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11/26/2007: "If Everybody had an Ocean…" by Alice Cavender
Brian Wilson, the main singer of the mythical group the Beach Boys in the 60’s, is mainly known for his music. His strong lyrics, his experimental sounds and his visionary style of making music have become an indispensable reference for anyone aspiring to become part of the musical world.
There is, however, another aspect of Brian Wilson that has never, or very rarely, been considered. That is the link he has with the artistic world. Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, with their intoxicating melodies and their surfing attitude, have influenced many artists, be it from the 1960’s to nowadays, and their use of colours, shapes, and techniques convey a definite impression of the psychedelic pop era that was part of the Beach Boys’ Californian story.
This idea is behind Alex Farquharson’s brilliant exhibition entitled “If Everybody had an Ocean. Brian Wilson, an exhibition” that was shown at the Tate St Ives in Cornwall, England this summer and is now being shown in France. “If Everybody had an Ocean” being the first words to the mythical Beach Boys song “Surfin’ USA”. With this exhibition, Alex Farquharson shows that you can look at art though a different lens, this lens being here the Beach Boys and more notably Brian Wilson.
The exhibition opened at the CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art in Bordeaux, France on Friday the 16th of November. The 60 or so artworks that are shown (new additions were made for the French exhibition and original creations ordered specially from some artists) are displayed all around the huge nave of the magnificent building that is the CAPC. Its monumental spaces (it used to be a colonial warehouse back in the 19th century) are taken over by the wild and colourful creations that fit in completely with the old stone walls and colossal pillars, and the spectator finds himself transported to another time, the 1960’s where art, music and surf was a way of life.
Artists like Peter Blake are displayed next to Richard Pettibone, while Bruno Peinado’s huge sphere dominants the centre of the nave and the gracious mobile by Pae White is suspended from the ceiling as if colourful shapes were floating out of nothingness. The bright slogans of Sister Corita Kent stand close to Roy Lichtenstein’s famous hotdog, while Fred Tomaselli’s intricate designs are set up close to Ken Price’s bizarre biomorphic sculptures and Ed Ruscha’s systematic photos.
When entering the CAPC, you are blown away by the pure dynamic and life of the exhibition that wields the spectator into a giddy sense of nostalgia. Alex Farquharson, accompanied by the CAPC’s director Charlotte Laubard, has enabled the Beach Boys and in particular Brian Wilson to become a way of reading and understanding art. There is no music playing throughout the exhibition, but you do not need it to feel the 60’s vibe and be taken over by the beauty and colour. A must see (showing until the 9th of March 2008).
