The Big Question explored in art
Some uplifting and challenging exhibitions are coming up this week to make us question what gives value to our existence and how art can help us to discover it. A series of talks take place in San Francisco with cultural leaders discussing what gives them reason to live. Meanwhile in London, Mike Ballard takes us back to the birth of art, and from there charts art's development and infinite manifestations. Does art give meaning to our lives? There are plenty of fertile environments this week in which to think about it.
75 Reasons To Live: Day 3 at the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco – Monday, January 18
Following on from the iconic ending of Woody Allen’s Manhattan in which he asks, “Why is life worth living?” 75 Reasons To Live invites 75 of San Francisco’s cultural movers and shakers to tell MoMA what makes them get out of bed in the morning. Today is it’s last day so be sure to check it out
Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops In Modernity at the Museum of Modern Art, New York – Monday, January 18 to Monday, January 25
The first major Bauhaus exhibition at MOMA for over 70 years, this show depicts the fascinating series of experiments and achievements that emerged from the Bauhaus School of Art. Taking in both its renowned and lesser-known students, it highlights the collective spirit driving Bauhaus’s lasting impact.
Mike Ballard: The All of Everything at the Arts Gallery, London – Monday, January 18 until March
The Arts Gallery has been a pioneer, championing contemporary art for some time. Sadly, it is going to be closed and demolished in March. But it’s certainly going out with a bang: the final show is Mike Ballard’s The All of Everything showing painting, collage, graffiti and digital media in an all-encompassing interpretation of the history of art.
Fatsarazzi, Night & Day at La Drogheria, Paris – Saturday, January 23
La Drogheria in Paris’ troisieme arrondissement is hosting an exhibition of the work of influential streetwear photographer Fatsarrazi. It’s clear from this retrospective of his campaigns for various streetwear brands that he has succeeded in tapping into a youthful and highly Parisian street aesthetic.
Fernand Fonssagrives at Michael Hoppen Gallery, London – Monday, January 18 to Saturday, March 6
Fonssagrives is one of America’s most acclaimed and elusive fashion photographers. Highly resistant to the commercial nature of his industry, his work demonstrates a creative freedom and naturalism that arouses infatuation. The Michael Hoppen Gallery offers a rare chance to view some of his lesser-known prints, and an insight into the work of one of the founders of modern fashion photography.
Sophie Jackson is on the editorial team for AnOther, AnOther Man and works in Marketing & Events for Dazed Group
