Installation view, ‘frontier’, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany, 2021 Phyllida Barlow, courtesy Haus der Kunst. Photo: Maximilian Geuter Online At: https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2826-phyllida-barlow/# (Accessed 15/12/2023)
To explore the types of writing styles, I'll start with a few passages for comparison. For analysis, I will take the exhibition “frontier” by Phyllida Barlow, held in 2021 in Munich.
Exhibitions, Ecologies – 10.3.21 - 25.7.21 Phyllida Barlow. Frontier Available online At: https://www.hausderkunst.de/en/eintauchen/phyllida-barlow (Accessed 15/12/2023)
First example: Haus der Kunst Exhibitions
“Barlow has remained radical in her artistic expression to this day. “frontier” constitutes the first opportunity to encounter the breadth of Barlow’s remarkable contributions to debates concerning the limits and thresholds of sculptural practice. Featuring several new site-specific works, alongside key pieces from several of Barlow’s ground-breaking exhibitions over the past two decades, and a vast selection of works on paper. frontier serves to re-emphasise Barlow’s central role in what is traditionally a male-dominated medium. A testament to Barlow’s lifelong dedication to exploring the formal and material possibilities of sculpture across multiple media, the exhibition foregrounds the manner in which her work continues to question sculpture’s relationship to the structures of objects as they exist in the world.
Curated by: Damian Lentini; Curatorial assistance: Lisa Paland” Haus der Kunst Exhibitions, Ecologies – 10.3.21 - 25.7.21 Phyllida Barlow. Frontier Available online At: https://www.hausderkunst.de/en/eintauchen/phyllida-barlow (Accessed 15/12/2023)
Second example: Ulrich Wilmes
Phyllida Barlow - Combine Sculpture "Maybe I don't think enough about beauty" Ulrich Wilmes from Phyllida Barlow. frontier 2021 Lentini Damian Hause der Kunst, Munich HIRMER:
“The sculptural properties of the material "props" borrowed from the urban environment form the "tectonic" framework of the works, over or in which the formal elements are deposited or layered. Their aesthetic aspects seem to take a back seat to the physical experience of the constructed form. Phyllida Barlow is, however, by no means certain of this intention when she confesses:
"Maybe I don't think enough about beauty in my work because I'm so curious about other qualities, abstract qualities of time, weight, balance, rhythm; collapse and fatigue versus the more upright dynamic notions of maybe posture ... the state that something might be in. Is it growing or shrinking, is it going up or down, is it folding or unfolding?"
The event character of the work conveys an aesthetic experience of reality, which is subject to permanent changes in its internal and external conditions. In other words, the reality of a sculptural work is determined less by its object character than by its physical relationship to the material and the space. By turning to the obstacle, Barlow creates the space to thematise and formulate the concept of sculpture with overwhelming virtuosity beyond the boundaries of the respective media. She thus radically enforces decisive paradigm shifts in modern sculpture.”
Third example: Sabine Dorothée Lehner
REVIEWS 3 June 2021, 9:00 am CET Phyllida Barlow “frontier“ Haus der Kunst / Munich by Sabine Dorothée LehnerAvailable online At: https://flash---art.com/2021/06/phyllida-barlow-haus-der-kunst-munich/ (Accessed 15/12/2023)
“British artist Phyllida Barlow had her late-blooming international breakthrough only after her retirement as a professor at the Slade School of Art, when, in 2010, Hans Ulrich Obrist invited her to exhibit at the Serpentine. During the decades before that she was considered an artist’s artist on the outskirts of media attention, pursuing an aesthetic that seemed too awkward or unrefined for mainstream success. By 2017, however, she had been chosen to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale.
Initiated by current director Andrea Lissoni, the exhibition “frontier” at Haus der Kunst is the largest survey of Barlow’s oeuvre to date. Two years of logistical planning went into the show, much of it in defiance of pandemic lockdowns. Day after day, the seventy-six-year-old artist connected via Zoom from London while an additional British team supported the delicate setup in Munich. Because of the mammoth scale of the architecture (along with the contaminated pathos that emanates from this former Nazi art temple), many of Barlow’s large-scale sculptures had to be adapted to site-specific circumstances.”
Flash Art. Phyllida Barlow, "frontier". Exhibition view at Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2021. Photography by Maximilian Geuter. Courtesy of the artist and Haus der Kunst, Berlin. Available online At: https://flash---art.com/2021/06/phyllida-barlow-haus-der-kunst-munich/ (Accessed 15/12/2023)
I chose these three pieces of review because, in my opinion, they reflect completely different writing aspects and are therefore interesting for analysis.
The first excerpt is taken from the official press release posted on the website Haus der Kunst in the Exhibitions sections. The tone is official, the wording is carefully verified without emotional or personal accents, information is given without details, and the basics are emphasized. This is an institutionally verified appeal to the general viewer.
In contrast, I would like to highlight the text of Sabine Dorothée Lehner. An extremely personal, kind and sensitive text about Phyllida Barlow and the exhibition “frontier”. The author uses personal appeals to the artist giving rather private details about the exhibition setup, for example: "the seventy-six-year-old artist connected via Zoom". When the same thing could be indicated in another language -the artist controlled the installation's setup remotely. This type of description gives the reader a feeling of a caring attitude towards the artist, respect, and honour for her merits and age. In contrast to the first text, the third text involves the reader in the narrative on an emotional level. It endears the reader to the artist and practically forms an ideological image. It is worth noting that Sabine Dorothée Lehner, for all her sympathy for the work of Phyllida Barlow, remains professionally correct, which is reflected in the academic choice of wording and expressions.
In comparison, it may seem that the second text written by Ulrich Wilmes and the third text are similar in representation and intonation. Yes, both authors describe the same focuses in different formulations - aesthetics, work outside of conventional mediums, size, tactility and physicality of the work. Both Wilmes and Lehner use academic language and delve into the details of both the artist's processes and decisions. And yet the second text is different from the third and stands out against the background of the first dry text. This is due to the fact that the second text gives a feeling of high expertise from the doctor. The use of clear and understandable language gives the feeling of an expert speaking. There are no flowery emotions here, so the text will rather be used as a basis for further academic references. Whereas the second text is pleasant to read and enjoys human relationships through words. While the first text, when compared with the other authors cited, is perceived as a cold, formal press release.
Bibliography and references
1. Phyllida Barlow. frontier 2021 Lentini Damian Hause der Kunst, Munich HIRMER
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