UNITED KINGDOM: SECOND BRITISH FRIEZE ART FAIR TAKES PLACE IN LONDON'S REGENT'S PARK

Record ID: 336539

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: SECOND BRITISH FRIEZE ART FAIR TAKES PLACE IN LONDON'S REGENT'S PARK
  • Date: 14th October 2004
  • Summary: REFLECTION OF DANCING GIRL EXHIBIT AND THE ZOOM OUT TO A HALLWAY OF THE ART FAIR PAN TO THREE BARRELS HOLDING THE HEADS OF BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR, U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH AND ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER SILVIO BERLUSCONI - "BBB" BY ARTIST JOTA CASTRO FROM PERU PAN FROM BLAIR'S HEAD TO BUSH 'S HEAD WIDE SHOT OF MAN WALKING BY CASTRO'S WORK CLOSE-UP OF BLAIR'S HEAD
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON ,UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVABA41QIVKW94NRBTL6ZNDLJVGZ
  • Story Text: The second annual British Frieze Art Fair, in London, reaches out to new artists, savvy collectors and novice art lovers.
    The second annual Frieze Art Fair deemed one of the largest contemporary art fairs in the United Kingdom opens to the public on Friday (October 15).
    Over the next three days, fair organizers estimate 30,000 visitors will attend the fair in London's Regent's Park. More than 2,000 artists from all over the world participate and their art works are exhibited in a temporary building designed by British architect David Adjaye.
    The Frieze Art Fair provides a venue for contemporary artists to express their passions. From flirtatious light installations to political satire, the fair has something for everybody. Jota Castro from Peru offers a humours look at world leaders. His 2004 installation "BBB" has the heads of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S President George Bush and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi peeping out from barrels.
    Many of the works at the Frieze Art Fair are for sale, but fair organizer Matthew Slotover says visitors don't have to buy art in order to enjoy it. He says the fair's ten art commissions have several ways of engaging viewers and challenging the way they appreciate art.
    "Some people are here to buy art and a lot of the art here is for sale, but probably eighty percent of the people who come here are not coming to buy. They're just coming to look. They're coming to experience art. If you come here, you have an idea, at the moment, of everything that's going on in the world of contemporary art. I mean, really, every major artist is represented here, every territory is represented here. So in a day or in a couple of days, you could do what could take a year, otherwise," Slotover says.
    One art commission from American artist Pae White doubles as transportation for VIP guests. White painted colour fades on a fleet of 15 Rover cars for her project ,"Rover Momentum 2004." White treats the cars as if they are paintings free from advertising and the colour fades are meant to evoke images of sunrises and sunsets. The fair offers the cars and drivers to VIP guests who want to explore the Central London area.
    Another art piece is free to visitors with a catch. As long as somebody can figure out the puzzle by British artist, Keith Tyson, he or she can take home an original work of art. Tyson's " A Work That Requires a Different Form of Investment," was created for the Frieze Art Fair.
    It contains a stack of cubes covered in painted motifs and symbols. Tyson claims anybody could solve the puzzle and you don't have to be an advanced cryptographer to do so.
    "Really, because it's an art fair. I wanted to produce something where you didn't have to be a rich industrialist to acquire a piece that was significant. And I believe there are different types of value in the world. So in this piece, specifically, those who spend some time working it out, in other words, invest cerebral time, have more chance of owning than someone who is wealthy, who could acquire it just because they have a lot of money, you know.
    Kind of a democratic approach to it," Tyson says.
    Last year's Frieze Art Fair raked in estimated sales of 16 to 20 million pounds. This year's event will end on Monday (October 18).
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