Visit to Houghton Hall

I'd heard that the exhibition of Richard Longs work at Houghton hall was really good. I had never been to Houghton hall and to be honest I didnt really think much of Richard Long as I remembered him as the guy who moved leaves and twigs around and photographed them. I decided to take the advice though and I couldn't have been more wrong! It was obvious that I just needed to see the works for real and that photographs do not always do justice to work. What an Idiot I had been to let his work pass me by with a cursory glance.

I was incredibly moved by the work here, particularly by the way the slate reflected the light. I think part of my hang ups were initially caused by the thought that if I needed to read about it to understand it, then it wasnt a successful piece of work. I do still think this to a certain extent, that a work should demand a response first, whatever that may be and an explanation afterwards .

Anyway, ramble over....

I really enjoyed the fact that the text pieces in his show were hand drawn for the most part. It reminded me of my Father and Grandfather, helping me to do my technical drawing titles at school. It reminded me of the wiring diagrams my father used to make for his job . It also reminded my of the house plans my grandfather drew up , and the model aeroplane plans he designed, despite spending most of his life in a mine.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of pieces which I didn't know were here.

Particular pieces that I like here are;

James Turrell – Raemar Magenta

James Turrell – Skyspace Seldom Seen

Jeppe Hein’s Waterflame

Rachel Whiteread – Houghton Hut

However, there were a number of things from the location which really appealed to me (not just the toy soldier collections)