Sunday, 15 July 2012

The Emperors new clothes

It maybe the smarting of recent rejections from various 'opens'/artists opportunities that has made me rather critical of the showing of Yoko Ono's work at The Serpentine, London.
A few weeks ago I  went to The Serpentine  anticipating something special. It was however with a sense of bewildered disappointment that I left some three quarters of an hour later.
The show is made up of various installations, videos and poems both old and new. Cut Piece (1964) remains a powerful video work of some depth confirmed by the shocked and absorbed expressions of those watching. Ono's latest work, including the interactive #smilesfilm and Wish Tree are in my opinion dated, wishy washy, and vacuously sentimental.
The little brochure produced by The Serpentine claims that, 'Ono has influenced generations of artists..' and that 'she is a pioneer of conceptual art...' mmmm that maybe so, who am I to comment?What I must  question though is why yet again we have to be fooled by the Emperor's new clothes?
Anyway best to see for yourself and add your smile to create the 'global string of smiles covering the planet' ( Yoko Ono To The Light Serpentine Gallery Brochure 2012 ) ...I think mine is just a grimace!

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