Pop art. Or rather... pop
the art. Because that is what everyone was doing last Friday at Karl Consiglio's Leisure Centre - popping art.
For those who haven't the foggiest what I'm on about, this Leisure Centre is not some new gym, fitness or newly-inaugurated children's “play” area. Rather, it is the title of a visual art installation by Karl Consiglio at Artitude Gallery in Sliema.
In a nutshell, this installation constitutes the enveloping or shrouding of a large part of the gallery's interior in a layer of bubble wrap. This malleable transparent plastic material was laid on the floor like a carpet and on the counter to mimic a table-cloth; it was wrapped around exhibition panels in a parcel-like fashion and imparted a general sense of privacy to the corner gallery by acting as a veil or curtain, somewhat shielding the world from the goings on within.
Despite this, I expected more. Knowing Mr Consiglio to be the kind of uninhibited, pushing-all-boundaries, experiment and unconvention-embracing artist that he is, I had pictured myself having to burrow my way through the gallery's interior. This was one case in point however, where Mr Consiglio felt that less is more, where he decided to opt for a more subtle approach.
But selfish me wanted absolutely everything to be bubble wrapped. I wanted to hear popping sounds whenever I inhaled or exhaled. And really, multiple layers of bubble wrap could have easily been added onto everything - especially the floor, which I felt needed to be taped down properly.
Gauging by the three rolls of “extra” bubble wrap acting as tables during opening night, there was plenty more material which could have been utilised. Happily, the “rolls” didn't remain upright very long, and became haystack-looking bouncy seats, much to the enjoyment of yours truly.
The extra stretches of material could have also been made available for patrons to cut lengths and affix their “patch” onto the artist's layer of bubble wrap. In fact, Pierre Portelli's 1999 work titled Ism, worked in a similar fashion although the goal of this work was alteration through the public's direct interaction and manipulation. Had Mr Consiglio utilised such a “scheme” it could have only intensified the overall sense of interactivity.
This said, all those present at the opening had a go at popping one, two or hundreds of bubbles, addictive personalities were most welcome and felt most at home. Some lunged into the boards, some did nifty dance moves, some used their nails and others furtively popped away when they thought no one was looking.
With this installation, Mr Consiglio proves that he is clearly not interested in the commercial side of art; actually I think this aspect is the farthest from his mind. He is out to represent the playfulness of art. Although, I am pretty sure that many would contest the classification of this show under the broad heading of art. But that is an entirely different debate, and one which is best left out of this discourse.
Wrapping “stuff” up is no novelty or oddity. In fact, the Bulgarian/Moroccan duo Christo and the late Jeanne-Claude dedicated their life and art to performing such grandiose interventions as was the empaquetages of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (1968-69) or the Reichstag in Berlin (1971-95) for instance. Closer afield, Austin Camilleri exhibited a cellophane-wrapped baby titled Hello, as well as life-size religious statues at the beginning of the Noughties.
However, the wrapping of objects for art-sake was introduced much earlier than the late 1950s or early 1960s (the time when Christo and Jeanne-Claude hit the “scene”), with Dadaist/Surrealist artist Man Ray and his readymade/assemblage work titled Enigma Of Isidore Ducasse dating to 1920, in which he wrapped a sewing machine in cloth and cord.
Mr Consiglio's intervention is quite different nonetheless, in that the choice of material is a chiefly transparent veneer, which merely disguises slight imperfections at best rather than completely concealing an item from view. Bubble wrap is a safety cushion, it blurs, perhaps also giving a false impression of that which it is somewhat distorting. This premise is one which was already “under investigation” by Mr Consiglio back in his 2008 A Most Sensational Exhibition when he exhibited a series of blurred photographic works resembling abstracted paintings.
So it may seem that Mr Consiglio is taking this notion to a new level. However, he is not pushing it as far as he could have - and by that I mean far enough for this project to resonate, or create a ripple effect. And this is a real pity, because as a concept, his Leisure Centre is pure fun, which is, and has been immediately accessible, by all visitors young and old. In fact, the project, funded by the Malta Arts Fund in collaboration with the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, was also devised to be able to attract and target young audiences, including school children and allow them to experience alternate art forms first hand.
I do wonder whether this intervention is the first in a sequence.
The joys and possible uses of bubble wrap are indeed many, and a website (www.bubblewrapfun.com) dedicated solely to this stress reliever claims there are some 1001 options. I didn't go through the entire list, but Mr Consiglio has definitely demonstrated that “art” should make the cut.
Published in The Times of Malta, 15/4/2010, p 25. All photos by Chris Sant Fournier.
