5 Reasons to catch 'Postmodernism' at the V&A (before it's too late)

The Postmodernism: Style & Subversion 1970-1990 exhibition is coming towards its close at the V&A on January 15th. Here are some reasons why you won't want to miss it:

1. The exhibition interprets the term postmodernism liberally and does an excellent job of pulling together its disparate elements: Architecture, furniture, fashion, music, publishing, broadcasting, advertising, and money are all reflected here with an illuminating commentary.

2. If you remember the 1970s, 80s or 90s with affection you will love the nostalgia value of the exhibits - which include Punk, Boy George, i-D magazine, Elvis Costello, The Face magazine, Blondie, Blade Runner, Devo, the Memphis design group, New Order and Kraftwerk - to name just a few. And it is fascinating to see these in the context of wider postmodernist trends.

3. It's a big exhibition, both in its breadth and in the size of some of the exhibits - for example the full size reproduction of the Hans Hollein facade from the 1980 Venice Biennale (above) - a monumental portal at the exhibition entrance. You could spend hours soaking up the stuff that is on show.

 

4. The V&A does a great job - in the 'club space' - of showcasing some typically postmodern acts of the time: Klaus Nomi, David Byrne of Talking Heads, Grace Jones (above), Devo, Visage, Laurie Anderson, and associated design/ memorabilia from the period.

Cinzia Ruggeri, Homage to Lévi-Strauss dress 1983-84

5. Finally, while this is a serious exhibition, it has loads that will appeal to anyone who has been around through any of the past 30 - 40 years. There is something for everyone. Don't miss it, if you have the chance to go along.

Ettore Sottsass for Memphis - Carlton Cabinet & Room Divider (1981)

Whet your appetite? Then take a look at the V&A Postmodernism trailer and check out the story of how the exhibition was created. If you're serious about Postmodernism, there is a detailed book of the exhibition available (paperback version is £25 from the V&A shop).

Blade Runner - Ridley Scott (1982)

There is also a double CD and DVD of music from the period created exclusively for the V&A Shop. The set has 32 tracks and 18 music videos, spanning New Romantic, Electro, Krautrock, New Wave, and Hip Hop to present a curated postmodern mix of artists. The DVD is devoted to postmodern tendencies in music video, with artists such as Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Devo and Ultravox showing how they used the medium to express style, culture and anxiety about the future.

The limited edition gatefold double LP features exclusive artwork by Charles Jencks and an essay by the V&A exhibition curator. The tracks featured differ from the CD/DVD with music from Joy Division, Eurythmics, Television and many more. Both albums have been compiled by Abbey Road Studios, London, and contain rare mixes, alternate and live versions of selected tracks (per purplerevolver.com website - full track lists here).

Kate Moss by Rankin

Meanwhile, loosely related, over at Somerset House, The Dazed and Confused exhibition, which looks at 20 years of the magazine, is on until 29th January. It is also well worth a look and is free. There is a book Making It Up As We Go Along celebrating the anniversary, an extract from which can be found here in a piece in AnOther magazine.

Gerhard Richter - Ema
(nude descending a staircase)

And a reminder: If you're in London over the weekend it's the last chance to see the Gerhard Richter exhibition at Tate Modern, which ends on Sunday. The exhibition shows work from across his 50 year career, demonstrating his skill and versatility.

Catching Up: Pipilotti Rist, Frank Stella, Postmodernism, Gerhard Richter and more ...

Life has been busy recently and I've been to more exhibitions/gigs than usual - so I'm afraid that the blog has got a little behind.  This is the first step in clearing the backlog and bringing the blog up to date.

Frank Stella - from Connections at Haunch & Venison

Sadly, several of the exhibitions I've seen are now finished, including: the excellent Frank Stella - Connections at the Haunch & Venison; the British Art Show 7 - In the Days of the Comet at Plymouth; the Fishstock festival at Brixham; and Steeleye Span - the Now We Are Six tour at Babbacombe. I'll post a few photos & stuff from these soon, but the real point of this post is to recommend some stuff that you can still get out to see over the next few weeks before they finish - stuff which, IMHO, should not be missed.

Postmodern Grace Jones

At the V&A there is Postmodernism: Style and Subversion (to 15 January) - an exhibition which shows the impact of postmodernism on popular culture as well as on architecture and design; at the Hayward, Pipilotti Rist has put together a great quirky and psychedelic show Eyeball Massage (to 8 January); at Somerset House, Twenty Years of Dazed and Confused (to 29 January - free) picks over some highlights from the magazine's history; and at Tate Modern, Gerhard Richter - Panorama  (to 8 January) shows why this artist is so impressive. These are all well worth going to see.  

See my updated posts: 10 Reasons to love Pipilotti Rist at the Hayward and 5 Reasons to catch 'Postmodernism' at the V&A.

 
Others which are still running include the Power of Making at the V&A (to 2 January) - this is free and can be fitted in alongside a visit to the Postmodernism show; John Martin - Apocalypse, at Tate Great Britain (to 15 January) - this one is interesting but I wouldn't say overly compelling; and the Indiscipline of Painting - international abstraction from the 1960s to now, at Tate St Ives, which I found a bit disappointing, but nevertheless worth a look at just six quid ...

Hyena Stomp 1962 by Frank Stella
from the Indiscipline of Painting at Tate St Ives

Here are some more upcoming events and stuff that may interest you:

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery (RAAM) in Exeter finally reopened this month after a long closure for refurbishment. There are three exhibitions which can be seen in the new galleries: Early British Photographs from the Royal Collection; French and British paintings from Impressionism to the early 1920s; and The Road to Rome - Artists and Travellers on the Grand Tour. In addition RAMM has commissioned a piece called Ghostwriter from Blast Theory - an artist group using interactive media - which can be accessed and interacted with by visitors as they enter the museum. Blast Theory are also exhibiting more extensively at Exeter Spacex until 18 February.

The Museum of Everything is having a two week sale until the 22nd December. This includes The Catalogue of Everything from exhibition #1 for £10 - which is good value, compared with £180 for the Books of Everything covering exhibitions #1 to #4. For £10 you get 20 12"x17" pages with descriptions of, and colour illustrations by, many of the contributors to exhibition #1, including a large section on Henry Darger.

Henry Darger

Folk - Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin's full back catalogue is now available for downloading. This includes Phillip's first solo album, About Time (2005), Live at Bath University (2009), and The School of Trobar - Love Songs and Trance Hymns (2007). These cost £6 - £8 each. Hard copies of Singing the Bones and Live in the Living Room are also available.

Finally, Stargazy Pie - a festive group show by the New Street Artists co-operative - is on in the (smallish) third room at the New Street Gallery in Penzance until the 23rd December. Worth a look if you are in Penzance.