Art Safari
(2002 – 2005/Icarus DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
So many
shows try to look at what art is and sometimes take unique approaches to
it. The BBC-produced Art Safari wants to look at new names
in the field and how what they do is unconventional and may be the next big
name. If not, how they stand out and
what are the implications of what they do.
Icarus offers eight episodes focusing on different people including:
Maurizio
Cattelan – crossing animal and human existence in provocative images.
Gregor
Schneider – recreating the wastelands of outdoor space strikingly indoors.
Matthew
Barney (who you can read more about at this link…)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5292/Matthew+Barney+%E2%80%93+No+R
Wim
Delvoye – makes machines that operate like human digestive system with the same
results.
Santiago
Sierra – makes rooms of mud and believes all work is “capitalist exploitation”.
Sophie
Calle – bases her work on ideas and conventions of “love” and “romance”
Takashi
Murakami – expanding the boundaries of pop art via Japanese Animé images
and a
show on Relational Art, which could also be called “relational aesthetics” after
the 1998 book by Nicolas Bourriaud which suggests viewers as spectators and
participants in the art becoming part of the art. Of course, Warhol was already doing this,
with the likes of Michelangelo Antonioni suggesting this in some of his films (Red Desert and Zabriskie Point), but more interesting speculation and theory is
offered here.
As hosted
by Ben Lewis, who knows about art, he makes the show interesting and one of the
themes that always amuses is that all of his art education does not necessarily
prepare him (or us) for these potential new frontiers in the arts. Yet, he is a quick study, has his own ideas
and you can judge for yourself if what you see is art or not. Just be warned that some of this is not for
the squeamish.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is pale and soft throughout, with
aliasing errors and staircasing. The
sources are clean, but the transfer is just down a slight generation. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is adequate for
the kind of presentation and location audio we get, which usually sounds more
professional and clear than average. The
combination is disappointing and not as good as the U.K. version on DVD. The only extra is a 24-page color booklet
inside the DVD case with artist profiles, more on Relational Art, credits and
more great titles to get from Icarus.
- Nicholas Sheffo
