printed material: October 2010

Thursday, 28 October 2010

Canine Capers

Reading Bird in the House this morning I see that the next exhibition at my local gallery in Carmarthen is going to feature the textile taxidermy of Donya Coward. I love the inventiveness of this work and the subject matter. It reminded me that there is another dog related exhibition I'd love to see next month but this one isn't local sadly. It will be at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London and features the work of Peter Clark. Now, I've mentioned Peter before on this blog because I think the things he does with the paper that others discard is nothing short of magical. The exhibition is called 'Dogs are for Life, not just for Christmas'. These are all the images on show at present and 'Young Sea Dog' here is my favourite. Well, it's done with maps so no surprise there...

Tuesday, 26 October 2010

Gloucester Cathedral

A few weeks ago my friend Sue went to see 'Crucible', an exhibition of sculptures at Gloucester Cathedral. Her post, here, inspired us to get up to Gloucester to see it, something we finally managed yesterday on a warm, sunny, beautiful autumn day. Her photos do it better justice than mine so I will not inflict too many of my efforts on you here. Suffice to say it was a fabulous exhibition in a magnificent setting. We arrived early to avoid any half term crowds but the cathedral was packed by about 11.00. Not surprisingly the exhibition has been extended because of huge visitor numbers and will now end on November 7th. If you live in the vicinity I urge you to go. There are 76 sculptures in situ inside and outside of the cathedral. Some you'll love and some you'll be ambivalent about but all of them provoke you to think about them.

This is Close V by Antony Gormley lying prostrate in a small chamber of its own. Very atmospheric. When I went back later I found a young man also lying prostrate nose to nose with it. How amazing to want to connect with something as much as that. No-one entered the little chamber while he was there. It was if we were all giving him the space he wanted... alternatively it could have been that great British reserve and not wanting to intrude... or plain embarassment that he could do such a thing in such a place....

...but the place was truly magical and somewhere I am ashamed to say I have never been before despite living 'just down the road' for most of my life until my mid 40's. As the sculptures are dotted all over the building you explore most of it whilst searching for them. I got lost in the delight of the tombs, the medieval floor tiles and the nooks and crannies, most of my photos being of the floor and oddities that I came across.

This early 17th century memorial was so detailed but what thrilled me most was the scratching and etching it had been subjected to by years of visitors. It was covered in little marks of graffiti as were walls everywhere. Names and dates were carved into the walls. I found some from 1705, 1763, 1841.... proof that Banksy was not the first graffiti artist in the West Country.

They began building this cathedral in 1089 although it was originally a Benedictine monastery as long ago as 700AD. When Henry VIII started to abolish the monasteries it was saved purely because his ancestor Edward II is interred there so you have an unbroken timeline of worship here for 1300 years. I know Sue is going to visit it again and I will be going back too, maybe before the end of the exhibition as there are many things I want to see again. My photographs have shown me things that I just didn't look at well enough first time round!

Friday, 15 October 2010

Jones - her book

The contemporary weaving exhibition I saw at the National Woollen Museum the other day was called Warp+Weft, the museum being just one of a three site venue for the event. More interestingly, for me, was the other work I went specifically to see. This was the response, in drawing and in stitch, by Julia Griffiths Jones to the museum, its artefacts and its production. I first saw Julia's mild steel work a few years and I love the strong graphic quality of her work. One of the outcomes of the work at the museum is a digitally printed book of her drawings on wool. It sent my mind thinking yet again about marrying printmaking and felt or woven textiles. Something to revisit perhaps? Anyway I'll let the artist tell you all about it herself and if you're intrigued to see more visit her website where there is also another video showing the book in all its detail.

Wednesday, 13 October 2010

A woman's work is never done.....

I went to an exhibition today at the National Woollen Museum and had to detour on my way home because of roadworks. As I went through town there was a space outside the one charity shop that is usually 'off limits' because of regular traffic chaos so I figured it was a sign that I just had to stop... and I was right because I found the perfect book for me. The Housewife's Guide almost had my name on it. As soon as I saw those pictures on the front cover of hard graft I recognised myself...... or perhaps not......

It includes a daily timetable of chores that makes boot camp look like a holiday and if you look closely at the above it will tell you all the key things we need to do every month to be a good housewife. I see that this month I need to get out my winter wardrobe, especially my furs! I don't know how I will possibly fit it all into my timetable. It seems I also have to inspect the house and carry out small repairs this month! There are chapters telling me how to clean the house efficiently without getting backache, how to wash my chamois gloves and silk stockings , how to entertain and how to arrange flowers to make the house a welcome place for visitors. There's even a chapter showing me how to mend a fuse, change a tap washer and.... lay a fitted carpet!!!

The book is full of sensible advice but I can just see the reaction if I pulled up a stool by the sink after dinner tonight..... mind you, the husband needs to support his wife wherever he can because he may need her ministering hand at some time..... indeed there's a whole chapter devoted to 'the sick room' and 'looking after patients'.

I can't find a date for when the book was printed but it is stereotypical of women's roles in the home looking after the poor chap laid up with a cold or something. I suspect she's giving him a cup of home made beef tea .... or arsenic.....

As he improves it suggests , as you can see, that a rope fastened to the end of the bed will help him pull himself up easily..... hmmm.....I can think of a better use for that rope.... a definite sign that I am not a good housewife I think!

Monday, 11 October 2010

Off to the Metropolis...

We went to see this last night. It was originally made in 1927 and is hailed as a classic of silent cinema. Two years ago a longer version of the original film was found in a studio in Buenos Aires and it has been digitally remastered and re-released. It's doing the rounds in the UK at the moment accompanied by its original orchestral score. It has a few creaky moments in it - the movements are very staged and the eye make up is very exaggerated - and that's only the men! The female characters wear very risque dress - or undress - so it must have been made before too much censorship came about but it is pretty wonderful to see. At the end of it, the audience, to a man, applauded spontaneously. I've never experienced that before. If you had told me once that I'd sit for well over two and a half hours watching a silent science fiction film I'd never have believed you. The things we do for love eh?

Saturday, 9 October 2010

May the force be with you....

I've lost count how many times I've watched the original 'Star Wars' trilogy. I'm afraid that's what happens when you marry a man who is a keen science fiction fan. Perhaps that's why the images in this great little video are so familiar. This is great papercut, stop motion work by Eric Power. If you love this sort of thing, check him out.

Jeremy Messersmith - Tatooine from Eric Power on Vimeo.