Tale of the Fox.

   I tried my best to take what I could from Donna Wilson’s ‘Endangered Species’ exhibition as; it was the only indoor exhibition at Y.S.P at the time. Considering the bitter cold minus temperatures I was forced to spend quite some time viewing this exhibition.

   Unfortunately, the only thing I could take from the exhibition was a greater understanding of what I don’t appreciate in the Art world, along with a question I still can’t answer; who appreciates childlike, poorly composed images? And, how did they work their way into Y.S.P?

 Granted, if every painting or illustration was perfect, precise and detailed then creating an image would be pointless, eliminating visual communication. However, Wilson’s works, especially her paintings, do not appear to be intentionally bad. Many artists intend to create an image that appears inaccurate for a purpose such as Jackson Pollock or even Ralph Steadman, in order to communicate a skill, illusion or idea.

   Donna Wilson, on the other hand, does not appear to convey anything through her images other than a lack of technical ability to replicate an image accurately, or in a manner that is visually effective.  She then appears to support this apparent lack of technical ability in painting with extremely poorly written words to support the image.

   In light of recent lectures from industry-leading, overly pedantic typographers I have developed a form of ‘type snobbery,’ which has lead me to analyse and criticise type in all circumstances, struggling to avoid my subjective analysis. I was therefore extremely off-put by the poorly formed, blotchy type on this Donna Wilson image; it seems to highlight her inability to manipulate her chosen medium. 

(the image in this piece is not my own work, it belongs to Donna Wilson/Y.S.P, however I did take the photo).