Cathy's Art Diary

Videoed play made available by the Barbican on the Trial of the 17 th century female artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Two of the things I have been most sad to miss during this Covid-19 lockdown have been the Artemisia exhibition at the National Gallery, which is hopefully being rescheduled, and this play which I was due to see at the Barbican. I’ve been an admirer of Artemisia’s work since reading a novel about her and of course seeing her work. I think her self-portrait in the Royal Collection is one of my favourite pictures. I was therefore delighted when an email popped up telling me about this videoed version of the play. Produced by Breach Theatre iot is largely based on the transcript of the trial of Agostino Tassi for breach of promise to marry Artemisia in the course of which she accuses him of rape. At its heart it is a classically, hopefully old fashioned, bad rape trail with witnesses brought to her bad character and the defendant allowed to cross examine her. It i...

Amusing but informative exhibition at the Wellcome Collection looking at how we play and what it is important. The show looked at the role of play in learning and discusses whether is for everyone and not just children. The nature/nurture section looked at how we use play to learn and how educators have harnessed this. There was a big display on the Kindergarten movement started by Friedrich Fröbel in 1839. He devised 20 ‘gifts’ objects to develop stages of development and most of them were illustrated here. It also looked at the role of play in post-War Britain to help children overcome traumas and Constant Nieuwehuy’s theory that mechanised labour would free is from work and adults could lead a nomadic life of play. Bring it on! A section on toys examined how society changes are reflected in children’s toys and o how they can be used to influence society. There was a sweet section on playground chants and how they adapt over time which were recorded by Iona and Peter Opie...

Fun exhibition at the Humber Street Gallery in Hull looking at how play shapes our lives and the role of play in adult lives as part of Hull City of Culture. This was a fun interactive exhibition with lots to see, do and make you think. It explored the role of experimental play as part of creative thinking and making things. Fun objects included a take on the old penny drop arcade machine but using tokens based on those used by Hull merchants. I liked Richard Slee’s sculptures of the trajectory of ping pong balls as they bounce. There was a display of software which downloads model designs from a website and combines them to randomly build new works and installation of chairs with the bottom on one leg cut at an angel to enable you to balance them on one leg. I liked a slightly creepy robot which seemed to be able to see you and comment on what you were doing. The picture is of a knitted lamp which took energy from people coming near it and lit up and knitted a bit mo...

Small exhibition at the National Theatre to accompany the play “The Pitman Painters” about a group of artists from a Northumbrian mining town. These pictures had a naïve but charming quality with a slight resemblance to Stanley Spencer. Mainly by Oliver Kilbourn they showed scenes of life in the mine and around the town. I loved the series of five pictures of wash day which finishes with the children in the wash boiler having a bath. Also one called “Spring 1941” of daffodils in a window with a sign advertising the fact the house had a stirrup pump. I saw the play about the group the same night and thoroughly recommend it. It explored the idea of what art means in life and the notion of class in art. It was much funnier than I had imagined it would be and its sentimental socialism reduced me to tears at the end. Reviews Independent