This is a small exhibition in the Sainsbury Wing, on until 18 May.
Expensive, so be prepared. It is free, I think on Tuesday afternoons.
Interesting to read about the artist and the way of life of the English 'milords' who spent much time in Rome in the 18th century. The works I admired most are the portraits of these young men, and one young woman, mostly three-quarter view or to the waist. One big group portrait of three men. There are, as usual, not enough seats for you to sit and look carefully.
The colours are usually bright, with the regimentals of the men, of course, usually red. Britches white. There is a fine picture of a Gordon, in manly posture, draped with what they think is specially woven silk 'tartan' cloth.
Several heads show what appear to be intelligent, pensive sitters. Holding music, or maps.
The fact that these people used swords, or canes or long guns, aided the pose, since a hand can casually rest on the top of these things. Today the men do not have such a prop, only a mobile phone.
I did a number of sketches and hope that they will come to mind, when I plan my new works of portraits of athletes.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
CAMDEN TOWN GROUP AND PETER DOIG, www.tate.org.uk
TATE BRITAIN CAMDEN TOWN GROUP AND PETER DOIG
The Camden Town Group paintings look good in reproduction.
In actuality, the paint surfaces are somewhat disturbing.
Best work was obviously done by Walter Sickert, whose nudes were recently on display at the Courtauld Gallery. There is authority and confidence in his painting and thought provoking images of interiors, both domestic and places of entertainment. There is a beautiful painting of pierrots in pink costumes, side view of them performing on a stage, out of doors, at Brighton.
Some pictures have paint so very thick and treacly the consistency gets in the way of appreciating the image.
Beautiful late work by Spencer Gore of Richmond Park, done just before he died, apparently from pneumonia caused by painting outdoors in winter.
The main artists are Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman, Robert Bevan, Charles Ginner and Walter Sickert.
Peter Doig
I much prefer the earlier work, but even this is obviously 'pretty' because of the bright, flickering lights and sparking blacks and deep blues. The later work seems to be merely a wish wash of paint pigments, as if he is starting ideas which have been discarded.
The Camden Town Group paintings look good in reproduction.
In actuality, the paint surfaces are somewhat disturbing.
Best work was obviously done by Walter Sickert, whose nudes were recently on display at the Courtauld Gallery. There is authority and confidence in his painting and thought provoking images of interiors, both domestic and places of entertainment. There is a beautiful painting of pierrots in pink costumes, side view of them performing on a stage, out of doors, at Brighton.
Some pictures have paint so very thick and treacly the consistency gets in the way of appreciating the image.
Beautiful late work by Spencer Gore of Richmond Park, done just before he died, apparently from pneumonia caused by painting outdoors in winter.
The main artists are Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman, Robert Bevan, Charles Ginner and Walter Sickert.
Peter Doig
I much prefer the earlier work, but even this is obviously 'pretty' because of the bright, flickering lights and sparking blacks and deep blues. The later work seems to be merely a wish wash of paint pigments, as if he is starting ideas which have been discarded.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Walter Sickert, the Camden Town Nudes
Courtauld Gallery
www.courtauld.ac.uk
Walter Sickert, The Camden Town Nudes 25 Oct 2007 - 20 Jan 2008
Good news, is it is free Monday all day, which is when I went; bad news, it ends very soon, on 20 January.
When the sky is grey and the weather dour, looking at the Sickert nudes will not cheer you up. Much better to watch the jolly skaters on the rink in the courtyard, especially at night when the flares are lit.
But no, you want to see the paintings on the Third Floor. It is a small collection, and I think dominated by the study of a young girl sitting upright and resting a hand on the small of her back, just as if she is tired of all the household chores - after all these models are not going to be ladies who live a life of luxuary, they are probably housemaids, or shop-girls.
I was struck by the darkness of the images, the density of the paint, the thick impasto. Sickert probably loaded the paint onto the canvas, then waited for it to dry thoroughly before putting the next layer. There are blobs and ridges, which catch the light. It is so thick it is intrusive. It gets between you and what the painting is about. It is particularly evident in the two studies on the central wall, both referring to the Camden Town Murders. They are entitled also, 'What shall we do about the rent?' On the left, the painting is highly varnished and it is difficult to look at the image - too much disturbing light reflections. The painting on the right is matt, and easier on the eye. It has a cool, blue tinge, reminiscent of Manet. The paint is not so thick and treacly.
However, in addition to the difficulty of looking at the paintings, I wonder why Sickert painted with so many darks, why he chose not to paint the faces of these nudes and why the titles of the works hint at such dreary, depressing aspects of life in the big city at about 1906 or 1907.
The blurb on the free leaflet says "the exhibition traces Sickert's reinvention of the nude, exploring the ways in which these powerful paintings addressed pressing artistic and social concerns of the period". In what way does he reinvent the nude? Other than making the body itself so dark that you can hardly note its mass, I suppose he had an influence on other painters working shortly after these dates, the Euston Road School for instance, who later had an influence on the way painting was taught at Camberwell Art School and other art schools such as the Slade.
Sickert has a place in our consciousness because of the subjects he liked to paint, the seedy rooms, the music halls. Perhaps beforehand the British had not liked to look at the 'underbelly' of life. Pretty cottages had been painted, but not dreary poverty. Dickens and others have written of such themes, Degas painted the little working girls, Toulouse Lautrec the tarts of Paris. The is a difference in approach, the tarts and working girls of Paris have colour and movement, they are not bogged down in anthracite smokey darkness, heavy, unresponding, too dreary to be saved, even by the philanthropists who, I suppose, are referred to in the phrase 'pressing artistic and social concerns of the period'.
www.courtauld.ac.uk
Walter Sickert, The Camden Town Nudes 25 Oct 2007 - 20 Jan 2008
Good news, is it is free Monday all day, which is when I went; bad news, it ends very soon, on 20 January.
When the sky is grey and the weather dour, looking at the Sickert nudes will not cheer you up. Much better to watch the jolly skaters on the rink in the courtyard, especially at night when the flares are lit.
But no, you want to see the paintings on the Third Floor. It is a small collection, and I think dominated by the study of a young girl sitting upright and resting a hand on the small of her back, just as if she is tired of all the household chores - after all these models are not going to be ladies who live a life of luxuary, they are probably housemaids, or shop-girls.
I was struck by the darkness of the images, the density of the paint, the thick impasto. Sickert probably loaded the paint onto the canvas, then waited for it to dry thoroughly before putting the next layer. There are blobs and ridges, which catch the light. It is so thick it is intrusive. It gets between you and what the painting is about. It is particularly evident in the two studies on the central wall, both referring to the Camden Town Murders. They are entitled also, 'What shall we do about the rent?' On the left, the painting is highly varnished and it is difficult to look at the image - too much disturbing light reflections. The painting on the right is matt, and easier on the eye. It has a cool, blue tinge, reminiscent of Manet. The paint is not so thick and treacly.
However, in addition to the difficulty of looking at the paintings, I wonder why Sickert painted with so many darks, why he chose not to paint the faces of these nudes and why the titles of the works hint at such dreary, depressing aspects of life in the big city at about 1906 or 1907.
The blurb on the free leaflet says "the exhibition traces Sickert's reinvention of the nude, exploring the ways in which these powerful paintings addressed pressing artistic and social concerns of the period". In what way does he reinvent the nude? Other than making the body itself so dark that you can hardly note its mass, I suppose he had an influence on other painters working shortly after these dates, the Euston Road School for instance, who later had an influence on the way painting was taught at Camberwell Art School and other art schools such as the Slade.
Sickert has a place in our consciousness because of the subjects he liked to paint, the seedy rooms, the music halls. Perhaps beforehand the British had not liked to look at the 'underbelly' of life. Pretty cottages had been painted, but not dreary poverty. Dickens and others have written of such themes, Degas painted the little working girls, Toulouse Lautrec the tarts of Paris. The is a difference in approach, the tarts and working girls of Paris have colour and movement, they are not bogged down in anthracite smokey darkness, heavy, unresponding, too dreary to be saved, even by the philanthropists who, I suppose, are referred to in the phrase 'pressing artistic and social concerns of the period'.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Siena, Art for a City, at the National Gallery, London, and what I though of the exhibition
www.nationalgallery.org.uk
The exhibition Renaissance Siena, Art for a City. 24 October 2007 to 13 January 2008.
The exhibition includes a few sculptures, some bas reliefs, some drawings and three large frescos. Also medals and mirror frames, and panels from marriage chests. But most of it is painting on wood, either in oil or tempera.
These paintings are not very familiar, no names I readily recognized except Raphael. He is represented with a beautiful small work, part of which by coincidence was reproduced, and increased in size, on the Christmas cards currently being sold at half price in the gallery shop!
What can I learn from these works?
The paint is applied in thin glazes, there are no brush marks to be seen. The colours glow and impress by their luminosity.
Particularly impressive, in its sexual allure and masculine display, is the painting by Luca Signorelli of Two Nude Youths. One has his back to you and shows his beautiful buttocks, lovingly highlighted with reflected light on the underside of the curves.
Several works have inscriptions, and this itself is quite unlike any paintings made today, in that a typical inscription reads, (and I quote this as it appears in the exhibition booklet), "'the flame refreshes her/it and tortures me" encircle a dragon-headed salamander in the middle of a fire'.
Many of the paintings are full of hidden meanings and are definitely narrative. In particular I looked at the series The Story of Patient Griselda, in which the story is illustrated in three parts, but on each of the three panels several episodes are shown, as in a comic strip. The colours used are often symbolic and would be understood by the viewer at the time, in Siena.
I like to paint narrative paintings, I like to include text in my work. Several of my recent works are on wood, which I find a sympathetic support for oil.
There are stories in my paintings. I endeavor to put references, both obvious
and hidden, in the paintings, to modern associations with the human subjects.
For instance in my current painting, the subject is loosely based on the legend of Diana and Acteaon, when Acteaon looks at Diana bathing, and is turned into a stag and devoured by his own hunting dogs. My inspiration was a painting by Cranach at Somerset House earlier in 2007.
I have painted the yellow sign that you can see at Somerset House, warning of a steep drop, and changed it to a human figure and the head of a ravening dog. Acteaon is represented by a male cyclist glancing over his shoulder.
In particular I might consider painting in thinner paint, with less emphasis on the painterly quality of oil paint. I might make less emphasis on the correct physical depiction of the human subject.
Many of the paintings in this exhibition are distorted or have extremely small or excessively large head, hands, feet.
I might increase the amount of textual messages I employ and I might incorporate two or three episodes of a story.
My next work may be a portrait of a male cyclist, who I will paint with his back to me, possibly in shorts and top. The rest of the painting will give a picture of the route, and the difficulties and the encounters which the cyclist might meet in his planned route from one end of Britain to the other.
The exhibition Renaissance Siena, Art for a City. 24 October 2007 to 13 January 2008.
The exhibition includes a few sculptures, some bas reliefs, some drawings and three large frescos. Also medals and mirror frames, and panels from marriage chests. But most of it is painting on wood, either in oil or tempera.
These paintings are not very familiar, no names I readily recognized except Raphael. He is represented with a beautiful small work, part of which by coincidence was reproduced, and increased in size, on the Christmas cards currently being sold at half price in the gallery shop!
What can I learn from these works?
The paint is applied in thin glazes, there are no brush marks to be seen. The colours glow and impress by their luminosity.
Particularly impressive, in its sexual allure and masculine display, is the painting by Luca Signorelli of Two Nude Youths. One has his back to you and shows his beautiful buttocks, lovingly highlighted with reflected light on the underside of the curves.
Several works have inscriptions, and this itself is quite unlike any paintings made today, in that a typical inscription reads, (and I quote this as it appears in the exhibition booklet), "'the flame refreshes her/it and tortures me" encircle a dragon-headed salamander in the middle of a fire'.
Many of the paintings are full of hidden meanings and are definitely narrative. In particular I looked at the series The Story of Patient Griselda, in which the story is illustrated in three parts, but on each of the three panels several episodes are shown, as in a comic strip. The colours used are often symbolic and would be understood by the viewer at the time, in Siena.
I like to paint narrative paintings, I like to include text in my work. Several of my recent works are on wood, which I find a sympathetic support for oil.
There are stories in my paintings. I endeavor to put references, both obvious
and hidden, in the paintings, to modern associations with the human subjects.
For instance in my current painting, the subject is loosely based on the legend of Diana and Acteaon, when Acteaon looks at Diana bathing, and is turned into a stag and devoured by his own hunting dogs. My inspiration was a painting by Cranach at Somerset House earlier in 2007.
I have painted the yellow sign that you can see at Somerset House, warning of a steep drop, and changed it to a human figure and the head of a ravening dog. Acteaon is represented by a male cyclist glancing over his shoulder.
In particular I might consider painting in thinner paint, with less emphasis on the painterly quality of oil paint. I might make less emphasis on the correct physical depiction of the human subject.
Many of the paintings in this exhibition are distorted or have extremely small or excessively large head, hands, feet.
I might increase the amount of textual messages I employ and I might incorporate two or three episodes of a story.
My next work may be a portrait of a male cyclist, who I will paint with his back to me, possibly in shorts and top. The rest of the painting will give a picture of the route, and the difficulties and the encounters which the cyclist might meet in his planned route from one end of Britain to the other.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
FRIEZE ART FAIR http://www.friezeartfair.com
http://www.friezeartfair.com/press/release/strong_sales_reported_by_frieze_art_fair_2007/
Well we all went, didn't we? It was a crush, it was not the best place to see good art, but it was fun. Unfortunately I did not get to ogle any celebrities.
London hasn't changed, has it? The fairs and pleasure gardens of 18th century London must have been a bit like the Frieze. People watching, buying big, putting on the ritz.
Overpriced entrance tickets (a rip-off if you booked in advance on the internet) and the food/drink facilities were slow, slow, slow and also overpriced. Nowhere to sit down.
Next time I go, I will have to make time to see the sculpture outside, but on the whole I do not think I missed much by not looking carefully at everything. There was a lot of tatty stuff. Some lovely photographs. A nice Sam Francis for mega-bucks.
Of course it is not an exhibition, it is not a curated show.
Possibly I was expecting too much, having seen three great exhibitions beforehand, the Paula Rego, the Georg Baselitz and the Louise Bourgeois.
Art Fairs are a mishmash of things that the galleries are hoping to sell just to collectors who want to find a home for their wealth, which might - they fondly expect - increase in value. And I include the Tate in this heading.
The gallery owners are not interested in art for arts sake. I get the impression that anything can be sold, as long as enough people subscribe to its value. You start looking at alarm bells and fire extinguishers, or baby buggies, and half-expecting that they are part of the display.
Obviously I am not the person who is a valued attendee at Art Fairs, I am not going to buy anything. I presume that if you really are one of the big spenders, you get the full treatment, VIP lounges, courtesy cars and a big massage for the ego.
It must be exhausting for the stall-holders at this, one of London's biggest street-markets.
Well we all went, didn't we? It was a crush, it was not the best place to see good art, but it was fun. Unfortunately I did not get to ogle any celebrities.
London hasn't changed, has it? The fairs and pleasure gardens of 18th century London must have been a bit like the Frieze. People watching, buying big, putting on the ritz.
Overpriced entrance tickets (a rip-off if you booked in advance on the internet) and the food/drink facilities were slow, slow, slow and also overpriced. Nowhere to sit down.
Next time I go, I will have to make time to see the sculpture outside, but on the whole I do not think I missed much by not looking carefully at everything. There was a lot of tatty stuff. Some lovely photographs. A nice Sam Francis for mega-bucks.
Of course it is not an exhibition, it is not a curated show.
Possibly I was expecting too much, having seen three great exhibitions beforehand, the Paula Rego, the Georg Baselitz and the Louise Bourgeois.
Art Fairs are a mishmash of things that the galleries are hoping to sell just to collectors who want to find a home for their wealth, which might - they fondly expect - increase in value. And I include the Tate in this heading.
The gallery owners are not interested in art for arts sake. I get the impression that anything can be sold, as long as enough people subscribe to its value. You start looking at alarm bells and fire extinguishers, or baby buggies, and half-expecting that they are part of the display.
Obviously I am not the person who is a valued attendee at Art Fairs, I am not going to buy anything. I presume that if you really are one of the big spenders, you get the full treatment, VIP lounges, courtesy cars and a big massage for the ego.
It must be exhausting for the stall-holders at this, one of London's biggest street-markets.
LOUISE BOURGEOIS AT TATE MODERN
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/louisebourgeois/default.shtm
I was not familiar with Louise Bourgeois before I attended a talk at Kensington and Chelsea College with the photography lecturer, Manon, who showed us slides of her sculptures, including "Filette". Manon's enthusiasm encouraged me to take an interest in this artist. So I was glad to go along and find out more.
We are lucky in London to have so much fine works to see, this autumn.
This is another blockbuster, the life-work of a woman now nearly 95.
In particular, I was moved by the large 'rooms' that are on display in the middle of this exhibition, where objects from Louis's past have been incorporated, her clothes which have been sewn and reformed. And red objects. Old doors are the walls, or wire cages.
I am not sure how to read the significance of these exhibits, I know very little about the art movements in New York during the years when they were made. They are, I guess, under the heading of 'installation' or 'scupture', and I have been looking at painting most of my life. Paint is familiar to me, not metal or found objects.
Obviously other artists have influenced her. She was in the heart of things, married to an art critic.
There is little here to suggest any link with France or French artists. Although there are many photos of her as a girl and young woman at the exit. She left France in about 1938.
Some early drawings of the housewife, half house, half women, brought back memories for me of the writings of women and the theme of being paid to do housework. I suppose this was in the 1960s, when I got very interested in the 'womans movement'.
There are beautiful objects here too, as well as sharp, agressive shapes and dirty bits of metal. By the window is the glossy bronze, the Arc of Hysteria, suspended from the ceiling. An exquisite thing.
Also exquisite is the view from the window across to St Pauls. On that day, it was all greys, the lines of the city buildings receeding in layers, the light from the river, and just to seal it in perfection, a drift of smoke falling towards the sea, blowing across the greyness of the sombre ancient heart of London.
I was not familiar with Louise Bourgeois before I attended a talk at Kensington and Chelsea College with the photography lecturer, Manon, who showed us slides of her sculptures, including "Filette". Manon's enthusiasm encouraged me to take an interest in this artist. So I was glad to go along and find out more.
We are lucky in London to have so much fine works to see, this autumn.
This is another blockbuster, the life-work of a woman now nearly 95.
In particular, I was moved by the large 'rooms' that are on display in the middle of this exhibition, where objects from Louis's past have been incorporated, her clothes which have been sewn and reformed. And red objects. Old doors are the walls, or wire cages.
I am not sure how to read the significance of these exhibits, I know very little about the art movements in New York during the years when they were made. They are, I guess, under the heading of 'installation' or 'scupture', and I have been looking at painting most of my life. Paint is familiar to me, not metal or found objects.
Obviously other artists have influenced her. She was in the heart of things, married to an art critic.
There is little here to suggest any link with France or French artists. Although there are many photos of her as a girl and young woman at the exit. She left France in about 1938.
Some early drawings of the housewife, half house, half women, brought back memories for me of the writings of women and the theme of being paid to do housework. I suppose this was in the 1960s, when I got very interested in the 'womans movement'.
There are beautiful objects here too, as well as sharp, agressive shapes and dirty bits of metal. By the window is the glossy bronze, the Arc of Hysteria, suspended from the ceiling. An exquisite thing.
Also exquisite is the view from the window across to St Pauls. On that day, it was all greys, the lines of the city buildings receeding in layers, the light from the river, and just to seal it in perfection, a drift of smoke falling towards the sea, blowing across the greyness of the sombre ancient heart of London.
Paula Rego - some more
I made notes about the exhibition for my own interest, and also bought the book in the Museum shop.
She makes quantities of etchings, lithographs and uses aquatint with great competence. In particular I liked the Pendel Witches series. Lots of the prints are in book form, and published as limited editions as 'artists books'.
Some of her drawings are on display, showing them squared up for transposition onto paper or board.
The Abortion series shows women in a dark, almost abstract background, maybe a two colour background, like a Spanish portrait. Black, green. The women are different ages, lookout out at you. She does not need to add anything to the figures, to enhance the message. In one I noticed a black bucket, which she uses in other paintings.
Interesting that she comes from Portugal, where I presume the law preventing abortion might be still in force. I do not know. In any case she comes from the generation, like me, that can remember when abortion was illegal in England - before the Pill!
Her earlier pastels seem less violent than the lastest ones. In particular we both liked The Fitting, from 1990, showing a young woman in a blue crinoline, in a dream-like setting, with two figures fitting her, and odd other figures, tiny by comparison, at the side.
These works make you think, they stay in your mind, they prevent you sleeping at night - or they did me.
She makes quantities of etchings, lithographs and uses aquatint with great competence. In particular I liked the Pendel Witches series. Lots of the prints are in book form, and published as limited editions as 'artists books'.
Some of her drawings are on display, showing them squared up for transposition onto paper or board.
The Abortion series shows women in a dark, almost abstract background, maybe a two colour background, like a Spanish portrait. Black, green. The women are different ages, lookout out at you. She does not need to add anything to the figures, to enhance the message. In one I noticed a black bucket, which she uses in other paintings.
Interesting that she comes from Portugal, where I presume the law preventing abortion might be still in force. I do not know. In any case she comes from the generation, like me, that can remember when abortion was illegal in England - before the Pill!
Her earlier pastels seem less violent than the lastest ones. In particular we both liked The Fitting, from 1990, showing a young woman in a blue crinoline, in a dream-like setting, with two figures fitting her, and odd other figures, tiny by comparison, at the side.
These works make you think, they stay in your mind, they prevent you sleeping at night - or they did me.
SPAIN OCTOBER 2007 - PAULA REGO EXHIBITION
The big retrospective of Paula Rego is one you should try and see. It is at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, in Madrid from 26 Sept to 30 December 2007.
The link for museum is www.museoreinasofia.es
We went along twice because first time, we were en route to Toledo, and the museum is near the Atocha RENFE station. Then coming back after Toledo, we had time to spend much more time.
Once again, the work that Paula Rego has produced in impressive because, first it is creative and challenging, and secondly she works on a large size, with a difficult medium, pastel. Sheer physical effort is needed in quantity to do these pictures.
From reproductions, you do not realise that these are pastel. Reproductions do not do them justice, because the medium has a texture and sensual quality, a lustre and sheen, that makes you want to touch it. Of course they are all under glass.
The subjects are very often distorted, heads larger than life, grotesque grimaces on faces, animals in odd juxtapositions to humans.
She has recurring objects, such as an orange high heel shoe, she uses the same models and the same faces crop up over and over again, aging the while. Jane Eyre for instance, is a woman not in the first flush of youth!
There is a huge triptych "Marriage a la Mode", interesting to me because I like Hogarth, and have done my own version of some of the Rake's Progress, as etchings.
These are in pastel and are again disturbing, without the title you would not recognise the relevance to Hogarth.
The most frightening things are drawings in ink and watercolour called Misericordia, of old peoples homes, showing them, among other things, being hit, or wiped after the toilet. Really I found these drawings hard to look at. Also Rego has done drawings of faces with different emotions, showing Repugnance, Disgust, Scorn and Embarrasment.
The link for museum is www.museoreinasofia.es
We went along twice because first time, we were en route to Toledo, and the museum is near the Atocha RENFE station. Then coming back after Toledo, we had time to spend much more time.
Once again, the work that Paula Rego has produced in impressive because, first it is creative and challenging, and secondly she works on a large size, with a difficult medium, pastel. Sheer physical effort is needed in quantity to do these pictures.
From reproductions, you do not realise that these are pastel. Reproductions do not do them justice, because the medium has a texture and sensual quality, a lustre and sheen, that makes you want to touch it. Of course they are all under glass.
The subjects are very often distorted, heads larger than life, grotesque grimaces on faces, animals in odd juxtapositions to humans.
She has recurring objects, such as an orange high heel shoe, she uses the same models and the same faces crop up over and over again, aging the while. Jane Eyre for instance, is a woman not in the first flush of youth!
There is a huge triptych "Marriage a la Mode", interesting to me because I like Hogarth, and have done my own version of some of the Rake's Progress, as etchings.
These are in pastel and are again disturbing, without the title you would not recognise the relevance to Hogarth.
The most frightening things are drawings in ink and watercolour called Misericordia, of old peoples homes, showing them, among other things, being hit, or wiped after the toilet. Really I found these drawings hard to look at. Also Rego has done drawings of faces with different emotions, showing Repugnance, Disgust, Scorn and Embarrasment.
Millais - is it worth going?
I have seen several exhibitions and three art fairs since Millais. I remember the exhibition as being huge, I remember the critics being fierce on him. This exhibition demonstrates what can be achieved if the object is to show a life -work of a remarkably gifted, prolific artist who produced his work in England/Scotland, and most of them stayed in these countries. Some works must have been borrowed from abroad. There are so many, it is indigestible. They are in general, in good condition, except for some which are badly cracked.
For a comparison, it would be necessary to take an artist who started work at 16 or 17, carried on all his life to his 70s and who was so popular that his output included landscapes, portraits and narative works. I can think of nobody who could be used as a comparison, who is painting today. In this way, Millais is quite extraordinary.
Having said that, I can remember most clearly the works which he painted under the influence of - probably - Velazquez. Two portaits in particular. one of a young woman in a black dress embroidered with flowers, and one of a girl, also in a black dress, I think.
If you are very busy, don't go. But if you want to marvel an sheer hardwork, go along for a couple of hours!
Link:
www.tate.org.uk/britain/ exhibitions/millais/default.shtm
For a comparison, it would be necessary to take an artist who started work at 16 or 17, carried on all his life to his 70s and who was so popular that his output included landscapes, portraits and narative works. I can think of nobody who could be used as a comparison, who is painting today. In this way, Millais is quite extraordinary.
Having said that, I can remember most clearly the works which he painted under the influence of - probably - Velazquez. Two portaits in particular. one of a young woman in a black dress embroidered with flowers, and one of a girl, also in a black dress, I think.
If you are very busy, don't go. But if you want to marvel an sheer hardwork, go along for a couple of hours!
Link:
www.tate.org.uk/britain/ exhibitions/millais/default.shtm
Thursday, September 27, 2007
MILLAIS EXHIBITION AT TATE BRITAIN
Because I am now a member of the Tate - at great expense- I can attend private views. Actually you do not get much for your money, no drinks, no particular benefits. Maybe just a few less people walking round, but it is still crowded.
The Millais is another huge autumn blockbuster exhibition, and extremely exhausting to walk round - there is just so much stuff.
I will write more, it is just too tiring to even think about doing it now!
The Millais is another huge autumn blockbuster exhibition, and extremely exhausting to walk round - there is just so much stuff.
I will write more, it is just too tiring to even think about doing it now!
JERWOOD DRAWING PRIZE TOURING EXHIBITION
This exhibition is over the river from the Royal Academy, where I went in the morning. It is near Southwark tube.
Such a big change from the Baselitz show. A real jump down.
These drawings seemed more like rough illustrations or ideas for advertisements. Of course it is a mixed show, not all the work is 2-D or on paper. Nevertheless, there seems to be little linked to the great drawing achievements of the past, no passing nod to the drawings of Van Gogh, or Rembrandt or seven Ardizzoni.
Of course I am biased because this is the second year my entry for the Jerwood has been rejected!
However, if drawing is to be considered seriously, I feel that the judges will have to get away from their preoccupation with the art-school student, graphic design doodle that most of these drawings bring to mind.
Such a big change from the Baselitz show. A real jump down.
These drawings seemed more like rough illustrations or ideas for advertisements. Of course it is a mixed show, not all the work is 2-D or on paper. Nevertheless, there seems to be little linked to the great drawing achievements of the past, no passing nod to the drawings of Van Gogh, or Rembrandt or seven Ardizzoni.
Of course I am biased because this is the second year my entry for the Jerwood has been rejected!
However, if drawing is to be considered seriously, I feel that the judges will have to get away from their preoccupation with the art-school student, graphic design doodle that most of these drawings bring to mind.
BASELITZ AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY
BASELITZ - a lot has been written about him recently. Did you see any of the reviews? I liked the article in the Financial Times on Saturday (22 September 2007)
I went to see the exhibition at the Royal Academy the previous Wednesday. First is a huge circular gallery, which prepares you for the size of his painting - they are usually huge. In the centre is a well-known wooden scupture with a raised right arm, much like a fascist salute. The canvasses have rough textures where the material is not covered, and I noted that the overall colours are reds, ochres, umbers and blacks. The Shepherd, painted in 1965, seems to have tits!
Later paintings to look out include Homage to Vrubel, because of the luscious pink and yellow paint, the figure squashed to the right of the canvas - a big brown space.
Ten paintings of feet, such large pink shapes, almost ultra realistic, suggested to me that Jenny Saville has had a good look at these works. These are the right way up. In fact I felt that although many of the paintings are upside down, this was not disturbing or even very incongruous. What was more disturbing was the way the heads on the male figures are painted very small, and seemingly feminine.
The woodcuts are something that I was very interested to see, being generally interested in printmaking.
These are described as continuing the German tradition, but actually they are chiefly of interest for their straightforwardness, colour and composition - filling the small rectangles completely in a satisfactory completeness.
The four pink heads called Oberon are a disturbing nightmare, the light coming from underneath the heads, illuminating the looming figures of terror as if lit by a nightlight.
Some pain tings are not in fact canvasses, but wood In Gallery 6 are works with a date of 1989. There are 20 paintings with inverted child-like heads ( I mean the heads look as if painted by a child). They have a strange self-importance, the heads are so 'all the same' yet different. I wonder if he worked on them all at the same time? He could only have done this if he had a huge studio. The project of these works is described as taking place on the 45th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The wood is slashed and gouged out all over the surfaces, as if they have been attacked with a machete.
Baselitz lived near Dresden as a child. This must have been terrifying, when the fire storm raged. Many thousands of children in German and England must have been similarly terrified by the bombs and fires raging round their homes. I consider that maybe the label of a traumatised victim of the war, which seems to have been attached to Bazelitz, might just be a convenient one that journalists have hit upon.
By the time you get to Galley 7, the works have become enormous, strange and repellent, in particular I noticed the inverted figures in Supper at Dresden, (a link to an alterpiece maybe?) There are the de Brucke artists and Munch without heads, in colours of red, blue, black and pink.
The whole exhibition must give Baselitz a great feeling of achievement, Here is a major collection of consistent work, and by no means all his output is here. He has continued to produce strong, assertive work throughout these years, and without doubt has seen and considered the influence of the art being done in America, and to a lesser extent in Britain, but here there are no hints of Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and all the other isms we have been battered with.
I admire these paintings and found the exhibition itself disturbing and thought-provoking. I shall certainly come back to have a second look.
I went to see the exhibition at the Royal Academy the previous Wednesday. First is a huge circular gallery, which prepares you for the size of his painting - they are usually huge. In the centre is a well-known wooden scupture with a raised right arm, much like a fascist salute. The canvasses have rough textures where the material is not covered, and I noted that the overall colours are reds, ochres, umbers and blacks. The Shepherd, painted in 1965, seems to have tits!
Later paintings to look out include Homage to Vrubel, because of the luscious pink and yellow paint, the figure squashed to the right of the canvas - a big brown space.
Ten paintings of feet, such large pink shapes, almost ultra realistic, suggested to me that Jenny Saville has had a good look at these works. These are the right way up. In fact I felt that although many of the paintings are upside down, this was not disturbing or even very incongruous. What was more disturbing was the way the heads on the male figures are painted very small, and seemingly feminine.
The woodcuts are something that I was very interested to see, being generally interested in printmaking.
These are described as continuing the German tradition, but actually they are chiefly of interest for their straightforwardness, colour and composition - filling the small rectangles completely in a satisfactory completeness.
The four pink heads called Oberon are a disturbing nightmare, the light coming from underneath the heads, illuminating the looming figures of terror as if lit by a nightlight.
Some pain tings are not in fact canvasses, but wood In Gallery 6 are works with a date of 1989. There are 20 paintings with inverted child-like heads ( I mean the heads look as if painted by a child). They have a strange self-importance, the heads are so 'all the same' yet different. I wonder if he worked on them all at the same time? He could only have done this if he had a huge studio. The project of these works is described as taking place on the 45th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The wood is slashed and gouged out all over the surfaces, as if they have been attacked with a machete.
Baselitz lived near Dresden as a child. This must have been terrifying, when the fire storm raged. Many thousands of children in German and England must have been similarly terrified by the bombs and fires raging round their homes. I consider that maybe the label of a traumatised victim of the war, which seems to have been attached to Bazelitz, might just be a convenient one that journalists have hit upon.
By the time you get to Galley 7, the works have become enormous, strange and repellent, in particular I noticed the inverted figures in Supper at Dresden, (a link to an alterpiece maybe?) There are the de Brucke artists and Munch without heads, in colours of red, blue, black and pink.
The whole exhibition must give Baselitz a great feeling of achievement, Here is a major collection of consistent work, and by no means all his output is here. He has continued to produce strong, assertive work throughout these years, and without doubt has seen and considered the influence of the art being done in America, and to a lesser extent in Britain, but here there are no hints of Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and all the other isms we have been battered with.
I admire these paintings and found the exhibition itself disturbing and thought-provoking. I shall certainly come back to have a second look.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Georg Baselitz and Portraits
When I was at the RA today, 18 Sept, I noticed it was the Press day for the Baselitz exhibition. I had a good look through the doors but the attendent would not let me sneak in. What I saw was pretty arresting, very large stuff that hits you in the eye. Outside there are piles of books about the artist, the exhibition and also a big collection of postcards, birthday cards and T shirts with little bits of Baselitz. Wonder what it is like to be a serious artist and see your work cut up into little snippets to appear on greetings cards?
I want to go to one or two of the evening lectures but they are expensive. Cannnot do the ones on Mondays but there are three on Fridays.
On 2 November there is a lecture by Proff Richard Shiff from Austin, who 'presents Beselitz'v view of mdoern German history as a kind of dark comedy'. Also one on 26 October about 1920s cinematic German Expressionist movement and Baselitz.
When I was in Berlin last autumn I tried to see some German Expressionist works but there was little to see in the major galleries. It is strong meaty stuff and I wonder if it is dispersed all round the world like confetti or if there is a stash of it somewhere.
The main man himself is talking on 12 October. All of these talks cost £10 each and they actually throw in a drink of wine or such - since the wine in the Friend's room costs abougt £3.75 I suppost the talk is a bit of a bargain, on scond thoughts (or you could just bring a hip flask).
There are portraits of Royal Academicians too, in some beautifully restored room at the front of the building. I was interested to see one of Laura Knight when she was a mere slip of a girl, painted by the man who she later married. One other self-portrait by a women, but the rest are rather boring men. Not really worth going to see.
I want to go to one or two of the evening lectures but they are expensive. Cannnot do the ones on Mondays but there are three on Fridays.
On 2 November there is a lecture by Proff Richard Shiff from Austin, who 'presents Beselitz'v view of mdoern German history as a kind of dark comedy'. Also one on 26 October about 1920s cinematic German Expressionist movement and Baselitz.
When I was in Berlin last autumn I tried to see some German Expressionist works but there was little to see in the major galleries. It is strong meaty stuff and I wonder if it is dispersed all round the world like confetti or if there is a stash of it somewhere.
The main man himself is talking on 12 October. All of these talks cost £10 each and they actually throw in a drink of wine or such - since the wine in the Friend's room costs abougt £3.75 I suppost the talk is a bit of a bargain, on scond thoughts (or you could just bring a hip flask).
There are portraits of Royal Academicians too, in some beautifully restored room at the front of the building. I was interested to see one of Laura Knight when she was a mere slip of a girl, painted by the man who she later married. One other self-portrait by a women, but the rest are rather boring men. Not really worth going to see.
Impressionist by the Sea - RA Sept 2007
This small exhibition was worth the effort to go and see. Interesting that the earlier paintings by the French artists plus Whistler, showed the seaside developmement such as hotels, along the Normandy coast. Then they seemed to change their focus, and painted more romantic pictures of rocks, clouds, the light on the water. I prefer to see the modern world in all its grimness, colour and absurdity.
There is a pretty Renoir of some children on the beach in Guernsey, with small dancing figures of other children in the waves behind the girls, lightly sketched in. I hope all the RAs who paint seaside figures have a good look.
There is a pretty Renoir of some children on the beach in Guernsey, with small dancing figures of other children in the waves behind the girls, lightly sketched in. I hope all the RAs who paint seaside figures have a good look.
ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITIONS - LONDON SEPT 2007
Trying to catch up with the London art scene, I decided to make a trip to the Impressionists by the Sea exhibition at the RA, and the Mary Feddon new works.
Mary Feddon was born during the first World War. Her latest stuff is in the Friends Room. There you can see her small paintings, each one with its accompanying red dot, all round the room which was full of visitors chatting, drinking and eating the excessively expensive drink and food, and not taking any notice of the works on the wall.
These are all still lives, various objects reoccurring, such as the same striped feather which I saw about four times. I wonder what the reason is for producing such similar works, within a short space of time. (it is called New Paintings). The images seemed repetitive and unchallenging, almost without excitement or delight.
The prices, however, must be exciting and delightful for those on the receiving end. There are 20 works, only one NFS, cheapest £2500 and most expensive £9000.
Mary Feddon was born during the first World War. Her latest stuff is in the Friends Room. There you can see her small paintings, each one with its accompanying red dot, all round the room which was full of visitors chatting, drinking and eating the excessively expensive drink and food, and not taking any notice of the works on the wall.
These are all still lives, various objects reoccurring, such as the same striped feather which I saw about four times. I wonder what the reason is for producing such similar works, within a short space of time. (it is called New Paintings). The images seemed repetitive and unchallenging, almost without excitement or delight.
The prices, however, must be exciting and delightful for those on the receiving end. There are 20 works, only one NFS, cheapest £2500 and most expensive £9000.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
NEARLY THERE - FIRST TRIP TO LUXOR 2007
We are leaving very early tomorrow morning, catching the tram, and eventually flying out at 9.30 to Luxor. Our cases are stuffed with medical emergencies: immodium, rehydration powers, elastoplast, tubigrip bandages, indigestion pills, laxative, savlon cream, you name it, we are taking it! Not forgetting, of course, the sunblock, the insect repellent and the wad of cash. With all that to take, not much room for clothes and shoes. We hope for great events.
Friday, September 29, 2006
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Yesterday I was part of a small group on a course learning how to enlarge photographs. It was fascinating. Previously we had taken shots in black/white on our SLR cameras and had them developed at local photography shops. I was horrified to find that a lot of my shots had not come out - a blow because I had spent some time on Sunday finding suitable places and people to photograph. I had been to the rugby club and photographed the players, I had been to the town centre and photographed the shoppers and the interior of the cinema and I had been to the small children's playground and asked a couple of parents if I could photograph their children playing there. One said yes and the other said "I would rather not". So I hoped for some good shots except all I could see for about 25% of the reel was blanks. Anyway, I had enough to get on with. With the instructions and enthusiasm from our tutor we all managed to enlarge our photographs and I felt so pleased with mine, I had three at the end of the day. My very first black and white enlargement. Cartier Bresson, watch out!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
FAT TIRE BIKE TOURS IN BERLIN
I have just got back from Berlin after four and a half exhausting days. Luckily we were able to go out to see art galleries, museums and architecture every day. Public transport is fast and frequent, despite it being extremely difficult to work out the routes. We preferred the S-bahn because you get to see the city from an elevated track.
I can recommend the Fat Tire Bike Tours that operate from Alexander Platz. We went on the City Tour and our guide was Enda from British Columbia. He is very funny and has a great line of chatter - keeping us laughing even though the traffic was a bit intense from time to time. It was a long day though, starting off at about 11.30 and wending our weary way back at about 4.30. We stopped off for lunch at a beer-garden in the Tiergarten and I had the best meal of my stay, there. If you get the chance, this is the best way to have an overview of the city. Enda also suggested other places which we could return to, for a closer look or a direct visit, such as the Reichstag dome and the exhibition at Checkpoint Charlie, the exact name of which I forget, but it is free. Unfortunately we did not get to do either of these visits but - next time!
I can recommend the Fat Tire Bike Tours that operate from Alexander Platz. We went on the City Tour and our guide was Enda from British Columbia. He is very funny and has a great line of chatter - keeping us laughing even though the traffic was a bit intense from time to time. It was a long day though, starting off at about 11.30 and wending our weary way back at about 4.30. We stopped off for lunch at a beer-garden in the Tiergarten and I had the best meal of my stay, there. If you get the chance, this is the best way to have an overview of the city. Enda also suggested other places which we could return to, for a closer look or a direct visit, such as the Reichstag dome and the exhibition at Checkpoint Charlie, the exact name of which I forget, but it is free. Unfortunately we did not get to do either of these visits but - next time!
Friday, September 01, 2006
TO BERLIN
Planning at trip to Berlin, mainly to see the paintings there. I am interested in the Germans, Otto Dix, Kirchner, Georg Grosz etc.
There are a vast number of galleries and museums of course, and the main ones all seem to be under state control, so you can buy a three-day ticket to visit. No free ones like our wonderful National Gallery and Tate. We plan to visit the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for the Contemporary, as it is listed in my Guide Book, and also the Neue National Gallery and the Gemaldegalerie (13th cent to 18th cent).
I hope that Berlin is not too vast, because walking round exhibitions is tiring enough without having the walk for miles between them. I want to spend as little time as possible in the Underground, as I do enough of that in London.
I am trying to work out a brief itineray, because in only four full days, it will be a big rush. Of course we will be visiting the beer cellars too, and trying some German cream torte! Not to mention the sausages and sauerkraut.
On the plan is a bike tour of the city, and although it is not likely in the time, also a bike tour of the Third Reich if possible. History in such an ancient and famous city cannot be ignored by us.
To put an emotional spin on the visit, I have just watched the film about Ann Frank which was on the TV recently. And talked to a fellow allotment holder who said he was in Berlin during the airlift, as he was in the RAF, and he said "We thought we had had it bad but when you saw what was the result of the bombing in Germany, well...."
I shared a room in the YWMCA in Great Russell Street, many years ago when I first left school, with Angelika. She came from Berlin and told me about how hungry they had been, and how glad they were when the food parcels came on the airlift. Angelika, where are you now? You went to Buenos Aires and then returned to Germany, I think. I still have a photo of you and your boyfriend taken in my bed-sit in Tooting.
There are a vast number of galleries and museums of course, and the main ones all seem to be under state control, so you can buy a three-day ticket to visit. No free ones like our wonderful National Gallery and Tate. We plan to visit the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for the Contemporary, as it is listed in my Guide Book, and also the Neue National Gallery and the Gemaldegalerie (13th cent to 18th cent).
I hope that Berlin is not too vast, because walking round exhibitions is tiring enough without having the walk for miles between them. I want to spend as little time as possible in the Underground, as I do enough of that in London.
I am trying to work out a brief itineray, because in only four full days, it will be a big rush. Of course we will be visiting the beer cellars too, and trying some German cream torte! Not to mention the sausages and sauerkraut.
On the plan is a bike tour of the city, and although it is not likely in the time, also a bike tour of the Third Reich if possible. History in such an ancient and famous city cannot be ignored by us.
To put an emotional spin on the visit, I have just watched the film about Ann Frank which was on the TV recently. And talked to a fellow allotment holder who said he was in Berlin during the airlift, as he was in the RAF, and he said "We thought we had had it bad but when you saw what was the result of the bombing in Germany, well...."
I shared a room in the YWMCA in Great Russell Street, many years ago when I first left school, with Angelika. She came from Berlin and told me about how hungry they had been, and how glad they were when the food parcels came on the airlift. Angelika, where are you now? You went to Buenos Aires and then returned to Germany, I think. I still have a photo of you and your boyfriend taken in my bed-sit in Tooting.
HH at the Tate Britain
A friend recommended the Howard Hodgkin exhibition at the Tate. I thought it would be a small exhibition but in fact it is extremely large. The colours in some of the paintings are delicious. It is very well displayed on colour washed walls, and in some parts of the gallery, only one painting is displayed on a whole vast space. It is, unlike the Oehlen exhibition, arranged chronologically.
Once again there is a filmed interview, though this time you cannot see the interviwer and some of the words are very indistinct, so luckily there is a typescript.
Howerd Hodgkin said he did not want his paintings to be described as beautiful, because he felt he could described no great paintings as "beautiful". He wants his paintings to be described as "good". Well I agree, they are.
But once again, the shapes of the abstracts are not easy for me to appreciate. Almost all of the mid and later ones include dots and splodges, some marks made with a sponge or cork, perhaps. As you probably know, the frames are part of the image and most of the works are paintings on wood, which I think he prefers because he works on them over several years. This is something that a lot of artists do not like to do. I wonder why he has chosen this course? One I belive took him 9 years to complete.
This is only possible if you are not pressed to sell, and have plenty of studio space, of course.
The fact they are all titled gave me cause for thought, because the titles are not as far as I can tell, more than the starting point, or inspiration, for the work. For instance Bombay Sunset. Far removed from Bombay or sunsets. But you have to have a handle, perhaps. If you just number everything, or use the alphabet, this removes your work very far from what is important or noteworthy in most people's lives. We have all seen sunsets. I made the experiment of walking round the second time and not reading the titles. This was very difficult to do. My eye was attracted time and time again to the part of the wall to the left of the painting. Do we really need to relate images to words?
Which comes first, the title or the painting? Even photographs in exhibitions and newspapers all have titles. We can order objects better if we name them, of course.
Once again there is a filmed interview, though this time you cannot see the interviwer and some of the words are very indistinct, so luckily there is a typescript.
Howerd Hodgkin said he did not want his paintings to be described as beautiful, because he felt he could described no great paintings as "beautiful". He wants his paintings to be described as "good". Well I agree, they are.
But once again, the shapes of the abstracts are not easy for me to appreciate. Almost all of the mid and later ones include dots and splodges, some marks made with a sponge or cork, perhaps. As you probably know, the frames are part of the image and most of the works are paintings on wood, which I think he prefers because he works on them over several years. This is something that a lot of artists do not like to do. I wonder why he has chosen this course? One I belive took him 9 years to complete.
This is only possible if you are not pressed to sell, and have plenty of studio space, of course.
The fact they are all titled gave me cause for thought, because the titles are not as far as I can tell, more than the starting point, or inspiration, for the work. For instance Bombay Sunset. Far removed from Bombay or sunsets. But you have to have a handle, perhaps. If you just number everything, or use the alphabet, this removes your work very far from what is important or noteworthy in most people's lives. We have all seen sunsets. I made the experiment of walking round the second time and not reading the titles. This was very difficult to do. My eye was attracted time and time again to the part of the wall to the left of the painting. Do we really need to relate images to words?
Which comes first, the title or the painting? Even photographs in exhibitions and newspapers all have titles. We can order objects better if we name them, of course.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)