Sydney Cloud Arch: Ridiculous Overpriced Project?

A design enforced by the City of Sydney in 2014 has been postponed once again until after the light rail is finished. The Cloud Arch designed by Junya Ishigami has been planned to go over George Street In an attempt to better the visual experience for the pedestrian in Sydney when battling the constant eyesores of city life.

The mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, believes that it will be the most significant artwork built in Australia for decades. However, as she stated at a council meeting on Monday, “There has been a lack of corporation and, in fact we have been amped in every way with this exciting project”.

Christine Foster, the liberal councillor said that the project has been a disaster from the start, and referred to the arch as a “ridiculous vanity project”.

The cost for the project has increased from $3.55m to $22m and this escalating cost has caused a great controversy with the city council with members like Kerryn Phelps who urged the council to guarantee to cancel the project if it will cost more than $11.3m.

This increase in cost may seem high at first glance, however it is nothing compared to what the city spends on sport; the demolition of the Sydney Football St
adium and the cost to build the new one will sum up to 729m

The cloud evokes a spirit of openness and freedom. The soaring arch, by reaching for the sky, encourages people to dream and to be bold in striving to realize their ambitions

Although it is a very pricey project, it is important for any city council to provide commissioned pieces for the city. A large piece by a world famous artist will not only encourage visitors from around the world, but create a beautiful experience for the everyday pedestrian. Street art is an experience, and should be given the same importance as other leisure’s such as sport.

Does Street Art Belong in a Museum?

This week the largest exhibit to date of Banksy’s art works is on display in a warehouse for Miami art week. Once again a discussion has risen about whether this is ethical or not due to the high pricing of tickets and the exhibition being so “Anti-Banksy”.

The British anti-capitalist street artist has repeatedly expressed his disgust for the depletion of art for money, and has separated himself entirely from the exhibition. All the art works on display come from collectors. A representative for the artist stated that Banksy believes that is an “unauthorized traveling show organized by unscrupulous profiteers”.

Although the exhibition goes against everything that Banksy stands for, one can argue that the artworks themselves express important messages about the government, culture and ethics that would do a lot more good if they were shown at the art week, rather than hidden away.The exhibition is extremely commercial, encouraging the use of props for the visitors to take comedic photos with. This is extremely ironic when one considers the heavy subject matter of every single one of Banksy’s artworks. Banksy famously once said that;

The people who run our cities don't understand graffiti because they think nothing has the right to exist unless it makes a profit.The people who truly deface our neighborhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff.

This exhibition seems to create a lot more controversy than others due to the prank that Banksy pulled in October where the artist shredded his Girl with a Balloon as soon as the final bid was made for 1.4 million using a shredder that was built into the frame. This however backfired as the shredding caused it to almost double in value.

Banksy once famously said that we would only charge people to see his art if there was a Ferris wheel involved. Ironically enough there is one right outside the exhibition.

These are some links to websites that were references; and will help with context:

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/11/30/the-art-of-banksy-comes-to-miami/

https://qz.com/quartzy/1486620/banksy-would-definitely-hate-art-basels-banksy-museum/

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/10/16/banksy-authenticates-painting-self-destructed-auction-sothebys/

100 Years of Bauhaus

The opening festival celebrating 100 years of Bauhaus will take place from the 16th-24th of January in 2019 at the Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg, Berlin. The festival will include various activities such as concerts, installations, theatrical performances and films. The aim of the festival is to rediscover the principles of Bauhaus, the most influential current in modern design.

Major cities from all over the world will be holding exhibitions at the festival. The Bauhaus archive in Berlin has the largest collection of Bauhaus style art, furniture etc. Their exhibition will focus on the connection between unique Bauhaus pieces and those which are mass produced.

Artists from all over the world have been invited by the artistic director Bettina Wagner-Bergelt. In addition to all the activities, the festival will include lectures and workshops run by prominent artists for anyone who would like to take part.

Bauhaus began in Weimar Germany in 1919 as not only a style but a physical school. It was shut down during the reign of the Nazi regime, however its staff continued to spread the ideology as they emigrated to different parts of the world. The school then reopened after the Second World War. The Bauhaus movement focuses on a style that is stripped from all ornamentation and focuses on the practical and functional. The design style emphasizes primary colours and shapes and embodies geometric purity. According to it’s principles, there must be complete harmony between the object and it’s design.

The work of traditional figures Oskar Schlemmer, Wassily Kandinsky, László Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee and others will be celebrated through new interpretations and explorations of Bauhaus.

About Perspettiva

My name is Alice Battistino and I am 19 year old, first year communications student at The University of Malta. I have a great passion for art and design and in this blog I would like to report news on the works of both well known and emerging artists. This blog will explore many areas such as photography, illustration, design and architecture. It will explore new and upcoming innovative designs as well as information on exhibitions and installations both in Malta and the rest of the world. My aim will be to explore design from different perspectives through news on the subject by means of a series of posts.

“Design is thinking made visual.”- Saul Bass