Marc Quinn Kiss
 | | Photograph of Martin Creed's Metronomes |
Mark Quinn’s infamous self-portrait “Self” or Blood Head as it is more commonly known, was cast of his own head, made from 9 pints of his own frozen blood. It catapulted him onto the contemporary art scene as a controversial artist who challenges both the aesthetic and the psyche. His art is often grotesque, but Kiss, recently bought by The Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, is the antithesis of grotesque. Like Rodin’s Kiss, it depicts two people kissing. While Quinn was studying classical sculptures or casts from the British Museum, he noticed that many of them had lost limbs. This led him to a series of life size marble sculptures of people who, whether through accident or illness or from birth have missing or malformed limbs. Subjects art therapist, Catherine Long and actor/TV presenter Matt Fraser are in a classic embracing pose that is both touching and poignant, but ultimately questions people’s perceptions of what is beautiful. Martin Creed Work No. 112 (39 Metronomes) Yorkshire born Martin Creed won the Turner Prize in 2001 for the installation piece “Lights On Lights Off”, when the lights in an empty room at Tate Britain simply went on, off, on, off, on, off...
 | | A detail from UTK's exhibit at Graves |
Understandably, he is often called a charlatan and his art is difficult to defend. But like visionary artist of the 20th Century, Marcel Duchamp, his work reflects the real world using mundane materials, shows a subversive wit and although on the surface it can appear meaningless, it leaves you thinking long after you’ve left a gallery. Work No. 112 does just this. Creed has littered the gallery with bright blue metronomes that insistently tick as you walk round the gallery. Even though modest metronomes cannot be seen, they somehow dominate the whole room. utk Just when you thought it was all going so well… utk are exhibiting as part of the city wide festival Art Sheffield 05. “Just when you thought it was all going so well” is a series of pieces by UTK, a group of Sheffield based artists, Liz Hall, Bev Stout, Jane Mellor and Tony Kemplen.
 | | Photograph of Kiss (2001) by Marc Quinn |
The new pieces of art are integrated with existing exhibits. Their focus is to take the theory of expectation and turn it on its head. By subverting the expected they unnerve the visitor. So there's a table with crockery sliding off, spinning plates, arrows shooting through the rooms, a spot light, that when you stand in its beam, goes out and the short film of a little wind-up yellow bunny, trying to hop into a spotlight, but running out of steam before he gets there. So if you are wondering whether this really is art, then come along and decide for yourself. If nothing else, at least it will get you thinking. Mark Quinn’s Kiss is a permanent addition to Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust's collection. Martin Creed’s Metronomes until 4th February 2006 Utk’s Just when you thought it was all going so well until 31st December 2005 |
