Sculptures by the Sea 2011

Situated along the coast you will find an unusual collection of sculptures from the sublime to the riduculous, the bland to quite interesting and some you just wonder why? But it is fun to go and experience it.

Sculptures by the Sea has arrived in Aarhus Denmark with a whole new collection of sculptures. Everytime I see the title, I assume that what I am to see is a collection of art, but that it not what I experience when I go to the exhibit.

There are certainly some interesting pieces of artwork on display, but I am hard pressed to call a collection of sleeping bags hanging from branches in the forest as art. To me it is "littering". If there had not been a sign next to the display signifying that it was part of the exhibition, I would have thought that a group of teenagers had stolen some sleeping bags and tied them up in the trees to make it harder for the owners to retrieve them. I am wrong, it is part of the exhibition.

But than on the other hand there are some true artisans, who have created interesting sculputes .. some whimsical like "wish you hadn't asked", which is the house that is rainng inside and the camel who has some interesting internal organs. They are fun and thought provoking.

Than there are pieces from sculptures by the sea that have design and flow to them, that make you feel like you are looking at something unique and well crafted like the "nucleus", which looks a a red pair of lips that rotate and hypnotise the viewer. Gives off a very tranquil feel and something you can watch for a long time and not get bored. From afar, I thought that "Spectacle Agnostico" was going to be another odd piece of work, but once I got up close, it was a very unique piece that was made from glass and reflected not only the ocean light but everything around it. Very nice piece and well worth seeing.

Another great piece at Sculptures by the Sea is "Shy Boy", which is a bright red sculpture of a very thin boy, who seems to be a bit embarassed. I do not know the story behind the sculpture, but it was well made and you could feel the pain/embarrassment the boy was experiencing.

All the sculptures are new and none of the sculptures from 2009 are present even though some of the same artists are participating. I did not get a brochure this year, since the 2009 brochure did not really enhance my pleasure any at that time.

I went to experience something new and found it a refreshing day out (1/2) and enjoyed the great weather, but found only about 1/3 of the sculptures as anything close to resembling art. It seems that many artists find that taking something small and making it big is art.

I did enjoy the "Sea Pink" a large pair of sunglasses that you could view the ocean through in pink tones. Fun and cute, but right down the beach was a gigantic beach chair made of metal tubing and string. I have seen large rocking chairs that were more interesting and those you could at least sit on. This just seemed like the artist had no other art to put up, so he made a large chair. I do not get it.

There is a large bird nest, which hangs in the forest and that was interesting to see and be able to view the inside, so maybe big is not always dull.

But there were so many odd pieces like a wooden building that looked like scafolling, plastic tub dug into the ground, cloth patched together and filled with stuffing and it was to represent something? (looked like a 6 year art project gone wrong), mannequin dolls sitting on a post (was this to scare away visitors?) and other things you will just have to see for yourself.

Since I am not a professional art critique and admit to knowing very little about art, you should not take my view as anything but my view. I rarely find art very interesting and often wonder why people would pay the kind of sums for things that have no aesthitec appeal to me at all. To me a sculpture should be interesting and something that I could not create. If I can make it in my toolshed, it should not be called art.

Do visit the raining house and go inside .. it is a hoot! But do not wait to late in the day, because there are no lines waiting to get inside. Use one of the raincoats, cuz you will get soaked. How often can you get soaking wet at an art exhibition?

You can view some of the Sculptures by the Sea photos here. There are many more, so take an afternoon and spend a few hours wandering along the coast and take in this unique exhibit.

Sculptures by the Sea 2009

Sculptures by the Sea originates in Australia and takes works of art from around the world and places them in nature, trying to create an outdoor art exhibit that fits into nature. So in 2009, Arhus was host to this exhibit of over 60 sculptures including some from local artists.

Stretching from Tangkrogen to Ballehage on the southern coast of Arhus, you would find an interesting array of art. For everyone art is different, but it seemed that many of sculptures were not really sculptures, but just some sort of experiment to see if they could confuse into believing that this "piece" was actually art.

The first piece that you are confronted with is actually very funny, but many people missed it because it looked like it was a construction project. A large mound of sand with a digger protruding from it - as if the digger was digging itself out or burying itself. Entitled: This Wasn't Supposed to Happen. Amusing - but art?

You are now faced with a bunch of odd shaped building and sculptures, that unless you read the artist statements, you would think someone forgot to take the trash out or were still building something. For example Carbon Equation as a framework of wood logs resembling part of a house, which represents "consume parts of our home to keep progressing".

There were a few metal sculptures that very pleasing to the eye: Harmony with the Breeze, Kvartet, Torso, Mobius in Space, Intersection, M.090601, Anaconda and Hildegard von Bingen. The sculptures were interesting and peaceful, while fitting in with the nature around them. They didn't seem to interrupt the space around them, but to add a bit of beauty.

On the other side of the coin, you came across sculptures like The Ballenge Woman, which is nothing more than a bunch of cardboard boxes made into a home. What you would find in many homeless communities, just more tape and glue used. No one I spoke with understood this as art - actually most people thought some homeless person lived there. Priced at 190,000 kroner. Get 20 cardboard boxes and some tape and you can make it yourself - but why?

Another odd piece of "art" was a bunch of speakers hung in the trees and playing a mixture of bird noises. Did not get that one either, even after reading the artist statement.

Some of the highlights of the exhibit were: The Land of Milk and Honey, which was an metal sculpture of a man on a riding mower, Morpheus - a mobile sculpture that moved with the breeze, Humpback Gunship - a morphed sculpture combing a helicopter and a humpback whale, Water Curtain - a huge water feature sculpture, Rollercoast - a sort of M. C. Escher-ish sculpture and the best one had to be the Fisher.

The Fisher was also used as the sculptured depicted on most of the ads and brochures. The Fisher is one of those sculptures that you can view from several different angles and get something different each time. The construction and imagination involved is noteworthy and you can appreciate it as a piece of art.

There were other notable pieces of art - especially the piece by HKH Prins Henrik entitled Torso. I was actually not expecting to like it, but it was very good. It would be a great piece in any garden setting.

There were several quirky ones like: Old Rules, New Rules - a large eight ball floating in the sea - but it was not art. Imag_ne - again a fun piece, but it was just a play on words done on a large scale. If that is art, I can create a dozen similar pieces. Acorn is another example - a large green acorn sitting in the ocean.

Littleman was a bit eerie and would not really want them in my garden. Hiding Swan was really funny, because it looked so real. I, Walrus was especially well done and I could see it adorning a front entry way or watching over a garden.

The whole art experience was a pleasure to view, but for the layperson, I think many of the sculptures were just plain weird. Maybe for someone with a degree in art or with a better understanding of design, might find many of the exhibits more intriguing.

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