We have arrived in town just in time to catch last few days of the Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Mark has missed going to see gigs due to his mega commute for work so when he saw that the exhibition was open in the evenings with a gig by LA-based singer Deradoorian and the opportunity to enjoy both over a beer he booked it straight away. So ... on Friday night off we went.
It was amazing to see so many of Warhol's principle works - the screenprints below were stunning in neon colour - and the show was jam-packed.
Ai Wei Wei's work was harder to deal with. Lots of it was in video format and to be honest, on a Friday night, the last thing I wanted to do was sit with headphones on watching him dance to Gang Nam Style as a political protest. I think we got the gist though. He's an important voice against oppression. Video work aside, his physical pieces were more impressive. A huge sculpture - think 500 bicycle frames go Human Centipede - which you can see below, was stunning. It was like a hologram. Epic.
And again below, about 5 metres squared of handmade porcelain flowers - it was hard to capture.
In terms of the two artists being shown together, yes there were similarities - both often work as creative directors rather than creators, both like cats, both have dealt with the concept of death, both wore trousers with two leg holes. But for me that's where it ended. Though I couldn't see the link, I was pleased to come out feeling more educated about the two artists' work. And you can't ask much more than that from a gallery!
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