What is there to talk about in the art world if artists aren’t getting together?
The virtual art world of course.
This week I visited Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul online at The Royal Academy of Arts. The virtual tour of the exhibition is available until the academy opens to the public again later in the year. https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/virtual-tour-tracey-emin-edvard-munch-video
The exhibition explores the darker side of the human condition. Not darker in the sense of the wicked or sexually deviant. Rather reflections on isolation and loneliness within relationships. The two artists have very different interpretations of love and relationships. Munch is thought to have remained a virgin all his life because of his fear of attachment and the inevitable loss and grief associated with love. Emin was sexually abused as a young adult and has had many love relationships all of which have been explored in her work over her career.
According to the RA “Seen together, the dark territories and raw emotions that both artists navigate will emerge as a moving exploration of grief, loss and longing.”
But do we get this from a virtual experience.
Well I didn’t. Is it just that I’m not a fan of Emin’s painting or is the aesthetic feeling one gets from the live experience of a great painting or exhibition not possible online. And if not, why not. A fabulous art book gives me a wonderful experience of art, not the same as being in front of a masterpiece but I am still in a world of wonder and delight. Could this just be because I am used to looking at and reading art books.
I liken the difference between an virtual exhibition and a gallery or museum experience to a live concert or a recording.
My great aunt was a singer before WWII, when I first moved to the UK I lived with her in Cobham. Aunty Winnie had a record of her original songs from the 30s. It was scratchy, the sound was distant, and she could have been anyone. There was no distinction in the recording of her voice. A century ago people bought those early gramophone records and were thrilled with them. They accepted that a record wasn’t the same as a live performance, but they could listen in their homes.
During the first lockdown I bought a record player, and borrowed my composer friend’s Jazz records from the 50s. I’m thrilled with the sound and the experience. But I’m not thrilled with Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul as a virtual experience. Watching the virtual exhibition I feel a spark, a pang of feeling and emotion … when I read the titles of Emin’s paintings. Great titles, I like the look of the sculptures, I think I will like them in person. The don’t pull on me in the sentimental way the titles of the paintings do. Elements of the paintings look interesting. The scratchy marks and the gestural brushstrokes.
The Munch paintings are more familiar, I have seen similar works in the flesh, I remember what it felt like to experience those works. I remember the paper, the thinness and the layering of the paint. The colour palette, the beauty. But, unfortunately this virtual experience isn’t touching me in the same way. And I’m not sure what way I am expecting it too.
I know how to appreciate listening to a recording, I don’t know how to experience a virtual exhibition and my inexperience is letting me down. I can watch in my home isn’t enough. Fortunately virtual exhibitions will get a lot better.
Needs must.
Anon