I decided to make the most of a rainy afternoon last week with a trip to The Surreal House at the Barbican. The exhibition combined works of old school masters such as Dali, Duchamp, Magritte and Cornell with contemporary figures such as Rebecca Horn and Rem Koolhaus. The space was imaginatively crafted with individual rooms and kooky little spaces that were inviting, yet sinister at the same time - although this atmosphere was lost slightly on the second floor. The combination of art, film, architecture and photography made for an insightful and thought provoking house tour with the film clips packing a real punch (was mesmerised by Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr for 20 mins!). Highlights included Horn’s suspended, exploding piano, Joseph Cornell’s enchanting boxes with Andrei Tarkovsky’s film finale ‘The Sacrafice’ literally bringing the house down.
A couple of my sneaky snaps of lesser known exhibits...
Noble & Webster's 'Metal Fucking Rats'
The Surreal House runs until September 12th.
