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From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3

12 May 2016

Milan deserves a post all on its own.  The Fondazione Prada was a huge success. We were totally overwhelmed by the meandering paradoxical building built by Rem Koolhaas. The whole project was visually stimulating and interactive. There were so many different types of buildings put together almost mirroring an urban town in Italy. There were seven existing buildings, with three new structures.

From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
The complexity of the architecture gave a chance for art and architecture to work together with the help of a brilliant programming.The distinguished project was daring and dazzling.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
Even the walls were like paintings.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
There was architectural brilliance everywhere even stepping down into the lavatory.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
The first port of call was Goshka Macuga ‘To The Son of Man Who Ate The Scroll’ full of wonderments and total sympathy with the collection and surroundings. There is in situ, ‘The Golden Sphere’ by James Lee Byars which reflects the golden building adjacent. There was even a robotic android hippie explaining to us in the most simplistic of terms the history of the cosmos or something...
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
Then a wander up the golden stairs.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
And for comfort we are invited to crawl up a bamboo ladder into some cosmic black hole by Claudio Parmiggiani and if you do not decide to do this there is a great deal more to see from a naked couple who've just made love in the throws of post ecstasy with all to be seen, to a robot drawing robots suggesting a universe beyond ourselves- a universe without humanity. Finally concluding with a beautiful Mark Tansy painting. My mind is spinning and I start to think about the skill with which this has all been brought together and whether artists make better curators?
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
Thomas Demand's curated show was explosive down to his magic grotto called ‘Processo Grottesco’ in the basement consisting of 30 tons of cardboard… In 2006, he took documentation from all different sources including post cards and scanned in 3D the most amazing three dimensional reconstructions. His curated show was called ‘L’image volee’ (The Stolen Image). Basing his work on the idea that all artists take things from other artists. In another part of the show called ‘Iconographic Poaching’ there was included one of the Zabludowicz Collection's works by John Stezaker 'Couch', 1978.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
There were many surprises along this terracotta coloured corridor. We were wowed with more amazing works including one of Thomas Ruffs JPEG series.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
On the way was a wonderful room full of Oliver Laric photos and sculptures. The photo was of the Fondazione's first show when it opened called ‘Serial Classic’. Oliver scanned every work to give away free as a 3D download on the web but then got cold feet. Penelope, 2016 a polyamide I imagine is a result of this project.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
In the dark basement Thomas had created another version of his show called ‘Pictures that Steal’. There was so much to be dazzled by.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
First port of call was a spectacular John Baldessari. In the room there is a a reproduction of Hans Holbein the Younger's painting ‘The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb’, then a thin blue line on the surface, 'Blue Line', 1988. Tiffany gives the finger up for the next visitor.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
He had created a screen with a 10 minute delay so you were disorientated by the fact you yourself were unseen.
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
Impatient not to wait for the John Baldessari selfie, we headed through a dark room where we discovered the sinister and political group !Mediengruppe Bitnik's’Surveillance Chess’. Can you believe these rascals infiltrated our London Underground surveillance system and stopped the surveillance to start a chess game in a yellow suitcase!
From Berlin to Paris to Cologne to Milan pt 3
Then the Grand Finale was the biggest surprise of them all was John Baldessari's 'The Giacometti Variations' of nine figures. The voluminous room called Deposito, not much smaller than Tate Modern's Turbine hall, absorbed these humongous giants with ease. Then it was bye bye and back to England for a few days until it all starts again!