Our field trip to the opening day of Carsten Höller's new exhibit "Decisions" at the Hayward Gallery helped us ponder an ever-occuring question about contemporary work: "Is this art?"
The Belgian artist's participatory installation of slides, magic pills, winding tunnels, upside-down goggles, and flying machines does sound more like an amusement park that an art exhibition. In fact, it reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I'd seen only days earlier. But Höller's show was exciting, and at the end of the visit I realized I hadn't really stopped to think much about the work while I'd been experiencing it. I just enjoyed it and took part - which is something we don't often do on museum trips. We want to read labels, learn about the work, analyze it, and give our critique, which I think Höller is pointing out through his work.
Not everyone has given positive feedback, calling it 'gimmicky' and 'fun but largely forgettable.' This was my first encounter with the artist's work, however, so I can see how one could tire of his tricks. For now, though, the show seems to be attracting crowds, so I'm glad we beat them to the slides!
A few reviews:
- Tim Adams for The Observer , It is impossible to travel down a slide without smiling
- Will Gompertz for BBC News, Are Carsten Höller's installations art?
- Rupert Hawksley for The Telegraph, Carsten Höller, Hayward Gallery, review: 'fun but largely forgettable'
The Belgian artist's participatory installation of slides, magic pills, winding tunnels, upside-down goggles, and flying machines does sound more like an amusement park that an art exhibition. In fact, it reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I'd seen only days earlier. But Höller's show was exciting, and at the end of the visit I realized I hadn't really stopped to think much about the work while I'd been experiencing it. I just enjoyed it and took part - which is something we don't often do on museum trips. We want to read labels, learn about the work, analyze it, and give our critique, which I think Höller is pointing out through his work.
Not everyone has given positive feedback, calling it 'gimmicky' and 'fun but largely forgettable.' This was my first encounter with the artist's work, however, so I can see how one could tire of his tricks. For now, though, the show seems to be attracting crowds, so I'm glad we beat them to the slides!
A few reviews:
- Tim Adams for The Observer , It is impossible to travel down a slide without smiling
- Will Gompertz for BBC News, Are Carsten Höller's installations art?
- Rupert Hawksley for The Telegraph, Carsten Höller, Hayward Gallery, review: 'fun but largely forgettable'