Wednesday 22 September 2010

Another World


Yesterday I went to see Another World at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh.

I really enjoyed the way the exhibition had been curated, with each room in chronological order. Dadaism started the show and the effects of World War 1 on the artists, was explored.

The specially built library room lined with a surrealist book collection, owned by the artist Roland Penrose and holding several really interesting Dada publications was one of my favourite parts of the exhibtion. It held shelves of fascinating objects from Lee Miller and Roland Penrose's collection and there was piano music playing, making it feel like a little world completely removed from the rest of the exhibition space.

The evolution of Surrealism followed, and there was a room devoted to British surrealists. I have to say that I felt the British surrealists really couldn't compete with Dali, Magritte, Miro and Ernst and the British Surrealist room felt very weak in comparison to the rest of the exhibition.

The curators take you on a very comprehensive journey and you leave with a better understanding of how the surrealist movement came to be and the fascinating people (with fascinating lives) who were part of it.

The title of the exhibtion reminded me of the beautiful song Another World by Antony and the Johnsons, so I thought I would share it with you.

We walked to the Dean Gallery along the Water of Leith and I'd highly recommend that for a pleasant stroll. Edinburgh was looking glorious and we were lucky to have a warm sunny day in the city.

No comments: