Bowes Museum- Pitmen Painters and David Hockney

Bowes Museum in County Durham is a typical Victorian gallery and was created in the late 19^th century by John and Joséphine Bowes. The gallery also holds most forms of art, which are often found in galleries, like paintings, statues, furniture, decorative arts and musical instruments. But there are some features that I feel make the gallery more interesting, the main example is the fact that it was designed to mimic French Chateau, which is quite odd considering it is part of Northern Britain, and its views span the moors. It juxtaposes the medieval Raby Castle which most pass on their way to the historic market town of Barnard Castle where the museum stands.

One section that I really enjoy about the museum is the fact that it constantly draws in contemporary exhibitions, and does not stick to the format of the traditional arts. The contemporary spaces are modern and hold exhibitions like the Fashion and Textile Gallery which gives you a comprehensive timeline of the fashions of the 16^th century to the 20^th century, a new exhibition this autumn is the ‘Birds of Paradise: Plumes and Feathers in Fashion’ which focuses on the designers and Alexander McQueen, Prada, Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier… and their uses of feathers in fashion, past and present.

While visiting I was able to see two new exhibitions in the museum, one being the ‘Shafts of Light’ exhibition. This resonates well in the Durham mining community and draws from all mining parts of the country, you see part of the life that was so prominent even in the 20^th century. I felt that in this exhibition the star painting was, Stephen Hannock’s ‘Northern City Renaissance’ commissioned by Sting. I had previously seen this enormous painting at the Laing gallery in Newcastle, but when seeing it again in this dimly lit room, with light illuminating the faint words scrawled across the image and the pinpricks of light which dot across the modern cities of Newcastle and Gateshead you get a feeling of both the past and the present. The words take a minute to notice and tell you the history and the lifestyle of the North and its constant reinventing, and its obvious rejuvenation, titled in the Renaissance, as Tyneside has been seeing a rebirth. For the majority of the paintings featured in this exhibition we learn that the artists had no formal training, which is shown in their childlike innocence while painting, I love this because you feel that there is no deception or twisting of the forms into something profound and not entirely truthful. You can feel the raw emotion of what the life of a miner was, what they felt about the closure of the mines and this feeling of a society. You may be in the centre of the North East, the mining hub, but there is art from different parts of the country, all created by miners, but the feelings that each painting presents are all the same. It feels like a time capsule because of this, because these collective emotions, which are documented by each painter, seem to link together seamlessly. The exhibition for me brought together the pride that is part of the North East and the history and the art history that surrounds it.

  

  

Another exhibition that I was excited to see was the ‘Hockney, Printmaker’ Exhibition, we saw a wide range of art from some of his first prints, to his self appointed works and to some of his most recent computer generated art. Since I am currently studying prints in Britain in the 18^th Century I was fascinated to see how an artist was able to reincorporate the traditional print. Most notably his series ‘A Rakes Progress’, which bears semblance to William Hogarth’s acclaimed series by the same title. This moral subject is of a man who is tempted and lost to the life of vice and self-destruction. The series also links to Hogarth’s printed series ‘A Harlots Progress’ which was of a naïve girl turned prostitute and her demise, another modern moral subject by Hogarth. Hockney famously took 15 minutes to learn how to engrave, and his loose, sketch like prints show his love of Picasso, Cubism, Hogarth, Poets and Japanese painting, they all culminate into a distinctive style, which shows his life experiences.

  

Usually Modern Art can take some time to wrap my head around and even then I can struggle to enjoy it. But I absolutely loved this exhibition, I really felt like I knew what Hockney was doing. My favourite pieces would be his Weather Series including the prints, Water and Wind, his Fairy Tale Series and in particular, The Glass Mountain, and I really enjoyed ‘A rakes progress.’ His artwork seems to grow and show all the inspiration that was underlying in his art. The commentary that was present was also pretty engaging, as we found his artwork ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ was his self professed worst print, and as a result he would not use photographs in his further works. Another part that I love about Hockney is that you can look at his pieces and find something that may affect your life, if it is a memory of a place or a person and I love that you can share some link with Hockney because you feel that you understand his work at a different and more personal level.

  

   

    

As we re-focus on the Museum itself I find that you cannot hear about it’s new exhibitions without hearing about its prize Automaton, one that is present on the museums logo and that is ‘The Silver Swan’ This Automaton is one of two left from James Cox’s Mechanical Museum. John Joseph Merlin built the swan around 1773. The Automaton was shown at the Worlds Fair (Exposition Universelle) in 1867 in Paris, France. Out of the mechanical museum created By John Cox there are only two known survivors, ‘The Silver Swan’, which is played every day at 2pm and the other sole survivor is ‘The Peacock Clock’, which belonged to Catherine the Great and is located in Saint Petersburg. The swan is actually enchanting, and so lifelike you would assume it would have to have been made today with modern technology because of its graceful movements. The swan is also featured in the book, ‘Chemistry of Tears’ by Peter Carey.

The museum is simply a fascinating place to visit, the building the surrounding town and the landscape are beautiful and I love the fact that the museum both celebrates its past and looks to the future, it seems to keep reinventing itself which I think is vital in order for it and other museums to survive.

My next post: will be on the Artist Tim Walker, his photographs are just beautiful.

-Hugs

Roma- The ‘Epic-ness’ that is the Eternal City

I’m sorry for the fact that there has been a large gap between this post and my last, but the idea of this post seemed a little big to comprehend. That is because, what can you say about Rome, it is seen time and time again in books, films and is one of the central stops for the travel blogger. So the question that resonated with me was, how was I going to write this, how was I going to make it my own? To put it bluntly I do not have the foremost knowledge that a PHD art historian or general historian has, nor do I know the ins and outs of the catholic church, but what I do have is a general knowledge of what Rome was like for the average traveller, without the fancy manipulation that occurs in books and films. For example I am aware that in most films that there would be no scaffolding for restoration work on any monument at all, and sadly there was, including a closed Trevi Fountain, but that is the general consensus that if something is weathering it has to be conserved as soon as possible. So this was my general impression of the city, at the peak time of year, swarming with travellers.

  

The first condition to which we are all aware of is the fact that Italians are extremely relaxed people and do not do anything in a rush, far from it in fact, so my arrival and departure at Fiumicino airport had to be a more timely affair than you would originally presume. But other than that the flight in was gorgeous, you could see the obvious Italian landscape stretching out before you, as you flew over the sea and possibly the river Tiber before turning inland and to the airport. During my stay I managed to tag along with my friend and stay with her Italian family who live there, this I can safely say was a complete bonus, they knew the ins and outs of Rome, helped us buy tickets for the train, tram and metro and all together made you feel so much safer because you knew you were being looked after. But on the downside it did mean that we weren’t staying in the centre of Rome, which at first may be a bit of a let down, which meant we only visited Rome for a total of three days. However, once you understand that you are now in the mountains outside of Rome, which you can faintly see on a clear day, surrounded by olive groves and in a place more untouched by tourists you realize how beneficial it can be.

As we were only in Rome for about three days it meant that we couldn’t see everything, and I wouldn’t want to. I love the history, museums and art that litter the city, but simply walking around and siting in Piazzas for a time and enjoying the scenery was nice enough. That and the fact that in summer Italy is humid and hot, since I’m from northern England that was definitely a challenge. But another helpful tip saved us a lot of hassle, by simply bringing a water bottle with you, the amount of water fountains throughout the city meant that you could always have some water on hand. You could argue the point that why go to Rome if you aren’t going to see anything, well we did, but nothing which would take hours to queue for, which I’ll warn you, it would. We couldn’t bear the queue to see the Vatican museum, which already was across St Peters square or the queue that ran down the street to the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth) which I believed was so popular just because it is seen in Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck’s film, ‘Roman Holiday’ my theory stemmed from the fact that all small stalls seemed to have some sort of picture or calendar to do with the film and Audrey. Despite these setbacks, there were some places that I just loved, such as that Pantheon, which was simply grand, heaving with life and the mix of Roman and catholic. Castel Sant’Angelo, also topped my list not only because I got in free thanks to my trusty letter that said that I studied Art History (if you receive a letter from your university which explains that you study Art History or Architecture you are allowed in free, there is also a smaller discount if you can prove you are under 18 and can be available in most museums and attractions) but also because you saw some of the most fabulous views of the city. The final impressive stop for me was the Piazza de Popolo (Square of the People) It was such a grand area, leading in from the north gate and seeing down the three main roads in the city, including the Via del Corso, which ended at Mussolini’s monument, which was a grand site in itself (despite it’s overly grand and slightly fascist appearance) However I do wish that I got to see more of the ancient city, such as a trip into the forum and Colosseum, so I would simply advise that you have to start your day early, or dedicate enough time to wait to see some of the areas, as I would have loved to go inside the Vatican museum again. The final time we visited the city was at night, in which the dynamic changed completely as there was less heat and less tourist style hustle and bustle. Restaurants also opened tables outside on the street so it was lively and fun. We visited the apparently new tradition of the Trillussa Village, where swarms of locals set up pop up restaurants, bars and shops along the shore of the river Tiber, the food was amazingly good and the fun chat between the Italian family I was staying with and the owner who they were friends with made you feel part of the event. (See link for the event) https://www.facebook.com/TRILUSSAVILLAGE

  

  

It’s obvious why it’s called the ‘Eternal City’ as it’s culture spreads through numerous time periods and is peppered with an eclecticism, from Roman, to a few sections of Gothic, the Renaissance, Baroque, Romanesque style mosaics to contemporary, while remaining at a distance you could if you want, walk the length of the city in a day.

Despite my short bursts of time in the city I loved being able to delve into the culture of the romans, staying outside the city meant that their English may not have been that strong but also meant that you felt a part of the country rather than in the city which is basically for the tourists. We also took a trip to the beach, which was heaving with the locals, we got to experience the Italian summer that was as fun and easy going as you can imagine. One experience that I couldn’t encourage you to do more is to go to one of the bars in the city or just outside first thing in the morning, don’t do what the English typically do by sitting and eating for an hour, but order a croissant and a cappuccino or espresso and stand at the bar as the Italians do, the coffee and pastry’s are delicious and the quaint fast paced meal will help you get in the mood for a full day of site seeing.

For me the trip didn’t just signify a trawl around the advertised sites of the city but also I managed to feel part of the culture, whether sipping homemade limoncello, trying to order food with an Italian accent and hoping for the best when all Italian you know exits your mind, enjoying the food which incidentally all seemed to taste good to me and get to walk around outside the city. I think it’s a shame if you spend all your time stuck in the centre of Rome without managing to see what life is like away from the dedicated tourist. I would absolutely go back in a heartbeat as I’m completely in love with the place, despite the fact that the queues were long, the heat was intense, the metro could get a little scary and crowded and the Trevi fountain was a paddling pool at the time (so lets see if I can go back since I couldn’t throw in a coin.) But because of the fact that I felt such a part of the place, in some ways, I at least hoped that I felt like Princess Ann, seeing all of the sites of Rome that are only known by someone who lives there.

My next post: at the moment I am thinking of Bowes Museum in County Durham, I’m volunteering there at the moment and find it such a fascinating place, it will either be on one of the exhibits or the museum itself.

Hugs-

  

  

  

  

  

Rievaulx Terrace- a little part of North Yorkshire

    

So, when I was thinking about what to write for my first official blog entry I decided to write up on my experience at Rievaulx Terrace in North Yorkshire and what I thought about it. The site is quite personal to me because I spent a month or two at the site designing some interpretation panels for one of the temples. It was exciting to do as we were effectively infiltrating the ‘all powerful’ National Trust, which lets face it, is involved with most heritage sites in Britain. So we were able to get to the heart of what happens behind the luxurious stage that is presented to the public and lets just say the importance of branding is what comes to the forefront of your mind.

The terrace itself is simply a part behind the bigger areas of a woodland walk and Rievaulx Abbey below. As you drive to the terrace, Yorkshire countryside surrounds you, leading up to a woodland drive and cute wooden shop and ticket centre. The terrace does focus on its links to nature as the first thing you see is a winding woodland path interspersed with family orientated activities, wildlife and plants. The walk in some ways gathers your anticipation for the awaiting terrace and view, while making a child’s day fun and keeps nature at the forefront of your mind. When the woodland opens up to the serpentine of manicured grass and a rising Tuscan temple. You can imagine what a group of aristocrats in the 18^th century would have seen during their days out to Thomas Duncombe II’s terrace. From Duncombe park and onto the Tuscan temple which was staged as a folly with its over 800 year old tessellated flooring pilfered from the Cistercian ruins below, a mix of Medieval and Classical, a perfect eclectic mix. Leading on from the first temple there are the 13 prized views of the Abbey and onto the heavily focused Ionic temple in which the group would have eaten after journey, of course with the on hand cook.

To me the terrace is quintessentially British as the landscape reminds me of something you would see in a Turner or Constable painting, with the Abbey ruins elegantly strewn in the background. The perfectly manicured lawn does juxtapose the rugged hills of North Yorkshire. So you cannot only see the evidence of the Romanticism movement, with the creativity of the medieval ruins facing off against the age of enlightenment. There are the thoughts of awe from the ruins whilst preserving the ideas of the beauty of symmetry seen with the Romans. These ideas give me the impression that it can pre-date the Victorians in their eclectic taste, as there is a mix of the Medieval and Roman, which in most circles are perfectly opposite.

So my final thoughts on the site- to me I would definitely go back, as it has the stunning Yorkshire landscape, while having a little piece of aristocracy and history. It gives me the feeling of light and calm, walking with nature and marvelling at man. It may seem a little presumptuous but it does remind me when standing there of one of my favourite paintings, Wanderer above the sea of fog, by Caspar David Fredrick.

My next post will hopefully have  something to do with Rome and Italy, I’m not sure if it will just be on  travelling or on one of the museums. But Im excited and I leave in less than 48 hours!

Hugs-

  

First Footing

So here I am looking and thinking about what I want to write about and say. There is the unknown of who this blog will reach, so the idea that anyone could read what you say is daunting. But then I think about why I want to write and the idea becomes clearer, it’s a platform which will improve my writing (I hope), I want to become braver in my writing habits. I love the idea about explaining the things which I find amazing, mostly places and art. Some which, are probably well known, and others might not, mostly because my primary areas to visit consists of the north of Britain, perfect for landscapes but nothing exotic or well known to a mass of people. There is also the fact that when I see magazines and blogs, I love what people can create that can inspire others, so it would be amazing to create my own. But there is also the childhood fascination of setting up a webpage and making it your own. Hopefully better than my short-lived Piczo account from when I was 12.

           

So with any luck I will achieve something on this page, and I will be hopefully writing on Rievaulx Terrace, Yorkshire in my next and first proper article.

Hugs-

 

Impossible…- A. Hepburn

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m Possible!’ – Audrey Hepburn