"Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick" at Somerset House

Last month, I had a lot of fun checking out Somerset House's new exhibition called "Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick." To quote it's own advert, this is "an exhibition of artists and musicians inspired by the master filmmaker presented by James Lavelle." Essentially, this is a giant art exhibition featuring the works of about 40 artists -- all of whom have been inspired by the legendary filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick. 

This giant chair is located on the patio behind Somerset House 

The exhibition is located in the West Wing of Somerset House 

Introduction to the exhibition 

This Stanley Kubrick art exhibit is quite large and I found that the pieces on display ranged in creativity. Some pieces I quite liked, whilst other totally freaked me out. Despite having directed 13 feature films and 3 documentaries, I noticed that the exhibition tended to focus on these films: A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, 2001 Space Odyssey, and Dr. Strangelove. This isn't to say that other movies like The Full Metal Jacket or Barry Lyndon weren't mentioned, but those four films were definitely the most popular. 

I was really amazed and impressed by the level of creativity displayed within this exhibition. There were "standard" pieces of art like paintings or sculptures, but they you had more creative pieces like a virtual reality based simulation of the space craft in 2001 Space Odyssey or a room filled with 114 radios, all playing the "Dies Irae" (a gothic requiem mass that Kubrick has used in many films). Below I've included pictures of some of the pieces I found particularly interesting. 

A selection of typewriters burning (inspiration: The Shining)

Floor instillation inspired by the carpet at the Overlook Hotel (inspiration: The Shining)

Loss of innocence is a theme that appears in Kubrick a lot 

This is supposed to be the public telephone that Peter Sellers uses as Group Captain Mandrake (inspiration: Dr. Strangelove)

Alex DeLarge (inspiration: A Clockwork Orange)

A reimagining of a novel cover (inspiration: A Clockwork Orange)

Stanley Kubrick surrounded by iconic images from many of his films

Alex DeLarge (inspiration: A Clockwork Orange)

Painting featuring many iconic moments from Kubrick's epic Vietnam War film Alex DeLarge (inspiration: The Full Metal Jacket)

Kubrick and his camera

Instead of a frozen Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson), we have a frozen Stanley Kubrick 

(inspiration The Shining)

Giant collage of pictures that illustrate the end of the world, problems with nuclear power, etc... (inspired by Dr. Strangelove)

All in all, this was a very interesting exhibition. Initially, I was skeptical, wondering, "how interesting could this be?" Also, the first few pieces were a little weird, which had me a bit nervous. Despite my initial apprehensions, I was quickly mesmerized and impressed by the art. In particular, towards to second half of the exhibit, there is this one very clever piece that ended up my favorite. As you enter a corridor, you will see a black box with a narrow strip of white fluorescent light emanating from it. At first, it looks incredible unassuming, but the moment you turn your hear, from the corner of your eye, the image of Stanley Kubrick is visible. It's so subtle, but so so so cool! 

If you like Stanley Kubrick, I would absolutely recommend this! Similarly, if you enjoy modern art and/or creative pieces, this is a great exhibition for you! "Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick" will close on August 24th, 2016, so if you want to see it, you'd better get moving! :D