Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at the V&A looking at role of making things in our lives. This exhibition was too busy when I went round it so it was hard to read the labels and I think I lost on what is was trying to do. There was an eclectic mix of objects which were fascinating but I just wasn’t sure how they fitted together. The moral of the story, don’t wait until the Christmas break to do free exhibitions! Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent

Small exhibition at the V&A looking at the clothes and creative vision of Annie Lennox. I am a big Annie Lennox fan and was really looking forward to this. What was there was good but it was very small. There we only about 6 outfits which were lit in turn so you had to stand in quite a cramped gallery for a long time to see them all properly. I liked the house in the middle to show the creative process and the gallery of photos but must admit I came away wanting more and remembering the amazing Kylie exhibition!

Good exhibition at the V&A looking at design in the 1970s and 1980s. I must admit at first I didn’t get this and, given this is my era, I expected it to grab me. It began with a lot of imaginative architecture but after I while I longer to see something which had actually been built! In the objects section it began to come together but I wasn’t quite sure why at first it was only in the later section that it was because it was the start of design statements such as Alessi which I did notice at the time. Obviously the ground breaking early works had passed me buy it was only when something I could buy appeared that I sat up and took notice! The best section for me was the performance one with a section on Grace Jones and an outfit, 2 ballet outfits designed by Leigh Bowery and wonderful videos of singers/performance artists of the era. At that point I got it! I came away from the exhibition with lots of new images in my mind and a better knowledge of things which had influenced me...

Small display at the V&A examining the first 50 years of the magazine Private Eye. It mainly consisted of cartoons on various themes such as politics and celebrity but also looked at the investigative journalism of the paper. I loved the mock up of the editor’s desk with various souvenirs of various campaigns. It also reminded me of some of the wonderful parodies of political life such as the Dear Bill letters and the parish magazine of the ‘vicar’ Tony Blair.

Small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of pictures of contemporary actresses to compliment the current exhibition of the first actresses. It ranged from the well established actress such as Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith to actresses at the start of their careers such as Anna Popplewell. Some of the commentaries had comments from the actress on the work of their predecessors.

Nice exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery tracing the lives of the earliest actresses and how the profession developed. It started with risqué pictures of Nell Gwynn then looked at the actresses of Covent Garden in the 18th century who started to take on breaches rolls but were sometimes also prostitutes but also began to be writers and business women. The middle gallery looked at the actress as muse and how they became popular subjects in Royal Academy picture so of the time in their various theatrical roles. A fun gallery looked at actresses in character plus the role of amateur dramatics amongst the aristocracy. It was definitely an exhibition that you left wanting to find out more. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Super lecture at the National Gallery to accompany the current Leonardo exhibition given by Eric Harding. It looked at his work in the late 1980s to repair and conserve the Leonardo cartoon after it was shot. He had recently retired from the British Museum but was seen as the only person who could do the work and came out of retirement to do it. He was the most engaging speaker and answered questions generously and in a very open manner. It was fascinating to hear what new techniques were used on this work and the meticulous nature of saving all the minute pieces and cataloguing them to rebuild the work.

A good discussion at the National Gallery to accompany the current Leonardo exhibition chaired by the curator of the show Luke Syson with Martin Caplin from the Royal Library at Windsor and the artist Michael Craig-Martin. The two speakers each spoke for about 20 minutes on the role of drawing in Leonardo’s work and then had a discussion with the chair and the audience. They addressed pictures which were studies, how Leonoard returned to studies throughout his career and the role of finished drawings. Most fascinating was to hear the artist Michael Craig-Martin talk from an artists view point and how he saw some of the unfinished drawings as an invitation to continue to image.

Nice exhibition at York Art Gallery examining the life and career of William Etty, the York born artist. Having been at university in York I thought I knew the work of Etty well but this exhibition looked not only at the pictures but also at how they were received by his contemporaries. Many art critics at the time viewed his work as lewd due to his use of the female nude however a modern eye finds these figures delightful and maybe notices more of interest in his male nudes. The first main gallery concentrated on the controversy but the others looked at other aspects of his careers. I loved the section looking at the role of life drawing in his career because there were these wonderful timeless nudes with Victorian hairstyles.