Royal Academy Access Events on Bronze Exhibition

I attended 2 access events for the Bronze exhibition.  The first was an In Person event on a Friday evening on 9^th November and the second was on the 12^th November and was an early entry audio description around the exhibition followed by a practical discussion on casting bronze, lost wax process, patina and secondary treatment of finished bronzes with alabaster and colouring.  

9^th November 2012

After a few introductions from Beth Schneider and Molly Bretton, the new Access Officer, we introduced ourselves and met some of the volunteers. I met Sylvia and Alice and then had a chance to talk with others in the group over some drinks. 

Left to right, Molly, Prof and Beth

Royal Academy In Person

9 November 2012

 

The programme was led by David Johnson and Carlo Keshishian and was a mix of doing 3D works with some sculpture or staying mainly with 2D drawing, cutting and sticking, with Bronze as a theme.  There were some prints around for inspiration and plenty of help in describing. 

Group discussion

Royal Academy In Person

9 November 2012

David gave a visual presentation of some of his work followed by Carlo who did likewise before we were set off in starting a work and then passing it on to another participant.  I started in 2D and was working away with graphite sticks and experimented with imprinting coin shapes and figures on to others’ works. I carelessly put the graphite stick in my pocket with the coins at the end.  (I had several hand washing moments of crying out “Out damned spot” as I did not find the graphite stick until the Saturday lunchtime the next day!)

Art Jam

Royal Academy In Person

9 November 2012

During the sessions Carlo was doing a sound workshop and there were all sorts of noises … er … sounds emanating from the corner as people were trying out some of the instruments in rehearsal for a take.    Sylvia was meanwhile telling me about a recent visit to a sulphur mine in Indonesia.  I had a yellow crayon in my hand and started adding yellow cube shapes and the chemical symbol of sulphur S.  When Sylvia mentioned how little the miners were paid I converted the S to $. With the music I had added musical clefs and notation. 

 

Prof with Janie, holding up sculpture

Royal Academy In Person

9 November 2012

I joined Janie in the sculpture table and we started and added to other works.  Working with clay is something I had tried and it is fun learning some of the techniques such as coil and pinch pot for some work.  Again taking the theme of the Bronze exhibition we were adding to the works on process/progress.  The music had stopped and I tried out some of the instruments and had great fun with a Thumb Piano. 

Left to right, Beth, Carlo and Prof making music

Royal Academy In Person

9 November 2012

This was an enjoyable evening and we were able to spend about 90 minutes in the Bronze exhibition, making this my 3^rd visit and a chance to concentrate on the portraits and more of the gods.

Art Jam and wine

Royal Academy In Person

9 November 2012

12^th November

The Royal Academy programme for the visually impaired is popular with an early entry, an audio described visit to some highlights and a handling workshop with coffee, tea and Bakewell Pudding!

I went to this one on my own and it was a 9am start.  I arrived about 0845 and was asked by the staff in Piccadilly if I was going to the RA.  (Another great case of Front of House - I have noted this before at the RA if there is any change of forecourt layout and access to the building)

Quite a few of the regulars had gathered and we went to the Reynolds Room where I met Alice and Sylvia again, as well as Molly from the RA.  Leaving coats and bags we left on tour with Bridget Crowley.

We stopped at the dancing satyr and Bridget described it from her standing position.  We then stopped at several bronzes: a statue of St Elizabeth, the elephant, a bas relief of Vulcan, a statue of Ganesh and the Bulgarian King with fine eyelashes, alabaster eyes.

Returning to the Reynolds Room we had an interesting talk with examples arranged with Bridget and Harry Baxter.  At a previous meeting over the Hockney exhibition, Harry had gone into detail about Lead White and how Lucien Freud had apparently bought up the stock.  Passing around copper sheeting Harry had tried to get some tin to share with us though it contains lead.  Alabaster was in short supply as Anish Kapur had bought it all up!

 Harry Baxter with Prof Whitestick trying out materials for casting bronze

Royal Academy audio described event

12 November 2012

There were lots of questions as we passed around a mould for a bronze and tried to guess what could be cast from it.  Bridget had arranged to get some bronze sweeps from a Limehouse foundry and we were given A3 photos of some of the bronzes.  Harry described the secrecy to this day of the chemistry of the patina.

This was my 4^th visit to this bronze show and one learns so much on each occasion. Alice patiently allowed me to zigzag as we went from description and we discussed some of the other objects which we both liked such as a Brancusi and a Henry Moore piece which I find myself liking more. 

The RA website has more information on the In Person event series here:

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/learning/access-and-communities/inperson-at-the-ra,1671,AR.html

The next In Person event will be held on Friday 1^st March, 6-8pm led by Harry and Zoe Baxter.  More details will be available nearer the time.

Many thanks to the RA, staff, volunteers and other participants in making this art form both informative and accessible and yes, enjoyable.

Related posts: Royal Academy Bronze exhibition: http://profwhitestick.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/royal-academy-bronze-exhibition.html
 

Tim Rollins and K.O.S. , The Black Spot, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh

22nd August

Talbot Rice Gallery arranges many events around their exhibitions and having been to this Tim Rollins exhibition twice, I was keen to join the audio description of the show in their In The Frame series of events.  This is organised with Artlink Edinburgh and had been re-arranged for Wednesday 22 August (instead of the 21^st) on account of a workshop clash with a visually impaired group. 

It’s always challenging when abstract art has to be described to a group of visually impaired people and last year I had enjoyed the description of the Anton Henning exhibition.  On this occasion I was the late comer and Susan Humble from Artlink greeted me at the entrance to Talbot Rice gallery and we went into the White Room, where the group had assembled. 

I think I counted about 8 visually impaired people with 3 other white sticks and I recognised Rita from last year and some of the others from the walk we had done through the Scotsman Steps. 

Zoe Fothergill introduced us to both the Talbot Rice gallery and Rachel Thibbotunumwe, who introduced us to the Tim Rollins exhibition.  This was followed by a description of some of the art works

Zoe started off with a description of the gallery space, natural light, artificial light and dimensions, using terms such as ‘a kitchen table for 6 people’ and picture label metric measurements to give us an idea of the size of works. 

Zoe and Rachel took turns in leading the description of some of the Tim Rollins KOS works, starting with War of the Worlds.  The discussion featured some of the colours used and the flags which may have been inserted into the artwork. 

We then moved on to the piece inspired by Franz Kafka’s Amerika and which is also on the poster and other publicity material for the exhibition.   Zoe described this in graphic detail!  It was almost a Prince Harry moment - though I’ve yet to hear a description of the said third in line to the throne’s genitalia on view in certain websites.  Zoe had picked several items which some of us could observe from a distance. 

The piece is based on trumpets and on closer inspection has many clear lines.  Zoe’s description using terms like ‘shaped like an avocado’ reminded me of a painting by Hieronymus Bosch and even the sketches by Beardsley.  This is a large artwork and as we were up close, I was chatting with one of the group about what we could see.  Sure enough we found the said avocado, trumpet bells and other features which Zoe had described.

 

We then moved on to the Robert Louis Stevenson inspired piece titled The Black Spot.  While the group was reforming, 2 or 3 of us were discovering the 3-d effect of the work.  Although it has the Stevenson text Treasure Island as part of the work, the black spots imprinted on some pieces of paper taken from the Old Testament have been applied to give it a 3-d reality. 

In the Frame tour of The Black Spot

an exhibition by Tim Rollins and K.O.S

at the University of Edinburgh's Talbot Rice Gallery

 

Rachel had overheard us discover this on our own and intrigued, started a discussion about books, literacy, literature, tearing up books and sacred texts.  One of the group asked about the artwork which was done by the young people from the Lothians and which is featured upstairs.  I mentioned my discussion with Tim Rollins at the workshop held in the adjoining Playfair library, when Tim Rollins had indeed specifically mentioned visually impaired young people in Philadelphia.  This was a really good discussion with everyone contributing.  

We then went upstairs and discussed the artwork involved using a stamp designed from Charles Darwin’s drawing which he had used for the Origin of Species.  The two works are side by side, and the workshop had used stamping-on as a means of expression.  These stamps are loosely connected to the panel and there is a sense of movement as one walks past them. 

We had time for another couple of descriptions, this time on the Animal Farm theme.  The first was a piece about Jesse Helms; the second had caricatures of the George Bush cabinet/administration in the early 2000s including members of his war cabinet such as Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice.  (My current talking book is Andrew Rawnsley’s The End of the Party – TB017558 over 2 discs -  which has a rather unflattering description of George Bush and Co.)  

We ended at the Information Desk with Zoe taking details of those who wished to get further information by email, including the text file of the exhibition guide.  These are not always easy to find on websites.  Also, I found being on Talbot Rice’s mailing list very useful as they have interesting and varied subjects in their programme to suit all tastes and sensibilities.

Overall, a very interesting and enjoyable afternoon, and many thanks to Zoe and Rachel from Talbot Rice and Susan Humble from Artlink Edinburgh for arranging this and treating a visually impaired group as adults.  Also, thanks to Talbot Rice for allowing me to use one of their photographs in this post.

2^nd August

Talbot Rice is part of the University of Edinburgh and is situated in the Old College Quadrangle which had been designed by Adam and Playfair.  The quad has been gradually restored.

  

Old College, University of Edinburgh

showing Quadrangle with the Playfair Library to the right of the picture

and the Dome lit in late evening sunshine

2 August 2012

On entering the gallery for the opening of the exhibition and reception, Hannah, a new volunteer, provided me with alternative format details and asked if I would like to attend a workshop.  Talbot Rice has attractive posters which are offered on a “roll your own” basis though Hannah rolled 2 up for me and secured them with an elastic band.  These are popular souvenirs from the exhibition.

Banner outside Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh

Tim Rollins and K.O.S.

The Black Spot

2 August 2012

The KOS studio is based on Tim Rollins work with ‘Kids of Survival’. (http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/museums-galleries/talbot-rice/currentexhibitions)  Some work on the Robert Louis Stevenson – Treasure Island concept of the Blackspot had just been completed by young people (aged 13-18) from the Lothian/Edinburgh area.  I was introduced to one of the participants by the gallery staff.

Tim Rollins and KOS had also led an ArtWorks seminar and workshop for Scottish artists and educators.  Works from these workshops were on display as well.  Talbot Rice will make “resources created from this seminar” available on their website later this year.

Tim Rollins made a short speech and I had a chance to go round the exhibition as well as that of Donald Judd.  I was soon chatting to Zoe Fothergill from the curatorial staff.  I had met Zoe last year as she took us round the Anton Hening exhibition and launched Pandora’s Light Box, which I checked out again.  I also said hello to 17^th Century Dutch Pictures in the Torrie Collection in the Georgian Gallery. 

There was a drinks party in the adjoining Playfair Library where we were able to mingle before reviewing the works on show in the White Gallery.  This was also attended by other Edinburgh Alumni (I was a student from 1970-1977.)

Notes from the first view:

Amerika – Infinity (after Franz Kafka)

1987-88

gold water colour, charcoal

book pages on linen

The War of the Worlds (after HG Wells), 2004

matte acrylic on book pages on canvas

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagony – Act II (after Brecht and Weill), 2010

gold shellac, whiskey, butchers twine, acrylic

music score on canvas, twine dipped in gold shellac

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

(after Mendelssohn and Shakespeare), 2009-10

watercolour, ink, mulberry paper, mustard seed, apple juice

Xmen’68- The Devil has a Daughter

cartoon pages

The Black Spot

(after Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island)

Black Beauty – Liberty

(after Anna Sewell)

Amerika – After Franz Kafka

69 studies on the Origin of Species

I see the Promised Land

4 pieces

4^th August 012

A workshop was held in the Playfair Library with Tim Rollins leading a group of members of the KOS studio.  Pat Fisher the curator of Talbot Rice intoduced Tim and said she had wanted to do this show for many years. 

Tim explained how he got started with the Latino community in the South Bronx in around 1980.  Much of the area was a demolition site and had suffered from neglect, arson and social unrest.  Working with literature, art works are made using texts with materials applied.  The effect is quite stunning and my peripheral vision picks up a lot.  I asked Tim Rollins if he had worked with visually impaired children and he confirmed he had, in the Martha Washington School in Philadelphia. We chatted about Kandinsky. 

This was a good chance to get a bigger idea of a project and how a studio system works in practice.  Some of the women in the audience commented on the apparent lack of women in the studio system.  Tim Rollins is plain speaking and uses no jargon or management speak but said “We have to work with what we have” One of the other members cited a story where although his sister had been granted a full scholarship for a boarding school for her education- the Latino culture at the time had not “allowed” it. 

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2012

*** update 24/7/2012

Prof Whitestick in reflective mood by

From Landscape to Portrait

Chris Wilkinson RA

Royal Academy courtyard

20 July 2012

On the evening of the 20 July I had another chance to visit the Summer Exhibition.  On this occasion it was at 9 pm with subdued lighting in the galleries.  It's amazing the difference lighting makes.  There was much less definition of the colour, but greater definition of the lines and shapes of some of the art works, especially the sculpture.  Many seemed quite different and a sighted friend thought some of my earlier descriptions were in another world, though it's always worth taking a second look at this exhibition.  We went round with an artist and were soon discussing pigments used in painting and useful colour descriptive terms.

*** end of update

I used to go to the Summer Exhibition regularly in the 1990s.  It was part of corporate culture then and I can remember serious champagne drinking, canapé eating and there still being a smokers’ area!  These were private views and were part of a company season of entertaining and were always enjoyable events.  However, I had not been since I lost my sight, so I contacted Kate Horbury at the Royal Academy Access and Learning department, who arranged for Sylvia one of the RA’s team of volunteers to meet me and take me round. (http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/summer-exhibition-2012/)

In the courtyard at Burlington House there is a huge installation by Chris Wilkinson RA of what appears to be large frames, arranged in a curve which gradually comes down to head level. (

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/summer-2012/summer-exhibition-architects,376,RAMA.html )  On one side of the installation there is a mirror effect due to reflective metal and peering in and out causes a strange image which moves.  On the matt side of the reflecting side there are people sitting.  Having a camera with me, I asked someone to take a few photos:

Prof Whitestick inspecting installation at RA

5 July 2012

© Prof Whitestick

Prof Whitestick in the frame

RA, London

5 July 2012

© Prof Whitestick

Sylvia met me at the information desk and we started our tour.  Sylvia double checked that I did not need Braille Guides to take away (I would have taken them if anyone had wanted them but they are available on request.  Kate had also given me details of accessing pdf files “which could be downloaded on your iPad” http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/learning/access-and-communities/large-print-gallery-guides-and-labels,1420,AR.html. )

Sylvia discussed our plan and found what I could make out.  She had been to the Hockney exhibition 23 times and on comparing notes, were in agreement regarding how much we had enjoyed this exhibition.  I thought it might be an idea for Sylvia to tick a mini guide of items which I liked and I could show these to friends so that they could keep an eye out for them and discuss what we found.  Sylvia also wrote down some comments after we had discussed the individual pieces.

RA Summer exhibition

#55

Portrait of a man standing
Leonard McComb RA

reflections of colour and movement

#46

2^nd lake, Sheffield Park Garden, Sussex Weald, late summer
The late Adrian Berg

dripping lines, reflections

#39

Series ‘Ghirlanda Continua’ after Latvia No. 4 Letter E
Jennifer Durrant RA

3 yellow lines, brown/pink; silver, pink, lilac circles

I enjoyed this work and as one moved around we both wondered about the textile finish which appeared on the paint surface. 

#277
Dressing for work (from ‘a day in the life of a jihadi gangster’ series)
Digital print on dibond
Aman Mojadidi

oxymoron

Sylvia directed me to this piece at the end of a gallery. It portrays a jihadi dressed in headgear but in short sleeves with tattoos on arms.  The man is wearing a gold necklace and a gold revolver round his neck.  There is a gun lodged in line with his groin.  I could make out the lower half of this piece but relied on Sylvia to describe the top part.  I told Sylvia about the forbidding of men wearing gold in the Quran and also about tattooing the body.  Hence my asking for ‘oxymoron’ to be attached to this challenging work which we both admired while not really liking it. 

#824
Samson
Oil, acrylic, steel, pastel and charcoal
Anselm Kiefer Hon RA

admire artistry, but rifle rather spoils it

This work was awarded a prize and portrays Hebron at the top with Gaza at the bottom.  It is well crafted but spoiled by having a (real) rifle, emblazoned with Samson, across the horizontal line.  If it was making a statement it probably failed.

#835
Peg Painting
Watercolour and wooden pegs
Annie Morris

fun - next to chicken bone

chair, horizontal and vertical lines

I really loved this almost tapestry effect peg paint flat piece.  The lines appealed to me and it was imaginatively placed next to the chair.  Both works enhanced the other and I would gladly have both at home. The texture of the peg paint resembled a beaded piece of cloth. 

#840
Chicken Chair
Animal bones
Olu Shobowale

#847
Cut Ground Grey red
Oil on aluminium
Sean Scully

eye catching – plum/red differentiation

Sylvia and I disagreed about this one.  Sylvia felt the colour rules had been flouted.  I proved to Sylvia that my colour perception was poor with plum/red differentiation, but I could detect a vertical line.  Sylvia peered closer and noted a very thin yellow line (o.5cm?).  As a result, we probably got too close to this work and attracted the attention of a guard who reminded us not to get so close!  (In the gift shop there is a post card of this which Sylvia found for me, but I’m not sure I convinced Sylvia about the work)

#926
Series ‘Ghirlanda Continua’: Luce
Jennifer Durrant RA

very pleasing

another piece by this artist that we both liked it.

#1001

‘No. 283’
Paint on mild steel.
Rana Begum

pleasing colours – red, yellow, black, white, transparent

This piece is large and hangs on the wall almost alone. The metal fins obscure the colours as one moves past it.  I liked this a lot.

#1207
Portrait of Justin Mcleod (The man without a face)
Eugene Nyee Macki

chocolate

This was a talking point.  Kate had told me that there was a chocolate head in the exhibition, so when Sylvia suggested I might like to sniff this sculpture I guessed it had a chocolate aroma.  We laughed.

#1196
Tocco – Praik
Ana Genoves

reminds me of David Nash

This is a large piece, about the size of an old red telephone kiosk, which had been hacked away.  It made me think of David Nash RA and his wooden sculptures in Kew Gardens.  At this point we engaged with a couple who were not impressed by this piece and went regularly to Kew Gardens.

#1331
Southern Shade 1
Nigel Hall RA

circles, want it

#1227
Mossom
Alexandra Harley

colours

General Comments:

Sylvia had guided me up the stairs and we entered the central area and spent some time on the first two items.  She has guided other visually impaired and blind people and soon worked out what I could make out and what needed to be described with a view to completing the “picture”.

The mini guide and price guide is pocket sized and Sylvia marked some exhibits which we more or less nodded through.  There are some obvious talking points and the start can be a bottleneck though we experienced few crowds.  The hanging is mainly double hanging in a wavy line which makes part of the exhibition appear less cluttered with so many genres. 

In the central showing area (The Octagon) there is a bronze statue gleaming with a kinetic effect on the red Matisse painting themed works.  As you move round it, it seems to pulsate with veins, arteries, muscles and tissue.  This is caused by the movement of others. 

We then moved to the Sheffield Park Landscape where a Hockney piece had been hanging.  We compared and contrasted.  This is a big painting in 4 panels.  The trees are partially reflected in the lower part though some tricks come into mind.  I had created a Hockney Woldgate effect and we wondered how the artist had done it. 

Conclusion

This was a thoroughly enjoyable social occasion.  Sylvia made the 2 hours pass so quickly and though we had some differing likes and dislikes, I really enjoyed the chance to engage with her on so many topics.  Many thanks to Kate, Sylvia and the Royal Academy for making this exhibition accessible to me.  


Note:

Royal Academy related posts:

My posts on the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy can be found on:

http://profwhitestick.blogspot.com/2012/02/david-hockney-bigger-picture.html

http://profwhitestick.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/royal-academy-in-touch-david-hockney.html

My post on the Zoffany exhibition at the RA can be found on: http://profwhitestick.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/royal-academy-johan-zoffany-ra.html

Prof Whitestick starting tour of Summer Exhibition

RA, London

5 July 2012

© Prof Whitestick

Corot: Peasants under the Trees at Dawn National Gallery Art through Words

Corot’s landscape ‘Peasants under the Trees at Dawn’ was the February painting to be discussed at the Saturday morning Art through Words event and which was attended by about 20 people.  Viyki Turnbull was our describer with Caroline Smith guiding us to the painting in the gallery.  There are usually 2 or 3 people to advise on various topics in the art world and, as I commented on the guest post by Linda Bolton of the National Gallery, directions are given to “point” in the next direction.  This is something which seems to be built into the DNA of the National Gallery. 

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/calendar/art-through-words-25-february-2012

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jean-baptiste-camille-corot-peasants-under-the-trees-at-dawn

If you are on your own, the staff are very helpful. I am beginning to recognise some of the regulars at this event and the minutes spent at the Sainsbury Wing waiting area is a good chance to exchange information on many activities for the visually impaired including practical transport tips.  A couple from Wolverhampton were there again as was the usual North London contingent including me.  We even had a few from South of the River Thames, though no one admitted to coming from Croydon.

Corot painted this landscape between 1840 and 1845.  The setting is near Lormes in the Morvan district to the west of Dijon in France and the landscape illustrates a rather poor agricultural area with an almost limestone dry soil and trees with very gnarled trunks and roots. I am familiar with some of the countryside around Dijon and Beaune having enjoyed the company of Meursault and Volnay among others.  The peasants seem to be coppicing wood and Viyki mentioned that Corot used to buy charcoal in the area. 

The timing of the painting was before the revolutionary period of 1848 which struck many parts of mainland Europe.  (One of the visitors mentioned that many French painters and even authors had gone into exile in Italy during times of political upheaval and turmoil in France and that artists such as Claude Lorrain were at their most prolific in exile.) 

I had taken my guide to the Hockney ‘A Bigger Picture’ on show at the Royal Academy.  Given that the Hockney landscapes are huge, these paintings by Corot are quite small.  The Peasants under the Trees at Dawn is about A3 in real life so the copy we had was life size.  Another comment was made about government or state approval in France for large paintings being required or commissioned so that many artists had to sell into the growing middle class market. 

One could even describe this market as Pret a Porter. Corot had a reasonable income from his parents.  His father was a wig maker and his mother a milliner.  The family went into the hat trade.  In this background Corot had financial security and did not have to live on the bread line. Corot was prolific with 3000 works.  Coincidentally the Metropolitan Opera was broadcasting Ernani by Verdi which was premiered in 1844 and was based on a play by Victor Hugo, himself no stranger to political exile. 

Having introduced the painting Viyki set the main points of the painting before working on the geometry.  Many of us have very poor vision with limited shape and colour definition.  The geometry helps us to understand where an object is and how it (and its shadow) are drawn.  The painting is set at dawn and Viyki explained ‘raking light’ and ‘contr-jour’  The rising sun casts very long shadows and this has strange effects on the painting.  For example there is a large dark area in the painting which is the shadow of a goose which is almost a fraction of the shadow and is itself quite light and bright.  Other objects which seemed to be illuminated by the sun were a horse and some boulders.  We were not sure about the horse.  Was it a mane or a tail that was bright and how was the horse drinking from the trough. 

Some of us could not see the horse and I agreed with one other who had in fact thought that the boulders were sheep.  The peasant couple stand by a tree which is an inverted triangle covering a large area above the horizon and a smaller reflected triangle showing a root system.  There are buildings which appear in subdued mauve colours and have the odd spot of direct light, often in a stunning lead white or even a golden colour which could be a thatched roof someone thought.   The couple is shown with the woman standing on the right of the off centre tree.  The man is sitting.  There is a red piece of colour on the woman’s hat and someone commented that Constable used this technique.

Viyki described the colours and they are mainly green for the land and foliage and a chrome green was popular.  Dark greens are not my strong point and as the greenery was described Viyki dropped a bombshell: Corot painted in the sky after he had drawn and painted in the trees with foliage.  The sky is a mix of cobalt blue and lead white.  We wondered about the practicalities of painting the sky around the greenery when to us it would have been easier to paint the sky and then put the trees on top.    We still had a mystery to solve.  There is a rather smart woman lurking at dawn and what was she up to?  Viyki explained this woman as a bit of “staffage”.  

At this time it was the moment to go and view the painting which is in a room about as far as it is possible to go in the National Gallery.  This is the moment which, for me is the best part.  We stroll in groups and those on their own can tag on or borrow an arm or stay within sound by talking.  I strolled with Viyki and by the time we got to the gallery, Caroline was standing in the group and one of the visitors was discussing glaciation and its effect on the landscape especially in the shape of valleys and boulders or erratics. 

As I write this up, with no notes or recording, Ernani is finishing and BBCRadio4 is doing an Archive Hour on ‘Ways of Seeing’ by John Berger in 1972.  The National Gallery are keen to ask what we see and at no time is there an “imposed” interpretation.  With contemporary art there has to be some impression of how the background of the artist and specific context can influence what is seen.  I have learned from the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery that many of those attending the talks have a hinterland which they can share. 

There are a few scientists who go to the art talks.  Over the talk we had discussed Louis Philippe, patronage of the arts, agriculture pigments and art in Europe.  We were quite a large group in a small room with a few other Corots on show.  I had first come across Corot in Paris in 1975 when the Orangerie of the Tuileries by the Louvre had a major exhibition of landscapes on show.  I had been delighted by these paintings and this was at a time when one raced through a major art gallery in an hour.  That exhibition of Corot has remained with me and though I can’t make much of the print I can still envisage the landscape as some of the detail is imprinted in my mind.  The names of the colours and pigments tune in with my background and I mentioned to Viyki that I had bought a small painting directly from an artist on the strength of the answer to the question “What colour would you call that? The answer came back Alizarin”.  I bought it on hearing the name of an organic pigment which is often known as red madder.  (The Arts sector has absorbed quite a lot of chemical techniques and even embraced spectrometry in checking dates, authenticity and preservation.)

In the guest blogpost of Linda Bolton, Linda mentioned the poster which we take away from Art through Words  as a souvenir or a relic from a pilgrimage.  Thus when I got some postcards in the shop the assistant who helped me find the Corot postcards suggested that as my hands were full with crutch and cane I could do with a smart NG paper carrier bag with string handles to loop round the crutch grip.  That is observation, kindness and attention. (Physiotherapists take note!)

Thanks as always to the National Gallery.

PS The Roman Campagna, with the Claudian Aqueduct by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1796-1975
Landscape at Arleux-du-Nord, 1871-4 by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1796-1975

An exhbition has just opened at the National Gallery titled "Turner Inspired in the light of Claude" and runs from 14 March to 5 June.  More information is available at: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/turner-inspired

Royal Academy In Touch: David Hockney Tour of ‘A Bigger Picture’ and Workshop

This post covers my second visit to the Royal Academy current exhibition of David Hockney ‘A Bigger Picture’ and the work shop which followed.  (http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/hockney/)%20Onthis occasion the RA arranged for an early viewing of the collection in the company of our describer Bridget.  (My first visit to the exhibition is described in http://profwhitestick.blogspot.com/2012/02/david-hockney-bigger-picture.html )On

We gathered in the foyer and were taken to the Reynolds room and fortified with coffee (it was a 9AM start) we entered the galleries.  I had arranged for my friend Stephen who took me to the Gerhard Richter exhibition, to accompany me and take some notes.   Apart from some maintenance crew and staff setting up for the public opening, our group of about 25 people, had the Academy to ourselves. 

We spent some time on the Thixendale series in the four seasons showing three trees.  While the same trees are painted Hockney has shifted his standing area and subtle changes occur in the perspective lines which he drew.  The seasons have also altered the appearance of the foliage on the trees, the flowers in the fields, farming changes to the landscape as well as weather conditions.  When I viewed these paintings on a Friday evening I noted that the winter and autumn (fall) scenes worked best for me.  A second viewing and a Monday morning shifted my opinion considerably.  I found myself liking the paintings of summer and spring.  This had something to do with the lighting, it was daylight lit for a start. 

There was space to view the painting from afar, without other visitors getting in the way.  It was also much quieter and so we only could hear Bridget’s opinion.  Bridget had explained her role in giving a description of some art work.  It is difficult in describing some concepts as being totally objective.  Bridget had a novel way, to me, of explaining the dimensions of a very large painting; to walk from one end of the painting so that those with no sight could hear the voice shift and were thus able to triangulate the size in their minds.  Bridget explained the flora in all the paintings and the seasonal coming of cow parsley was noted.  I had not been able to notice the state of the ploughed and planted fields and the perspective lines in the summer and spring paintings were different in the autumn painting. 

Salts Mill (Catalogue no. 19)

Johnathon Silver , a friend of Hockney, had bought the old mill in Saltaire near Bradford for conversion to a gallery space for Hockney.  (see http://www.saltsmill.org.uk/gallery.htm ) This painting very much resembles a stylised setting of a Northern Town in England.  There are some very strange effects on the eyes as we had noted on the first viewing.  (The Escher Effect) There is apparently a red diesel train in front of the mill with an impossible route to join the tracks in the bottom left hand corner.  There is also a canal (with canal boat my accompanying friend, Stephen,  whispered)  

There are rows of mill workers’ cottages on the right side and the mill building glows with the reflected sunlight. This is not  the bleak ‘dark satanic mills’ of Blake with Dvorak 9^th Symphony in the background.  Having admired Hockney’s American paintings it was good to stroll past them again en route to Salt’s Mill.

Hawthorn Blossom (Catalogue no. 81)

Caterpillars and snails were not far of the mark.  Bridget described the hawthorn blossom as having a maggot like appearance with thick applied coats and blobs of paint.  The “snail” was in fact the shadow of a tree which in turn was described by another as a rabbit.  Someone else named the snail as Brian and we all thought of the Magic Roundabout and there was something in that (Dvorak 9^th morphed into signature tune of The Magic Roundabout).  Bridget also described the sky as being Van Gogh like.  Stephen thought the painting was an “exercise in flat pattern.”

On moving along the galleries the ‘Kitchener Hand’ (Winter Timber, Catalogue no. 105) beckoned and I noted that this time it did not dominate the view.  Perhaps its height above the “people” line on the Friday evening gave it a dominant position which was absent on the Monday morning.  It may also have had something to do with the lighting.  I stopped with other visually impaired visitors and they could detect the pointing (many fingered) hand. In the next room is

Woldgate 2011 (Catalogue no. 71)

Bridget again walked this painting. (The day before I had found a tapestry Map of Truths and Beliefs’ by Grayson Perry , British Museum, to be too big and I did get lost in it)  Bridget could only walk the painting in an empty gallery.  This painting has many skeletal trees giving vertical and leaves apparently floating.  It could almost appear to be a theatre back drop with a veil of leaves attached to gauze as if for a start of some opera or ballet scene.  Stephen thought this was “another exercise in flat pattern save for the graphic perspective of the path.”

We moved through the rooms devoted to the Sermon on the Mount interpretations of Hockney. 

Workshop

We returned to the Reynolds and were given a handling talk about paints, pigments., brushes and rollers used by Hockney.  Harry Baxter led the session opening with an iPad demonstration of a Brushes app.  It had been reset before it came to my turn to use the touchscreen.  Given my track record at Westfield the system crashed! 

Harry was on safer ground passing round brushes made of hogs hair bristle.  Colours and pigments were discussed and Harry passed round tubes of different colours.  The heaviness of the Cadmium Yellow was noticeable.  Harry discussed different whites and we were told that stocks of Lead White were limited.  The quality of a Lead White was compared with those of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.  The full list of colours which Harry placed on the palette are as follows:

Lead White

Cadmium Lemon

Cadmium Golden Yellow

Cadmium Orange

Magenta

Bright Violet

Ultramarine Violet

Ultramarine Blue

Cobalt Blue

Viridian Green

Phthalo Green

Emerald Green

Green Lake

Next, Harry passed round two canvasses which he had painted and we could feel the different texture of the lines and blobs of paint and discussed the way that Hockney had assembled 36 panels in a huge hangar and worked on the painting in one piece.  (I did discuss whether it would have been easier to get a bigger panel in the first place and then cut it up with my neighbour, but we didn’t say this too loudly.)  If three paintings together is a triptych, what is 36?

We discussed canvas materials.  I had treated myself to some small linen canvases in a sale and was going to try them out.  I discussed mixing of paints telling my story at the Wallace where I had mixed my own green.  Harry then passed round a palette with a range of colours including several greens.  Artists prefer to use oil paints of a particular green as some simple blue and yellow mixes are grainy.  Disposable palette covers served as keeping a record of the colours used. I could not detect any distinction with some violets, blues and dark greens.  It could have been a change of lighting. 

Harry also passed round a sample of damar varnish by Robertsons.  Damar is a resin and has a smell which is not unpleasant.  He then passed round some crystals of the damar resin which has the feel of frankincense and it is sourced from India.  It was first used by Titian who had access to it as a result of the Venetian trade with Asia.  Next, a sample of turpentine was passed round.  This was certainly not sweet smelling.

It was now our turn to make a collage using varying papers, texturised coatings and colours to make a collage.  With Thixendale fresh in mind I tried to cut out shapes in order to give an impression of Autumn in Thixendale.  My other project was lead by David who I had met at Tate Modern.  We had an empty beer bottle, some clay, wooden base and that’s it.  Some in an earlier session had stuck their beer bottle in a horizontal position and having agreed with David that it may rolloff I arranged to have my bottle stuck upright in a top right space. I put some clay on the sides of the bottle and some in the mouth.  I pretended that it was a Mexican Beer Bottle (Dos Equis) and that I was driving in a right handed car in Arizona. 

The team of describers with Bridget gave in turn their description of the collages and bottle/clay combo.  Harry then gave a critique.  We applauded each other and felt it had been a wonderful morning.  We had been busy from 9AM to almost 1.30PM.

Many thanks to Kate, her team and the Royal Academy.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/hockney/events-and-resources/

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/learning/access-and-communities/access-programme-of-events,1391,AR.html

email: access@royalacademy.org.uk

Footnote

I asked for suitable titles for my collage and the sculpture.  It may have been a mistake to tweet out that the “works” had been created by me in the same room in which Charles Darwin presented his “Origin of the Species” lecture to the Linnaean Society in 1858.  The first tweet yielded mixed results and the 2^nd round got a bit more serious with Dawkins cropping up as well.  Any suggestions for my collage shown at the top are welcome.  This painting (this work of art) currently hangs in my flat!



Royal Academy related posts:

My post on the RA Summer Exhibition 2012 can be found on:
http://profwhitestick.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/royal-academy-summer-exhibition-2012.html

My post on the Zoffany exhibition at the RA can be found on: http://profwhitestick.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/royal-academy-johan-zoffany-ra.html