museum project, showcasing the structural legacy of Jesse Hartley’s project without renouncing the best exhibition conditions that his experience in designing similar premises had allowed him to reach. The second action level, one he could not bring to fruition because the proposal was rejected, contemplated new entrances to and connections with the old building. It was an era in which the authorities were focused on readapting and restoring the entire dock area, of which the Albert Dock was –and is– the crown jewel. We analyse the drawings and notes for the unachieved 1982 proposal, which reveal Stirling’s aspiration of linking the visibility of the museum with the city’s own history and the essential archaeology of his own memory. We can see how he formulated formal strategies that, although partially present in other works, show an innovation that arises from the dialogue with the pre–existing architectures and landscapes that anchor the project

The interior as architectural principle

AbstractThe principle of architecture is the creation of an “inside” or an interior. There are three layers of meaning involved in isolating and defining a space as an “inside”: the floor/earth, the wall/world, the ceiling/heavens. The three combined constitute and define a particular version of the archetypical “interior”: the room. Each architectural interior, though, is at the same time a closed space, on itself, and at the same time represents and relates to an “outside” or to the World. This article is published as part of a collection on interiorities.</jats:p

Reflections on Simon Hantaï: Daniel Buren in conversation with Daniel Sturgis, Varennes-Jarcy, 23 September 2014

This essay, in the form of a conversation between Daniel Buren and Daniel Sturgis, reflects upon Daniel Buren’s friendship and respect for the work of Simon Hantaï. Daniel Buren talks of his introduction to Simon Hantaï’s work, and how Hantaï influenced not only himself but also other artists from his generation and in particular Michel Parmentier. Daniel Buren also looks critically at the Simon Hantaï retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in 2013, which he felt did not fully capture the radical qualities that first drew him to Hantaï paintings and installations