Poetic Pairings: December

Homesickness 1940 René Magritte Galerie Isy Bracot, Brussels

Home Thoughts, from Abroad

O to be in England

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough 

In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,

And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!

Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedge

Leans to the field and scatters on the clover

Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge -

That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over

Lest you should think he never could recapture

The first fine careless rapture!

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,

All will be gay when noontide wakes anew

The buttercups, the little children's dower

- Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Robert Browning

Nika Neelova

This Monday I spent the day invigilating for the winning entry of the historic portion of the British Society of Sculptors Sculpture Shock award.

The competition comprises three elements, subterranean, ambulatory and historic and encourages the artists to devise sculptures for spaces we would not usually encounter contemporary sculpture.

Nika Neelova was the winner of the historic award and her work was installed temporarily on Thursday 14th in the church of the Holy Trinity just off Sloane Square. Monday was the last day of the exhibition.

The sculpture is entitled North Taurids Following the Meteor Shower. It was located on the north side of the church in front of the Lady Chapel. The main part of the sculpture is on wooden boards in the centre of the space and then there are several other pieces scattered around. The polyhedra shapes are created by pouring different materials into wooden moulds, (these moulds are also included in the work complete with the graffiti from the desks the wood originated from). These materials include concrete and wax either alone or mixed with other materials such as marble dust to evoke the impression of stone and crystals one of the things that inspired the artist.

The work interacts with the church space without imposing upon it. Nika was struck by the variety of geometrical forms used throughout the beautiful arts and crafts church which prompted her to look at sacred geometry and gave her the inspiration for the form of her work. As well as connecting the work symbolically with the site there is an aesthetic link. The concrete ties in with the vast columns supporting the roof while the wax looks like marble and granite, materials used throughout the rest of the churches ornamentation and furnishing.

The sculpture really came into it's own in the evening when the dramatic lighting cast strong and interesting shadows across the work. It also highlighted the translucency of the wax polyhedra which looked really effective and beautiful.

As well as drawing links with the art and architecture of the surrounding church the sculpture reminds viewers of all manner of things, crystals, meteors, an architectural dig, the pyramids of Egypt. There is lots to be seen in this at first sight simple work and encouraged me to look at the rest of this intriguing artist's body of work. If you are inspired to take a look too click here.

Xu Bing: Travelling to the Wonderland

On one of the many grey and rainy afternoons so far this month I took a little trip to the V&A to visit the new installation in the Italianate courtyard. It is a piece by the Chinese artist Xu Bing entitled Travelling to the Wonderland.

Initially I was underwhelmed, the grey sky and light drizzle didn't set it off to the best effect and from a distance the work didn't have much impact. However, as soon as you get nearer to the work, walking round it, taking in the details and exploring all of the different aspects it pulls you in and is reluctant to let go.

The work is inspired by a Chinese fable by Tao Qian about an idealistic world where the inhabitants live unaware of the outside world. This explains why the installation feels so much more effective when you get closer to it. The work is arranged in a circle and from the outside of the circle you have to come in close to the work and peer inside of the ring of stones. Evoking the message of an enclosed and exclusive world that we can only seek to see and understand.

When you do get close enough to peer into this world there is plenty to discover. Interspersed among the rocks collected from around China are a whole range of ceramic houses, figures and animals.

The work evokes the incredible diversity of the incredible country of China including rocks from around the country, branches from a number of different plants and ceramic models of traditional buildings from across history. 
 

The installation also includes a fusion of modern and traditional materials such as the smoke machines and the Liquid Crystal screens build into some of the houses. Such as the one in the video below where we see cartoon characters having what looks like a skype date. This fusion of old and new is a fitting metaphor for modern China.

 If you are visiting with children then you could even set them a bit of a treasure hunt.

1. Find a fish
2. Find a drowned house
3. Find a bridge
4. Find a zebra

I will definitely be returning one evening to see the installation by night as it looks stunning with the reflections off the water, the smoke and the dramatic lighting.

Enjoy your trip to Wonderland.

Poetic Pairings: November

Thou Shalt not Steal John Singer Sargent 1918 Imperial War Museum

A Child's Prayer

For Morn, my dome of blue,

For Meadows, green and gay,

And Birds who love the twilight of the leaves,

Let Jesus keep my joyful when I pray.

For the big Bees that hum 

And hide in bells of flowers;

For the winding roads that come

To evening's holy door,

May Jesus bring me grateful to his arms,

And guard my innocence for evermore.

Siegfried Sassoon

Portrait of Christopher Wren Dean of St George's Chapel Windsor

I recently did some work experience at the St George's chapel archive in Windsor Castle. This gave me the chance to do all sorts of interesting things. One of these was to look at the portraits of former Deans of the Chapel and I wrote a blog post about one of them, Christoper Wren (senior).

Today my Image of the month entry was posted on their blog and I am feeling pretty proud of myself. So take a look and when you're there take a good long explore of some of the other fascinating posts.

Click here to be redirected.

Poetic Pairings: October

Claude Monet The Thames Below Westminster The National Gallery

Upon Westminster Bridge

Sept. 3, 1802

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This city now doth like a garment wear

The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky,

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. 

Never did the sun more beautifully steep 

In his first splendour valley, rock or hill; 

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

William Wordsworth

In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion

The recent exhibitions at The Queen’s Gallery including the astronomically popular Leonardo exhibition last summer have demonstrated that this gallery is capable of some stimulating exhibitions packed full of the most interesting works of art from the Royal Collection. 

This recent offering focuses on the costumes of the Tudor and Stuart monarchy and their court. It combines paintings with examples of the original clothes which brings the paintings to life and demonstrates the high standards and intricacy that was expected from artisans and artist alike.

The exhibition shows that just like in the fashion world today the most famous men and women wanted to be at the cutting edge taking inspiration from their contemporaries at home and on the continent. We can see the array of materials, jewels and styles that the royals and the aristocracy used to assert their taste and status. All carefully observed and painted by the court artists favoured at the time such as Sir Peter Lely, Hans Holbein and Sir Antony Van Dyck.

One of the most interesting works has to be the portrait of Charles I by Van Dyck. The king is painted from three angles because the painting was to be sent abroad to a sculptor who would have required a likeness to work from. 

To the right of the painting is a delicate original lace collar similar to the one worn by Charles. It is nice to be able to compare the way that the artist has painted the collar with how it would have originally looked as it forces us to see the degree of fidelity to the original that the artist was practicing. Of course the collar in the display case is not the exact one in the painting, in fact the King wears three different outfits in the painting probably intending to give the sculptor plenty of choice as well as showing off the breadth of his wardrobe. 

To a modern viewer being shown in three different outfits in one painting does not seem so impressive but the costs of fine clothes in that era where far and away beyond our modern day prices. This is particularly clear when we look at some of the representations of the Tudor and Stuart women in their elaborate get ups. Such as the frankly ostentatious apparel of Lady Anne of Denmark (the cover girl for this exhibition). It is clear that no expense has been spared on this dress and that every intricate detail has been pointed out to the painter who in turn points it out to the viewer.

The award for the most amusing painting has to go to The game of ‘Lady come into the garden’ by Godfreid Schalcken. A game which seems to essentially be a ye olde worldy strip poker. Make sure you find this one to have a little laugh but don't forget to look at the beautiful rendering of the tapestry on the drawn back curtain.

There is also a very clever little exhibition publication entitled Robe magazine which is a mock-up of a fashion magazine from 1667 including quirky features on some of the works in the exhibition. At £3.95 it is a fun accompaniment to the exhibition.

So enjoy but don't forget to book!