Art in the car park at Bold Tendencies

This is the 5th year of Bold Tendencies - “a non profit summertime sculpture project dedicated to showcasing new art by international artists” - in a multi-storey car park in Peckham.
 

More cheeks than slaps by Mircea Cantor

This year they have 15 large-scale works by international artists including, hung from the side of the car park, Romanian artists Mircea Cantor’s MORE CHEEKS THAN SLAPS. Most is quite accessible on one level or another, including some giant inflatable rats or a modernist swirl lying on the floor.

There is also a temporary pavillion holding Frank’s Cafe & Campari Bar, designed by Practice Architecture. This is a sail like sculpture in itself and dominates the top floor (above).

Bold Tendencies also has an events calendar - including opera and club nights - and education for children and young people. All this, and they don’t bother with signs to show you how to get into the space.

Bold Tendencies

Compare this to contemporary art galleries. As the Tate Gallery say on their blog, “calm quiet regular spaces have come to define how we think of contemporary art galleries. Historic collection galleries in turn have their own vocabulary, often neo-classical, rich-toned and imposing.”
 

The car park and bar at night

There are great reasons to move art out of the standard gallery. At private views - even at snobby galleries - you are allowed to wander around with a drink, so why shouldn’t you do this everytime you look at art?
 

But more importantly, you have perceive things differently in different spaces. Max Gordon, the architect who pioneered the form of many of London’s major galleries, said his focus was on creating spaces “to allow pictures to breathe and be enjoyed without distraction”.

But this is missing the point. An academic might want to look at art on its own, but for most of us, art is better when you can mull around it, sip a beer and laugh with friends as you view it. When you're looking at a sculpture, a dramatic view only adds to it.