Ron Mueck and Bridget Riley

It’s about two years now since I took the opportunity to miss Ron Mueck’s exhibition of big (and as it turns out little) people in Edinburgh and on Friday I was given the chance to miss it again, so I thought I had better not.

 

They only had 6 pieces (and a few little bits of preliminary work to demonstrate how they were made) but even then they managed to spill out of the 3 rooms the galley set aside for temporary exhibitions. Down stairs in the main hall is Mask 2 – large, asleep and unshaven, nobody ever seems to photograph it from anywhere other than the from the front (at least from my brief surf), so I was quite surprised to find it hollow round the back – it puts rather a creepy edge on the realisticness of the face round the front. I think it was the same gallery attendant that was wandering between that and the 10 foot baby (Girl) lying on the floor next door – goodness knows how he’s going to get to sleep after spending all day with them. Up stairs were the ones that I liked best, the miniature Spooning Couple, the Man in a Boat who looked completely at home with his naked state which is more than can be said for the 9 foot tall Wild Man clinging on to his stool for dear life – the detail on him is quite spectacular , all white knuckles and pours and… well all you’d expect from a naked man clinging on to a seat. If you get a chance to see these, then do so as you’re only going to get a fraction of their quality from a photograph – which is as well as you’re not going to get a photo of them in Aberdeen as they have plenty of  watchful staff to stop you taking them.

 

I don’t usually fall into the category of people who say, “that’s not art!” to painted black canvases or 50 square feet of candy stripes but I am quite likely to go, “Hmm” in a disapproving way in their general direction. So I was quite surprised at how much I liked the 5 canvases by Bridget Riley –3 from the Gallery’s archives and 2 borrowed from the artist. She was (likely still is) a prominent figure in the Op Art movement (I had to look it up, it’s optical art, which I suppose pretty much is self explanatory) and a painter of the sort of candy stripes that wont stay still as you’re trying to look at them or squiggly lines that  make the canvas look less than flat. If you were to buy one of these you would have to give up drink without a doubt – they’d be completely unmanageable on a fuzzy morning.

 

Goodness knows how long Ms Riley’s pics are up in Glasgow for, but the Rom Muecks are only there till the 31^st of this month, so hurry along now if you’re near by. I’ve managed to surf up a few photos Ron and Bridgets doings for you (..er …. and ta to the people whose pictures I’ve just nicked)