Just before attending Cannon Hill Art School on last Tuesday night - I thought I would get in the creative mood and have a gander at the current exhibitions at mac Birmingham. (I don't always get the chance when working!)
The First Floor Gallery is now home to Trevor Appleson exhibition 'Birmingham'. I do love a good photography exhibition - sometimes people try too hard to make an abstract installation that no-one understands. However, photography is a simple pleasure. Everyone can enjoy it and everyone can invent their own stories to go along with the subject. I do think in a way it can be better for galleries in places such as mac, as it can appear to a wider audience - such as the older generation - who sometimes do not understand to appreciate contemporary art.
Trevor is a street photographer and this exhibition has been commissioned to look at the youth culture of now. I have grown up around diverse friends who class themselves as part of subcultures and different trends. Birmingham is great in that sense - walking through the city centre seeing all the types, cultures and fashions.
I also visited the exhibition in the Arena Gallery - called 'Wish You Were Here?'. This is a fantastic exhibition consisting of postcards from 1960 to the present day. This is a fun exhibition which also really ties in well with everyones current need to go back to basics and communicate in a more personal way than digitally. At mac our postcards are one of our best sellers!
In this exhibition there are examples of political, manipulated, comical and good old fashioned commercial postcards. The exhibition adds value to these items, most people would probably not expect to see postcards being exhibited in a gallery, making the viewer consider them differently.
I've always been a keen purchaser of postcards - not to send them, but to keep to myself. I love to travel and get very attached to places very quickly so I love to have postcards of beautiful places I have visited lying around to spark off good memories.
Don't forget I have my own postcards for sale which you can find here or at mac Birmingham!
Here are some of my best bits!
