notes.husk.org. tagged radical nature.

“ Ironies and politics pile up in Agnes Denes’s 1982 work Wheatfield - A Confrontation (below). Denes planted wheat on New York City real estate worth billions. Spot the twin towers in the dense urban fringe - and note the harvest was fed to New York police horses. Trying to recreate the work on a scrap of forgotten land in industrial east London, however, only underlines the monumental scale Denes worked with - and the large vision. ”

Liz Else, in the New Scientist review of Radical Nature at the Barbican (previously).

2009-07-22

Dalston Mill Reviews

text 11:23:00

Two links, thanks to Tom Taylor.

Diamond Geezer: Dalston Mill

For three weeks only, a windmill is operating in Dalston. It’s art, obviously. But it’s also a proper mill with blades and turny things and grindy bits and flour. And, because it’s essential to maintain sustainable credentials and ensure low food-miles, there’s even a cornfield alongside.

The bar was called Cucum’ (a name possibly just the right side of amusing), and it was frequented by trendy types with rakish looks. I was surprised how quickly this eco-installation had become the hangout of choice for various faddish folk, more usually spotted quaffing lager within a half mile of Hoxton Square.

You’ve got until August 6th to pop into to Dalston Mill for yourself. You may not stay long, not unless you get engrossed in one of the many artistic projects scheduled between now and then.

We Make Money Not Art: The Dalston Mill & Wheatfield

The field is basically a re-creation of the Manhattan field from 1982, but it’s much smaller and the backdrop is quite different, in that case an abandoned house and the Kingsland Shopping Centre, which is so absolutely puzzling in terms of style that it actually makes an intriguing and very London-like backdrop for the piece.

It all moves very slowly and does neither generate a lot of flour nor energy, but it’s fascinating to see how the attempt on creating a somewhat autonomous structure in the middle of a highly developed cityscape actually works and above all creates a very pleasant space around itself.

Posted here, and not on delicious, partly because I’ve talked about the mill and art here, and partly because it gives me more room to quote.

2009-07-20

post/145635003

photo 23:46:00

Agnes Dene’s restaging of A Wheatfield - A Confrontation at Dalston Mill.

Unfortunately, while it’s interesting to see wheat growing on a patch of waste land in Hackney, it doesn’t have the visual impact of the original piece; London doesn’t seem to lend itself to vistas the same way many American cities do (perhaps because they’re nearer to the coast?)¹

That’s not to say it’s not worth visiting. There’s a nice bar (presumably aimed at the hipper elements of up-and-coming Dalston, as opposed to the tea-and-scone types who visit “proper” art galleries), and a good series of events. I’m just not sure this particular piece works as well.

¹ Having said that, if someone had done this on what is now the site of City Hall in the ’70s or ’80s, it might have given some interesting visuals.