Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery of photographs by Catherine Opie of her friends in the gays and trans community. There were some beautiful images such as one entitled “James 1993” but I wanted to be shown happy liberated people at home in their skins and I hoped that was the point but in fact I felt I was seeing quite sad images in some cases. The show played with sterotypes yet in doing so seemed to create new ones.

Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery of work by Tabitha Moses looking at IVF treatment. The work consisted of hospital gowns embroidered with pictures representing particular women’s experience of IVF treatment. These were shown with photographs of three of the women in their gowns in hospital by Jon Barraclough. I found the images in the gowns were beautifully made and a bit Grayson Perry like but I didn’t engage with the images of syringes and fallopian tubes.  

Small display at the Walker Art Gallery looking at the First World War practice of painting ships in brightly coloured asymmetric patterns to create an optical illusion which obscured the speed and direction of the ships. I find it fascinating that this effect was invented by the artist Norman Wilkinson and undertaken by Edward Wadsworth, an intelligence office for the Royal Naval Reserve and a Vorticist. I think this is the only good use I’ve seen for Vorticisim! The display just consisted of a good commentary and four woodcuts by Wadsworth. I would love to have seen more, although I did see the Dazzle ship at the Albert Dock and I go past the one in London everyday on the boat! The woodcuts were in Vorticist style and did give some idea of how the camouflage would have worked as in them the boats blended into their backgrounds.

Video installation at the Walker Art Gallery as part of the Liverpool Biennial by Michael Nyman, the composer. The installation features a new piece of music by him and film from his 20 years living in Mexico. What I saw of it was quite enthralling and included an interesting sequence on the two video screen of different photographer, a professional and a street photographer. However the whole thing was very long and I was not sure I wanted to give that much time to a work in an art gallery. The Codex Fejervary-Mayer, a Mexican codex from the World Museum down the road, which had been the inspiration for the piece, was shown in the same room as the installation.

Lovely exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool looking at the life of April Ashley, one of the first people in the world to undergo gender reassignment surgery. It told the story of her life from her birth in Liverpool as George Jamieson, through her career as a model, the surgery and her life as a campaigner. This was set against a time line of trans gender history from a Roman emperor who was assassinated in 22AD for trying to get sex change surgery through to the present day and in particular the change in the law in 2005 that allowed April Ashley, and others, to have their change of sex recognised with a new birth certificate.

Small but interesting display at the Museum of Liverpool on the story of HIV on Merseyside. I lived in Liverpool 30 years ago this autumn and felt that was the year I starting reading about HIV and AIDS in the newspapers as a disease in America. I was therefore stunned to see that someone had already died of the condition in Liverpool the year before.   The display was interesting in that it showed not only early reaction to the illness but also how people were now being supported on Merseyside by Sahir House who had helped to mount this show.

Interesting talk at the Greenwich Heritage Centre by Kate Adie on her book on women in World War One. She spoke without notes in a very erudite manner which considering she had got very lost getting there so the event had started an hour late was a remarkable achievement. The talk covered the jobs women took on during the war stressing that the idea for all of them was that it would only be for the duration of the war. She was particularly interesting about munitions workers and how women jumped to do this work because it paid well and gave them some degree of freedom. She talked about the many voluntary organisations which grew up and the role that many suffragettes took in them. She also had lovely pictures of some of the medical roles women took on.

Colourful exhibition at Tate Modern looking at the life and work of Kazimir Malevich, a Russian abstract artists whose work spanned the First World War, the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. I will admit my favourite rooms were the more figurative ones at the start and end. I loved the early self-portrait in wonderful bright colours and his move into what he called Cubo-Futurism, with block like figures against geometrically presented backgrounds. At the end of his life he returned to those styles but it was hard to tell if this was through choice or because of Stalin’s banning of abstract art. In the middle section I loved the recreation of an exhibition Malevich held in Petrograd called “The last exhibition of futurist painting 0.10”. It included 9 of the 12 pictures whose whereabouts are still known and hung them in the same slightly haphazard way. Malevich’s iconic picture is “Black Square” an a version of it was included in the same place it hung in the origi...

Nice little exhibition at Norwich Cathedral marking the 25th anniversary of the Costume and Textile Association. The show had taken silver as its theme and there were some really interesting pieces. I loved Sara Impey’s “Thinking thread” which was a large bobbin with ribbon round it a thread with a story being told on the thread. My friends and I also laughed at Sally Hewett’s “Silver tongued” a pink and silver tongue sticking out of the wall. The cleverest piece was Joy Pitt’s picture of a brain made out of the size labels from clothes. I was fascinated at the range of colours she’s managed to find and speculated on where she found them all!

Fascinating talk at the National Portrait Gallery given by Virginia Nicholson, the great niece of Virginian Woolf, talking about the effect of having such an illustrious ancestor. The talk mainly looked at how Virginia Nicholson’s parents had written the first biography of Woolf and her mother had then gone on to edit the Woolf diaries. It was a wonderful tale of a massive piece of research and the effect this has on a family. I loved the description of her mother’s meticulous filing systems and of the takeover of one room with paper when the index of the biography was being compiled. I have often heard Virginian Nicholson speak at Charleston, as I am a friend there and all eventer at the literary festival there, but I was impressed at how open she was in this talk about growing up with this legacy. I found the talk quite moving.  

Interesting lecture at the British Museum given by Goyzo Voros from the Hungarian Academy of Arts on the excavations at Machaerus, the castle just outside Jerusalem where it is believed John the Baptist was killed. He gave a good history of the identification of the site and previous digs there. He then went on to detail some of his work. Most interesting was the fact he had pieces together some of the fragments of columns to reconstruct two of different styles to give an idea of what the place might have looked like. He also talked about whether he thought the story of the Baptist’s imprisonment and Salome’s dancing was true. In the light of the fact he has not found a dungeon on the site, he felt that the imprisonment might have been house arrest in the lower city which he felt was backed up by the fact that the Baptist seemed to have had a lot of contact with the outside world during this period.  

Fascinating exhibition at the British Museum looking at how witches and sorcery have been depicted in art mainly looking at prints and drawings. The images seemed to either be misogynistic or erotic or in some cases both! I hadn’t realized that Mantegna’s print “Battle of the sea gods” was the first to show the slack breasted crone figure which became a standard image of a witch. Durer’s earliest dated print is “The four witches” but they are shown as beautiful contemporary women albeit naked. The later Fuseli, rather gothic prints, are fun and it will be interesting to see how many are also in the current British Library exhibition. The exhibition had interesting quotes literature in the commentaries and a good time line of witch trails and legislation to put the art in a historical context. In the later sections you did come away thinking Macbeth and Faust had a lot to answer for! Reviews Independent

Interesting exhibition at the British Museum looking in detail at the Arch of the Emperor Maximillian by Durer the most ambitious print ever produced in the Western world. It took three years to produce and is on 36 sheets of paper. Commissioned in 1512 the arch itself was never built but the print was used to advertise Maximillian’s achievements and copies were given as gifts to other rulers. It was wonderful to see this print properly as it is usually shown in a corridor by the print gallery as it is almost too big to exhibit. It was good to be able to stand back from it and get a good long view but also to go up close and look at all the wonderful details. I love all the figures sitting in the arches to the sides and the empty arches waiting for their spectators. No space is left undecorated or used, there are even figures peeking out from behind columns and animals investigating the bottom of the arch.

Sumptuous exhibition at the British Museum of objects from the golden 50 years of the Ming emperors reigns in China. The exhibition set the context well and I loved the series of portraits of the emperors in question with identikit clothing but beautifully painted individual faces. It described the tradition of settling up courts around the empire and the importance these courts took on. However the history seemed to cease to matter as the objects themselves were just so glorious. There was an amazing set of women’s jewellery from a tomb including a flower shaped hair ornament of the most delicate gold. Of course the ceramics were beautiful but I also loved the paintings and the lacquer work. I liked the array of strange government department names such as the Department of Sweat Meats! Despite everything being very regal these names seemed to add a human everyday layer to the world being shown. My favourite piece was a scroll showing different games to help train...

Stunning exhibition at Tate Britain looking at Turner’s work in the last 16 years of his life. The exhibition focused on how experimental Turner was in these years even though he was successful and could have sold anything he had painted. He came across as a very modern painter always looking for the next style or technique. I loved the room of square and round pictures and think “Peace – Burial at sea” was my favourite picture in the show. There was some speculation as to whether some of the new ideas were because of failing or changing eye sight but if this was the cause it created some wonderful results. I was interested to see how much Turner travelled even in later life and although he had a fascination with the past, he also engaged with the present. We look at pictures like those of the fire at the Houses of Parliament as historic works but to Turner’s audience these were contemporary events and must have felt very exciting works. Reviews Times Guard...

Beautiful refurbishment and rehang of the Wallace Collections main great gallery. It all looks really fresh, clear and crisp but most importantly the pictures and back in a very traditional hang. The old style was to hang pictures by shape to make a symmetrical pattern on the wall and this has been achieved. However some interesting dialogues have been set up between pictures such as Annunciations by different artists next to each other. It’s always nice to see the great pictures in the Wallace Collection such as the “Laughing Cavalier” and the Velazquez “Lady with a Fan” and it is nice that they are all back together again having importance in their own right but also showing the depth of the collection and the connections between pictures. Review Telegraph  

Interesting exhibition in the library of the Royal Society of Medicine looking at medicine in the First World War. This was arranged under fairly broad themes but there were some fascinating books. I was interested in the ones on plastic surgery and it was particularly nice to see a copy of the book by Gilles as so much has been made this year of the Tonks watercolours of soldiers Gilles was working on. I liked the small practical books to be taken out to the front including illustrations on how to carry a stretcher. There was also a section on propaganda such as a book on the psychology of the Kaiser. The home front was not forgotten with books on the control of drinking and rationing.

Charming exhibition at the Royal College of Nursing looking at nursing in the First World War. Although this display was small, just two cases, it put the emphasis on telling the stories of a few nurses showing their diaries and photographs alongside other objects. There were also four autograph books showing how popular it was for nurses to keep these and to get the men they nursed to sign them. I loved a panoramic picture of staff at Endell Street Military Hospital with their dog. Also one of Mabel Pearce in her nurse’s uniform with her twin brother. There was also a good display tracing an injured man’s journey from the battle field to the convalescent home looking at stretcher bearers, ambulance drivers, field hospitals etc.  

Interesting exhibition at the RIBA of photos by Edwin Smith who concentrated on buildings and the social make up of Britain. I loved his atmospheric 1930s work looking at London working class life such as a Café in Poplar and a study of a Worcester sauce bottle. All his images were very sharp and focused. There was a section on “The Saturday Book” an annual compilation book he produced with his wife including articles, photographs and poems. Also displays on his architectural books for Thames and Hudson. He was a part of the 1950s debate about architectures relationship between the past and the future and the conflict between building new works and preserving the historic lending wait to the idea of preservation. My favourite picture was one of a roof-scape at Whitby where he photographed the town over the curve of a roof. Reviews Telegraph    

Fascinating exhibition at the RIBA looking a Tonkin Liu’s construction technique called shell lace structure. The technique is based on the structural principle of shells with holes in to make it light. There were nice displays showing the structure of shells and how it builds strength. It is a computer developed design so that material is minimised and costs are cut. I liked the fact it looked at different buildings which had been designed with this technique showing all stages of them including a lay out of how to cut the material like a big dress pattern. I wasn’t sure how many of the designs had been realised but I will certainly look out for buildings using it.

Lovely exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of recent work by Catherine Goodman who won the BP Portrait Award in 2002. These were lovely pictures whose titles gave the occupation of the sitter as well as their name,   hence Charles Saurmarez Smith, a previous director of the gallery, was “The museum director”. Her work has a wonderful kaleidoscope of skin tones blending together in great lose strokes. My favourite picture was “The lawyer” Diane Rawstron a mature lady in a blue dress and a hard silver necklace. There was also a lovely self-portrait where one side of her face dissolves into the background.  

Small display at the National Portrait Gallery looking at the Fine Arts Commission which was set up to oversee the interior design of the new Houses of Parliament in 1841. I was interested in the idea of setting up a national school of history painting favouring frescos as I love the Italian Renaissance frescos. I was amused that Price Albert commissioned frescos for his summer houses so the artists could practice techniques. However I learnt far more from the commentary than the pictures which were just pictures of those involved. It was also hard to find the main group portrait it kept referring to as it was in another room. Why not move it to the display for a short period?  

Small display at the National Portrait Gallery looking at the Boer War. The display needed to be looked at in the context of the whole room as many of the characters from war had full sized portraits there. It was good that it looked at both sides and pointed out things which started in this war like the boy scouts which began as a cadet corps of boys set up by Baden Powell. There were nice photos of two women who had nursed in the concentration camps. However I just came away wanting a lot more! I know very little about this war. Maybe the way into it might have been that it was a precursor of the First World War and the start of a different type of warfare. It just lacked focus.

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at portraits painted of the Tudor monarchs in their own life times to try to strip down the layers of myth which built up around the images. It was nice that commentary on each monarch included written descriptions of them from the time and that objects owned by them were included. It was also good to see the conservation work which had been done before this show and to see what had been learnt from it. There were two portraits by Master John in the show. I knew the one of Mary but had not seen the Edward VI one before. He was a wonderful artist with a lovely clear view of the world. I also liked the head of Henry VII by Torrigiano which gave a sense of having the king in the same space as us and it was nice to be able to compare it to the classic portrait of him. The last room looked at how the images had been reproduced after their deaths and snuck in a picture of Lady Jane Grey who had ruled so briefly...

I just managed to do two properties this year during Open House weekend. On the Saturday I went to the Thames River Police at Wapping. I pass this each morning on the river and was intrigued to look inside. Only one room was open but that housed the quaint river police museum. This was a bit of a jumble of objects with uniforms, badges, photos and more. The gentleman who curated it was there telling his story and you could tell the museum was a real labour of love,. On Sunday I popped down the road to see Charlton House , a wonderful Jacobean House now occupied by Greenwich Council. It was a shame that a lot of it was closed and it might have been nice if the hand out was a bit clearer about that however most of the upper floor was open and it had wonderful grand, fashionable Jacobean fire places. The house had been built by the tutor of James I son Prince Henry who died, so it was the height of Jacobean intellectual taste.    

Fascinating seminar at the National Gallery focusing on Claude Lorrain’s picture “Seaport with the Embarkation of St Ursula” lead by Steven Barrett. In the first section we looked at the story of St Ursula and how Claude had chosen to depict in in this picture. We discussed whether it was necessary to know the story to appreciate the picture. We also spent a lot of time looking at wonderful photos of details of the picture and talked about Claude’s style. We spent quite a lot of time looking at the picture itself and discussing its composition and how the picture might have been commissioned. We ended back in the seminar room talking about other St Ursula pictures and how this one had come into the National Gallery collection. We also talked about the influence of Claude on other artists including Turner and Monet.

An installation in Trafalgar Square as part of London Design Week. This consisted of four sheds/rooms by different designers with the brief of “What makes a house a home?”. My favourite was Jasper Morrison’s “Pigeon Fancier’s House”   with a pine finish and a big window from which to watch birds to watch birds. This was witty but was also a room you could live in. Raw Edges’ interior with the ability to move walls to create different spaces at different times was an interesting idea. If you only use the bathroom at certain times of day why does it take up so much space? Just slide the wall over to make enough room to use the wash basin or the shower, the slide it back again for a bigger living space!   The other two pieces were more like installations than rooms you could actually live in.