Anish Kapoor Sculpture

Anish Kapoor

Cloud Gate (2004), Millennium Park, Chicago

1.Research Kapoor's work in order to discuss whether it is conceptual art or not. Explain your answer, using a definition of conceptual art.

Definition of Conceptual art : Art that is intended to convey an idea or concept to the perceiver and need not involve the creation or appreciation of a traditional art object such as a painting or sculpture. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.)

In my opinion i find that Kapoor's work is conceptual because his work shows that he is trying to perceive the viewers eye with what really is done and the artwork itself within the meaning of it which is meaningless because of how he has done it intentionally . I see that he is trying to show annoyance in what he has done to challenge the viewer from what they know of the object and in viewing it in another way.

2. Research 3 quite different works by Kapoor from countries outside New Zealand to discuss the ideas behind the work. Include images of each work on your blog.

Anish Kapoor

Leviathan (2011)

PVC
33.6×99.89×72.23 metres

“The sculpture cannot be seized from the inside,” explained Mr. De Loisy. “The viewer needs to walk around its contour in order to understand its shape and remember the inside experience.”- By LAUREN HOUSSIN

In the work Leviathan, Kapoor shows his interest of colour and space, I could see that he wanted to show the viewer what t is like on the inside of his work and to be apart of his work but also see that it is a new form of art on the inside and is different from what you see as its appearance on the outside. This work makes the viewer appreciate the art work more from being on its surface and moving with its shape and form. 

Anish Kapoor
Sky Mirror (2009)

270×270×151 cm

Stainless steel
Pavilion Gardens, Brighton Festival, 2009

What I have researched on 'Sky Mirror' is that the meaning behind this is that he wants to bring what is beyond our reach to the ground. Giving the viewer the option to see what they see is up come down and seeing what is down is up. Flipping things in reverse so we have an optical illusion of deformation in landscape and scenery.And it also changes its look from being part of what is on land and blending in with its surfaces. As Kapoor said in one of his interviews, he wanted the look of it to be a void of an open door to somewhere else.

ANISH KAPOOR 
Orbit
Project for the London Olympics 2012
Collaboration with Cecil Balmond, Arup AGU

For the 'Orbit' i have found out that he has collaborated with another artist and they wanted to create something huge to grab viewers attention. And also to challenge them with what is around them to see how people react to it. In an article it talks about how they wanted to annnoy the audience with the art work being in public and not mattering about attention of how they like or dislike the work but just being in the presence of it.

3.Discuss the large scale 'site specific' work that has been installed on a private site in New Zealand.

Anish Kapoor - The Farm 

2009
Mild steel tube and tensioned fabric 
West end 25 x 8m, East end 8 x 25m. Length 85m

I find it unusual for a very big sculpture that looks like this to be in a farm. The colour red being dominated by green seems to me that it was meant to be dominated by land and is trying to connect itself with the space it has and emphasizing how wide the land is. It was installed on this private site because alot of artists create sculptures on this site so therefore it private for just artists to display sculptures or works. When i first saw this i thought it was an old record player where the sound comes from. But in reading in depth about the work I think the viewer gets to choose how to interpret the work with what they understand about the image and site and colour. 
4. Where is the Kapoor's work in New Zealand? What are its form and materials? What are the ideas behind the work?

Kapoor's work that is in New Zealand is set up in henderson, Auckland, New Zealand.

The sculpture was fabricated in Ferrari 1302-S series PVC fabric in a deep red custom color. Two identical structural steel ellipses support the fabric span of 280' with a self-weight of 16,000 pounds. The major axis of the ellipse is 80' and minor axis 40', with each ellipse weighing 95,000 pounds. The ellipses are orientated one horizontal and the other vertical. Thirty-two longitudinal mono filament cables provide displacement and deflection resistant to wind loads while assisting with the fabric transition—from horizontal ellipse, to a perfect circle at midspan, through to the vertical ellipse at the other end. The sculpture, which passes through a specifically cut hillside, provides a kaleidoscopic view of the beautiful Kaipara Harbor at the vertical ellipse and the hand contoured rolling valleys and hills from the horizontal ellipse.(Copyright ©2012 Industrial Fabrics Association International. All rights reserved)

In my perspective of Kapoor's work, I find that he is trying to emphasize the land and the space and bringing it out more so the artwork brings out the land more. And also i researched that he wanted to install a tensioned membrane  sculpture. And in doing this he is complementing the outdoors/scenery for what it is so it is part of the work. And it also can withstand weather changes which is why it is now a permanent sculpture. I also found out the goal for the sculpture was for it to withstand vast winds and weather and have stability. 

5. Comment on which work by Kapoor is your favourite, and explain why. Are you personally attracted more by the ideas or the aesthetics of the work?

I find that his work 'Sky Mirror'(2009) interests me. I don't specifically have a favourite work of his because i am not overly fond of this style of work but I do however find it interesting. The reason Sky mirror interests me is that the shape of all his Sky Mirror interpretations are made in different shapes and sizes and I like how he uses his space and environment to help the work become what it is and involving the world with the work so its more understandable to enjoy his work. I find that I am more personally attracted to the Idea of the work rather then the work being there itself because I can understand how the works idea wants to involve the world without no one not having a tiny bit of knowledge of the work.

Reference: 

Anish Kapoor website
http://www.anishkapoor.com/

Gibbs Farm Kaipara Harbour New Zealand
http://www.gibbsfarm.org.nz/kapoor.php

Houssin, L. (2011) Kapoor’s ‘Leviathan’ Fills Grand Palais in Paris

http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/kapoors-leviathan-fills-grand-palais-in-paris/

Public Art Fund (2006) Anish Kapoor Sky Mirror. Presented by Tumi. Hosted by Speyer, T. Rockefeller Center.

http://publicartfund.org/pafweb/projects/06/kapoor/kapoor-06.html

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The Farm - Anish Kapoor

http://www.ifaipublications.com/iaa/articles/1407.html