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Howard Jacobson: Flesh - ACiD - University of the West of England

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ISSN 2044-2653<br />

<strong>Howard</strong> <strong>Jacobson</strong>: <strong>Flesh</strong><br />

David<br />

Inshaw RWA<br />

// Rural<br />

Dreamer<br />

// Alberto<br />

Giacometti<br />

In <strong>the</strong> Studio<br />

// Ken <strong>Howard</strong><br />

BackChat<br />

// Sir<br />

Christopher<br />

Frayling<br />

03 Winter<br />

2010 £4


Contributors<br />

// Richard Storey took a BA<br />

Honours degree in Drama from<br />

Bristol <strong>University</strong> (2006). He worked<br />

for <strong>the</strong> Bristol Evening Post for<br />

12 years and is author <strong>of</strong> Perfect<br />

Persuasion. He is a former Board<br />

member <strong>of</strong> Bristol Arts Centre<br />

and Travelling Light Theatre<br />

Company.<br />

// Jilly Cobbe has a degree in Fine<br />

Art Drawing and is a practicing<br />

artist living near Stroud. She has<br />

a life-long fascination with <strong>the</strong><br />

history <strong>of</strong> art, especially <strong>the</strong> artist<br />

behind <strong>the</strong> art.<br />

// Cliff Hanley was born in<br />

Glasgow, where he studied at<br />

Glasgow School <strong>of</strong> Art. He later<br />

took up design and writing<br />

as a sideline to a career in music.<br />

Gave up guitar session work in<br />

London to return to painting<br />

and more recently, writing.<br />

// Michael Liversidge was<br />

Head <strong>of</strong> History <strong>of</strong> Art and<br />

Dean <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Faculty <strong>of</strong> Arts at<br />

Bristol <strong>University</strong>. He co-curated<br />

‘Canaletto and <strong>England</strong>’ for<br />

Birmingham City Art Gallery<br />

and ‘Imagining Rome:<br />

British Artists and Rome<br />

in <strong>the</strong> Nineteenth Century’<br />

for Bristol City Art Gallery.<br />

// Tristan Pollard is a Senior<br />

Front-<strong>of</strong>-House Assistant at <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA where he has worked for<br />

twelve years. He studied Fine Art<br />

to Foundation level and has also<br />

worked for <strong>the</strong> civil service and<br />

Bristol Museum. A keen writer<br />

and occasional artist, he lives in<br />

Bristol with his wife and son.<br />

// Jodie Inkson’s obsession with<br />

typography began at school when<br />

she painstakingly hand cut every<br />

letter <strong>of</strong> a project. Climbing <strong>the</strong><br />

design ranks in London, she formed<br />

Wire Sky in 2003, winning awards<br />

and a position in Who’s Who. She<br />

sees her beloved modernist chairs<br />

as art, not sure whe<strong>the</strong>r she prefers<br />

sitting on <strong>the</strong>m or looking at <strong>the</strong>m.<br />

// Peter Ford is Vice President<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA. He has travelled widely<br />

to art events and exhibitions<br />

where his etchings, woodcuts<br />

and paperworks have been shown.<br />

Since 2004 he has organised five<br />

exhibitions for <strong>the</strong> RWA including<br />

<strong>the</strong> 2009 Open Print Exhibition<br />

and ‘Celebrating Paper’ in<br />

January 2010.<br />

// Alice Hendy studied Fine Art<br />

at Exeter College, learning to use<br />

photography to capture ideas and<br />

document her work at Kingston<br />

<strong>University</strong>, where she studied<br />

Sculpture. Alice has always<br />

loved cameras – her current beau<br />

is a Canon D500; it makes her<br />

heart sing.<br />

// Hugh Mooney is an art<br />

photographer and recently studied<br />

Fine Art at <strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong>. A physicist by<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>ession, he spent 30 years<br />

in <strong>the</strong> aerospace industry prior<br />

to retiring in 1998. A camera<br />

is his constant companion.<br />

// Nicky Stone is a ceramicist<br />

based in Falmouth. She makes<br />

‘exquisite female figures’ from<br />

porcelain clay using her own<br />

body as a reference. The figures<br />

are celebratory and refer to<br />

ancient archetypal depictions <strong>of</strong><br />

Goddesses and Queens. Nicky is<br />

a mo<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> sons and sometimes<br />

a teacher.<br />

// Simon Baker is an RWA<br />

Trustee and a solicitor on <strong>the</strong><br />

cusp <strong>of</strong> celebrating 40 years in<br />

practice. An avid enthusiast <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> visual arts since discovering<br />

that books with “pictures and<br />

conversations” were <strong>the</strong> best,<br />

he is too much <strong>of</strong> an impulse<br />

buyer to qualify as a collector.<br />

// Francis Greenacre was Curator<br />

<strong>of</strong> Fine Art at Bristol Museum<br />

and Art Gallery from 1969 to<br />

1997. Toge<strong>the</strong>r with Douglas<br />

Merritt he has just completed<br />

Public Sculpture <strong>of</strong> Bristol which<br />

will be published by Liverpool<br />

<strong>University</strong> Press January 2011.<br />

// Ali Heywood works as a<br />

costumier and <strong>the</strong>atre designer<br />

and is passionate about <strong>the</strong> value<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Arts to bring about change,<br />

particularly for young people.<br />

Ali is a founding member <strong>of</strong><br />

Stand+Stare Collective who create<br />

interactive and immersive <strong>the</strong>atre<br />

performances.<br />

// Kate Morgan is <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

Exhibitions Manager. After<br />

completing a History degree<br />

and an MA at <strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

Bristol, she has worked in <strong>the</strong><br />

cultural sector for <strong>the</strong> last ten<br />

years. Beginning in <strong>the</strong> world<br />

<strong>of</strong> museums, she moved into <strong>the</strong><br />

realm <strong>of</strong> visual arts six years ago.<br />

// Sheila Yeger has written<br />

extensively for stage, radio and<br />

television. She is at present in<br />

<strong>the</strong> second year <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Diploma in<br />

Art and Design at Queens Road,<br />

Bristol. When not writing plays<br />

or making Art, she can be found<br />

wild swimming, or dancing <strong>the</strong><br />

Argentinian Tango.<br />

What a pot pourri <strong>of</strong> delights<br />

awaits <strong>the</strong> reader <strong>of</strong> this, our third<br />

issue <strong>of</strong> ART.<br />

Repressed sex is <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

<strong>of</strong> Simon Baker’s illuminating<br />

interview with Man Booker<br />

prize winning novelist, <strong>Howard</strong><br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong>, who celebrates <strong>the</strong> way<br />

Victorian artists depicted <strong>the</strong><br />

frustration <strong>of</strong> non-consummation<br />

in <strong>the</strong>ir shockingly fleshy<br />

paintings.<br />

Alberto Giacometti’s sticklike<br />

sculptures are well known.<br />

Less well known is <strong>the</strong> story <strong>of</strong><br />

his life-long association with <strong>the</strong><br />

Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul<br />

de-Vence. Adrien Maeght shares<br />

with us memories <strong>of</strong> his teenage<br />

years, living and working among<br />

some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most seminal artists<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> post-war years.<br />

Signs <strong>of</strong> regeneration are in<br />

Francis Greenacre’s sights. Shop<br />

signs, that is. Once a visual aid<br />

to <strong>the</strong> illiterate in late medieval<br />

and eighteenth century shopping<br />

streets, gloriously eccentric metal<br />

signs are now creeping back onto<br />

Bristol’s streets. Go seek <strong>the</strong>m out.<br />

David Inshaw RWA is one<br />

<strong>of</strong> Britain’s best recognised<br />

artists, highly regarded for <strong>the</strong><br />

powerful intensity <strong>of</strong> his English<br />

landscapes. Tristan Pollard met<br />

rural dreamer Inshaw to explore<br />

what it is that informs Inshaw’s<br />

elemental, brooding and highly<br />

charged images.<br />

As if this isn’t enough,<br />

we round <strong>of</strong>f with equally<br />

revealing meetings with surreal<br />

photographer, Hannah Starkey;<br />

master <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> studio nude, Ken<br />

<strong>Howard</strong>; and some pithy BackChat<br />

from Sir Christopher Frayling.<br />

Richard Storey<br />

Managing Editor<br />

art<br />

Summer 2010<br />

1


EDITORIAL<br />

Publisher<br />

Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy<br />

Managing Editor<br />

Richard Storey<br />

Art Director<br />

Jodie Inkson – Wire Sky<br />

Editorial contributors<br />

Simon Baker, Jilly Cobbe,<br />

Peter Ford, Francis Greenacre,<br />

Cliff Hanley, Ali Heywood,<br />

Michael Liversidge, Hugh Mooney,<br />

Tristan Pollard, Gregory Reitschlin,<br />

Nicky Stone, Sheila Yeger<br />

Specialist photography<br />

Alice Hendy<br />

RWA news<br />

Kate Morgan<br />

kate.morgan@rwa.org.uk<br />

Academicians’ news<br />

Louise Holt<br />

louise.holt@rwa.org.uk<br />

Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA news<br />

carolyn.stubbs@btinternet.com<br />

ADVERTISING<br />

Anouk Mercier<br />

t: 0117 973 5129<br />

e: anouk.mercier@rwa.org.uk<br />

Leza Jagroop<br />

e: leza.jagroop@gmail.com<br />

t: 07770 888 456<br />

COPY DEADLINE<br />

Spring 2011 issue: 28 January<br />

FRIENDS OF THE RWA<br />

Friends annual subscriptions<br />

Single £25<br />

Joint £36<br />

Individual life £375<br />

Joint life £500<br />

Student £13<br />

Country single £20<br />

Country joint £30<br />

See membership application form<br />

page 43<br />

Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy,<br />

Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

t: 0117 973 5129<br />

General enquiries e: info@rwa.org.uk<br />

Magazine e: richard.storey@rwa.org.uk<br />

Registered Charity No 1107149<br />

The opinions in this publication do<br />

not necessarily reflect <strong>the</strong> views <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy. All<br />

reasonable attempts have been made to<br />

clear copyright before publication.<br />

To read an electronic version <strong>of</strong> ART,<br />

or to visit <strong>the</strong> RWA online:<br />

www.rwa.org.uk<br />

Follow us on Facebook and<br />

twitter.com/rwabristol<br />

ART is printed by WPG on sustainably<br />

sourced FSC certified paper using<br />

vegetable inks. www.wpg-group.com<br />

Inside<br />

Cover<br />

Detail from David Inshaw’s Goldfinches 2003/4<br />

oil on canvas 91 x 91cm.<br />

Editorial, Contributors 1<br />

Exhibitions 4 & 5<br />

Diary – events, lectures, workshops, tours 6 & 7<br />

RWA news 9<br />

Academicians’ news 12<br />

<strong>Flesh</strong>: eroticism, prudery & British art 16<br />

Simon Baker meets novelist <strong>Howard</strong> <strong>Jacobson</strong> to discuss<br />

his programme, <strong>Flesh</strong>, made for <strong>the</strong> Channel 4 series:<br />

‘The Genius <strong>of</strong> British Art’.<br />

Rural Dreamer: David Inshaw RWA 21<br />

Tristan Pollard and photographer Alice Hendy visit<br />

Academician David Inshaw at his Wiltshire studio<br />

for this exclusive interview.<br />

Signs <strong>of</strong> Regeneration 26<br />

Francis Greenacre celebrates <strong>the</strong> return <strong>of</strong> Bristol’s<br />

three dimensional shop signs.<br />

Giacometti and <strong>the</strong> Fondation Maeght 30<br />

Adrien Maeght remembers his post-war upbringing<br />

among <strong>the</strong> Surrealists.<br />

Portrait <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Artist: In search <strong>of</strong> Gwen John 34<br />

Writer Sheila Yeger re-visits her play Self Portrait,<br />

about <strong>the</strong> life and times <strong>of</strong> Gwen John.<br />

Close-up: Hannah Starkey 36<br />

Hugh Mooney interviews one <strong>of</strong> Britain’s most influential<br />

artist-photographers <strong>of</strong> contemporary life.<br />

Inside <strong>the</strong> artist’s studio: Ken <strong>Howard</strong> OBE RA RWA 38<br />

Richard Storey and photographer Alice Hendy visit Ken <strong>Howard</strong>,<br />

“last <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Impressionists”, at his London studio.<br />

Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA notes and news 41<br />

Letters, Reviews 44 & 45<br />

Listings 47<br />

BackChat: Sir Christopher Frayling 48<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

3


Exhibitions<br />

Matisse:<br />

Drawing<br />

with Scissors<br />

Methuen and Milner<br />

Galleries<br />

8 January – 6 February<br />

The French painter, sculptor<br />

and designer, Henri Matisse<br />

(1869-1954) was one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 20th<br />

century’s most influential artists.<br />

His vibrant works are celebrated<br />

for <strong>the</strong>ir extraordinary richness<br />

and luminosity <strong>of</strong> colour. Matisse:<br />

Drawing with Scissors, features 35<br />

lithographic prints <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> famous<br />

cut-outs, produced in <strong>the</strong> last four<br />

years <strong>of</strong> his life, when <strong>the</strong> artist was<br />

confined to his bed, and includes<br />

many <strong>of</strong> his iconic images, such<br />

as The Snail and <strong>the</strong> Blue Nudes.<br />

Main Galleries<br />

4 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Inside-Out<br />

Sharples, Winterstoke<br />

and Stancomb Wills<br />

Galleries<br />

8 January – 8 February<br />

Inside-Out: a cross discipline<br />

exhibition from Jamaica Street<br />

Artists highlighting <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

vibrancy and diversity. We<br />

showcase a number <strong>of</strong> emerging<br />

and established artists, and<br />

ex-studio members who have<br />

gone on to achieve international<br />

success. By feeding <strong>the</strong> public’s<br />

intrigue and fascination with <strong>the</strong><br />

studio’s secret world <strong>of</strong> creativity<br />

it recreates <strong>the</strong> artistic cycle <strong>of</strong><br />

evolution, generating a feeling<br />

<strong>of</strong> movement and dynamism that<br />

mirrors <strong>the</strong> RWA’s first steps<br />

into <strong>the</strong> new-year and exciting<br />

changes in its programme.<br />

A series <strong>of</strong> talks, workshops and<br />

screenings will be delivered in<br />

conjunction with <strong>the</strong> exhibition.<br />

Please see <strong>the</strong> RWA website.<br />

Open<br />

Photography 2<br />

Main Galleries<br />

20 February – 5 April<br />

After its success in 2008,<br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA Open Photography<br />

returns this spring. With over<br />

400 photographs on display by<br />

amateurs and pr<strong>of</strong>essionals alike,<br />

this exhibition has something<br />

for everyone. The work on display<br />

will be truly wide-ranging, from<br />

<strong>the</strong> controversial and provocative<br />

to <strong>the</strong> traditional and serene.<br />

Invited artists include Barry<br />

Cawston, Richard Cox and Sachiyo<br />

Nishimura. For more information<br />

on submitting please email<br />

openphotography@rwa.org.uk.<br />

Association <strong>of</strong><br />

Contemporary<br />

Jewellery<br />

City<br />

26 November – 24 December<br />

Free <strong>of</strong> charge<br />

ACJ Bristol and invited guests<br />

return to <strong>the</strong> RWA with a selected<br />

exhibition <strong>of</strong> challenging new<br />

work exploring <strong>the</strong> human scale<br />

in a city perspective and <strong>the</strong> urban<br />

environment.<br />

Glo Williams RWA<br />

6 January – 2 February<br />

Free <strong>of</strong> charge<br />

Glo’s effervescent work kick<br />

starts <strong>the</strong> New Year in <strong>the</strong> New<br />

Gallery with a colourful, lively<br />

exhibition <strong>of</strong> figurative paintings<br />

and drawings covering a variety<br />

<strong>of</strong> subjects and media. This<br />

Bristol artist will be pushing <strong>the</strong><br />

boundaries on recurring <strong>the</strong>mes<br />

such as her ever popular florals.<br />

Sebastian Smith<br />

Bringing it all Back Home<br />

5 February – 2 March<br />

Free <strong>of</strong> charge<br />

Ex Bristol artist working in<br />

Provence returns after 14 years<br />

with a new series <strong>of</strong> abstractions<br />

that continue to deal with his<br />

exploration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> horizon as a<br />

necessary hinge between reality and<br />

spirituality. Works will include a<br />

8m panel worked in situ. See Diary.<br />

Abigail McDougall<br />

Art for Sustainable Transport<br />

5 March – 6 April<br />

Free <strong>of</strong> charge<br />

Art for Sustainable Transport<br />

features landscapes and cityscapes<br />

reached by sustainable means:<br />

walking, cycling or by train. Held<br />

in conjunction with <strong>the</strong> charity<br />

Sustrans we show sumptuous<br />

new watercolours and oils. Artist<br />

led watercolour workshops will<br />

be taking place during this show.<br />

Please see <strong>the</strong> RWA website.<br />

Selected But<br />

Hung Later<br />

16 January – 15 February<br />

Free <strong>of</strong> charge; all works for sale<br />

The standard <strong>of</strong> work submitted<br />

to <strong>the</strong> Friends Annual Exhibition<br />

was high and <strong>the</strong> selectors<br />

– Anne Hicks RWA, Peter Swan<br />

RWA and Patrick Daw RWA –<br />

chose more works than we could<br />

hang in <strong>the</strong> space. This Selected<br />

But Hung Later exhibition is<br />

<strong>the</strong> result.<br />

Of equal calibre to <strong>the</strong> high<br />

standard <strong>of</strong> work shown in our<br />

Friends Annual Exhibition we are<br />

sure that this show will provide<br />

a great start to <strong>the</strong> New Year.<br />

New Gallery Friends Room<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

5


ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND ACADEMY<br />

Patron<br />

Her Majesty <strong>the</strong> Queen<br />

Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees<br />

Chairman<br />

Dr Norman Biddle HON RWA<br />

Honorary Treasurer<br />

Bob Barnett<br />

Trustees<br />

Simon Baker<br />

Elizabeth Boscawen<br />

Jennifer Bryant-Pearson<br />

Stewart Geddes RWA<br />

Simon Quadrat PRWA HON RA<br />

Paul Wilson<br />

President<br />

Simon Quadrat PRWA HON RA<br />

Immediate Past President<br />

Derek Balmer PPRWA<br />

Past Presidents<br />

Peter Thursby FRBS PPRWA<br />

Leonard Manasseh OBE RA FRIBA<br />

FCSD PPRWA<br />

Mary Fedden OBE D LITT RA PPRWA<br />

Bernard Dunstan RA PPRWA<br />

Academicians’ Council<br />

President<br />

Simon Quadrat PRWA<br />

Vice President<br />

Peter Ford RE RWA<br />

Honorary Architectural Advisor<br />

Michael Jenner FRIBA FRSA RWA<br />

Council Members<br />

Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Paul Gough PHD MA<br />

FRSA RWA<br />

Margaret Lovell FRBS RWA<br />

Peter Swan RWA<br />

Director<br />

Trystan Hawkins<br />

Facilities Manager<br />

Nick Dixon<br />

Gallery Assistant<br />

Ben Harding<br />

Senior Front <strong>of</strong> House Assistant<br />

Tristan Pollard<br />

Senior Front <strong>of</strong> House Assistant<br />

Lorraine Guest<br />

Creative Apprentice<br />

Ben Giles<br />

Exhibitions Manager<br />

Kate Morgan<br />

Exhibitions and Collections Officer<br />

Louise Holt<br />

Acting Membership<br />

and Events Manager<br />

Anouk Mercier<br />

Marketing and PR<br />

Louisa Davison<br />

Front <strong>of</strong> House Assistants<br />

Annabel Page<br />

Joe Tymkow<br />

Adam Hancher<br />

Accountants<br />

Hollingdale Pooley<br />

Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy<br />

Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

6 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

December<br />

// Saturday 4th<br />

2pm<br />

158 Autumn Exhibition<br />

Gallery Tour<br />

Led by John Eaves RWA. Free with<br />

exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Saturday 11th<br />

2pm<br />

158 Autumn Exhibition<br />

Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Trevor Haddrell RWA.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

January<br />

// Saturday 8th<br />

2pm<br />

Inside-Out Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Vera Boele-Keimer from<br />

Jamaica Street Artists.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Sunday 9th<br />

3pm<br />

Matisse Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Kate Lynch RWA.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Saturday 15th<br />

2pm<br />

Inside-Out Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Andrew Hood from Jamaica<br />

Street Artists. Free with exhibition<br />

admission fee.<br />

3 – 4pm<br />

JSA Artist Talk –<br />

Vera Boele-Keimer<br />

and Jan Blake<br />

© Max McClure<br />

Free <strong>of</strong> charge, to book call 0117 973<br />

5129. Jan’s sculptural installations<br />

are concerned with light, movement<br />

and transformation. Jan will create<br />

new work in response to <strong>the</strong> RWA’s<br />

majestic sense <strong>of</strong> space. Vera’s<br />

abstract paintings demonstrate a<br />

fascination with natural processes<br />

and structures. Jan and Vera <strong>of</strong>fer<br />

an in-depth look at <strong>the</strong>ir practice.<br />

See www.veraboelekeimer.co.uk<br />

and www.janblake.co.uk.<br />

// Sunday 16th<br />

2 – 3pm<br />

Colour in <strong>the</strong> Home<br />

– An Inspirational Talk<br />

by Joa Studholme<br />

RWA Fedden Gallery £10 (£8<br />

for RWA Friends), includes tea/<br />

c<strong>of</strong>fee and exhibition entrance<br />

fee. To book please call <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

Reception on 0117 973 5129.<br />

See colour in a new light with this<br />

illustrated talk by Joa Studholme,<br />

International Colour Consultant<br />

to paint and wallpaper specialist,<br />

Farrow & Ball. Learn how to create<br />

<strong>the</strong> perfect scheme by developing<br />

your knowledge <strong>of</strong> colour families,<br />

paint finishes and wallpaper.<br />

www.farrow-ball.com<br />

3pm<br />

Matisse Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Janette Kerr RWA.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Saturday 22nd<br />

2pm<br />

Inside-Out Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Rachel Milne from Jamaica<br />

Street Artists. Free with exhibition<br />

admission fee.<br />

2 – 5pm<br />

Food Illustration<br />

Workshop with<br />

Emma Dibben<br />

RWA Fedden Gallery £15 per<br />

person (including entrance to<br />

exhibition and materials). To book<br />

please call 0117 9735129. Food<br />

illustrator Emma Dibben’s handson<br />

workshop covers drawing<br />

techniques, colour <strong>the</strong>ory, and a<br />

demonstration in painting with<br />

gouache, providing an opportunity<br />

for everyone to produce <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />

vegetable painting. Emma’s work<br />

can be seen gracing <strong>the</strong> pages <strong>of</strong><br />

many well-known publications.<br />

See www.emmadibben.com.<br />

// Sunday 23rd<br />

3pm<br />

Matisse Gallery Tour<br />

© Max McClure<br />

Led by Lucy Willis RWA.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Thursday 27th<br />

7pm<br />

Bill Viola: The Eye<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Heart (2004)<br />

A film by Mark Kidel, A Calliope<br />

Media Production in association<br />

with BBC and ARTE France,<br />

60mins RWA Fedden Gallery £6<br />

per person (including exhibition<br />

entrance fee). To book please call<br />

0117 9735129<br />

// Saturday 29th<br />

11am – 12.15pm<br />

Friends Lecture<br />

Threads <strong>of</strong> History:<br />

The World <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Bayeux Tapestry<br />

C<strong>of</strong>fee and refreshments 10.15am.<br />

£6 (visitors £8)<br />

Rupert Willoughby is a historian<br />

who specialises in <strong>the</strong> domestic and<br />

social life <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> past and author<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> best-selling ‘Life in Medieval<br />

<strong>England</strong>’. Commissioned by <strong>the</strong><br />

Bishop <strong>of</strong> Bayeux who fought at<br />

Hastings, and executed by skilled<br />

English craftsmen, <strong>the</strong> Bayeux<br />

Tapestry is <strong>the</strong> last survivor <strong>of</strong> a<br />

vanished art form. In this illustrated<br />

talk Rupert will present a lively<br />

introduction to <strong>the</strong> tapestry in which<br />

he unravels some <strong>of</strong> its mysteries<br />

and places it in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> its age.<br />

2pm<br />

Inside-Out Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Anthony Garratt from<br />

Jamaica Street Artists. Free with<br />

exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Sunday 30th<br />

10am – 12 noon<br />

Bristol Drawing School<br />

Life Drawing Class<br />

£10, materials provided. A unique<br />

opportunity to draw from life in<br />

<strong>the</strong> stunning RWA Main Galleries,<br />

taught by artist Carol Peace from<br />

<strong>the</strong> Bristol Drawing School www.<br />

drawingschool.org.uk<br />

3pm<br />

Matisse Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Hea<strong>the</strong>r Maclennan RWA.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

February<br />

// Saturday 5th<br />

10am – 1pm<br />

Character Design for<br />

Children with Tom Plant<br />

and Leah Heming<br />

RWA Fedden Gallery. Free <strong>of</strong><br />

charge however booking is<br />

essential. To book please call<br />

0117 9735129. Pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />

illustrators and character<br />

designers Leah Heming and<br />

Tom Plant work in <strong>the</strong> world<br />

<strong>of</strong> children’s publishing, comic<br />

books and animation. Today <strong>the</strong>y<br />

introduce <strong>the</strong> basics <strong>of</strong> character<br />

design with games and drawing<br />

to inspire <strong>the</strong> group to produce<br />

expressive and interesting visual<br />

characters that <strong>the</strong>y could use<br />

for <strong>the</strong>ir own stories. See www.<br />

tom-plant.com and www.leahheming.com.<br />

11 – 5pm<br />

Painting in-situ<br />

– Sebastian Smith<br />

The New Gallery RWA.<br />

Admission free. As a prelude to<br />

his exhibition ‘Bringing it all<br />

Back Home’, Sebastian Smith<br />

will be putting himself under<br />

pressure to complete a painting<br />

8m x 2.5m in 6 hours.<br />

12 – 4pm<br />

Bristol Drawing Club<br />

at <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

Join <strong>the</strong> Bristol Drawing Club<br />

for an afternoon <strong>of</strong> free drawing<br />

activities and workshops around<br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA galleries. Please<br />

visit www.bristoldrawingclub.<br />

blogspot.com for more<br />

information on <strong>the</strong> Bristol<br />

Drawing Club.<br />

// Thursday 24th<br />

6pm<br />

The Making <strong>of</strong><br />

Landscape Photography<br />

A talk by<br />

Charlie Waite<br />

£6 per person. Please call <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA to book your place<br />

0117 973 5129. Widely revered<br />

internationally as <strong>the</strong> doyen <strong>of</strong><br />

English landscape photography,<br />

Charlie will be using <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

Open Photography as a starting<br />

point to discuss <strong>the</strong> making <strong>of</strong><br />

landscape photography.<br />

// Saturday 26th<br />

11am – 12.15pm<br />

Friends Lecture<br />

Masterpieces<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Twentieth Century<br />

C<strong>of</strong>fee and refreshments<br />

10.15am. £6 (visitors £8)<br />

Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Anthony Slinn studied<br />

at Liverpool College <strong>of</strong> Art, spent<br />

30 years teaching and <strong>the</strong>n set up<br />

his ‘Roadshow’ in 1983 to share<br />

his enthusiasm for Art and artists<br />

giving around 200 presentations<br />

a year. Now that we are no longer<br />

in <strong>the</strong> 20th century we can stand<br />

and look back. Anthony chooses<br />

a major work from each decade,<br />

taking us through a fascinating<br />

variety <strong>of</strong> artists and genres,<br />

including Cubism, Su<strong>the</strong>rland,<br />

Lichtenstein and Warhol.<br />

2pm<br />

Open Photography 2<br />

Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Dr Blu Tirohl, member<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> selection committee. Free<br />

with exhibition admission fee.<br />

The RWA is pleased to be<br />

working in partnership with<br />

Bristol Festival <strong>of</strong> Photography<br />

this year. The RWA and BFOP<br />

will be hosting a number <strong>of</strong><br />

exciting workshops and talks<br />

during <strong>the</strong> show. For more<br />

details please keep an eye on <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA website www.rwa.org.uk<br />

or visit http://bfop.org<br />

2011<br />

March<br />

Diary<br />

December<br />

// Tuesdays 1st<br />

/ 8th / 15th / 22nd<br />

10.30am – 12.30pm<br />

Events, Lectures<br />

Workshops, Tours//<br />

How to get <strong>the</strong> best out<br />

<strong>of</strong> your digital camera –<br />

Stephen Morris<br />

RWA Fedden Gallery. £50 per<br />

person (£40 for RWA Friends).<br />

To book please call 0117 973<br />

5129. A four-week course with a<br />

practical, need-to-know approach<br />

to overcoming <strong>the</strong> technology<br />

and making it work for you<br />

creatively. A laptop with photoediting<br />

s<strong>of</strong>tware is desirable<br />

but not essential.<br />

// Friday 4th<br />

7pm<br />

RWA Annual Dinner<br />

and Auction<br />

A limited number <strong>of</strong> tickets<br />

are now available. For more<br />

information, or to purchase<br />

a ticket, please contact Anouk<br />

Mercier on 0117 973 5129 or<br />

at anouk.mercier@rwa.org.uk<br />

// Saturday 5th<br />

Registration<br />

10am – 12 noon<br />

Photo Marathon 2011<br />

£7 in advance, £10 on <strong>the</strong> day.<br />

Don’t worry, <strong>the</strong>re’s no running<br />

involved. The event is a day to<br />

challenge you to think creatively,<br />

meet new people and have some<br />

fun. Each entrant will receive a<br />

disposable camera and a list <strong>of</strong><br />

topics to capture. This event<br />

will be run by Second Look.<br />

For booking information<br />

please visit www.bfop.org or<br />

www.secondlook.org.uk<br />

2pm<br />

Open Photography 2<br />

Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Peter Ford RWA.<br />

Free with exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Saturday 19th<br />

2pm<br />

RWA Friends AGM<br />

2pm<br />

to March<br />

Open Photography 2<br />

Gallery Tour<br />

Led by Tamany Baker, member<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> selection committee. Free<br />

with exhibition admission fee.<br />

// Saturday 26th<br />

11am – 12.30pm<br />

Talk by Tamany Baker<br />

Photographer and member <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> selection committee for Open<br />

Photography 2.<br />

2 – 2.30pm<br />

A Series <strong>of</strong> Portfolio<br />

Review Sessions with<br />

Tamany Baker<br />

Both events free <strong>of</strong> charge;<br />

booking is essential. Please book<br />

online at www.bfop.org.<br />

Running throughout this period<br />

will be <strong>the</strong> RWA Art History Day<br />

Schools. Please keep an eye on <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA website for more details or<br />

sign up through <strong>the</strong> Latest News<br />

page to receive information.<br />

April<br />

// Saturday 2nd<br />

11am – 12.30pm<br />

Film Photography in<br />

<strong>the</strong> Digital Age – Martin<br />

Edwards<br />

Personal views on <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong><br />

silver-based and alternative<br />

photographic processes plus a<br />

look at analogue photography<br />

and processes from a selection<br />

<strong>of</strong> local photographers.<br />

2 – 2.30pm<br />

Colour Management<br />

– Andy Johnson from<br />

Calumet<br />

Join Andy Johnson who will be<br />

discussing colour management<br />

from a photographer’s perspective.<br />

Learn how to maximise <strong>the</strong><br />

potential <strong>of</strong> your images and use<br />

colour pr<strong>of</strong>iles to prepare images<br />

for printing.<br />

Both events RWA Fedden Gallery,<br />

free <strong>of</strong> charge; booking is essential.<br />

Please book online at www.bfop.org.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

7


Practice<br />

based<br />

master<br />

classes<br />

8 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Introducing<br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA’s new<br />

programme <strong>of</strong><br />

master classes<br />

Painted Land<br />

Stewart Geddes RWA<br />

Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 April 2011<br />

Stewart Geddes, until recently Head <strong>of</strong> Painting at Cardiff<br />

School <strong>of</strong> Art and Design, looks at developing landscape<br />

painting as an equivalent to experience and sensation:<br />

an extension <strong>of</strong> observation.<br />

Revised Impressions<br />

Peter Ford RE RWA IAPMA<br />

Monday 11 – Wednesday 13 April 2011<br />

Chance and risk-taking as routes to new images in etching,<br />

relief printing and constructing collagraphs. Includes<br />

printing without a press and an introduction<br />

to bookplate design.<br />

Arts School 9.45am – 5.00pm: £150/£90 (conc) per person<br />

(£10 materials supplement for <strong>the</strong> printmaking course).<br />

Hotel discounts available. Please call 0117 973 5129.<br />

Hold your special event and entertain your<br />

guests in <strong>the</strong> magnificent RWA building,<br />

with exhibitions acting as a unique backdrop.<br />

The galleries <strong>of</strong>fer a flexible space and full<br />

facilities which can be tailored to suit your<br />

event, from day-time business meetings<br />

to evening functions for up to 400 people.<br />

Hire costs from £150 to £2000 per event.<br />

Contact Anouk Mercier on 0117 973 5129<br />

or at anouk.mercier@rwa.org.uk<br />

Open Photography<br />

Exhibition<br />

20 Feb - 5 Apr 2011<br />

A call for work with<br />

contemporary approaches<br />

to photography in art<br />

and artwork involving<br />

photographic processes.<br />

Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy<br />

Queen's Road • Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

0117 973 5129<br />

w w . w r g.uk w a . o r<br />

• Award ceremonies<br />

• Receptions<br />

• Weddings<br />

• Conferences<br />

• Lectures<br />

• Dinners<br />

CALL FOR ENTRIES<br />

For fur<strong>the</strong>r information on submitting<br />

please email your details to: openphotography@rwa.org.uk<br />

Hire <strong>the</strong> RWA Galleries<br />

for your special event<br />

// RWA Director: Trystan Hawkins<br />

Where <strong>the</strong>re’s<br />

a will...<br />

I have been in post for over three<br />

months, getting to know everyone,<br />

finding out more about <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

and developing our future plans.<br />

Soon, <strong>the</strong> RWA will have a new café,<br />

improved physical access and dedicated<br />

spaces for younger people, bringing<br />

more visitors than ever into this<br />

prestigious building.<br />

We have also been refining our plan<br />

to upgrade our galleries in order to<br />

exhibit work from collections which<br />

to date, we have been unable to show.<br />

I’m seeking new ways to involve<br />

artists at different stages in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

careers through a number <strong>of</strong> innovative<br />

membership initiatives which I will be<br />

announcing in February.<br />

Finally, I have been looking at<br />

safeguarding <strong>the</strong> future <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

for generations to come:<br />

158 Autumn Open Exhibition // visitors thoughts<br />

There’s a lot<br />

<strong>of</strong> work here<br />

that I really,<br />

really like.<br />

A friend and I<br />

were playing<br />

<strong>the</strong> game <strong>of</strong>:<br />

which one<br />

would you<br />

have most<br />

liked to have<br />

done, and<br />

which would<br />

you most like<br />

to take home<br />

and she chose<br />

<strong>the</strong> same<br />

painting for<br />

each category.<br />

I haven’t<br />

decided yet.<br />

Sophie<br />

<strong>Howard</strong>:<br />

Sculptor, 53<br />

I think it’s<br />

very good<br />

and I like <strong>the</strong><br />

ones that have<br />

meaning.<br />

I like <strong>the</strong><br />

drawing<br />

(by Helenka<br />

Janeckova)<br />

I also like <strong>the</strong><br />

painting with<br />

<strong>the</strong> robots<br />

and <strong>the</strong> cities,<br />

showing how<br />

much <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

developing.<br />

Jonjo Cordy:<br />

Student, 11<br />

Some<br />

very good<br />

stuff here,<br />

surprisingly.<br />

Much better<br />

than some<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Opens<br />

I’ve attended.<br />

More quality<br />

work, and<br />

much more<br />

work on show.<br />

I just wish I<br />

had <strong>the</strong> dosh<br />

to buy it and<br />

<strong>the</strong> space to<br />

hang it.<br />

John<br />

Callaghan:<br />

Artist, 59<br />

Two extraordinary ladies... one RWA<br />

Without <strong>the</strong> foresight and generosity<br />

<strong>of</strong> Ellen Sharples and Augusta Talboys,<br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA may never have gained such<br />

a prestigious building or extensive<br />

permanent collection.<br />

In 1849 Mrs Sharples left a gift in her<br />

will allowing <strong>the</strong> RWA to start building<br />

its beautiful galleries. In 1941 a gift in<br />

<strong>the</strong> will <strong>of</strong> Mrs Talboys set up a fund to<br />

allow <strong>the</strong> RWA to buy work each year to<br />

build its collection.<br />

Today, you can help <strong>the</strong> RWA with a<br />

gift in your will. Any size <strong>of</strong> gift will help<br />

bring <strong>the</strong> most talented visual artists into<br />

<strong>the</strong> daily lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>England</strong>. It will mean that your children,<br />

grandchildren, and even <strong>the</strong>ir children<br />

will be inspired to come back again<br />

and again.<br />

Find out more about leaving a legacy<br />

by contacting Anouk Mercier:<br />

0117 906 7600 anouk.mercier@rwa.org.uk<br />

I think <strong>the</strong><br />

158 RWA<br />

Autumn Open<br />

Exhibition is<br />

better than<br />

<strong>the</strong> 157.<br />

I like (no 71)<br />

I think it’s<br />

well worth<br />

£1200.<br />

It’s very<br />

enigmatic;<br />

reminds me<br />

<strong>of</strong> Giacometti.<br />

I might buy it.<br />

Corinne<br />

Fitzpatrick:<br />

Architect, 46<br />

I really like<br />

this year’s<br />

show, one <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> strongest<br />

for <strong>the</strong> past<br />

few years.<br />

There are<br />

plenty <strong>of</strong><br />

strong works<br />

to see, in<br />

all kinds<br />

<strong>of</strong> mediums.<br />

I’ll have to<br />

come back<br />

and spend<br />

more time;<br />

it’s impossible<br />

to see<br />

everything<br />

in one visit.<br />

Merhrdad<br />

Bordbar:<br />

Artist, 27<br />

Launch <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

Patrons Scheme<br />

2011 will see <strong>the</strong> launch <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA Patrons<br />

Scheme (formerly <strong>the</strong> RWA Benefactors<br />

Scheme). Patrons can support <strong>the</strong> RWA at<br />

different levels, with a choice <strong>of</strong> three types <strong>of</strong><br />

membership: Silver, Gold and Platinum. As well<br />

as priority access, Patrons will benefit from<br />

a range <strong>of</strong> exclusive opportunities, including<br />

enjoying relationships with key movers and<br />

shakers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA and a bespoke programme<br />

<strong>of</strong> events.<br />

Leading on from Benefactors, our Patrons<br />

will continue to play a vital role in supporting<br />

<strong>the</strong> realisation <strong>of</strong> projects and events at <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA and, in doing so, ensure <strong>the</strong> success<br />

and growth <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Academy. As work begins<br />

on new and exciting projects, including <strong>the</strong><br />

introduction <strong>of</strong> climate controls in <strong>the</strong> Main<br />

Galleries, <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> a new Education<br />

Programme and <strong>the</strong> building <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new café,<br />

it is more than ever an exciting time to become<br />

an RWA Patron.<br />

If you are interested in becoming a Patron,<br />

or to find out more information about <strong>the</strong><br />

scheme, please contact Anouk Mercier:<br />

t: 0117 906 7600 e: anouk.mercier@rwa.org.uk<br />

I was here<br />

last year and<br />

this show<br />

is so much<br />

more vibrant.<br />

When I came<br />

in, I could<br />

immediately<br />

feel <strong>the</strong><br />

difference;<br />

<strong>the</strong> work<br />

seems to have<br />

been hung<br />

very carefully.<br />

My work was<br />

hung last<br />

year, and this<br />

year. I shall<br />

return to see<br />

more <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

show.<br />

Helenka<br />

Janeckova:<br />

Artist, 31<br />

I really like<br />

<strong>the</strong> artwork<br />

but some<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m I<br />

don’t really<br />

understand.<br />

I like quite<br />

a few <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

sculptures<br />

and <strong>the</strong><br />

painting<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trees<br />

shown from<br />

a distance.<br />

Lydia Ness:<br />

Student, 11<br />

I’ve been<br />

coming<br />

here for ten<br />

years and<br />

I think it’s<br />

particularly<br />

excellent this<br />

year. More<br />

modern, quite<br />

a lot <strong>of</strong> Cubist<br />

work. Overall<br />

though, it’s<br />

too eclectic<br />

and difficult<br />

to take in all<br />

<strong>the</strong> styles<br />

on show. It’s<br />

great to be<br />

able to buy<br />

work as well.<br />

Paul Wild:<br />

IT specialist,<br />

42<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

9


10 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

A N E X H I B I T I O N<br />

Drawing and painting courses<br />

in a beautiful light, airy space<br />

www.drawingschool.org.uk<br />

BRISTOL’S JAMAICA STREET ARTISTS TAKE<br />

OVER THE RWA ALONGSIDE THE LATE WORKS OF<br />

THE MASTERLY MATISSE (1950-1954) CREATING<br />

A DYNAMIC CONTRAST OF OLD AND NEW.<br />

An eclectic exhibition including workshops, tours and talks<br />

Private view 7th January 2011<br />

Opens 8th January to 8th February 2011<br />

AT THE ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND ACADEMY<br />

Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX / 0117 973 5129 / www.rwa.org.uk<br />

Also by Jamaica Street Artists<br />

THEARTBOX<br />

A unique Christmas pop-up shop and gallery<br />

Opening night and private view 1st December 2010 6-9pm<br />

Opens 1st December to 23rd from Wednesday to Sunday<br />

11am-6pm and Thursday late nights 11am-9pm<br />

31 COLLEGE GREEN, BRISTOL<br />

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION<br />

Please contact Jamaica Street Artists at<br />

JSADEVELOPMENT09@YAHOO.CO.UK<br />

39 Jamaica Street, Stokes Cr<strong>of</strong>t, Bristol, BS2 8JP<br />

Outside <strong>the</strong> Studio<br />

// Inside <strong>the</strong> Gallery<br />

The RWA will be starting<br />

<strong>the</strong> New Year with a bang,<br />

celebrating <strong>the</strong> diversity and<br />

creativity <strong>of</strong> Bristol based<br />

artists in an exhibition entitled<br />

Inside-Out. We have invited<br />

studio group Jamaica Street<br />

Artists to exhibit throughout<br />

three <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> galleries, running<br />

alongside its exhibition <strong>of</strong><br />

Matisse’s découpage.<br />

The exhibition displays<br />

<strong>the</strong> heterogeneous nature<br />

<strong>of</strong> Jamaica Street Artists,<br />

paying equal respect to <strong>the</strong><br />

multitude <strong>of</strong> mediums and<br />

disciplines housed within its<br />

walls. Amongst <strong>the</strong> array <strong>of</strong><br />

painting, illustration, ceramics,<br />

sculpture, photography and<br />

film will sit several unique<br />

installations, including plans<br />

to recreate an interior space<br />

from <strong>the</strong> studio. The proposed<br />

replica will allow a different<br />

artist to work from within<br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA each day, taking <strong>the</strong><br />

With thanks<br />

to our supporters:<br />

friends<br />

concept <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> studio outside<br />

its traditional sphere and<br />

transplanting it into <strong>the</strong> very<br />

public space <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> gallery.<br />

Inside-Out is streng<strong>the</strong>ned<br />

by an enlightening narrative<br />

<strong>of</strong> Jamaica Street Artists<br />

impressive history, from<br />

its disparate beginnings<br />

to <strong>the</strong> gradual formation<br />

<strong>of</strong> its current coherent<br />

identity. Highlights include<br />

international art fair Retox,<br />

its numerous Open Studios,<br />

and 2009’s successful auction<br />

and exhibition at Bristol City<br />

Museum and Art Gallery.<br />

An accompanying<br />

programme <strong>of</strong> screenings,<br />

talks and tours from some <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> studio’s well-known names<br />

also provides an additional<br />

insight into <strong>the</strong> secret life <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> studio, bringing <strong>the</strong> art<br />

and exhibition to life. For more<br />

information please visit <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA website – www.rwa.org.uk.<br />

2008 marked a new<br />

era at <strong>the</strong> RWA with<br />

<strong>the</strong> galleries being<br />

taken over entirely by<br />

photographers for <strong>the</strong><br />

very first time. Due<br />

to <strong>the</strong> popularity <strong>of</strong><br />

this exhibition it will<br />

be returning in early<br />

2011 with some new<br />

exciting developments.<br />

Over 400 works will be<br />

displayed by amateur and<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>essional photographers<br />

alike, producing an array<br />

<strong>of</strong> colour and variety in <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA galleries. The works<br />

will be chosen by a panel <strong>of</strong><br />

esteemed judges including<br />

Dr Blu Tirohl (Senior<br />

Lecturer in Photography at<br />

UWE), Tamany Baker (1st<br />

prize winner for ‘Fine Art –<br />

Andrew Hood – Ashok Road, New Delhi<br />

Open Photography 2<br />

Conceptual and Constructed’<br />

photography at <strong>the</strong> Sony<br />

World Photography Awards<br />

2009), Philip Searle (organiser<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bristol Festival <strong>of</strong><br />

Photography and owner <strong>of</strong><br />

Photographique), Trystan<br />

Hawkins (RWA Director),<br />

Simon Quadrat (President<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA) and Peter Ford<br />

(Executive Vice President <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA).<br />

This year’s invited artists<br />

include Barry Cawston (winner<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 2008 RWA Purchase<br />

Prize), Richard Cox and<br />

Sachiyo Nishimura.<br />

The RWA is very pleased<br />

to be working in partnership<br />

with Bristol Festival <strong>of</strong><br />

Photography this year.<br />

Although <strong>the</strong> main festival<br />

will not be returning until<br />

2012, <strong>the</strong> festival organisers<br />

will be putting on a number <strong>of</strong><br />

exciting workshops and talks<br />

throughout Open Photography<br />

to launch next year’s festival.<br />

For more information on <strong>the</strong>se<br />

please keep an eye on <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

website – www.rwa.org.uk.<br />

Awards this year include<br />

an editorial feature and a<br />

subscription to Printmaking<br />

Today for one year, a free<br />

place on a two-day polymer<br />

photogravure workshop at<br />

Spike Print Studio and a £500<br />

cash prize and two years free<br />

membership <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Friends <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA.<br />

CALL FOR ENTRIES<br />

Selection will be made by<br />

digital image. Each artist may<br />

submit up to four works online<br />

for £20 (£18 for Friends).<br />

To register your interest in<br />

submitting and to find out<br />

more please sign up through<br />

<strong>the</strong> RWA website (see <strong>the</strong><br />

open exhibitions page) or<br />

email openphotography@rwa.<br />

org.uk quoting ‘RWA Open<br />

Photography exhibition 2011’.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

11


Academicians’<br />

news<br />

12 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Following on from his<br />

successful one-man<br />

exhibition in <strong>the</strong> New<br />

Gallery this summer,<br />

Martin Bentham’s<br />

catalogues are available<br />

in <strong>the</strong> RWA shop for £6.<br />

Chris Dunseath will<br />

be presenting work<br />

alongside artists: Chooc<br />

Ly Tan, Geraldine Cox,<br />

Sam Knowles and Agata<br />

Agatowska as part <strong>of</strong><br />

‘Beyond Ourselves’.<br />

This exhibition, which<br />

is coinciding with <strong>the</strong><br />

British Art Show in<br />

Nottingham, will bring<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r five innovative<br />

contemporary artists,<br />

demonstrating <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

different emotional<br />

responses to<br />

understanding <strong>the</strong><br />

natural phenomena<br />

in our universe. The<br />

varied works respond<br />

directly to man’s quest<br />

to understand <strong>the</strong> world<br />

and his place within it,<br />

with some marvelling<br />

at our physical laws<br />

and o<strong>the</strong>rs playfully<br />

imagining how <strong>the</strong>se<br />

might be overturned.<br />

Exploring man’s<br />

passionate engagement<br />

with both physics<br />

and philosophy on an<br />

everyday level, ‘Beyond<br />

Ourselves’ aims to<br />

inspire a new approach<br />

for contemporary<br />

artists. 16 November<br />

– 2 December 2010<br />

at Nottingham Lace<br />

Market Gallery<br />

25 Stoney Street<br />

The Lace Market<br />

Nottingham<br />

NG1 1LP from Mon –<br />

Fri 9am – 4.30pm<br />

t: 0115 9 10 4 747<br />

www.beyondourselves.eu<br />

The Exhibition will<br />

also travel to The Royal<br />

Society 16 February –<br />

April 2011 as part <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>ir 350th anniversary<br />

celebrations and is<br />

one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first art<br />

exhibitions to be held<br />

<strong>the</strong>re. The Royal Society<br />

London 6-9 Carlton<br />

House Terrace London<br />

SW1Y 5AG. Contact<br />

t: +44 (0)20 7451 2500<br />

for fur<strong>the</strong>r details.<br />

RWA Vice-President<br />

Peter Ford is one <strong>of</strong><br />

three artists receiving<br />

<strong>the</strong> main prizes at<br />

<strong>the</strong> 1st International<br />

Biennale <strong>of</strong> Small<br />

Prints to be held in<br />

Guangzhou, south<br />

China. Guangzhou,<br />

a port on <strong>the</strong> Pearl<br />

River, formerly known<br />

as Canton, is one <strong>of</strong><br />

seven partner cities<br />

twinned with Bristol.<br />

In December 2010 Peter,<br />

who is now a member<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bristol China<br />

Partnership, will attend<br />

<strong>the</strong> prize awarding<br />

ceremonies, <strong>the</strong> opening<br />

banquet and subsequent<br />

conference. An article<br />

in Chinese about Peter’s<br />

prints and paperworks<br />

is concurrently<br />

appearing in <strong>the</strong><br />

latest issue <strong>of</strong> Chinese<br />

Printmaking – surely<br />

a first for an RWA<br />

member.<br />

Fur<strong>the</strong>r east, in<br />

September 2010, a<br />

large relief print<br />

on handmade paper<br />

was accepted for <strong>the</strong><br />

collection <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Wonju,<br />

S.Korea Hanji Paper<br />

Research Institute.<br />

This work had been on<br />

exhibition in Wonju<br />

where Peter attended an<br />

international congress<br />

on traditional Korean<br />

paper. Also in August<br />

2010, three small<br />

etchings were accepted<br />

for <strong>the</strong> collection <strong>of</strong><br />

prints and drawings<br />

held at <strong>the</strong> famous<br />

Pushkin Museum in<br />

Moscow.<br />

Peter Ford with<br />

Stewart Geddes will be<br />

presenting <strong>the</strong> first <strong>of</strong> a<br />

series <strong>of</strong> practice based<br />

RWA master classes<br />

in April 2011 – see<br />

advertisement page 8.<br />

Alfred Rozelaar<br />

Green will feature in an<br />

exhibition dedicated to<br />

‘The St. John’s Wood Art<br />

School and The Anglo-<br />

French Art Centre’.<br />

This exhibition will<br />

celebrate <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> this<br />

influential school and<br />

<strong>the</strong> artists who studied<br />

and taught <strong>the</strong>re. The<br />

exhibition will run<br />

from 19 November – 24<br />

December 2010 at <strong>the</strong><br />

Boundary Gallery 98<br />

Boundary Road<br />

London NW8 0RH<br />

t: 020 7624 1126<br />

e: agi@boundarygallery.com<br />

www.boundarygallery.com<br />

Ken <strong>Howard</strong>’s oneman<br />

exhibition, ‘An<br />

Artist’s Odyssey’ will<br />

display 70 paintings<br />

including recent works<br />

from India, Crete,<br />

Venice, London and<br />

Cornwall. Ken <strong>Howard</strong><br />

will also be launching<br />

his autobiography,<br />

‘Light and Dark’<br />

with a signing on<br />

26 January 10am – 5pm.<br />

Exhibition opens 26<br />

January – 12 February<br />

2011 from 10am – 5pm<br />

at <strong>the</strong> Richard Green<br />

Gallery 147 New Bond<br />

Street London W1S<br />

2TS t: 0207 493 3939<br />

e: paintings@richardgreen.com<br />

Work by Honorary<br />

Academician, John<br />

Hoyland, will be<br />

celebrated during<br />

an exhibition at Yale<br />

Centre for British<br />

Art. ‘The Independent<br />

Eye: Contemporary<br />

British Art from <strong>the</strong><br />

Collection <strong>of</strong> Samuel<br />

and Gabrielle Lurie’<br />

will display works by<br />

post-war British artists,<br />

including Patrick<br />

Caulfield, John Walker,<br />

R.B. Kitaj and <strong>Howard</strong><br />

Hodgkin and marks <strong>the</strong><br />

first museum exhibition<br />

<strong>of</strong> selected works from<br />

<strong>the</strong> Lurie collection <strong>of</strong><br />

British art, which will<br />

be gifted to <strong>the</strong> Yale<br />

Centre for British Art.<br />

John Hoyland said<br />

this about his medium:<br />

“Paintings are <strong>the</strong>re to<br />

be experienced, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

are events. They are<br />

also to be meditated<br />

on and to be enjoyed<br />

by <strong>the</strong> senses, to be<br />

felt through <strong>the</strong> eye…<br />

Paintings are not to<br />

be reasoned with,<br />

<strong>the</strong>y are not to be<br />

understood, <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

to be recognised.”<br />

Independent Eye runs<br />

from 16 September –<br />

2 January 2011 at <strong>the</strong><br />

Yale Centre for British<br />

Art 254 College Street<br />

New Haven Connecticut<br />

06511 United States<br />

t: (203) 432-2800<br />

Sarah van Nierkerk<br />

will feature in an<br />

exhibition at Bedales<br />

Gallery titled PRINTS.<br />

As a former pupil <strong>of</strong><br />

Bedales Schools, Sarah<br />

van Nierkerk has<br />

agreed to show a small<br />

selection <strong>of</strong> her work<br />

alongside work from<br />

John <strong>Howard</strong> Print<br />

Studios in Cornwall.<br />

Exhibition runs from<br />

8 November – 4 December,<br />

Mon – Fri 2 – 5pm<br />

Sat 10am – 1pm with<br />

free admission. The<br />

exhibition will be<br />

closed 2 October and<br />

20 November. Bedales<br />

School Church Road<br />

Steep Petersfield GU32<br />

2DG t: 01730 300 100<br />

www.bedales.org.uk<br />

Maxine Relton will<br />

be leading ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />

small group trip<br />

through South India<br />

on 12 – 27 February<br />

2011, in support <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> Tamil Charity<br />

SCAD (Social Change<br />

and Development).<br />

‘Sketchbook Journey to<br />

India’ is an opportunity<br />

to get close to <strong>the</strong> heart<br />

<strong>of</strong> Indian culture,<br />

beyond <strong>the</strong> tourist trail,<br />

and to develop your<br />

drawing skills. Nonsketchers<br />

and beginners<br />

are equally welcome.<br />

Contact Maxine<br />

t: 01453 832 497 or<br />

e: maxine.relton@<br />

tiscali.co.uk<br />

1 Chris Dunseath, Corrugated Space,<br />

mulberry paper, 45cm x 29cm x 48cm<br />

2 Ken <strong>Howard</strong>, Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur,<br />

oil on board 25.4 x 30.5cm<br />

3 Ken <strong>Howard</strong>, S. Giorgio Maggiore,<br />

Summer Light, oil on board 101.6 x 121.9cm<br />

4 Exhibition opening, Hangu, N.E. China<br />

Peter Ford<br />

1<br />

2<br />

3<br />

4<br />

Peter Reddick RWA<br />

(1924 – 2010)<br />

Remembered by George Tute MA (RCA)<br />

RWA (Hons) RE<br />

Peter was one <strong>of</strong> our foremost artist/wood<br />

engravers, one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new generations <strong>of</strong><br />

artists following on from <strong>the</strong> great pre-war<br />

period <strong>of</strong> wood engraving.<br />

Peter’s time at <strong>the</strong> Slade School <strong>of</strong> Fine<br />

Art gave him a thorough grounding in<br />

drawing, composition, an understanding<br />

<strong>of</strong> tone and colour and <strong>of</strong> craftsmanship.<br />

The scintillating quality <strong>of</strong> his engraving<br />

was a feature giving his work a<br />

characteristic signature.<br />

Peter, with his wife and children, left<br />

to work in Ghana (1960-1962) as lecturer<br />

in commercial design at Kumasi College.<br />

He embarked on wood engravings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Ghanaian scenery and it was through<br />

<strong>the</strong>se and o<strong>the</strong>r work for Penguin books<br />

for example, that <strong>the</strong> public in <strong>the</strong> UK<br />

first knew his work through Motif No 7.<br />

Peter returned to Britain in 1962<br />

and took up a lecturing post in design<br />

at Glasgow School <strong>of</strong> Art (1962-1967),<br />

finally settling with his family in Bristol<br />

as lecturer in illustration on <strong>the</strong> Diploma<br />

in Art and Design Degree course (now BA,<br />

Fine Art and Design).<br />

Parallel with his teaching career Peter<br />

made wood engraved illustrations for many<br />

notable publishers such as <strong>the</strong> Folio Society,<br />

Readers Digest, <strong>the</strong> Limited Editions Club<br />

<strong>of</strong> New York, The Fleece Press, The Old Stile<br />

Press, <strong>the</strong> Gregynog Press, <strong>of</strong> which he was<br />

made Gregynog Fine Arts Fellow between<br />

1979- 1980. Notable among his output were<br />

illustrations for <strong>the</strong> novels <strong>of</strong> Hardy and<br />

Trollope published by <strong>the</strong> Folio Society.<br />

However distinguished Peter was<br />

as artist and wood engraver, it did not<br />

overshadow his o<strong>the</strong>r strengths – <strong>the</strong><br />

attributes <strong>of</strong> generosity and kindness,<br />

his desire to involve himself with students<br />

in, as well as out <strong>of</strong>, College, his ambition<br />

to promote printmaking. He had a very<br />

heightened sense <strong>of</strong> social responsibility,<br />

wanting to give back his experience, his<br />

knowledge, and his skill as a craftsman,<br />

to those who did not necessarily have <strong>the</strong><br />

benefit <strong>of</strong> a full time art education. He did<br />

this without monetary reward and in doing<br />

so followed <strong>the</strong> tradition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Quaker<br />

movement, <strong>of</strong> which he had been a member<br />

since <strong>the</strong> age <strong>of</strong> sixteen.<br />

Peter was a founder member <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Bristol Art Space and Chairman <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Spike<br />

Island Printmaking workshop. He was a<br />

member <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Society <strong>of</strong> Wood engravers<br />

and a retired member <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Royal Society <strong>of</strong><br />

Painter Etchers. Throughout his career he<br />

exhibited regularly and had several one-man<br />

shows in Bristol (1980/ 1982/ 1996) and a<br />

recent Retrospective at Spike Island. His last<br />

one-man show <strong>of</strong> wood engravings that I<br />

had <strong>the</strong> pleasure <strong>of</strong> seeing was at Newnham<br />

on Severn in August, where Peter quietly<br />

sitting on his chair, enjoyed <strong>the</strong> homage <strong>of</strong><br />

many admirers, a rare achievement to have<br />

in one’s own lifetime.<br />

A major archive <strong>of</strong> his work is held in<br />

<strong>the</strong> Library <strong>of</strong> Manchester Metropolitan<br />

<strong>University</strong>.<br />

Peter will be sadly missed but <strong>the</strong><br />

memory <strong>of</strong> him will always kindle warm<br />

thoughts and a sense <strong>of</strong> optimism and<br />

example amongst those who knew him<br />

and his work will be a lasting memorial.<br />

Frances Seymour RWA<br />

(1931-2010)<br />

Remembered by Mike Jenner FRIBA FRSA RWA<br />

Frances Conway, initially trained in<br />

business, had no formal art education.<br />

She was married first to Robert Hurdle,<br />

who was <strong>the</strong>n on <strong>the</strong> staff <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bristol Art<br />

School, with whom she had two sons and a<br />

daughter, and during that time she began to<br />

paint. After <strong>the</strong> marriage was dissolved she<br />

married <strong>the</strong> late writer John Seymour, with<br />

whom she had a daughter.<br />

She was elected an Associate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

RWA in 1963, and a full Academician in<br />

1993. She exhibited at <strong>the</strong> Arnolfini in<br />

Bristol and at a gallery in Biarritz, had a<br />

one-woman show at Bristol Arts Centre<br />

and was a finalist in Courage’s ‘Bristol 600’<br />

competition. In 2003 she served on <strong>the</strong><br />

selection and hanging committee for <strong>the</strong><br />

‘Tooth and Claw’ exhibition.<br />

Fiercely independent, she developed a<br />

unique style which reflected her interest<br />

in people, who appeared in almost all her<br />

paintings. In her sixties she travelled<br />

alone to Morocco, returning with masses<br />

<strong>of</strong> drawings and watercolours. On one<br />

occasion, when she was drawing a group<br />

<strong>of</strong> children in a remote village, she was<br />

suddenly surrounded by <strong>the</strong>ir increasingly<br />

angry and incomprehensibly shrieking<br />

mo<strong>the</strong>rs. She was saved by <strong>the</strong> local Imam<br />

who fortunately could speak a little English<br />

and explained what she was doing. The<br />

upshot was that <strong>the</strong> Imam and his wife<br />

invited her to dinner, and for <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> her<br />

stay she was lionised by <strong>the</strong> whole village.<br />

In her seventies, after an adult lifetime<br />

in Clifton, Bristol she uprooted to Liverpool<br />

where one <strong>of</strong> her daughters lived, and<br />

opened <strong>the</strong> Atelier Gallery in which she<br />

exhibited her own work and that <strong>of</strong><br />

many o<strong>the</strong>rs. Frances Seymour died<br />

on 25 September after a long illness.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

13


Academicians’ news<br />

The Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>England</strong> Academy HHHH<br />

The Bristol Academy <strong>of</strong> Painters, sculptors<br />

and architects was founded in 1844. In<br />

1845 it received a gift <strong>of</strong> £2000 from Ellen<br />

Sharples, wife <strong>of</strong> a painter and mo<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong><br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r, and on her death in 1849 she left<br />

a fur<strong>the</strong>r £3400. These sums,<br />

<strong>the</strong>n very large, decided <strong>the</strong><br />

academicians to build <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

own premises. Two architects<br />

submitted designs and <strong>the</strong><br />

trustees decided to build to<br />

Charles Underwood’s plans<br />

and J.H. Hirst’s elevations (a<br />

dreadful decision which must<br />

have been a nightmare for both<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m). The building, with<br />

Underwood’s superb top-lit<br />

galleries, and with uninspired<br />

façade sculptures by <strong>the</strong> overprolific<br />

John Thomas (almost<br />

certainly <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> an<br />

assistant) was opened in 1858.<br />

Hirst’s façade was highly<br />

attractive, with <strong>the</strong> still existing five arches<br />

on <strong>the</strong> first floor <strong>the</strong>n open as a loggia,<br />

and a huge monumental double flight <strong>of</strong><br />

external steps leading up to it. By 1909 <strong>the</strong><br />

academicians were forced to recognise that<br />

having to run up and down stairs in <strong>the</strong><br />

rain was absurd, so <strong>the</strong> free services <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

architectural pr<strong>of</strong>ession were called upon<br />

again. The resulting dull façade was an<br />

14 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

unhappy mixture <strong>of</strong> Hirst’s originally virile<br />

but now emasculated upper floor and attic,<br />

and a routine Edwardian-French base. The<br />

alterations were a disaster, but produced<br />

two great internal benefits. The building<br />

works much better<br />

than it did before,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> stair and<br />

entrance hall is a<br />

major triumph. The<br />

“<br />

This is one<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> three<br />

or four finest<br />

classical<br />

interiors in<br />

Bristol.<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r sombre but<br />

immensely dignified<br />

marble stair rises to<br />

a landing and <strong>the</strong>n<br />

divides to ascend<br />

on each side up to<br />

<strong>the</strong> newly-enclosed<br />

loggia. Above <strong>the</strong><br />

stair is a dome,<br />

and in <strong>the</strong> lunettes<br />

lovely murals by<br />

Walter Crane. His<br />

colourful decorative<br />

style is <strong>the</strong> perfect foil to <strong>the</strong> cool marble<br />

below. This is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> three or four finest<br />

classical interiors in Bristol; <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

building is superior to <strong>the</strong> ra<strong>the</strong>r leaden<br />

municipal museum and art gallery.<br />

Abridged from Bristol’s 100 Best Buildings<br />

by Mike Jenner, published by Redcliffe<br />

Press, November 2010. S<strong>of</strong>tback £16.95<br />

Art Blogs<br />

Internet art blogs are<br />

ten a penny. Greg Reitschlin<br />

selects some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> best:<br />

UK Street Art<br />

Graffiti, street art,<br />

exhibitions around <strong>the</strong> UK.<br />

www.ukstreetart<br />

Things Magazine<br />

An online journal about<br />

objects and meanings.<br />

www.thingsmagazine.net<br />

Jonathon Jones on Art<br />

Established Guardian art<br />

critic speaks his mind<br />

www.guardian.<br />

co.uk/artanddesign/<br />

jonathonjonesblog<br />

Saatchi<br />

Online tv, magazine, videos,<br />

features, news, reviews<br />

and interviews<br />

www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/<br />

blogon/<br />

Telegraph<br />

Architecture, art, jazz…<br />

it’s all here.<br />

Blogs.telegraph.co.uk<br />

/culture/art<br />

The Art Blog<br />

Named as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> top art<br />

blogs by Art In America<br />

magazine<br />

– reviews, thoughts, gossip<br />

www.<strong>the</strong>artblog.org<br />

ArtMoCo<br />

Modern contemporary design<br />

and architecture<br />

www.mocoloco.com/art<br />

Art Culture<br />

International art and design<br />

news, tailored towards <strong>the</strong><br />

creative mind<br />

www.artculture.com<br />

The Acrylic Painting Course<br />

An acrylic painting blog,<br />

<strong>of</strong>fering hints, tips and lessons<br />

www.apaintingcourse.<br />

blogspot.com<br />

Peter Swan RWA<br />

Our very own Peter Swan’s blog<br />

www.peterswanrwa.<br />

blogspot.com<br />

AUREA<br />

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RWA 1.4page_xmas_2010.indd 1 26/10/2010 10:18:21<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

15


<strong>Flesh</strong><br />

<strong>Howard</strong> <strong>Jacobson</strong><br />

talks to Simon Baker<br />

16 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

I am meeting novelist <strong>Howard</strong> <strong>Jacobson</strong>,<br />

soon to be Man Booker prize-winner,<br />

at <strong>the</strong> Groucho Club in Dean Street. It is<br />

5pm on a fine September day and serious<br />

conversations are gearing up in <strong>the</strong> bars <strong>of</strong><br />

Soho. A few yards down, where Soho gives<br />

way to Chinatown, pink paper hangings<br />

promise a less cerebral entertainment. We<br />

are discussing his programme, made for <strong>the</strong><br />

Channel 4 series: ‘The Genius <strong>of</strong> British Art’,<br />

featuring six personalities celebrating British<br />

art from <strong>the</strong> 16th to <strong>the</strong> 21st Centuries.<br />

:<br />

eroticism,<br />

prudery &<br />

British art<br />

1<br />

2


1 (overleaf)<br />

<strong>Howard</strong><br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong><br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong>’s programme<br />

is entitled, with blunt<br />

frankness: <strong>Flesh</strong>.<br />

As he says: “If you<br />

want to understand a<br />

culture, see how its art<br />

tackles <strong>the</strong> subject <strong>of</strong><br />

sex. Whatever we claim<br />

to think about sex, it is<br />

only in our art that we<br />

tell <strong>the</strong> truth. British<br />

art and literature deny<br />

18 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

2 (overleaf)<br />

Titania<br />

1866<br />

John Simmons<br />

3 Candaules<br />

and Gyges<br />

c 1830<br />

William Etty<br />

4 The Mermaid<br />

1857<br />

Frederick<br />

Lord Leighton<br />

<strong>the</strong> myth, No sex please<br />

we’re British – we take it<br />

too seriously to enjoy<br />

it. The genius <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

British is that we don’t<br />

just do <strong>the</strong> fires <strong>of</strong><br />

love today. We think<br />

about how we will feel<br />

tomorrow. Our art <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> nude is not less<br />

sensual for taking sex<br />

seriously, but more so.”<br />

“<br />

An art, <strong>Jacobson</strong> tells me, that<br />

celebrates richness, fullness,<br />

plenty and excess. To be<br />

embarrassed by it, he argues, is<br />

to be embarrassed by life itself.<br />

3<br />

<strong>Flesh</strong> sets out to celebrate <strong>the</strong> most telling<br />

emanation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> British art <strong>of</strong> sexual<br />

desire, its wild fleshiness and torments,<br />

its sweets and sorrows. It is to be found<br />

where we least expect it – in <strong>the</strong> art <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Victorians. An art, <strong>Jacobson</strong> tells me, that<br />

celebrates richness, fullness, plenty and<br />

excess. To be embarrassed by it, he argues,<br />

is to be embarrassed by life itself.<br />

His literary heroes include Tennyson,<br />

Dickens, George Elliot and Hardy all <strong>of</strong><br />

whom wrote about sensual passion and<br />

desire. For <strong>the</strong>m and <strong>the</strong>ir contemporaries<br />

sex was no small matter. Contrary to our<br />

stereotypes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Victorians, for <strong>the</strong>m<br />

sex was an obsession not an aversion.<br />

The great subject <strong>of</strong> Victorian art and<br />

literature is thraldom, thraldom to desire.<br />

To demean this is a slur on <strong>the</strong> English.<br />

Puritanical may not be <strong>the</strong> right word for<br />

<strong>the</strong> Victorians but – so what if it is? And<br />

what if we are shocked by <strong>the</strong>ir depiction<br />

<strong>of</strong> passion in art? “When <strong>the</strong> English<br />

‘do sex’ ”, <strong>Jacobson</strong> says, “we feel that<br />

it is something which will disturb us.”<br />

I ask him about what seems to be his<br />

starting point, namely <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Yorkshire born William Etty (1787-1849)<br />

and his picture <strong>of</strong> Candaules and Gyges.<br />

Etty started painting in <strong>the</strong> 1820s. After<br />

spending two years in Italy he returned<br />

home, dedicated to <strong>the</strong> art <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nude.<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> says that Etty changed <strong>the</strong><br />

“temperature <strong>of</strong> British painting”.<br />

He is a hero <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> programme.<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> first stumbled on <strong>the</strong><br />

Candaules picture 20 years ago. He explains<br />

it is “about looking” and was important<br />

to him in <strong>the</strong> writing <strong>of</strong> his second novel,<br />

Peeping Tom. Is seeing an act <strong>of</strong> possession,<br />

or <strong>the</strong>ft? Is <strong>the</strong>re a right and wrong<br />

kind <strong>of</strong> seeing? Should we be looking at<br />

all? Etty’s picture depicts <strong>the</strong> shocking<br />

story, told at <strong>the</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> Heroditus’s<br />

Histories, <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> King <strong>of</strong> Lydia, so erotically<br />

obsessed with his wife that, at <strong>the</strong> risk<br />

<strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong>ir lives, he arranges for ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />

man, his general, covertly to see her as she<br />

undresses. <strong>Jacobson</strong> says that today “we<br />

just don’t get it”. It is not an act <strong>of</strong> male<br />

power and dominance but <strong>of</strong> obsessive<br />

desire that beauty should be looked at.<br />

To prepare for <strong>the</strong> programme<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> visited Manchester City Art<br />

Gallery where <strong>the</strong>re is a wall <strong>of</strong> Etty’s<br />

nudes including Ulysses and <strong>the</strong> Sirens,<br />

extravagant both in its size and sensuous<br />

figure painting. Two pairs <strong>of</strong> pictures,<br />

English and French hanging toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />

in <strong>the</strong> gallery, made <strong>the</strong> point for him,<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> explains. I say that a Renoir<br />

nude, which he describes as “fruit”,<br />

seems to me much less significant than<br />

a Sickert nude which <strong>the</strong> programme<br />

shows alongside. He swiftly adds: “ ...and<br />

as a thinking woman, more enticing”.<br />

Comparison between <strong>the</strong> second pair,<br />

a “come on” Sappho by <strong>the</strong> French painter<br />

Charles-August Mengin <strong>of</strong> 1877 and<br />

Syrinx by Arthur Hacker <strong>of</strong> 1892, with<br />

its awkwardness at <strong>the</strong> unwanted surprise<br />

<strong>of</strong> sex, shows <strong>the</strong> English picture to be<br />

<strong>the</strong> more interesting, complicated and<br />

alluring. This, <strong>Jacobson</strong> says, shows <strong>the</strong><br />

advantage <strong>of</strong> a good collection. It gave him<br />

<strong>the</strong> script for <strong>the</strong> programme.<br />

For such provincial collections we<br />

have to thank our philanthropic Victorian<br />

businessmen and industrialists. <strong>Jacobson</strong><br />

says that he wanted to celebrate those<br />

provincial movers and shakers, <strong>the</strong>ir love<br />

<strong>of</strong> art and <strong>the</strong>ir belief in its educational<br />

value. They were not abashed by <strong>the</strong><br />

sensual nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> art which <strong>the</strong>y gave<br />

to <strong>the</strong> institutions which <strong>the</strong>y founded.<br />

They were people <strong>of</strong> high ideals and<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> is fascinated by what <strong>the</strong>y<br />

felt would edify <strong>the</strong>ir fellow citizens.<br />

They were not inhibited by taboos.<br />

William Lever presented <strong>the</strong> museum he<br />

built in memory <strong>of</strong> his wife with Alma<br />

Tadema’s highly suggestive Tepidarium<br />

which <strong>Jacobson</strong> describes as a witty<br />

and insolently knowing painting. There<br />

was no cant <strong>the</strong>re. I tell <strong>Jacobson</strong> that,<br />

when he turns to camera and delivers<br />

his polemic championing <strong>the</strong> provincial,<br />

he has me out <strong>of</strong> my seat and cheering.<br />

(“It is to be impervious to <strong>the</strong> winds <strong>of</strong><br />

fashionable modernity which shake capital<br />

cities, to be independent and intransigent<br />

and alive to <strong>the</strong> genius <strong>of</strong> a particular<br />

place, not a citizen <strong>of</strong> everywhere and<br />

nowhere”.) Creating universal art out<br />

<strong>of</strong> a single place is genius.<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> also cites his admiration<br />

for John William Waterhouse and his<br />

Manchester picture Hylas and <strong>the</strong><br />

Nymphs shown at <strong>the</strong> RA in 2009.<br />

He cannot understand <strong>the</strong> difficulty<br />

which his friend Waldemar Januszczak<br />

has with this picture while championing<br />

<strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Jeff Koons, which is known to<br />

be pornographic but accepted because it is<br />

ironic. Hylas succumbs, not to <strong>the</strong> femmes<br />

fatale, but to <strong>the</strong> erotic love in which he<br />

drowns and which <strong>the</strong> artist depicts with<br />

such colour and sensuality.<br />

The human body, he says, is not<br />

celebrated in contemporary British art.<br />

This is a long way from <strong>the</strong> art <strong>of</strong><br />

Sickert and Stanley Spencer. He speaks<br />

emphatically <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> importance, as art, <strong>of</strong><br />

Spencer’s nude portraits <strong>of</strong> Patricia Preece<br />

and <strong>of</strong> his unsparing depiction in <strong>the</strong>m<br />

<strong>of</strong> unattainable passionate desire and <strong>the</strong><br />

sheer cruelty <strong>of</strong> voluptuousness. He fears<br />

that <strong>the</strong> Spencer family will not let <strong>the</strong><br />

programme makers use <strong>the</strong> image <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

“leg <strong>of</strong> mutton” portrait whose influence<br />

can clearly be seen in <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “icy”<br />

Lucien Freud.<br />

How comfortable is <strong>Jacobson</strong> about <strong>the</strong><br />

Victorian love <strong>of</strong> fairy painting? His visit<br />

to Bristol City Art Gallery, where he sees<br />

Leighton’s Titania, is <strong>the</strong> point at which he<br />

considers this. He acknowledges that it is<br />

edgy and foreign to our imaginations. But<br />

seeing women as bewitching is not seeing<br />

<strong>the</strong>m as wicked; beautiful but not horrible.<br />

Ra<strong>the</strong>r it is <strong>the</strong> masochism <strong>of</strong> male desire<br />

and that sense <strong>of</strong> being separated from<br />

oneself and taken into a fascinating<br />

irrational world. The Victorians were<br />

interested in young girls and recognised<br />

desires which <strong>the</strong>y could not act on.<br />

We are back again with <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>of</strong><br />

taboo and <strong>the</strong> question: who truly are<br />

<strong>the</strong> stereotypical Victorians?<br />

As I take my leave and plunge into<br />

<strong>the</strong> street, my mind is buzzing with <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>mes <strong>of</strong> our conversation: <strong>the</strong> power<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> provincial; <strong>the</strong> genius <strong>of</strong> British<br />

painting; <strong>the</strong> debt we owe to those<br />

philanthropic Victorian patrons and<br />

industrialists, <strong>the</strong>ir investment and<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir ideals. In <strong>the</strong> broader sweep <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> history <strong>of</strong> our art, is not our lack<br />

<strong>of</strong> self-confidence in our provincial cities<br />

and galleries unjustified?<br />

“<br />

When <strong>the</strong> English ‘do sex’<br />

<strong>Jacobson</strong> says, we feel that it is<br />

something which will disturb us.<br />

4<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

19


20 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

The RWA is seeking a<br />

Deputy Editor<br />

for ART magazine<br />

SUBTLY STRIKING<br />

QUIETLY SHOUTING<br />

INTANGIBLY DEFINED<br />

EVOCATIVELY STARK<br />

AUDIBLY SHINING<br />

CLEVERLY SIMPLE<br />

DRAMATICALLY CALM<br />

UNASSUMINGLY BOLD<br />

WWW.WIRESKY.CO.UK<br />

we are designers, listeners, thinkers.<br />

This unpaid, voluntary role will suit<br />

an enthusiastic lover <strong>of</strong> Fine Art who<br />

has a writing background.<br />

If you have <strong>the</strong> time to devote to help<br />

fur<strong>the</strong>r develop this magazine, please<br />

contact: Richard Storey, Managing Editor<br />

richard.storey@rwa.org.uk<br />

by 15 January 2011.<br />

Beatrice Phillpotts 1983 / 2004<br />

oil on canvas 175 x 122cm<br />

Rural<br />

David<br />

Inshaw<br />

Dreamer<br />

Tristan Pollard


David Inshaw’s home,<br />

a converted 18th<br />

century Quaker<br />

meeting house, is a<br />

haven <strong>of</strong> airy calm.<br />

Carefully placed<br />

paintings and<br />

drawings rest on <strong>the</strong><br />

floor or are ranged<br />

in neat rows along<br />

shelves with his own<br />

collection <strong>of</strong> artworks,<br />

while tidy stacks <strong>of</strong><br />

photographs, sketches<br />

and o<strong>the</strong>r reference<br />

material cover most flat<br />

surfaces. His studio<br />

space is equally tidy,<br />

with tubes <strong>of</strong> paint<br />

lined up, a palette <strong>of</strong><br />

oils waiting, a large<br />

canvas sitting on an<br />

easel. Elgar, Tallis and<br />

Mozart CDs lie close to<br />

his stereo, while a large<br />

model Spitfire, <strong>the</strong> envy<br />

<strong>of</strong> any schoolboy, sits<br />

on <strong>the</strong> shelf close by.<br />

Photographs<br />

by Alice Hendy<br />

22 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

One <strong>of</strong> this country’s leading<br />

painters, Inshaw has work in<br />

private and public collections<br />

including <strong>the</strong> RWA, Bristol<br />

City Museum and Art<br />

Gallery, <strong>the</strong> Department <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> Environment and <strong>the</strong><br />

Tate Gallery: work <strong>of</strong>ten seen<br />

to embody a quintessential<br />

Englishness, a distillation<br />

<strong>of</strong> all that is great about this<br />

country.<br />

Born in Wednesfield,<br />

Staffordshire in 1943, Inshaw<br />

never thought he would<br />

become an artist. “When I was<br />

at school I stuttered badly, so<br />

I occupied myself by drawing<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r than talking. In my<br />

fourth year a new, dynamic<br />

teacher asked three <strong>of</strong> us if<br />

we had thought <strong>of</strong> going to<br />

art school. We said we never<br />

knew <strong>the</strong>re was such a thing,<br />

so he said “I’ll take you down<br />

to have a look”. When we went<br />

in it was full <strong>of</strong> beatniks: men<br />

with beards, sandals and jeans<br />

and women with fishnet tights<br />

and high-heeled shoes; a den<br />

<strong>of</strong> iniquity and we said – our<br />

parents will never let us come<br />

here.’’ Fortunately Inshaw’s<br />

teacher was as persuasive as<br />

he was dynamic, and following<br />

a meeting at <strong>the</strong> school<br />

parents’ evening, Inshaw was<br />

permitted to attend art college.<br />

“The first person I can<br />

remember, as a painter, was<br />

Samuel Palmer, because we<br />

lived at Biggin Hill, not far<br />

from Shoreham where he<br />

used to paint. Ano<strong>the</strong>r early<br />

influence came from a visit to<br />

<strong>the</strong> Tate Gallery as a schoolboy,<br />

seeing Stanley Spencer’s Christ<br />

Carrying <strong>the</strong> Cross. People<br />

lean from a window, curtains<br />

billowing out like angel’s<br />

wings behind <strong>the</strong>m. A fantastic<br />

painting; one <strong>of</strong> my earliest<br />

influences.”<br />

Although Inshaw found<br />

<strong>the</strong> training at Beckenham Art<br />

School invaluable, acceptance<br />

by <strong>the</strong> Royal Academy and<br />

exposure to <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong><br />

American artists such as<br />

Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns<br />

and <strong>the</strong> Pop Artists, made him<br />

question <strong>the</strong> style he had been<br />

taught. “I spent <strong>the</strong> next three<br />

years trying to find a way <strong>of</strong><br />

producing pictures that had<br />

<strong>the</strong> kind <strong>of</strong> immediacy I felt<br />

<strong>the</strong> art world needed.”<br />

“<br />

When we went in it was full <strong>of</strong> beatniks:<br />

men with beards, sandals and jeans and<br />

women with fishnet tights and high-heeled<br />

shoes; a den <strong>of</strong> iniquity and we said,<br />

– our parents will never let us come here.<br />

In 1966, soon after he’d<br />

taken up a post in Bristol,<br />

teaching printmaking, he met<br />

Christine Butler who gave<br />

him a copy <strong>of</strong> Thomas Hardy’s<br />

Tess <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> D’Urbervilles;<br />

a gift which was to have a<br />

considerable influence on his<br />

future painting. “The thing<br />

I liked about Hardy was <strong>the</strong><br />

way he used landscape as a<br />

metaphor for human emotion,<br />

describing <strong>the</strong> way people felt.<br />

I thought that was a fantastic<br />

clue to what I wanted.”<br />

At <strong>the</strong> same time, Inshaw<br />

was sharing a flat with<br />

Alf Stockham, who was also<br />

undergoing a transitional<br />

phase in style. Toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />

<strong>the</strong>y would drive to Dorset,<br />

searching for Hardy country<br />

and immersing <strong>the</strong>mselves in<br />

<strong>the</strong> dramatic scenery: “Not to<br />

paint, but just to seek a new<br />

beginning, to find <strong>the</strong> end<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> piece <strong>of</strong> string which<br />

had eluded us”. From <strong>the</strong>n<br />

on Inshaw’s work became a<br />

celebration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> power <strong>of</strong><br />

Nature, with his landscapes<br />

encapsulating <strong>the</strong> various<br />

moods <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Wiltshire and<br />

Dorset countryside; brilliant<br />

blue skies and golden<br />

sunshine; dark and brooding<br />

thunderheads; long, dramatic<br />

shadows; darkening skies rent<br />

by lightning.<br />

An impressive example<br />

<strong>of</strong> Inshaw’s Romantic style<br />

can be seen at Bristol City<br />

Museum and Art Gallery,<br />

in All our days were a Joy.<br />

A young woman wearing a<br />

long dark dress, stands alone<br />

in a country graveyard. The<br />

grass around <strong>the</strong> graves is<br />

well maintained, <strong>the</strong> greenery<br />

growing over <strong>the</strong> graves is<br />

rampant and unkempt, trees<br />

surround <strong>the</strong> graveyard, silent<br />

sentinels. Towards <strong>the</strong> right<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> painting, a large, dark<br />

tree appears to be encroaching<br />

upon <strong>the</strong> cemetery, Nature<br />

regaining her foothold.<br />

Every blade <strong>of</strong> grass and leaf is<br />

painted in precise detail. This<br />

work encompasses many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>mes that were to become<br />

Inshaw’s own; <strong>the</strong> woman is<br />

alone, but could be waiting for<br />

someone, or turning as she<br />

hears a sound; dark clouds<br />

reveal a narrow strip <strong>of</strong> blue<br />

sky, a hint perhaps that hope<br />

is on <strong>the</strong> horizon.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

23


“<br />

‘I think <strong>the</strong><br />

only ingredient<br />

that pulls it<br />

all toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />

is sex. That’s<br />

<strong>the</strong> only thing<br />

that matters.’<br />

We laugh, but<br />

his observation<br />

isn’t entirely<br />

without truth.<br />

Inshaw is careful not to analyse his<br />

work too much. “Things do happen and<br />

I’m aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m happening, but I don’t<br />

try to make a plan <strong>of</strong> how <strong>the</strong>y should<br />

happen. It’s a question <strong>of</strong> moments; I’m<br />

always looking out for things, aware that<br />

at any moment something could happen<br />

that might be useful.” Although certain<br />

landmarks, such as Silbury Hill and<br />

<strong>the</strong> cliffs <strong>of</strong> <strong>West</strong> Bay, remain favourite<br />

subjects, Inshaw’s work <strong>of</strong>ten branches<br />

out into more whimsical and humorous<br />

territory, with images <strong>of</strong> fairies,<br />

mermaids and Felix <strong>the</strong> Cat making <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

appearance. The emergence <strong>of</strong> a lighter<br />

side to his work partly came about as <strong>the</strong><br />

intensity <strong>of</strong> working on complicated, large<br />

works began to take its toll, physically<br />

and artistically. ‘After about ten years <strong>of</strong><br />

doing carefully constructed paintings,<br />

it became a mannerism. It was just a<br />

process, which had lost its point. I had<br />

to find a new way <strong>of</strong> working, while<br />

retaining that intensity.<br />

“I would suffer terrible stomach aches<br />

from just sitting and painting. Then I<br />

stood up to paint, walked backwards and<br />

forwards to <strong>the</strong> painting – that made a lot<br />

<strong>of</strong> difference. It created a whole new brush<br />

mark which developed as gradually <strong>the</strong><br />

images became simpler. I stopped telling<br />

constructed stories.<br />

“I became interested in o<strong>the</strong>r things<br />

and incorporated <strong>the</strong>m into my work.<br />

I like painting figures. On <strong>the</strong> beach<br />

at <strong>West</strong> Bay, you see all sorts <strong>of</strong> things,<br />

so I just made <strong>the</strong>m into fantasies.”<br />

24 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

She Did Not Turn 1974, oil on canvas 137 x 183cm<br />

Felix <strong>the</strong> Cat was a favourite childhood<br />

cartoon character and Inshaw always<br />

identified with <strong>the</strong> anxious creature who<br />

“seemed to be striving to work out <strong>the</strong><br />

meaning <strong>of</strong> life”. Eventually <strong>the</strong> character<br />

made his way into a painting as a figure<br />

on a rucksack, from <strong>the</strong>n on appearing<br />

in several paintings. However, not happy<br />

with having his childhood hero stuck<br />

as a luggage logo, Inshaw decided to<br />

emancipate Felix by painting out <strong>the</strong><br />

rucksack. “He was gone, free to express<br />

himself”, laughs Inshaw. “That’s what<br />

happens when you’re painting, you can<br />

think, whimsically. I like humour in<br />

painting, a sort <strong>of</strong> slight, wry humour.<br />

It’s to do with <strong>the</strong> fact that we’re not here<br />

forever, <strong>the</strong> transitory nature <strong>of</strong> things.<br />

We might as well have a laugh.”<br />

The transitory nature <strong>of</strong> man is<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> Inshaw’s recurring <strong>the</strong>mes;<br />

Nature dominates to such an extent that<br />

at times it seems to overwhelm <strong>the</strong> canvas.<br />

In The Cricket Game at Little Bredy,<br />

<strong>the</strong> landscape appears to envelop <strong>the</strong><br />

cricketers, <strong>the</strong> human figures dwarfed<br />

by <strong>the</strong> massive trees and rolling hills,<br />

while in The Raven, a girl, sitting in a<br />

chair, apparently waiting for someone<br />

or something, is surrounded by looming,<br />

sculpted trees that have <strong>the</strong> solidity <strong>of</strong><br />

rocks and mountains.<br />

“Nature always has <strong>the</strong> upper hand,<br />

coating man’s endeavours, layer upon<br />

layer. For example, one <strong>of</strong> my favourite<br />

places, Cornwall, has been raped and<br />

pillaged by man over <strong>the</strong> centuries and<br />

you can see evidence <strong>of</strong> that, but you can<br />

also see that Nature does eventually take<br />

over again, and I quite like that idea.”<br />

Despite a difficult year, new <strong>the</strong>mes<br />

are beginning to appear in <strong>the</strong> unfinished<br />

canvases that line his studio space. “I felt<br />

that I’d lost direction, come up against<br />

a brick wall and didn’t know how to get<br />

through it, but I’m gradually beginning<br />

to find a way. I’m interested in tents and<br />

trees and hill figures and WWII pill-boxes,<br />

but how you pull that lot toge<strong>the</strong>r,<br />

God knows.” He grins mischievously.<br />

“I think <strong>the</strong> only ingredient that pulls<br />

it all toge<strong>the</strong>r is sex. That’s <strong>the</strong> only<br />

thing that matters.” We laugh, but his<br />

observation isn’t entirely without truth.<br />

Many <strong>of</strong> his paintings contain elements<br />

ranging from restrained eroticism<br />

through to open sexuality, from <strong>the</strong><br />

voyeuristic to <strong>the</strong> dreamlike surrealism<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> Bay paintings.<br />

“I do try to give a sensuous feeling<br />

when I paint a picture. I like to convey<br />

a sensuality, which I don’t think much<br />

art does today. I think painters are<br />

voyeuristic; it goes with <strong>the</strong> job. You’re<br />

always waiting for something to happen,<br />

that connection to be made, so you’re<br />

always looking, in a way which most<br />

people aren’t.” He smiles, apologetically,<br />

“I’m always daydreaming; at school,<br />

my best subject was daydreaming.”<br />

Sky Blue Framing & Gallery<br />

Big Christmas Exhibition<br />

The perfect place to find an original present or gift – featuring a<br />

huge collection <strong>of</strong> new artworks by all <strong>of</strong> our most popular artists:<br />

• Ten newly released Quentin Blake/Roald Dahl collectors edition prints.<br />

• Recently released Limited Edition prints from Mary Fedden, John Knapp-<br />

Fisher, David Brayne RWS, Stephen Hanson, Michael Ogden and a<br />

number <strong>of</strong> new faces.<br />

• Silk screen prints by <strong>the</strong> ever popular Susie Brooks and Jane Ormes<br />

with etchings by Veronique Giarrusso and Sue Brown.<br />

• Curvaceous sculptures by Cathy Judge.<br />

• Framing service for artworks purchased here or sourced elsewhere.<br />

• Beautiful designer jewellery and Art Christmas cards.<br />

27 North View, <strong>West</strong>bury Park, Bristol BS6 7PT<br />

Email: mike@skybluefineart.com www.skybluefineart.com<br />

EASY PARKING NEAR WAITROSE<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

25


Bristol City<br />

Council’s<br />

regeneration<br />

schemes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

1990s revived<br />

one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most<br />

attractive features<br />

<strong>of</strong> later medieval<br />

and eighteenth<br />

century townscapes<br />

– imaginative<br />

3-dimensional shop<br />

signs. Shops come<br />

and go and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

signs are inevitably<br />

ephemeral. In <strong>the</strong><br />

hope that <strong>the</strong>se<br />

shop signs will<br />

inspire successors<br />

Francis Greenacre<br />

draws attention<br />

to some recent<br />

examples.<br />

26 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

1 Steve Joyce,<br />

Pet Shop<br />

sign, 1992,<br />

East Street,<br />

Bedminster<br />

Signs <strong>of</strong><br />

regeneration Francis<br />

2 Richard Fox<br />

and Benedict<br />

Whybrow,<br />

Radford Mill<br />

Farm Shop<br />

sign 1982/3,<br />

Picton Street 1 2<br />

Greenacre<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

27


At <strong>the</strong> bottom end <strong>of</strong> Picton Street are<br />

Bell’s Diner and <strong>the</strong> Radford Mill Farm<br />

Shop, two surviving and pioneering<br />

providers <strong>of</strong> good food, cooked and<br />

uncooked, from <strong>the</strong> 1970s. Early in <strong>the</strong><br />

following decade, <strong>the</strong> owner <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> farm<br />

shop, <strong>the</strong> American Richard Fox, and <strong>the</strong><br />

engineer and artist Benedict Whybrow<br />

created an ambitious shop sign, an<br />

articulated row <strong>of</strong> pumpkins climbing<br />

up <strong>the</strong> façade. It was partly inspired by<br />

Covent Garden’s water clock in Neal’s Yard<br />

erected in 1982 and thus also by <strong>the</strong> shopclock<br />

automata <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century.<br />

It belongs, too, to <strong>the</strong> long<br />

tradition <strong>of</strong> ornamental shop<br />

signs that adorned our cities,<br />

<strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong> spectacular<br />

watering can, once at<br />

12 St Nicholas Street and<br />

illustrated here, is an apt<br />

example. The animated<br />

pumpkins were also a piece<br />

<strong>of</strong> kinetic sculpture, but<br />

like most pieces <strong>of</strong> public<br />

sculpture that are dependent<br />

upon electricity or water, it<br />

ground to a halt quite quickly.<br />

It is still <strong>the</strong>re, however, as<br />

also is Richard Fox, who is determined to<br />

restore it. And it was itself an inspiration<br />

to <strong>the</strong> revival in Bristol <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ancient<br />

tradition <strong>of</strong> 3-dimensional shop signs in<br />

<strong>the</strong> 1990s.<br />

East Street, Bedminster’s busiest<br />

thoroughfare, was in sharp decline even<br />

before process was hastened by <strong>the</strong> arrival<br />

<strong>of</strong> a vast supermarket in 1988. Bristol City<br />

Council responded and amongst <strong>the</strong> many<br />

components <strong>of</strong> a programme <strong>of</strong> urban<br />

renewal, <strong>the</strong> most obvious <strong>of</strong> which was<br />

28 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

<strong>the</strong> pedestrianisation <strong>of</strong> a section <strong>of</strong> East<br />

Street, was <strong>the</strong> assistance given to shop<br />

keepers with <strong>the</strong> enlivening <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir shop<br />

fronts. Hugh Nettelfield <strong>of</strong> Quattro Design<br />

Architects gave Steve Joyce his first<br />

commissions for shop signs. Of <strong>the</strong> five<br />

signs he designed for East Street, only one<br />

continues to serve its original purpose,<br />

today. Above a pet shop, five parrots and<br />

several mice still perch on four rabbits<br />

supported on <strong>the</strong> paws <strong>of</strong> three cats,<br />

which stand on two terriers sitting on<br />

Wo<strong>of</strong>ie, <strong>the</strong> sculptor’s own Airdale terrier,<br />

who stands on two bags <strong>of</strong> dog biscuits.<br />

The work is in self-coloured cast resin<br />

and, most impressively, it holds its own<br />

before <strong>the</strong> superb cast terracotta winged<br />

dragons and flowers above <strong>the</strong> Edwardian<br />

“ Collinson understood <strong>the</strong> need<br />

to integrate ‘art and craft work<br />

into <strong>the</strong> fabric <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> place,<br />

as it is attention to detail...<br />

entrance to <strong>the</strong> old Imperial Tobacco<br />

Company building opposite.<br />

Before 1996 Steve Joyce was to<br />

complete at least ano<strong>the</strong>r dozen shop signs<br />

for environmental improvement schemes<br />

in St Mark’s Road, Easton, Stapleton Road,<br />

Mina Road and Grosvenor Road, St Paul’s.<br />

He had already completed three major<br />

public sculpture commissions in Bristol,<br />

including <strong>the</strong> bronze statue <strong>of</strong> John Cabot<br />

on <strong>the</strong> quayside by Arnolfini, and he was<br />

ideally suited to <strong>the</strong> complex demands <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> genre. Before going to art college in<br />

Bristol, he had completed an engineering<br />

apprenticeship and he later worked for<br />

Dore<strong>the</strong>a Restorations. He had a wide<br />

range <strong>of</strong> traditional metal-working skills<br />

and experience <strong>of</strong> working in a great<br />

variety <strong>of</strong> materials. He also got on well<br />

with Ian Collinson, <strong>the</strong> Planning Officer<br />

brought in to <strong>the</strong> Housing Department<br />

to manage <strong>the</strong>se schemes. Collinson<br />

understood <strong>the</strong> need to integrate “art and<br />

craft work into <strong>the</strong> fabric <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> place, as it<br />

is attention to detail, not grand gestures,<br />

which will have <strong>the</strong> most pr<strong>of</strong>ound effect”.<br />

Those are <strong>the</strong> words <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sculptor Peter<br />

Randall-Page in his preliminary report<br />

on Castle Park in 1990. Thus in St Mark’s<br />

Road, Easton, radical changes to<br />

traffic management and street<br />

lighting were supported by<br />

painted cast-iron bollards, whose<br />

distinctive design has now been<br />

patented. The upper stories<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> shops were decorated<br />

in uniform colours but with<br />

individual motifs. And <strong>the</strong>re<br />

were a wide variety <strong>of</strong> shop signs.<br />

The shop keepers made considerable<br />

contributions to <strong>the</strong> costs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se signs<br />

and consultation and agreement was<br />

sometimes a long and fragile process.<br />

The dragon over <strong>the</strong> Chinese<br />

restaurant proved especially demanding.<br />

For Steve, an exotic dragon was<br />

essentially a Welsh dragon, a beast<br />

wholly unrelated to <strong>the</strong> more ancient and<br />

legendary Chinese dragon. No wonder<br />

that his first draft design caused much<br />

<strong>of</strong>fence. The nine forms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Chinese<br />

dragon are very precise in <strong>the</strong>ir various<br />

details and to depict <strong>the</strong>m inaccurately<br />

1<br />

...not grand<br />

gestures,<br />

which will<br />

have <strong>the</strong> most<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>ound<br />

effect’<br />

”<br />

2<br />

can be a greater insult than burning <strong>the</strong><br />

American flag. Nei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> dragon nor<br />

<strong>the</strong> restaurant has survived in St Mark’s<br />

Road; nor has <strong>the</strong> travel agent who had<br />

a shop sign <strong>of</strong> winged lea<strong>the</strong>r suitcases<br />

covered with travel stickers for faraway<br />

places. Shops come and go and <strong>the</strong> signs<br />

<strong>of</strong>ten go with <strong>the</strong>m. Sadly but inevitably<br />

<strong>the</strong> crucial corner stone <strong>of</strong> St Mark’s<br />

Road, <strong>the</strong> Sweet Mart, has this September<br />

obliterated <strong>the</strong> decorative patterns on <strong>the</strong><br />

façade, which is now a harsh white. The<br />

fascia boards are now an enamel black<br />

applied with swish plastic motifs and <strong>the</strong><br />

canvas shop signs are photographically<br />

printed. Opposite, on <strong>the</strong> corner <strong>of</strong><br />

Henrietta Street <strong>the</strong> long mural <strong>of</strong> a deep<br />

sea scene has also recently been painted<br />

over, although happily <strong>the</strong> excellent<br />

coastal scene with lighthouse on <strong>the</strong> first<br />

floor <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> next door building remains.<br />

No regrets, however, for regeneration<br />

should be a passing process and in St Mark’s<br />

Road it has worked triumphantly.<br />

Mina Road in St Werburgh’s retains <strong>the</strong><br />

best sequence <strong>of</strong> Steve Joyce’s signs, some<br />

painted by Jon Bentley. They include <strong>the</strong><br />

outstanding ear <strong>of</strong> wheat above <strong>the</strong> bread<br />

shop, but <strong>the</strong> wittiest <strong>of</strong> Steve’s works is<br />

arguably <strong>the</strong> delicate sheet <strong>of</strong> copper with<br />

<strong>the</strong> cut-out pattern <strong>of</strong> scissors above Roud<br />

fabrics in Stapleton Road. In Ashley Road,<br />

St Paul’s, <strong>the</strong> City Council’s improvement<br />

scheme led to <strong>the</strong> discovery <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most<br />

impressive Victorian shop sign <strong>of</strong> Jenner<br />

& Co, Drapers and Milliners. It was in<br />

remarkably good condition and it was duly<br />

retained and excellently restored – ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />

aspect <strong>of</strong> a great tradition that deserves<br />

to be fostered.<br />

3<br />

1 Steve Joyce<br />

and Jon<br />

Bentley,<br />

Shop signs<br />

c.1996,<br />

Mina<br />

Road, St<br />

Werburgh’s<br />

2 Steve Joyce,<br />

Shop signs<br />

c.1995,<br />

St Mark’s<br />

Road,<br />

Easton<br />

4<br />

3 Steve Joyce,<br />

Shop sign<br />

for Roud<br />

Fabrics<br />

c.1995,<br />

Stapleton<br />

Road<br />

4 T. L.<br />

Rowbotham,<br />

St Nicholas<br />

Street<br />

looking<br />

west, 1825,<br />

watercolour,<br />

detail,<br />

Bristol<br />

Museum and<br />

Art Gallery<br />

M2262<br />

5 Victorian<br />

shop front,<br />

Ashley<br />

Road, St<br />

Paul’s<br />

6 Steve Joyce,<br />

Shop sign<br />

c.1996,<br />

Mina<br />

Road, St<br />

Werburgh’s<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

5<br />

6<br />

29


© Archives Fondation Maeght, C. Germain © Succession Alberto Giacometti, ADAGP Paris 2010<br />

Homme qui marche 1, 1960<br />

“<br />

His pared<br />

down figures<br />

epitomised <strong>the</strong><br />

existentialism<br />

<strong>of</strong> post-war<br />

Europe. He will<br />

be remembered<br />

as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

twentieth<br />

century’s most<br />

significant<br />

artists – an<br />

extraordinary<br />

painter, sculptor,<br />

draughtsman<br />

and engraver.<br />

Giacometti<br />

Fondation<br />

and <strong>the</strong><br />

Maeght<br />

Renowned <strong>the</strong> world<br />

over, open every<br />

day <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> year and<br />

welcoming 200,000<br />

visitors annually,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Fondation Maeght<br />

in Saint-Paul-de-Vence<br />

has never once closed<br />

its doors to <strong>the</strong> public<br />

since it opened in<br />

1964. Designed for<br />

Aimé and Marguerite<br />

Maeght following<br />

<strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

youngest son, <strong>the</strong><br />

Fondation owns one<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most exhaustive<br />

collections in <strong>the</strong><br />

world <strong>of</strong> sculptures<br />

by Alberto Giacometti.<br />

This includes two<br />

versions <strong>of</strong> Walking<br />

Man, <strong>of</strong> particular<br />

interest in that <strong>the</strong><br />

artist painted <strong>the</strong><br />

bronze, ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />

using a patina finish.<br />

Richard Storey<br />

recently met Adrien<br />

Maeght (born 1930),<br />

son <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> founders<br />

and current President<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Fondation, and<br />

invited him to recall<br />

his relationship with<br />

Giacometti.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

© Archives Fondation Maeght<br />

31


32 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Fondation Maeght<br />

“<br />

As for me, a young<br />

man <strong>of</strong> 17, you<br />

can imagine what<br />

extraordinary good<br />

fortune it was to<br />

be able to talk and<br />

spend time with<br />

such exceptional<br />

men as Bonnard,<br />

Matisse, Miró,<br />

Chagall, Calder,<br />

Kandinsky, Legér<br />

or Duchamp<br />

© Archives Fondation Maeght<br />

As a student in Nimes, my fa<strong>the</strong>r, Aimé,<br />

was an ardent admirer <strong>of</strong> Surrealism,<br />

founded in 1942 by Marcel Duchamp and<br />

André Breton. After <strong>the</strong> Liberation, Pierre<br />

Bonnard and Henri Matisse encouraged<br />

my fa<strong>the</strong>r to open a gallery in Paris. He<br />

did so, and it quickly became <strong>the</strong> preferred<br />

meeting place <strong>of</strong> artists, poets and writers.<br />

When he eventually met Duchamp in<br />

Manhattan, my fa<strong>the</strong>r suggested bringing<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r all those involved in Surrealism<br />

– and so <strong>the</strong> International Surrealist<br />

Exhibition was born. Aimé Maeght began<br />

work on <strong>the</strong> project with Breton, who<br />

introduced him to his friend and witness<br />

at his wedding, Alberto Giacometti.<br />

My fa<strong>the</strong>r was immediately drawn to<br />

Giacometti and invited him to take part<br />

in <strong>the</strong> exhibition which had a world wide<br />

impact and guaranteed Galerie Maeght<br />

a place at <strong>the</strong> forefront <strong>of</strong> avant-gardism.<br />

The two men shared <strong>the</strong> same<br />

vision. Giacometti didn’t have a gallery<br />

to represent him, but felt that Galerie<br />

Maeght was THE gallery where he could<br />

belong, and so my fa<strong>the</strong>r became his<br />

agent. At <strong>the</strong> time, many <strong>of</strong> Giacometti’s<br />

plaster models were still waiting to be<br />

cast; my fa<strong>the</strong>r, so convinced <strong>of</strong> Alberto’s<br />

genius, immediately decided to make<br />

bronze casts <strong>of</strong> all his work. Aimé Maeght<br />

was young and courageous, as in those<br />

days it cost a fortune to cast a sculpture.<br />

Giacometti’s first Paris exhibition<br />

at Galerie Maeght was held in 1951.<br />

He showed 36 sculptures and 18 paintings<br />

alongside drawings that echoed <strong>the</strong><br />

sculptures’ force. This was Giacometti’s<br />

public debut as a painter; he produced<br />

three original lithographs for <strong>the</strong> issue<br />

<strong>of</strong> Derrière le Mirroir that accompanied<br />

<strong>the</strong> exhibition. Hailed as a success, <strong>the</strong><br />

exhibition was a huge commercial flop.<br />

Only one sculpture was sold.<br />

As for me, a young man <strong>of</strong> 17, you<br />

can imagine what extraordinary good<br />

fortune it was to be able to talk and<br />

spend time with such exceptional men as<br />

Bonnard, Matisse, Miró, Chagall, Calder,<br />

Kandinsky, Legér or Duchamp. But it<br />

was with Giacometti that I most discussed<br />

art history and <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> artist. In<br />

<strong>the</strong> early years I did a bit <strong>of</strong> everything<br />

at my fa<strong>the</strong>r’s gallery, including being<br />

an intermediary between Alberto and<br />

Mourlot, <strong>the</strong> firm that printed our<br />

lithographs. Alberto used to work on<br />

special paper with a lithographic pencil<br />

and I would take <strong>the</strong>se drawings over to<br />

Mourlot where <strong>the</strong>y were transferred to<br />

lithographic stones. Mourlot would make<br />

two or three pro<strong>of</strong>s using more or less<br />

ink. Then I had to get Alberto to sign<br />

Le Chien, 1951<br />

each approved impression. Afterwards,<br />

we would <strong>of</strong>ten go for a c<strong>of</strong>fee toge<strong>the</strong>r,<br />

in a bistro on <strong>the</strong> corner <strong>of</strong> Rue Alésia.<br />

We’d sit and discuss engraving techniques,<br />

<strong>the</strong> precision <strong>of</strong> a line to be reproduced,<br />

<strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> paper that would lend itself<br />

to <strong>the</strong> lightest covering <strong>of</strong> ink. Many years<br />

later, in 1959, I opened my own gallery<br />

at 42, Rue du Bac, in Paris where <strong>of</strong><br />

course, Alberto regularly exhibited.<br />

In 1964, my parent’s Fondation<br />

Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence finally<br />

opened. My fa<strong>the</strong>r had <strong>of</strong>fered Giacometti<br />

somewhere to show his work that was on<br />

a par with <strong>the</strong> artist’s ambitions for it: <strong>the</strong><br />

Fondation’s central courtyard that opened<br />

onto <strong>the</strong> hills <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cote d’Azur. And in<br />

July <strong>of</strong> that year, Alberto installed his<br />

sculptures in <strong>the</strong> courtyard, named Cour<br />

Giacometti.<br />

Alberto had a complex personality.<br />

He cared about <strong>the</strong> impact his exhibitions<br />

had on collectors; he wanted his work to<br />

be shown at a price comparable with o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

stars <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> day. But, for him, money was<br />

simply <strong>the</strong> means to creative freedom.<br />

It meant that he could travel, take care <strong>of</strong><br />

his mo<strong>the</strong>r, return to <strong>the</strong> Swiss mountains<br />

and draw <strong>the</strong> landscapes <strong>of</strong> his childhood.<br />

He was very modest, but at <strong>the</strong> same time<br />

fully aware <strong>of</strong> his worth and position in art.<br />

Giacometti liked luxury, yet insisted<br />

on living in a studio in Paris with a clay<br />

floor. My fa<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong>fered to buy him an<br />

apartment above Schubert’s, a cabaret on<br />

<strong>the</strong> boulevard du Montparnasse. Alberto<br />

refused: “I don’t want to risk being taken<br />

hostage by comfort.” Despite his odd<br />

appearance and perpetually crumpled<br />

raincoat, despite his miserable studio,<br />

Alberto was extremely elegant. His genius,<br />

talent and intelligence were such that<br />

he would have succeeded come what may.<br />

Friend <strong>of</strong> thinkers and philosophers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

time – Picasso, Simone de Beauvoir and<br />

Jean-Paul Sartre – his pared down figures<br />

epitomised <strong>the</strong> existentialism <strong>of</strong> post-war<br />

Europe. He will be remembered as one <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> twentieth century’s most significant<br />

artists – an extraordinary painter,<br />

sculptor, draughtsman and engraver.<br />

Giacometti & Maeght 1946 – 1966<br />

184pp, 161 colour illustrations.<br />

Librairie de la Fondation Maeght<br />

06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France<br />

www.fondation-maeght.com<br />

© Archives Fondation Maeght © Succession Alberto Giacometti, ADAGP Paris 2010<br />

!<br />

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art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

33


Portrait <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> Artist:<br />

In search<br />

<strong>of</strong> Gwen John<br />

Gwen John (1876- 1939) is<br />

now regarded as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

foremost women artists <strong>of</strong> last<br />

century, highly acclaimed<br />

for her delicate and subtle<br />

paintings and drawings.<br />

Yet, in her lifetime, she<br />

was overshadowed by<br />

her flamboyant bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />

Augustus and her world<br />

famous lover Rodin. In her<br />

play Self Portrait, Sheila<br />

Yeger draws her portrait <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> artist and <strong>the</strong> woman, and<br />

using <strong>the</strong> device <strong>of</strong> a modern<br />

setting, explores <strong>the</strong> tensions<br />

and dilemmas faced by creative<br />

women both in John’s lifetime,<br />

and in more recent<br />

times. ART invited<br />

Sheila Yeger<br />

to share her<br />

experience.<br />

34 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

“<br />

I was reluctant to<br />

typify her simply<br />

as <strong>the</strong> lover <strong>of</strong> a<br />

great man.<br />

I first encountered Gwen John at an<br />

exhibition at <strong>the</strong> Anthony d’Offay Gallery<br />

in London in 1982. Her paintings, though<br />

unobtrusive and <strong>of</strong>ten muted in tone, spoke<br />

to me so powerfully that I could feel her<br />

presence in <strong>the</strong> room. I was determined<br />

to learn more about <strong>the</strong> woman who had<br />

made such idiosyncratic and personal<br />

work. That marked <strong>the</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> a<br />

search, which culminated in June 1987,<br />

in <strong>the</strong> premiere <strong>of</strong> my play Self Portrait<br />

at Theatr Clwyd.<br />

My quest led me first to Tenby and<br />

Haverfordwest, where John spent her<br />

childhood and where I walked on <strong>the</strong><br />

windswept beaches depicted in her<br />

painting Landscape at Tenby with Figures.<br />

I travelled to Cardiff and Aberystwyth,<br />

where her diaries, letters, notebooks and<br />

sketchbooks gave me a fur<strong>the</strong>r insight into<br />

her working methods, her passions and<br />

obsessions.<br />

From Susan Chitty’s biography,<br />

I learnt <strong>of</strong> her relationship with Rodin,<br />

which I knew I must investigate, though<br />

I was reluctant to typify her simply as <strong>the</strong><br />

lover <strong>of</strong> a great man. So I went to Paris to<br />

read <strong>the</strong> 3000 love letters she wrote to <strong>the</strong><br />

sculptor over a period <strong>of</strong> 10 years. Written<br />

in schoolgirl French and explicitly erotic,<br />

<strong>the</strong>y revealed her desperate and largely<br />

unrequited passion for <strong>the</strong> man she<br />

called her Master. But equally telling was<br />

<strong>the</strong> wooden hut in Meudon, a suburb <strong>of</strong><br />

Paris, where she spent her last years in<br />

increasingly bizarre pursuits, sometimes<br />

hiding in a hedge outside Rodin’s house,<br />

waiting to catch a glimpse <strong>of</strong> him. She<br />

painted feverishly, sleeping with her<br />

feet outside <strong>the</strong> hut so that she would<br />

wake in time for Mass. On <strong>the</strong> same day<br />

I was <strong>the</strong>re, in an example <strong>of</strong> astonishing<br />

synchronicity, <strong>the</strong> house in whose<br />

grounds <strong>the</strong> hut sat was up for auction.<br />

Around <strong>the</strong> corner I found <strong>the</strong><br />

four-square home <strong>of</strong> Vera Oumanc<strong>of</strong>f,<br />

a respectable middle-aged woman, for whom<br />

John developed a reckless love. In my play,<br />

I toy with <strong>the</strong> idea that her attentions<br />

were not entirely unreciprocated. This<br />

is a prime example <strong>of</strong> how <strong>the</strong> writer’s<br />

imagination can embroider and embellish,<br />

and however inadvertently, add to <strong>the</strong><br />

myth. Gwen John, for all she appeared<br />

demure, was, I decided, a woman <strong>of</strong> huge<br />

passions, undaunted by convention.<br />

Why else would she have taken <strong>of</strong>f on<br />

<strong>the</strong> road with her bro<strong>the</strong>r’s lover, <strong>the</strong> wild<br />

and beautiful Dorelia, hoping to reach<br />

Toulouse, though <strong>the</strong>y only managed<br />

to get to Paris. En route, <strong>the</strong>y slept in<br />

hedgerows, selling portraits to pay for<br />

food. Her love for Dorelia shines out in<br />

<strong>the</strong> portrait Dorelia in a Black Dress.<br />

My search for Gwen John became a<br />

very personal journey. I became aware,<br />

that, in delving into <strong>the</strong> life <strong>of</strong> one<br />

creative woman, I must inevitably reflect<br />

on <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs like her, both past<br />

and present.<br />

My first draft <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> play,<br />

a straightforward dramatic biography,<br />

when presented to Annie Casteldine, <strong>the</strong><br />

Director, was greeted unenthusiastically.<br />

She asked what I was really writing about,<br />

and my first answers failed to satisfy.<br />

When I finally admitted that I was writing<br />

about women and <strong>the</strong>ir creativity, and <strong>the</strong><br />

conflict between work and passion,<br />

she threw <strong>the</strong> draft up in <strong>the</strong> air, so that<br />

<strong>the</strong> pages fell down in no particular order.<br />

“Then write it,” she said. This was in<br />

<strong>the</strong> late eighties, when we women spoke<br />

a great deal <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> very real difficulties<br />

<strong>of</strong> developing a creative life in a male<br />

dominated world. By giving my play a<br />

contemporary dimension, I was able to<br />

explore through <strong>the</strong> fictitious character<br />

<strong>of</strong> Barbara (a would-be novelist) <strong>the</strong><br />

conflicts felt by both her and Gwen,<br />

between work and love, and <strong>the</strong> struggle<br />

to find a voice in a patriarchal society.<br />

Looking at my play in 2010, I ask<br />

myself how Gwen would be regarded<br />

in <strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong> Art today. Would she be<br />

considered at all controversial in ei<strong>the</strong>r<br />

her work or her lifestyle? Would she<br />

find her place more readily? Would her<br />

creative voice resonate more loudly? I am<br />

conscious <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> hugely significant part<br />

played by women in <strong>the</strong> contemporary<br />

Art scene, but also aware, as I think<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Tracey Emin or Louise<br />

Bourgeois, <strong>of</strong> how <strong>the</strong>ir Art both reflects<br />

and debates <strong>the</strong>ir role in society, <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

personal passions and dilemmas. Emin<br />

subverts <strong>the</strong> traditionally female craft <strong>of</strong><br />

embroidery, and uses it to express her<br />

own darkest, most private emotions. It’s<br />

hard to imagine John exposing herself<br />

like that, yet I learnt to see intimate<br />

reference in almost every portrait she<br />

painted, realising that many were veiled<br />

self portraits, showing, through <strong>the</strong><br />

tormented gaze <strong>of</strong> her models, her own<br />

inner torment.<br />

But times do change. Gwen John<br />

only painted women and children. Fiona<br />

Banner, at Tate Britain, exhibits a Jaguar<br />

and a Harrier Jump Jet. And John’s<br />

correspondence with Rodin might now be<br />

expressed in texts and emails, ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />

letters, becoming thus more ephemeral and<br />

less available to <strong>the</strong> prying eyes <strong>of</strong> posterity.<br />

...she threw <strong>the</strong><br />

draft up in <strong>the</strong> air,<br />

so that <strong>the</strong> pages<br />

fell down in no<br />

particular order.<br />

“Then write it,”<br />

she said.<br />

”<br />

One question I asked myself was – if I<br />

met this woman, would I like her? I knew<br />

that I must admire her for her tenacity,<br />

her determination to paint whatever her<br />

personal circumstances but felt that I<br />

might find her cold, uncompromising,<br />

humourless, obsessive. In <strong>the</strong> end,<br />

perhaps it is only <strong>the</strong> work that really<br />

matters. And <strong>the</strong> work has survived, stood<br />

<strong>the</strong> test <strong>of</strong> time, gained respect and value.<br />

The woman I portrayed in my play, is a<br />

fiction, <strong>the</strong> product <strong>of</strong> my imagination,<br />

fed by my research, but influenced, as is<br />

every writer’s work, by my own history<br />

and predilections. I <strong>of</strong>fer my portrait<br />

cautiously, and I give <strong>the</strong> artist <strong>the</strong> last<br />

word. At <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> play, John stands<br />

beside <strong>the</strong> Self Portrait in a Red Blouse,<br />

which has been such a strong motif in<br />

<strong>the</strong> play, and, facing <strong>the</strong> audience with<br />

courage and defiance, says: “Do not ever<br />

ask me to apologise.”<br />

Self Portrait by Sheila Yeger<br />

Amber Lane Press Ltd, 1990<br />

Keeping <strong>the</strong> World Away<br />

Margaret Forster, Vintage, 2007<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

35


Hannah Starkey<br />

Hannah Starkey is one <strong>of</strong><br />

today’s most influential artistphotographers<br />

<strong>of</strong> contemporary<br />

life. Hugh Mooney met her<br />

recently to discuss her work.<br />

The photograph, as art, can put before<br />

us an inexhaustible variety <strong>of</strong> possibilities,<br />

its completely realistic representation<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world giving it unique power. The<br />

latter is most effective in its renderings<br />

<strong>of</strong> our social and personal spaces, where<br />

its au<strong>the</strong>nticity allied to an ability to<br />

evoke ra<strong>the</strong>r than merely describe, permit<br />

it to embrace that portion <strong>of</strong> our minds<br />

where <strong>the</strong> everyday and <strong>the</strong> intangible<br />

meet. Crafted by an artist-photographer<br />

<strong>of</strong> insight such a photograph taps deeply<br />

into our psyche and, as viewers, we are<br />

compelled to prolong our gaze.<br />

36 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

// Close-up<br />

Hannah Starkey is such a photographer.<br />

Her exploration <strong>of</strong> aspects <strong>of</strong> contemporary<br />

life has made her one <strong>of</strong> today’s most<br />

influential photographic artists. Born in<br />

Belfast in 1971, her work is exhibited in<br />

New York, Tokyo and in London, where she<br />

lives, and is included in collections in <strong>the</strong><br />

Tate and <strong>the</strong> V&A.<br />

Starkey is fascinated by <strong>the</strong> mental<br />

spaces which we inhabit and by <strong>the</strong><br />

photograph’s capacity for allegory and<br />

illusion. Using actors, she makes series<br />

<strong>of</strong> images <strong>of</strong> carefully staged situations<br />

which reproduce <strong>the</strong> ordinary events<br />

and predicaments <strong>of</strong> everyday life. Set<br />

invariably in urban locations, many <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>se images hover between reality and<br />

fiction and <strong>of</strong>ten give <strong>the</strong> impression that<br />

we have intruded, unseen, on <strong>the</strong> private<br />

moments <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r people. By hinting but<br />

leaving matters unresolved, <strong>the</strong>y tantalise<br />

us, creating resonances with our own<br />

thoughts, memories and associations.<br />

Through <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong> experiences <strong>of</strong><br />

strangers become our own. O<strong>the</strong>r images<br />

dwell on <strong>the</strong> appearance <strong>of</strong> modernity,<br />

with its pervasive visual culture and its<br />

influence on what we accept as <strong>the</strong> norm.<br />

Taken as a whole Starkey’s work becomes<br />

a converging locus <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> outside world<br />

and <strong>the</strong> deeply personal. The painter<br />

Edward Hopper, with whom Starkey is<br />

compared, was similarly preoccupied and<br />

we react with fascination to his portrayal<br />

<strong>of</strong> lonely urban dwellers adrift in <strong>the</strong><br />

transient places <strong>of</strong> 1940’s America. Many<br />

<strong>of</strong> Starkey’s photographs exert <strong>the</strong> same,<br />

powerful appeal. We are all, unavoidably,<br />

voyeurs at heart.<br />

Staged settings are <strong>of</strong>ten employed<br />

by modern artist-photographers because<br />

<strong>the</strong>y permit complete directorial control<br />

over what is to be achieved. Borrowing<br />

from <strong>the</strong> visual language and codes <strong>of</strong><br />

Untitled – October 1998 The Dentist, 2004<br />

our urban culture, Starkey’s images stand<br />

out not only because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> situations<br />

which are enacted but also because <strong>of</strong><br />

an aes<strong>the</strong>tic which frequently displays<br />

her fascination with <strong>the</strong> architecture <strong>of</strong><br />

modern interior spaces. Starkey invariably<br />

uses female actors in her work, although<br />

she admitted that this is a largely<br />

autobiographical device which permits<br />

her to draw on her own experiences. Many<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> situations she portrays and <strong>the</strong><br />

personal responses <strong>the</strong>y elicit are common<br />

to us all.<br />

As with <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> many<br />

contemporary photographers, a Starkey<br />

image is best appreciated within <strong>the</strong><br />

context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> series <strong>of</strong> which it is a part.<br />

Typical <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> her work, however,<br />

is an image in which we see two people<br />

apparently deep in conversation in a café.<br />

One, presumably <strong>the</strong> speaker, is facing<br />

away from <strong>the</strong> camera, her face hidden<br />

and wrea<strong>the</strong>d in smoke: her posture is<br />

alert but her expression is unknown. The<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r, central to <strong>the</strong> composition, is sitting<br />

back in a languorous pose – is she rapt,<br />

distracted by her own thoughts or merely<br />

bored? Starkey allows us, with no risk <strong>of</strong><br />

discovery, to pry on <strong>the</strong>se two people and<br />

provokes in us a sense <strong>of</strong> intrigue at <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

relationship and <strong>the</strong>ir conversation.<br />

The street scene outside <strong>the</strong> window<br />

firmly sets its urban location. We have<br />

all been in such a place before. We feel it.<br />

We remember our silent thoughts.<br />

Starkey has also developed a suite <strong>of</strong><br />

works which ruminate on our corporatelystyled<br />

and sometimes high technology<br />

urban environments. Ra<strong>the</strong>r than show<br />

humans as protagonists in a minor drama<br />

or relationship, <strong>the</strong>se works <strong>of</strong>ten have<br />

<strong>the</strong>m as mere components <strong>of</strong> a constructed<br />

world.<br />

A classic example shows a woman in a<br />

very clinical waiting room. The minimalist<br />

composition is immaculate and evokes<br />

a quality <strong>of</strong> stillness ra<strong>the</strong>r than that<br />

<strong>of</strong> a moment seized from <strong>the</strong> flux. The<br />

woman seems reduced to an elaboration<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> room itself much like <strong>the</strong> computer<br />

paraphernalia beside her and <strong>the</strong>re is little<br />

scope for <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> narrative. As we<br />

attempt to empathise we feel a sense <strong>of</strong><br />

unease. We all accept sanitized, modern<br />

environments like this as normal but<br />

seen in Starkey’s image, <strong>the</strong>y hardly seem<br />

places for vital and responsive human<br />

beings.<br />

As to <strong>the</strong> future, Starkey emphasised<br />

her commitment to <strong>the</strong> continuing<br />

development <strong>of</strong> her photographic<br />

language. What more can a serious artist<br />

say? There is little doubt that her special<br />

talents will ensure that she will continue<br />

to meet with critical acclaim.<br />

Recently published:<br />

Hannah Starkey Photographs<br />

1997 – 2007 (Steidl)<br />

Images courtesy Maureen Paley, London<br />

Spring issue Close-up:<br />

Thomas Joshua Cooper<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

37


Inside<br />

<strong>the</strong><br />

artist’s<br />

studio<br />

Although well<br />

known for glittering<br />

beachscapes and<br />

atmospheric rain-swept<br />

cityscapes, it is always<br />

to his cluttered studios<br />

that Ken <strong>Howard</strong><br />

returns to produce<br />

his best-known work<br />

– large-scale, backlit<br />

images <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> studio<br />

interiors <strong>the</strong>mselves.<br />

Often including highly<br />

personal motifs and<br />

a nude figure, always<br />

executed with a<br />

high degree <strong>of</strong> tonal<br />

precision, <strong>Howard</strong>’s<br />

work is informed by <strong>the</strong><br />

lines within <strong>the</strong> studio<br />

– vertical, horizontal,<br />

linear. The model<br />

is incidental; <strong>the</strong>se<br />

paintings are all about<br />

<strong>the</strong> studio atmosphere<br />

itself. “I am,” he says,<br />

“<strong>the</strong> last <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Impressionists.”<br />

Richard Storey<br />

38 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Ken <strong>Howard</strong> OBE RA RWA<br />

Richard Storey and<br />

photographer Alice Hendy, met<br />

<strong>Howard</strong> at his London studio.<br />

Climbing <strong>the</strong> stairs in Ken<br />

<strong>Howard</strong>’s house resembles a<br />

visit to a Victorian art gallery.<br />

Every inch <strong>of</strong> wall space is<br />

covered with paintings, not<br />

one his own. His work lives<br />

above, in <strong>the</strong> gargantuan<br />

studio space, stacked ten deep<br />

against <strong>the</strong> wall, or in his<br />

London gallery, or on <strong>the</strong> walls<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> homes <strong>of</strong> hundreds <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>Howard</strong> fans throughout <strong>the</strong><br />

world. We mount <strong>the</strong> second<br />

flight <strong>of</strong> stairs and begin to<br />

smell <strong>the</strong> studio: turps, oil,<br />

paint, canvas, wood. And<br />

when we arrive, we enter <strong>the</strong><br />

definitive artist’s bohemian<br />

hang-out, filled by luminous<br />

nor<strong>the</strong>rn light and crowded<br />

with easels (several), brushes<br />

(dozens), bottles and tins and<br />

seemingly random pieces <strong>of</strong><br />

furniture. We settle down<br />

to tea provided by <strong>Howard</strong>’s<br />

Italian wife, Dora, as he<br />

enthusiastically takes us on<br />

an auto-biographical journey.<br />

“I’ve lived and worked here<br />

in this quiet Arts and Crafts<br />

studio for <strong>the</strong> last thirty years,<br />

paying £6.50 a week rent until<br />

I was finally invited to buy it.<br />

The studio was formerly owned<br />

by <strong>the</strong> Irish society painter,<br />

Sir William Orpen (1878 –<br />

1931) and it remains much as<br />

he designed it. I feel a great<br />

affinity with Orpen. Like me he<br />

was a Royal Academician and<br />

an <strong>of</strong>ficial war artist on <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>West</strong>ern Front. (<strong>Howard</strong> was<br />

<strong>of</strong>ficial war artist to Nor<strong>the</strong>rn<br />

Ireland, 1973 – 78.) I’m also a<br />

great collector <strong>of</strong> things. That’s<br />

Orpen’s paint box over <strong>the</strong>re,<br />

and here’s <strong>the</strong> famous convex<br />

round mirror, in which he<br />

was reflected painting at his<br />

easel (The Mirror, 1900), I’ve<br />

got a chair and easel he owned<br />

and I’ve even got his medals<br />

somewhere. I love collecting<br />

<strong>the</strong>se things. Sickert and<br />

William Holman Hunt owned<br />

<strong>the</strong>se two paint boxes and this<br />

is Pissarro’s water container.<br />

They’re all bunged in this<br />

cupboard; I’m not precious<br />

about <strong>the</strong> stuff I collect.<br />

I was raised near railway<br />

tracks which have much<br />

influenced how I observe <strong>the</strong><br />

world around me, and because<br />

I’m Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Perspective at<br />

<strong>the</strong> Royal Academy, perspective<br />

comes in to my pictures a lot.<br />

When I’m doing an interior I<br />

always have a set place where<br />

I stand. Then I line up what<br />

I see outside <strong>the</strong> window and<br />

mark up <strong>the</strong> window frame<br />

and glazing bars with coloured<br />

tape. For a self-portrait, I’ll<br />

square up <strong>the</strong> mirror just<br />

as Camille Corot would do,<br />

capturing <strong>the</strong> scene exactly.<br />

I mostly paint that way –<br />

accurately but without being<br />

too ‘tight’. I never place objects<br />

within <strong>the</strong> painting. I let<br />

things grow organically and<br />

find <strong>the</strong> composition within<br />

what is already <strong>the</strong>re. And I<br />

never paint from imagination;<br />

I employ models, and friends<br />

pose occasionally, as well<br />

as Dora.<br />

To set up a painting I’ll<br />

book a model for a three-hour<br />

session, during which I get<br />

<strong>the</strong> composition I want by<br />

positioning her in relation to<br />

<strong>the</strong> window, mirror, table. For<br />

<strong>the</strong> next sitting, I’ll concentrate<br />

on her and her reflection so<br />

that when she’s not here I’m<br />

able to work around her shape.<br />

I avoid putting too much<br />

detail around <strong>the</strong> edges, or<br />

outside <strong>the</strong> window, in order to<br />

encourage <strong>the</strong> viewer’s eye to<br />

stay within <strong>the</strong> painting .<br />

I’m quite a prolific worker.<br />

I’ve just sent seventy paintings<br />

to my gallery, many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m<br />

small ones that I call ‘one<br />

wet’ – done in a single sitting.<br />

When I paint outdoors I’m an<br />

alla prima painter; I complete<br />

‘at once’, in one go and never<br />

touch <strong>the</strong>m again,<br />

The larger paintings can<br />

take up to two months to<br />

complete and I’m constantly<br />

kicking <strong>the</strong>m around. They<br />

don’t always work; you win<br />

some, you lose some. Someone<br />

asked me: how do you know<br />

when a painting’s finished?<br />

It’s finished when it gives you<br />

back <strong>the</strong> sensation that made<br />

you want to start it. If I don’t<br />

get that sensation back, I’ve<br />

lost it. That’s not a problem<br />

with <strong>the</strong> small paintings,<br />

but my larger canvases are<br />

altoge<strong>the</strong>r different. I’m a<br />

bit <strong>of</strong> a stickler; when I see a<br />

painting start to slip away,<br />

I fight it. I once fought a<br />

picture for two years and in<br />

desperation put a glaze over<br />

it – linseed oil and raw umber.<br />

And it revived it instantly.<br />

I subsequently entered it for<br />

<strong>the</strong> Royal Academy Summer<br />

show, one <strong>of</strong> those years when<br />

<strong>the</strong> critics really have a go at<br />

<strong>the</strong> RA, but one said “There’s<br />

a painting in Gallery Three<br />

that’s alone worth <strong>the</strong> price <strong>of</strong><br />

entry – The River at Kingston<br />

by Ken <strong>Howard</strong>”. If only<br />

<strong>the</strong>y knew what a desperate<br />

struggle it had been.<br />

Apart from this studio I<br />

have two o<strong>the</strong>rs. I made <strong>the</strong><br />

old village hall in Mousehole,<br />

Cornwall into one. My parents<br />

moved down <strong>the</strong>re in <strong>the</strong> 50s,<br />

got what I call ‘pixie-lated’<br />

and stayed on, so Cornwall<br />

has become a second home.<br />

I’ve got a third studio in<br />

Venice, a mansarda – an<br />

attic. All three are large and<br />

airy; I’m a bit <strong>of</strong> a nut for big<br />

spaces. Each studio gives me a<br />

different sensation and <strong>of</strong>fers<br />

different inspiration. When I<br />

turn up at a studio, I don’t take<br />

clo<strong>the</strong>s, I don’t take paints;<br />

everything’s <strong>the</strong>re, I know<br />

precisely where things are.<br />

I just arrive and get on with<br />

my painting. But this London<br />

studio is my favourite.<br />

The reason that I paint<br />

studio interiors is because<br />

I spend an enormous part<br />

<strong>of</strong> my life in one, so not to<br />

paint <strong>the</strong> studio would be<br />

something lost. A painter<br />

should paint what his life is<br />

about. But it wasn’t always<br />

so with me. I lived in this<br />

studio for seven years before<br />

I painted it. It took me all<br />

that time to truly see it and<br />

what it had to <strong>of</strong>fer. I had<br />

been doing a lot <strong>of</strong> travelling,<br />

painting in several countries<br />

and after one such trip I<br />

returned here to Orpen’s old<br />

studio and looked around<br />

me. I thought: what <strong>the</strong> hell<br />

am I doing, travelling <strong>the</strong><br />

world when it’s all in here?<br />

The studio is <strong>the</strong> one place<br />

where you can set up a 40 x<br />

60 canvas and paint what’s<br />

in front <strong>of</strong> you, undisturbed.<br />

Go away, come back – <strong>the</strong><br />

subject’s still <strong>the</strong>re. The<br />

environment is wea<strong>the</strong>rpro<strong>of</strong>,<br />

<strong>the</strong> light constant. And above<br />

all else, that’s what I’m about<br />

– light; whe<strong>the</strong>r it’s Venice,<br />

Cornwall or here, in my<br />

beloved Orpen studio.”<br />

1<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

39


40 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

FINE PAINTINGS • ESTABLISHED 1955<br />

Richard Green is <strong>the</strong> sole worldwide agent for<br />

Ken <strong>Howard</strong> OBE RA<br />

The Old Harbour, Newlyn, low water (detail)<br />

Signed. Oil on canvas: 24 x 20 in / 61 x 51 cm<br />

Asking price: £12,000<br />

An Artist’s Odyssey<br />

An exhibition <strong>of</strong> 70 recent oil paintings<br />

Opens Wednesday 26th January until<br />

Saturday 12th February 2011<br />

www.richard-green.com<br />

Email: paintings@richard-green.com<br />

147 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON W1S 2TS<br />

TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 7493 3939<br />

2010 1-2pg RWoAM v2.indd 1 12/11/2010 13:38<br />

BRISTOL FRAMING<br />

SUPPLIES<br />

MATERIALS<br />

7500 metres <strong>of</strong> picture moulding from <strong>the</strong> best UK and<br />

European manufacturers: comprehensive range <strong>of</strong><br />

mountboard: glazing: backing: finishing paints: waxes<br />

SERVICES<br />

computerised mounting: all materials cut to size:<br />

drymounting: bare rim and chop service on mouldings<br />

Richard Broome is a Fine Art Trade Guild qualified framer<br />

providing framing services for artists and galleries from<br />

his workshop here at Bristol Framing Supplies.<br />

Unit 2 Midland Road Business Park<br />

Staple Hill Bristol BS16 4NW<br />

0117 957 4457<br />

framingsupplies@btconnect.com<br />

www.bristolframingsupplies.co.uk<br />

9am-5pm Mon to Fri 10am- 4pm Sat<br />

Chairman’s Column<br />

Do let us know what you think <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> winning exhibit for <strong>the</strong> Friends<br />

sculpture prize, which was awarded<br />

to Michael Werbicki for ‘Sevenfold’,<br />

catalogue no 614.<br />

Ano<strong>the</strong>r prize, sponsored by<br />

<strong>the</strong> Friends, is ‘Your Choice’, which<br />

provides <strong>the</strong> opportunity for visitors<br />

to <strong>the</strong> Autumn Exhibition to vote<br />

for <strong>the</strong>ir favourite work.<br />

Early in 2011 <strong>the</strong>re will be<br />

an RWA Open Photography<br />

Exhibitions and <strong>the</strong> Friends will<br />

be sponsoring two prizes. We<br />

look forward to seeing entries<br />

submitted by our members.<br />

FRIENDS COMMITTEE 2010 – 2011<br />

Chairman<br />

Maureen Fraser<br />

e: mcf11@tiscali.co.uk<br />

Treasurer<br />

Tony Merriman<br />

t: 01934 833 619<br />

e: merriman38@hotmail.com<br />

Vice Chairman & Friends Exhibitions<br />

Gillian Hudson<br />

t: 0117 973 5359<br />

e: gs.hudson@toucansurf.com<br />

Vice Chairman<br />

Roland Harmer<br />

t: 0117 924 5638<br />

e: rolandharmer@blueyonder.co.uk<br />

Cultural & Educational Visits<br />

Tom <strong>West</strong>ern-Butt<br />

e: thomas_butt05@tiscali.co.uk<br />

Lectures<br />

Wendy Mogford<br />

t: 0117 950 0712<br />

e: wmogford@talktalk.net<br />

Volunteers coordinator<br />

Mary Drown<br />

e: Mary.Drown@blueyonder.co.uk<br />

RWA magazine liaison<br />

Carolyn Stubbs<br />

e: carolyn.stubbs@btinternet.com<br />

Liz Clarke<br />

t: 0117 977 2573<br />

e: liz@madasafish.com<br />

Simon Holmes<br />

e: simonfhholmes@lineone.net<br />

Linda Alvis<br />

t: 0117 973 0268<br />

e: linda@alvisfineart.co.uk<br />

Also:<br />

Friends Room Exhibitions<br />

Marion Roach<br />

t: 0117 929 0310<br />

e: marion@manthorp.com<br />

Membership Secretary<br />

Jac Solomons<br />

t: 0117 973 5129<br />

e: info@rwa.org.uk<br />

Committee members can also be<br />

contacted by post addressed:<br />

c/o Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy<br />

Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

Your feedback on <strong>the</strong> Soirée,<br />

c<strong>of</strong>fee table and o<strong>the</strong>r activities<br />

is welcomed by <strong>the</strong> Friends<br />

Committee toge<strong>the</strong>r with<br />

suggestions for fundraising<br />

events. We depend on <strong>the</strong><br />

willingness <strong>of</strong> our supporters to<br />

plan and organise new services<br />

so please contact Volunteers<br />

Coordinator Mary Drown if<br />

you are not one <strong>of</strong> our regular<br />

volunteers and would like to help.<br />

We are keen to know about<br />

your art activities: it might be a<br />

prize that you have won or a new<br />

direction with your work. Please<br />

The Genius <strong>of</strong><br />

William Samuel<br />

Morris<br />

Friends outing to Kelmscott<br />

Manor 17 July 2010<br />

Alongside <strong>the</strong> gently meandering<br />

Thames on Oxfordshire and<br />

Gloucestershire border, nestles William<br />

Samuel Morris’s “Heaven on Earth”,<br />

<strong>the</strong> embodiment <strong>of</strong> his utopian dream,<br />

Kelmscott Manor. Here, on a gorgeous<br />

July morning, <strong>the</strong> Friends arrived for<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir visit.<br />

Kelmscott is a Grade I listed Tudor<br />

farmhouse which, from 1870, became<br />

<strong>the</strong> beloved summer home <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> writer,<br />

designer and political thinker and his<br />

wife Jane, <strong>the</strong>ir family guests including<br />

Dante Gabriel Rossetti.<br />

Entering through <strong>the</strong> oldest part<br />

<strong>of</strong> this magical house, <strong>the</strong> Screens<br />

Passage, one arrives in <strong>the</strong> Old Hall,<br />

used as a dining room by <strong>the</strong> Morris<br />

family. Strawberry Thief design fabric<br />

adorns its walls. The North Hall, which<br />

contains furniture designed for Morris’s<br />

Bexleyheath house, leads into <strong>the</strong> panelled<br />

White Room with portraits <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Morris<br />

family and <strong>the</strong> Millefleurs tapestry.<br />

Off <strong>the</strong> White Room is The Closet<br />

which houses Rossetti’s famous portrait<br />

<strong>of</strong> Jane Morris. The Blue Silk Dress<br />

(1866-68) and finally, on <strong>the</strong> ground<br />

floor, <strong>the</strong> Green Room containing family<br />

souvenirs and a magnificent carved stone<br />

fireplace decorated with Morris tiles.<br />

The early rustic stairs, which<br />

enchanted Morris, lead to <strong>the</strong> landing,<br />

where Rossetti’s 18th Century tavern<br />

send in any art related stories<br />

to Carolyn Stubbs at<br />

carolyn.stubbs@btinternet.com.<br />

It is encouraging that <strong>the</strong><br />

Friends Exhibition has attracted<br />

an impressive number <strong>of</strong><br />

submissions and we are running<br />

a follow up show – ‘Selected<br />

But Hung Later’. The lecture<br />

programme for 2011, organised<br />

by Wendy Mogford, is now in<br />

place and details <strong>of</strong> forthcoming<br />

talks are included in Diary page 6.<br />

I look forward to hearing<br />

from you.<br />

Maureen Fraser – Chairman<br />

clock hangs, and on into Jane’s bedroom<br />

where <strong>the</strong> wallpaper is a modern<br />

reproduction <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> Morris’s most<br />

popular designs ‘Willow Boughs’.<br />

Morris’s bedroom contains a four<br />

poster bed <strong>of</strong> Elizabethan and Jacobean<br />

woodwork. The bedspread was made by<br />

Jane and her friend Augusta de Morgan,<br />

sister <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> potter William de Morgan.<br />

Woodblock by Albrecht Dürer hang on<br />

<strong>the</strong> walls.<br />

In an extension to <strong>the</strong> original house<br />

can be seen tapestries depicting <strong>the</strong><br />

biblical story <strong>of</strong> Samson. These date from<br />

<strong>the</strong> Civil War and line a room which was<br />

used by Rossetti as a studio. Here a paint<br />

box <strong>the</strong> artist left behind in 1874 can<br />

still be seen.<br />

A split stepped staircase leads to<br />

<strong>the</strong> extensive attics display <strong>of</strong> textiles,<br />

including samples from Morris & Co’s<br />

showrooms. These richly worked fabrics<br />

are a testament to Morris’s love <strong>of</strong><br />

nature and are examples <strong>of</strong> his famously<br />

repetitive designs which <strong>the</strong> gardens <strong>of</strong><br />

Kelmscott inspired.<br />

The Society <strong>of</strong> Antiquities own and<br />

manage <strong>the</strong> house and gardens. They<br />

have left <strong>the</strong> newly opened Old Kitchen<br />

unreconstructed to preserve its essential<br />

architectural qualities. A walk around<br />

<strong>the</strong> abundant gardens and meadow was<br />

a delightful finale.<br />

Linda Alvis<br />

Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

41


Friends News<br />

Simon, Monica and <strong>the</strong> BMW<br />

Titian:<br />

The Last Days<br />

by Mark Hudson<br />

On <strong>the</strong> 20th <strong>of</strong> November<br />

Mark Hudson gave a Friends<br />

Lecture on <strong>the</strong> last days <strong>of</strong> Titian.<br />

Dr Derek Balmer PPRWA<br />

reviews his recent book.<br />

Henry Ford said history is more or less<br />

bunk. That said, one questions <strong>the</strong> wisdom<br />

<strong>of</strong> such a statement and leads one to ask<br />

if <strong>the</strong>re is any justification for such a<br />

sweeping generalisation.<br />

Certainly in Mark Hudson’s book<br />

Titian: The Last Days, <strong>the</strong>re are<br />

qualifying adverbs such as ‘maybe’,<br />

‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’ and ‘supposing’<br />

which indicate <strong>the</strong> frustrations <strong>of</strong> a<br />

historian who, genuinely obsessed<br />

with his subject, cannot claim with any<br />

certainty what happened five hundred<br />

years ago. The fingerprints are wiped<br />

clean, <strong>the</strong> footprints gone for ever and <strong>the</strong><br />

gossipmongers long dead in <strong>the</strong>ir graves.<br />

Never<strong>the</strong>less Mark Hudson resolutely<br />

plods <strong>the</strong> alleyways <strong>of</strong> Venice with<br />

optimistic determination and we follow<br />

him in pursuit <strong>of</strong> evidence that will fill in<br />

<strong>the</strong> gaps <strong>of</strong> Titian’s life and times. Hudson<br />

42 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Simon Roberts:<br />

The Road to<br />

Kathmandu<br />

Saturday 18 September 2010<br />

in <strong>the</strong> Fedden Gallery<br />

Hot foot from his interview with Radio<br />

Bristol, graphic artist Simon Roberts<br />

arrived on his trusty BMW – <strong>the</strong> bike that<br />

had taken him on his epic journey – to<br />

face a full house <strong>of</strong> Friends and visitors.<br />

He spoke movingly <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tragic<br />

sudden loss <strong>of</strong> his wife Julie to cancer –<br />

his motivation for renting out his house<br />

and taking to <strong>the</strong> road for <strong>the</strong> solo seven<br />

month life-affirming trip. His journey<br />

took him across Europe to Istanbul,<br />

around Turkey to Iran and <strong>the</strong> Persian<br />

Gulf, up through Pakistan as far as <strong>the</strong><br />

Chinese border and <strong>the</strong>n around India<br />

to Nepal and finally Kathmandu.<br />

openly admits that <strong>the</strong> finest biography<br />

<strong>of</strong> Titian was written back in 1877 by<br />

L.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavelcaselle, but still<br />

he pursues his quarry like a dedicated<br />

detective and in doing so encounters<br />

cranks, detractors and closed doors.<br />

There is much information in this<br />

book; not all <strong>of</strong> it necessary to <strong>the</strong> central<br />

thrust <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> investigation, but for all<br />

that, <strong>the</strong> enthusiasm for his subject never<br />

falters as <strong>the</strong> complexities, atmosphere<br />

and very smell <strong>of</strong> Sixteenth Century<br />

Venice is gradually brought to life.<br />

For successful artists, <strong>the</strong> Renaissance,<br />

as it came to be known, was by no<br />

means a time <strong>of</strong> creative introspection.<br />

A studio such as Titian’s would be<br />

akin to a high level factory production<br />

line with its succession <strong>of</strong> brilliantly<br />

executed Madonnas, Crucifixions, Pietas,<br />

Altarpieces and Martyrdoms; supported<br />

by endless commissions for portraits <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> great and <strong>the</strong> good. Then <strong>the</strong>re were<br />

<strong>the</strong> Cinerama epics featuring many a<br />

busty maiden with delicate pink thighs<br />

and rotund cherubs zooming about in<br />

attendance and all made respectable<br />

by titles relating to classical myth.<br />

Andromeda, Diana and Venus were <strong>the</strong><br />

upmarket page three girls <strong>of</strong> yesteryear.<br />

Often tasteless, never dull and all <strong>the</strong><br />

better for it.<br />

Yet for all his genius and remarkable<br />

consistency, Titian and his peers sat<br />

well below <strong>the</strong> salt and were socially<br />

With adventures galore and more<br />

than a few breakdowns – he achieved his<br />

goal, making many new friends along<br />

<strong>the</strong> way. As he said, it was a journey <strong>of</strong><br />

challenges and contrasts, <strong>of</strong> excitement<br />

and discovery, during which he crossed<br />

deserts, battled ice and snow, trekked in<br />

<strong>the</strong> Himalayas, ate and drank a variety <strong>of</strong><br />

unidentified substances, and saw sights<br />

that most <strong>of</strong> us can only dream <strong>of</strong>. To<br />

while away <strong>the</strong> lonely evenings he began<br />

to keep a journal <strong>of</strong> each day’s events with<br />

accompanying comic strip illustrations.<br />

This became a fascinating book entitled<br />

‘Tea with Bin Laden’s Bro<strong>the</strong>r’ – it did<br />

actually happen. Simon, a natural and<br />

engaging storyteller, had us all captivated.<br />

Wendy Mogford<br />

Some signed copies <strong>of</strong> his book are<br />

available at £15 from <strong>the</strong> RWA.<br />

Contact Friends Secretary<br />

Jac Solomons for details<br />

acknowledged as little more than artisans.<br />

How times have changed as we in our<br />

day elevate <strong>the</strong> trivial to a level <strong>of</strong> celebrity<br />

unheard <strong>of</strong> in <strong>the</strong> past.<br />

I enjoyed this unusual book and<br />

was grateful to be reminded <strong>of</strong> my<br />

three favourite Titian paintings: – The<br />

Flaying <strong>of</strong> Marsyas, Pope Paul III with<br />

his Grandsons and <strong>the</strong> sexually charged<br />

Venus <strong>of</strong> Urbino. This last painting<br />

comes in for some remarkably naive and<br />

pompous observation from none o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

than Mark Twain, whose ignorance<br />

in matters <strong>of</strong> female independence is<br />

unbelievable. For <strong>the</strong>se few pages alone<br />

Mark Hudson’s revelation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mindset<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> author <strong>of</strong> The Adventures <strong>of</strong> Tom<br />

Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn is worth<br />

<strong>the</strong> cover price <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> book.<br />

Derek Balmer<br />

New Volunteers’<br />

Co-ordinator for<br />

RWA Friends<br />

Mary Drown has taken on <strong>the</strong><br />

role <strong>of</strong> Volunteers’ Co-ordinator.<br />

Volunteers are an essential part <strong>of</strong> our<br />

support for <strong>the</strong> RWA. You will <strong>of</strong>ten see<br />

volunteers at <strong>the</strong> RWA – <strong>the</strong>y help with <strong>the</strong><br />

handing in and selection processes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Autumn exhibition, assist at <strong>the</strong> larger<br />

private views, and act as stewards at <strong>the</strong><br />

Friends’ exhibitions. As coordinator, Mary<br />

liaises with <strong>the</strong> RWA on <strong>the</strong>ir needs and<br />

matches up <strong>the</strong> work to be done with <strong>the</strong><br />

people who want to do it. She <strong>the</strong>n puts<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r rotas for <strong>the</strong> different events.<br />

Mary’s background is in medical<br />

and scientific photography. She worked<br />

for <strong>the</strong> Wellcome Foundation before<br />

becoming <strong>the</strong> first woman photographer<br />

for Bristol Police in <strong>the</strong> 1960s. As a<br />

woman, she wasn’t allowed to cover<br />

murders or anything grisly; but she was<br />

asked to develop those photos for o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

photographers. She later worked in <strong>the</strong><br />

research laboratories <strong>of</strong> Berkeley Power<br />

Station, using large format cameras and<br />

high-speed cine film. More recently, she<br />

followed in her daughter’s footsteps to<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong>,<br />

and successfully graduated with a B.A.<br />

in Drawing & Applied Arts in 2007.<br />

Visits planned<br />

for <strong>the</strong> Friends<br />

during 2011<br />

An exciting and rewarding<br />

number <strong>of</strong> excursions are being<br />

prepared for <strong>the</strong> Friends in 2011.<br />

Musée Rodin, Paris<br />

As <strong>the</strong> fund-raising activities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Friends develop, so will <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

volunteers. Mary says, “It is important for<br />

Friends to be <strong>the</strong>re to help in any way we<br />

can. I’m looking forward to helping people<br />

become more involved by drawing on <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

talents and experience.”<br />

If you’d like to become more involved,<br />

you can phone Mary on 01454 414433 or<br />

e-mail her on mary.drown@blueyonder.co.uk.<br />

Eileen Elsey<br />

// March 12<br />

Ashmolean and a college, Oxford.<br />

// May<br />

A five day visit to Paris by coach from<br />

Bristol. Proposed outings include <strong>the</strong><br />

‘artist’ village <strong>of</strong> Barbizon, Monet’s house<br />

and garden at Giverny, Fontainebleu.<br />

Details later.<br />

// June / July<br />

Painting Vacation. Details to follow.<br />

// July 12<br />

Gloucester Ca<strong>the</strong>dral and ‘Art in Nature’,<br />

Twigworth.<br />

// September<br />

Severn Valley Railway and Museum.<br />

// November<br />

Birmingham Art Gallery and <strong>the</strong> Barber<br />

Institute.<br />

// 2011<br />

Painting Days with Roma Widger<br />

will continue during <strong>the</strong> year.<br />

For fur<strong>the</strong>r details contact: Linda Alvis<br />

e: linda@alvisfineart.co.uk<br />

//<br />

See pages 4 – 7 for<br />

full details <strong>of</strong> Friends<br />

exhibitions and events<br />

Join <strong>the</strong><br />

Friends<br />

Friends enjoy: free entry to RWA exhibitions;<br />

private view invitations to all exhibitions; a lecture<br />

programme with pr<strong>of</strong>essional speakers; cultural<br />

visits and painting trips; an opportunity to submit<br />

work to Friends’ exhibitions; preferential rates with<br />

discounts on submissions <strong>of</strong> work to <strong>the</strong> Autumn<br />

Open Exhibition; discounts on artists’ materials at<br />

Bristol Fine Art and ART magazine each quarter.<br />

Your membership will help <strong>the</strong> RWA to serve <strong>the</strong><br />

region and artistic community by raising funds<br />

for <strong>the</strong> Academy.<br />

title (optional)<br />

first name<br />

surname<br />

title (optional)<br />

first name<br />

surname<br />

address<br />

postcode<br />

telephone<br />

e-mail<br />

types <strong>of</strong> membership<br />

single annual £25<br />

joint annual £36<br />

individual life £375<br />

joint life £500<br />

student (NUS card max three years) £13<br />

For those living outside <strong>the</strong> Bath (BA), Bristol (BS),<br />

Gloucester (GL) and Swindon (SN) postcode areas<br />

we <strong>of</strong>fer <strong>the</strong>se rates:<br />

country single annual £20<br />

country joint annual £30<br />

total<br />

We can claim an extra 28p from <strong>the</strong> Inland Revenue for<br />

every £1.00 you give us – if you are a UK taxpayer.<br />

I am eligible as a UK taxpayer and consent to <strong>the</strong> Friends<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA claiming Gift Aid on subscriptions or donations<br />

I make. You can cancel this declaration at any time by<br />

notifying <strong>the</strong> Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA in writing. You must pay<br />

an amount <strong>of</strong> income tax and/or capital gains tax equal to<br />

<strong>the</strong> amount recoverable on your total gift aid donations.<br />

Should your circumstances change and you no longer pay<br />

sufficient tax, you should cancel your declaration.<br />

signature date<br />

Please make cheques payable to:<br />

Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RWA and return this section to:<br />

The Membership Secretary,<br />

Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy<br />

Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

t: 0117 973 5129 www.rwa.org.uk<br />

Registered Charity No 1107149<br />

Data protection: information given will be used solely for maintaining<br />

our membership list and administering activities for Friends.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

43


Chosen by Jilly Cobbe<br />

Artful<br />

quotations<br />

“What is important is to create<br />

an object capable <strong>of</strong> conveying<br />

a sensation as close as possible<br />

to <strong>the</strong> one felt at <strong>the</strong> sight <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> subject.”<br />

Alberto Giacometti<br />

“Believe it or not, I can<br />

actually draw.”<br />

Jean-Michel<br />

Basquiat<br />

“Nothing is more foreign to<br />

me than an art that serves<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r purposes than those<br />

<strong>of</strong> art alone.”<br />

Giorgio Morandi<br />

“The beautiful is in nature,<br />

and it is encountered under<br />

<strong>the</strong> most diverse forms <strong>of</strong><br />

reality. Once it is found it<br />

belongs to art, or ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

to <strong>the</strong> artist who discovers it.”<br />

Gustave Courbet<br />

“Sometimes I’ve believed as<br />

many as six impossible things<br />

before breakfast.”<br />

Lewis Carroll<br />

“The flat sound <strong>of</strong> my clogs on<br />

<strong>the</strong> cobblestones, deep, hollow<br />

and powerful, is <strong>the</strong> note I<br />

seek in my painting.”<br />

Paul Gaugin<br />

“Fantasy, abandoned by<br />

reason, produces impossible<br />

monsters; united with it,<br />

she is <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> arts<br />

and <strong>the</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> marvels.”<br />

Francisco Goya<br />

44 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

// Letters // Reviews<br />

Your news and views are important to us. Please send letters to ART,<br />

Royal <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong> Academy, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

or email richard.storey@rwa.org.uk. Unfortunately we are unable to reply<br />

to all correspondence individually. We reserve <strong>the</strong> right to edit letters.<br />

I have just read <strong>the</strong><br />

Autumn 2010 issue<br />

<strong>of</strong> ART.<br />

It is gorgeous. It<br />

looks fabulous yet<br />

is very accessible<br />

with clear layout and<br />

distinction between<br />

its different parts.<br />

The content is varied<br />

from <strong>the</strong> snapshot to<br />

<strong>the</strong> more considered<br />

(<strong>the</strong> Barry Cawston<br />

article) with plenty <strong>of</strong><br />

current information<br />

about what’s going<br />

on at <strong>the</strong> RWA. The<br />

interviews were<br />

interesting and I<br />

wonder if this could<br />

be extended into<br />

an artist talking<br />

at length about<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir work, or<br />

similar, or two or<br />

three academics’<br />

perspectives on one<br />

artist’s work, or on<br />

a type <strong>of</strong> art.<br />

Having talked about<br />

all that l<strong>of</strong>ty stuff my<br />

favourite piece was<br />

‘Alice Hendy meets<br />

some visitors’. Nice<br />

to read some o<strong>the</strong>rs’<br />

experiences, felt a<br />

bit like having gone<br />

to <strong>the</strong> cinema and<br />

talking about <strong>the</strong> film<br />

afterwards. Maybe<br />

I’d like a better set<br />

<strong>of</strong> distinctions about<br />

art, curating and<br />

galleries to use in<br />

discussion.<br />

Looking forward to<br />

<strong>the</strong> next issue.<br />

Carol Walker<br />

Dear Hugh (Mooney)<br />

My God you are good.<br />

I really do mean it.<br />

I cannot remember<br />

any piece written<br />

about me so elegantly.<br />

You asked me in<br />

your letter if I found<br />

it acceptable. I most<br />

certainly do.<br />

Much gratitude to<br />

you for sending me<br />

<strong>the</strong> copy and I do<br />

hope our paths may<br />

cross once again<br />

one day.<br />

Cheerio for now and<br />

all warm good wishes<br />

Charlie Waite<br />

Issue number 2 is<br />

even better. Fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

congratulations.<br />

John Sansom<br />

// BOOK<br />

Art and Print:<br />

The Curwen Story<br />

Alan Powers<br />

Illus 176pp: Tate Gallery Publications, 2008<br />

ISBN 978 1 85437 721 0<br />

Stanley Jones and<br />

<strong>the</strong> Curwen Studio<br />

Stanley Jones<br />

Illus 154pp: Herbert Press<br />

an imprint <strong>of</strong> A&C Black, London, 2010<br />

ISBN 978 14081-02862<br />

These two books tell, from<br />

different perspectives, <strong>the</strong><br />

complex story <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Essex<br />

and London based publishing<br />

// BOOK<br />

A Terrible Beauty: British<br />

Artists in <strong>the</strong> First World War<br />

Paul Gough<br />

366 pp: Sansom & Company Ltd Bristol, 2010<br />

ISBN 978 1 906593 00 1<br />

This book describes <strong>the</strong><br />

plate-spinning act British<br />

war artists in WW1 had to<br />

master: dealing with <strong>the</strong><br />

trauma <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> battle, <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

painting techniques, army<br />

politics, ‘pulling strings’, <strong>the</strong><br />

censor, being mistaken for<br />

spies, staying alive. This is an<br />

all-round sensual experience<br />

as much as a history book.<br />

Many paintings are referred<br />

to and well-described but are<br />

frustratingly not reproduced,<br />

but this is made up for by its<br />

epic scale. Cliff Hanley<br />

house, printing workshop and<br />

gallery that have carried <strong>the</strong><br />

name ‘Curwen’. The Curwen<br />

Studios were established in<br />

1958 and <strong>the</strong> Tate gallery<br />

marked <strong>the</strong> 50th anniversary<br />

with this book and an<br />

exhibition. Alan Powers, an<br />

architectural and cultural<br />

historian, manages <strong>the</strong><br />

narrative well. Much helped<br />

by plentiful illustrations, <strong>of</strong>ten<br />

in colour, I was entranced<br />

by <strong>the</strong> graphic design and<br />

illustrative work <strong>of</strong> artists<br />

such as Edward Bawden, Eric<br />

Ravilious, Paul Nash and<br />

Barnett Freedman.<br />

Stanley Jones, now 77, artist<br />

and founder <strong>of</strong> Curwen<br />

Studios is an unparalleled<br />

expert in lithography. His<br />

// BOOK<br />

Taizo Kuroda<br />

Philip Jodidio<br />

Illus 144 pp: Prestel Publishing Ltd, 2010<br />

ISBN 978 3 79 135003 5<br />

Jodidio’s monograph explains<br />

clearly why Taizo Kuroda<br />

has devoted <strong>the</strong> past 40 years<br />

to making ceramic vessels.<br />

Despite Kuroda’s insistence<br />

that his work is not concerned<br />

with Spirituality, readers may<br />

well be drawn into a Zen like<br />

state and left contemplating<br />

<strong>the</strong> existential question <strong>of</strong><br />

how we human beings occupy<br />

physical space. Exquisite<br />

photographs capture Kuroda’s<br />

skilful mastery <strong>of</strong> porcelain<br />

clay as well as <strong>the</strong> tension he<br />

creates in <strong>the</strong> rims, cracks<br />

and openings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> beautiful<br />

forms. Nicky Stone<br />

autobiography, beginning in a<br />

working class house in Wigan,<br />

1933, will be <strong>of</strong> greatest<br />

interest to readers <strong>of</strong> ‘a certain<br />

age’. Stanley Jones’ story<br />

demonstrates <strong>the</strong> formative<br />

power <strong>of</strong> an obsession, in his<br />

case with lithography and<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r techniques <strong>of</strong> original<br />

printmaking. The book<br />

includes many examples <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> writer’s own artworks<br />

and photographs <strong>of</strong> Stanley<br />

providing his expertise<br />

for artists such as Moore,<br />

Hepworth and Ceri Richards.<br />

Both books are specialist<br />

publications but anyone who<br />

enjoys art and design from<br />

<strong>the</strong> 20s and 30s will want to<br />

buy or borrow ‘Art and Print’.<br />

Peter Ford<br />

// BOOK<br />

Keeping <strong>the</strong> World Away<br />

Margaret Forster<br />

352 pp: Vintage, 2007<br />

ISBN 978 0099496861<br />

Tracing <strong>the</strong> progress <strong>of</strong> an<br />

imaginary Gwen John painting<br />

through <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> a chain <strong>of</strong><br />

women, Forster conveys John’s<br />

awareness <strong>of</strong> light and colour.<br />

John’s avoidance <strong>of</strong> marriage<br />

somehow cornered her creativity<br />

chiefly into portraits and<br />

self-portraits <strong>of</strong> mournful,<br />

pale-faced women. The title<br />

confirms <strong>the</strong> impression <strong>of</strong><br />

a reclusive artist: “Rules to<br />

Keep <strong>the</strong> World Away – do not<br />

listen to people, do not look at<br />

people…” from this isolated<br />

viewpoint, John created her<br />

calm and safe world.<br />

Greg Reitschlin<br />

// BOOK<br />

The Sensory World <strong>of</strong><br />

Italian Renaissance Art<br />

François Quiviger<br />

206pp: Reaktion Books, London, 2010<br />

ISBN 9-781-86189-657-5<br />

Why did artists become<br />

interested in representing<br />

<strong>the</strong> senses (sight, touch,<br />

hearing, taste and smell) at<br />

<strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> middle ages,<br />

and what do <strong>the</strong>ir images<br />

reveal about Renaissance<br />

attempts to understand <strong>the</strong><br />

relationship between what <strong>the</strong><br />

// BOOK<br />

13 Sculptures Children<br />

Should Know<br />

Angela Wenzel<br />

45 pp: Prestel Publishing Ltd, London, 2010<br />

ISBN 978 3 7913 7010 1<br />

The cover says it all.<br />

Michaelangelo’s David,<br />

Oldenburg’s Giant Toothpaste<br />

Tube and Smithson’s Spiral<br />

Jetty. A quick, eclectic dip<br />

in to <strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong> sculpture,<br />

introduces children to works<br />

from Samothrace (c.190 BC)<br />

through Brâncusi to Anish<br />

Kapoor. Accessible information<br />

about <strong>the</strong> work and <strong>the</strong> artist,<br />

and colourful photographs will<br />

whet <strong>the</strong> appetites <strong>of</strong> young<br />

readers; games and puzzles<br />

enhance this introduction<br />

to three-dimensional<br />

masterpieces. GR<br />

mind conceives and sensations<br />

that are physically perceived?<br />

These are <strong>the</strong> questions<br />

François Quiviger’s book<br />

explores with lucid originality.<br />

The middle ages believed that<br />

sensation was dominant;<br />

Renaissance science (natural<br />

philosophy) elaborated a<br />

more sophisticated model in<br />

which reason and imagination<br />

acquire greater autonomy as<br />

faculties through which <strong>the</strong><br />

senses stimulate <strong>the</strong> intellect.<br />

How artists represented <strong>the</strong><br />

senses thus provide a key to<br />

understanding Renaissance<br />

ideas about <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong><br />

art. Altoge<strong>the</strong>r a fascinating<br />

enquiry into Renaissance<br />

vision and communication.<br />

Michael Liversidge<br />

// BOOK<br />

A Year In Art:<br />

<strong>the</strong> activity book<br />

Christine Weidemann<br />

376 pp: Prestel Publishing Ltd, London, 2009<br />

ISBN 978 3 79134 355 6<br />

This beautifully produced<br />

activity book about art does<br />

not patronise children. It<br />

<strong>of</strong>fers a painting for every<br />

day <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> year, and includes<br />

plenty to discover and interact<br />

with on each page. Artists<br />

from across centuries and<br />

cultures are well represented<br />

by works chosen to fascinate<br />

any enquiring mind. Highly<br />

recommended for <strong>the</strong> over<br />

sevens (and probably lots <strong>of</strong><br />

grown-ups too).<br />

Alison Heywood<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

45


JULIAN COX ARBS<br />

46 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

INK DRAWINGS<br />

www.juliancoxartist.co.uk<br />

e@juliancoxartist.co.uk<br />

m.07814556936<br />

‘Daffodils’, hand-coated print in platinum and palladium.<br />

Ian A Foster<br />

Recipient <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 158th RWA Autumn Exhibition<br />

Best Newcomer Award 2010<br />

For more information on <strong>the</strong> current collection,<br />

private commissions and representation,<br />

visit www.ianafoster.co.uk<br />

Citerna, Umbria,<br />

June 2011.<br />

www.lizvibert.co.uk<br />

lizvibert@blueyonder.co.uk<br />

or 0117 9738772 for a chat<br />

about this & o<strong>the</strong>r 2011/12 events.<br />

LIZ VIBERT PAINTING HOLIDAYS<br />

Friendly multi-level group, versatile & inspiring guidance on<br />

watercolours and o<strong>the</strong>r media from tutor Bob Ballard.<br />

Lovely hill-top village, comfortable rooms & delicious food,<br />

swimming pool... & Piero della Francesca on your doorstep.<br />

Singles £718, doubles £599 pp excl. travel.<br />

Non-painting partners welcome.<br />

The Architecture Centre<br />

Narrow Quay<br />

Bristol BS1 4QA<br />

t: 0117 922 1540<br />

e: info@<br />

architecturecentre.co.uk<br />

Opening hours<br />

Tues to Fri 11am – 5pm<br />

Sat and Sun 12 – 5pm<br />

Closed all day Monday<br />

To 24 December<br />

Breuer in Bristol<br />

A brief 3 year period<br />

in <strong>the</strong> mid thirties put<br />

Bristol on <strong>the</strong> Modernist<br />

map. The collaboration<br />

between Bauhaus<br />

architect Marcel Breuer<br />

and Cr<strong>of</strong>ton Gane, Bristol<br />

furniture manufacturer.<br />

Bath Fine Art<br />

35 Gay Street<br />

Queen Square<br />

Bath BA1 2NT<br />

t: 01225 461 230<br />

e: gallery@bathfineart.<br />

com<br />

www.bathfineart.com<br />

Mon – Fri 10am – 5.30pm<br />

Sat 10am – 5pm<br />

and by appointment.<br />

12 November –<br />

4 December<br />

Window to <strong>the</strong> Soul<br />

A celebration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most<br />

talented artists in <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong>.<br />

Bristol Drawing School<br />

Unit 5.3<br />

Paintworks<br />

Bath Road<br />

Bristol BS4 3EH<br />

t: 0845 680 1409<br />

www.drawingschool.org.uk<br />

A not-for-pr<strong>of</strong>it private<br />

arts venue <strong>of</strong>fering<br />

drawing courses and<br />

workshops throughout<br />

<strong>the</strong> year.<br />

Enrolling now for 2011<br />

City Museum<br />

& Art Gallery<br />

Queen’s Road<br />

Bristol BS8 1RL<br />

www.bristol.gov.uk/<br />

museums<br />

Extended until 30<br />

January 2011<br />

Flight: BAC 100<br />

Exhibition<br />

A century <strong>of</strong> aviation in<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>England</strong>.<br />

The Clifton Arts Club<br />

Bristol School <strong>of</strong> Art<br />

(Adjacent to RWA)<br />

Queen’s Road<br />

Bristol BS8 1PX<br />

www.cliftonartsclub.co.uk<br />

Inviting new members,<br />

join our busy programme<br />

<strong>of</strong> events, £25 per year<br />

We have lectures,<br />

workshops, gallery<br />

visits, annual exhibition<br />

and painting days. Visit<br />

our website or contact<br />

Di <strong>West</strong>ern 01454<br />

776916 for fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

information.<br />

The Clifton Hotel Group<br />

(The Rodney, The Square<br />

& The Clifton)<br />

Julian Cox ARBS<br />

On-going exhibitions <strong>of</strong><br />

sensual original Indian<br />

ink drawings by Bristol<br />

based artist.<br />

www.juliancoxartist.co.uk<br />

Create Centre<br />

Smeaton Road<br />

Bristol BS1 6XN<br />

t: 0117 925 0505<br />

www.createbristol.org<br />

To end December<br />

Opening times Monday –<br />

Saturday 10 – 4.00<br />

Bristol 2020: vision for a<br />

carbon smart city. Please<br />

check website for details.<br />

Supported by <strong>the</strong> Arts<br />

Council, <strong>England</strong>.<br />

Gallery Nine<br />

9b Margarets Buildings<br />

Bath BA1 2LP<br />

t: 01225 319 197<br />

e: info@gallerynine.co.uk<br />

www.gallerynine.co.uk<br />

Mon – Sat 10am – 5.30pm<br />

Most Sundays 2 – 5pm<br />

12 November – 8 January<br />

2011<br />

Exhibition <strong>of</strong> paintings<br />

by June Miles<br />

Innocent Fine Art<br />

7a Boyces Avenue<br />

Clifton<br />

Bristol BS8 4AA<br />

t: 0117 973 2614<br />

www.innocent<br />

fineart.co.uk<br />

Monday – Saturday<br />

10am – 5.30pm<br />

19 November –<br />

11 December<br />

School <strong>of</strong> Paris exhibition<br />

Braque, Chagall,<br />

Cézanne, Cocteau, Dali,<br />

Gilot, Hellau, Matisse,<br />

Miró, Picasso, Renoir,<br />

Utrillo.<br />

Jamaica Street Artists<br />

37–39 Jamaica Street,<br />

Stokes Cr<strong>of</strong>t<br />

Bristol BS2 8JP<br />

t: 07766 221 266<br />

Contact: Gemma Brace<br />

at jsadevelopment09@<br />

yahoo.co.uk<br />

Weds – Sun 11am – 6pm<br />

To 24 December<br />

THEARTBOX<br />

31 College Green, Bristol<br />

A unique pop-up shop<br />

and gallery.<br />

8 January – 8 February<br />

2011<br />

Inside-out<br />

RWA Bristol (see Diary<br />

pages)<br />

An eclectic exhibition<br />

includes workshops,<br />

tours and talks.<br />

Jean Jones Gallery<br />

13 Clifton Victorian<br />

Shopping Arcade,<br />

Boyce’s Avenue<br />

Clifton Village<br />

Bristol BS8 4AAt: 07926<br />

196 978<br />

www.jeanjonesgallery.com<br />

Tues – Sat 10.30am – 5.30pm<br />

Fine Art Original<br />

Paintings, Jewellery<br />

and Cards<br />

The John Leach Gallery<br />

Mulchelney Pottery<br />

nr Langport<br />

Som TA10 0DW<br />

t: 01458 250 324<br />

www.johnleachpottery.<br />

co.uk<br />

15 November –<br />

26 January 2011<br />

Andrea Clark: All<br />

Creatures Great & Small<br />

Original paintings,<br />

drawings and prints.<br />

Lime Tree Gallery<br />

84 Hotwell Road<br />

Bristol BS8 4UB<br />

t: 0117 929 2527<br />

www.limetreegallery.com<br />

Tues – Sat 10 – 5pm<br />

Sunday 10 – 4pm<br />

December<br />

Christmas Exhibition<br />

Michael Clark, Vivienne<br />

Williams, Peter King,<br />

Philip Richardson<br />

Martin’s Gallery<br />

Imperial House<br />

3 Montpellier Parade<br />

Cheltenham GL50 1UA<br />

t: 01242 526044<br />

e: ian@martinsgallery.<br />

co.uk<br />

11am – 6pm<br />

Wed – Sat or by<br />

arrangement<br />

Closes 11 December<br />

Art <strong>of</strong> Vietnam<br />

A mixed exhibition<br />

illustrating <strong>the</strong> influence<br />

<strong>of</strong> French Impressionism<br />

and <strong>the</strong> Asian culture on<br />

this exciting emerging<br />

market.<br />

5 Feb – 5 March 2011<br />

Mixed ’11<br />

Eight artists <strong>of</strong> varying<br />

media and subjects<br />

including Victor Ambrus,<br />

Pierce Casey, Diana<br />

Mat<strong>the</strong>ws, Rory Morrell,<br />

Janet Nathan, Michael<br />

Norman, Anthony<br />

Slessor and Karl Taylor.<br />

Nails Gallery<br />

Lower Exchange Hall,<br />

Entrance to St Nick’s<br />

Market Corn Street,<br />

Bristol BS1 1LJ<br />

t: 0117 929 2083<br />

Mon – Sat 9.30am – 5pm<br />

New Work: from bestselling<br />

artists Tom<br />

White, Alexander Korzer-<br />

Robinson and Abigail<br />

McDougall. Also new<br />

work from Rich Murphy,<br />

Colin Vincent and<br />

Rebecca <strong>Howard</strong>.<br />

Nature in Art<br />

Wallsworth Hall<br />

A38, Twigworth<br />

Gloucester<br />

www.natureinart.org.uk<br />

Tues – Sun 10am – 5pm<br />

16 November –<br />

19 December<br />

British Contemporary<br />

Crafts: The Variety<br />

<strong>of</strong> Life<br />

All items are for sale<br />

22 January – 31 March<br />

2011<br />

Wildlife Photographer<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Year<br />

Pallant House Gallery<br />

9 North Pallant<br />

Chichester<br />

<strong>West</strong> Sussex PO19 1TJ<br />

t: 01243 774 557<br />

www.pallant.org.uk<br />

Until 10 January 2011<br />

Gods & Monsters: John<br />

Deakin’s Portraits <strong>of</strong><br />

British Artists<br />

Iconic portraits <strong>of</strong> British<br />

artists by legendary<br />

Vogue photographer<br />

John Deakin (1912 –<br />

1972)<br />

Until 6 March 2011<br />

Contemporary Eye:<br />

Crossovers<br />

Interventions from<br />

major private collections<br />

by international<br />

contemporary artists<br />

exploring traditional<br />

craft.<br />

Richard Green<br />

147 New Bond Street<br />

London W1S 2TS<br />

t 020 7493 3939<br />

www.richard-green.com<br />

e: paintings @richardgreen.com<br />

26 January –<br />

12 February 2011<br />

Ken <strong>Howard</strong> OBE<br />

RA RWA: An Artist’s<br />

Odyssey<br />

70 recent oil paintings.<br />

Royal Academy <strong>of</strong> Arts<br />

Burlington House<br />

Piccadilly<br />

London W1J 0BD<br />

t: 020 7300 8000<br />

www.royalacademy.org.uk<br />

Until 19 December<br />

Artists’ Laboratory 02:<br />

Stephen Farthing RA<br />

The Back Story<br />

Until 23 January 2011<br />

Pioneering Painters: The<br />

Glasgow Boys<br />

1880 – 1900<br />

22 January – 7 April<br />

2011<br />

Modern British Sculpture<br />

The first exhibition for<br />

30 years to examine<br />

British sculpture <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

twentieth century.<br />

// Listings<br />

Sky Blue Framing<br />

& Gallery<br />

27 North View<br />

<strong>West</strong>bury Park<br />

Bristol BS6 7PT<br />

t: 0117 973 3995<br />

Mon – Fri 9.30 – 5.30<br />

Sat 9.30 – 4.30<br />

Starting on 20 November<br />

The Big Christmas<br />

Mixed Exhibition<br />

featuring some <strong>of</strong> our<br />

and your favourite<br />

artists. New limited<br />

edition prints from<br />

Quentin Blake (Roald<br />

Dahl collection), John<br />

Knapp-Fisher, Mary<br />

Fedden, David Brayne<br />

RWS and gallery owner<br />

Mike Ogden; along with<br />

new silk screen prints<br />

from <strong>the</strong> ever popular<br />

Susie Brooks, Jane<br />

Ormes and a sprinkling<br />

<strong>of</strong> new artists.<br />

Sladers Yard<br />

<strong>West</strong> Bay, Bridport<br />

Dorset DT6 4EL<br />

t: 0138 459 511<br />

wwwsladersyard.co.uk<br />

Weds – Sat 10am – 5pm<br />

Sun 12 noon 5pm<br />

To 9 January 2011<br />

Sea Light<br />

Paintings: Alex Lowery,<br />

Stephen <strong>Jacobson</strong><br />

RWA, Rufus Knight-<br />

Webb, Jeremy Scrine<br />

– Furniture: Petter<br />

Southall – Sculpture:<br />

Caroline Sharp –<br />

Automata: Ian McKay –<br />

Glass: Lindean Mill.<br />

Somerset Guild <strong>of</strong><br />

Craftsmen<br />

The Courthouse Gallery<br />

Market Place<br />

Somerton TA11 7LX<br />

t: 01458 274 653<br />

www.somersetguild.<br />

co.uk<br />

Open six days a week<br />

10am – 5pm<br />

Admission free<br />

13 November – 8 January<br />

Reflections <strong>of</strong> Nature<br />

The wealth <strong>of</strong> Somerset<br />

country life is brought<br />

alive through a<br />

wonderfully diverse<br />

array <strong>of</strong> craft.<br />

Tate Modern<br />

Bankside<br />

London SE1 9TG<br />

t: 020 7887 8888<br />

www.tate.org.uk<br />

Until 16 January 2011<br />

Gauguin<br />

Until 3 January<br />

Turner Prize 2010<br />

Until 2 May<br />

The Unilever Series:<br />

Ai Weiwei<br />

Tate Liverpool<br />

Albert Dock, Liverpool<br />

L3 4BB<br />

t: 0151 702 7400<br />

Until 1 April 2012<br />

DLA Piper Series:<br />

This is Sculpture<br />

Tate Britain<br />

Millbank<br />

London SW1P 4RG<br />

t: 020 7887 8888<br />

Until 16 January 2011<br />

Eadweard Muybridge<br />

Until 16 January 2011<br />

Rachel Whiteread<br />

Drawings<br />

Until 3 January 2011<br />

Turner Prize 2010<br />

Tate St Ives<br />

Porthmeor Beach<br />

St Ives<br />

Cornwall<br />

TR26 1TG<br />

Until 8 January 2011<br />

Peter Lanyon<br />

Until 23 January<br />

Tenmoku: Leach/Hamada/<br />

Marshall<br />

V&A<br />

Cromwell Road<br />

London SW7 2RL<br />

www.vam.ac.uk<br />

Open 10am – 5.45pm<br />

Fri 10am – 10pm<br />

Until 16 Jan 2011<br />

The Art <strong>of</strong> Noh<br />

Free admission<br />

Until 3 April 2011<br />

Richard Slee: From<br />

Utility to Futility<br />

Free admission.<br />

art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

47


48 art<br />

Winter 2010<br />

Which painting would you like<br />

to own?<br />

I co-curated an exhibition<br />

at <strong>the</strong> Tate called Gothic<br />

Nightmares; Henry Fuseli’s<br />

The Nightmare was <strong>the</strong><br />

centrepiece – a painting <strong>of</strong><br />

a lady lying on a bed with a<br />

squab sitting on her chest and<br />

a horse’s head coming through<br />

<strong>the</strong> curtains. I’d like to own<br />

The Nightmare; it would<br />

remind me <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> darker side<br />

<strong>of</strong> life.<br />

What music are you listening<br />

to at present?<br />

When I’m working and<br />

thinking I prefer <strong>the</strong> soothing<br />

sounds <strong>of</strong> Mozart and chamber<br />

music. When on <strong>the</strong> road,<br />

<strong>the</strong>re’s nothing like driving up<br />

<strong>the</strong> M4 with Mozart’s Requiem<br />

at full whack.<br />

Who do you think is <strong>the</strong> most<br />

over-rated artist, living or dead?<br />

Keith Haring. I find this whole<br />

elevation <strong>of</strong> graffiti to art<br />

gallery status very peculiar;<br />

I don’t get it at all. Graffiti is<br />

not necessarily art, indeed it<br />

very seldom is.<br />

Who would you most enjoy<br />

sitting next to on a long haul<br />

flight?<br />

The 18th century philosopher<br />

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who<br />

invented modern art education.<br />

His book, Emile, is all about<br />

learning by performing, using<br />

your hands and <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong><br />

a practical education. I’d love<br />

to chat through with him how<br />

we could introduce that idea<br />

back into education today. That<br />

would be a journey well spent.<br />

Which has been your most<br />

satisfying job?<br />

Rector <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Royal College <strong>of</strong><br />

Art. I believe so much in what<br />

it stands for. This is <strong>the</strong> sexiest<br />

job in higher education by a<br />

long way. I had no time for my<br />

own work so I like to think<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RCA as my own work<br />

<strong>of</strong> art. So for me it was just<br />

as creative as producing art<br />

works.<br />

Which play about art have<br />

you most enjoyed?<br />

Red by John Logan. About<br />

Rothko, it did this very rare<br />

thing <strong>of</strong> convincingly putting<br />

over someone at work on a<br />

painting; normally you don’t<br />

believe a word <strong>of</strong> it, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

can’t do <strong>the</strong> hand movements<br />

properly, but <strong>the</strong>y actually had<br />

him treating a canvas prior<br />

to doing one <strong>of</strong> his great red<br />

paintings, and I believed it.<br />

Media studies – are <strong>the</strong>y worth<br />

<strong>the</strong> paper…?<br />

The philosopher Umberto Eco<br />

once said to me: “You can do<br />

Back<br />

Chat<br />

Richard Storey<br />

Sir Christopher Frayling<br />

born 1946<br />

a PhD on Mickey Mouse –<br />

<strong>the</strong>re’s nothing intrinsically<br />

trivial about that sort <strong>of</strong><br />

subject matter, it’s how you<br />

approach it”. You can do<br />

Media Studies in a good or<br />

a bad way. Degrees train<br />

you to use your eyes, how to<br />

marshall an argument, about<br />

<strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> sources, developing<br />

a way <strong>of</strong> thinking about <strong>the</strong><br />

culture that’s around you.<br />

People tend to say that <strong>the</strong><br />

media are trivial; I really don’t<br />

believe that. It’s become <strong>the</strong><br />

Sociology <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 21st century:<br />

if you want to bash <strong>University</strong><br />

education – bash Media<br />

Studies. I hate <strong>the</strong> dumbing<br />

down which says <strong>the</strong>re are<br />

some art forms up here and<br />

o<strong>the</strong>rs down <strong>the</strong>re.<br />

Most over-rated art critic?<br />

Wild horses wouldn’t<br />

encourage me to say Brian<br />

Sewell – but I’m going to.<br />

A selection <strong>of</strong> books by<br />

Christopher Frayling:<br />

Henry Cole and <strong>the</strong> Chamber <strong>of</strong><br />

Horrors: The Curious Origins<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> V&A (2010)<br />

The Royal College <strong>of</strong> Art:<br />

One Hundred Years <strong>of</strong> Art<br />

and Design (1987)

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