The Life of the Mind
Love, Sorrow and Obsession
curated by Bob and Roberta Smith
The New Art Gallery Walsall
– 21 January – 20 March 2011
Love, Sorrow and Obsession
curated by Bob and Roberta Smith
The New Art Gallery Walsall
– 21 January – 20 March 2011
Videos from Shadow Deeds and from PAVES were part of this group exhibition
Works from Shadow Deeds and from PAVES were part of this group exhibition
“In the video work Shadow Deeds Anne Bean’s collection of filmed actions begins with her screaming the word ’mortality’ in a packed shopping centre. In various settings, reminiscent of Vito Acconci’s early works, Bean tested the limits of her body through a number of tortuous physical trials. The uninhibited nature of this and other works on show… seem to give voice to Epstein’s sculpture of Esther, articulating something beyond the bland passivity registered in her ‘hidden gaze’.”
Art Monthly, March 2011
The Life of the Mind was inspired by Sir Jacob Epstein’s sculpture of his then 15 year old daughter Esther in which she seems to be resisting the artist’s gaze. The Life of the Mind sought to expose the myth of the great male artist who has special insight into the minds of his more frail female subjects.
The exhibition featured a key number of powerful female artists who give form to the interior world. Each artist resists easy interpretation and in Bob’s words, “sticks a sharp pair of scissors into the soft underbelly of male hegemony”.
Participating artists were Liz Arnold, Bobby Baker, Anne Bean, Efi Ben-David, Louise Bourgeois, Sean Burn, Hannah Camille, Helen Chadwick, Vlasta Delimar, Tracey Emin, Sir Jacob Epstein, Theodore Garman, Geoffrey Ireland, Daniel Johnston, Poshya Kakl, Jeff Keen, Yayoi Kusama, Sarah Lucas, Annette Messager, Lucia Nogueira, Sinead O’Donnell, Chris Ofili, Janette Parris, Bob and Roberta Smith, Emma Talbot, Jennet Thomas, Vincent van Gogh, Jessica Voorsanger.