spectacle/obstacle 2
SPECTACLE/OBSTACLE 2
WEST SPACE, MELBOURNE, 2011
CURATED BY KIM FASHER AND SARAH MOSCA (SUPERKALEIDOSCOPE),
GRETA ALFARO, JUSTIN BALMAIN, REBECCA BAUMANN, TIM BRUNIGES, MICHAELA GLEAVE, SUPERKALEIDOSCOPE (KIM FASHER & SARAH MOSCA), PIA VAN GELDER
The music gets faster, the lights get brighter, the image is broadcast from every angle. The spectacle demands attention soliciting, seducing and imploring our gaze. The question remains however, is its very nature, its overwhelming force, an obstacle to our comprehension?
The curators of Spectacle/Obstacle believe the spectator, like the student or scientist, is constantly observing, selecting, comparing and interpreting, and in this way, is actively confronting the obstacles generated by a spectacular society.
Through the works in the show, we see artists who are prepared to interrogate the world, holding up spectacle to harness its wonder and provoke a reaction in audiences that is hard to resist.
