What are You Looking at?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I completely lost track of time at this show, finding that hours had passed by in a flash.

Oh, that sounds familiar, Belgrove - there is a very special experience of time when viewing visual Art (as there is of course in their different ways in all the Arts) - it creates its own pace.

And what a fabulously imaginative use of Gallery space, too: this should be a permanent exhibition somewhere and/or go on a national tour.

[Zucchini]

The invention of Matisse makes the heart sing and the soul dance.

What perfect words!

[teamsaint]

I spent an hour at the Tate Modern the other day, browsing the galleries, not the Matisse, as the main focus of the day was things other than art.

on this particular occasion what really struck me, other than so much beautiful work, was how much the quality of the really big names, (Turner, Dali, Rothko etc ) really stood out.

I was also particularly struck by the work of Alex Katz,more specifically his depictions of the natural world.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=alex+katz+tate+gallery&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VDPtU7qyFM2y7Abg8YCgBg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=667

I also discovered a rather good spot for lunch, with a fabulous view, at a decent price......

BIG edit.

actually, another thing that really struck me was about the people in the gallery.

It was a summer Saturday,and the galleries were absolutely full of people. I got to wondering what would be the reaction of the public if free concerts of C20 classical music were being staged on the South Bank on the same day. There seems , (and I say SEEMS) to be a lot less in the way of obstacles to public enjoyment of a visual challenge in the galleries than there is in a sonic challenge in the concert hall.

We discussed this on the day, and one of the thoughts that we all tended to agree around is in the way in which live music is, or perhaps needs to be, presented.
No escape? no easy move on to something more acceptable? food for thought, anyway.

[Serial_Apologist]

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It was a summer Saturday,and the galleries were absolutely full of people. I got to wondering what would be the reaction of the public if free concerts of C20 classical music were being staged on the South Bank on the same day. There seems , (and I say SEEMS) to be a lot less in the way of obstacles to public enjoyment of a visual challenge in the galleries than there is in a sonic challenge in the concert hall.

We discussed this on the day, and one of the thoughts that we all tended to agree around is in the way in which live music is, or perhaps needs to be, presented.
No escape? no easy move on to something more acceptable? food for thought, anyway.

You ask this, teamy, and of course every November the S Bank hosts parts of the London Jazz Festival - (of which others are held elsewhere, eg the Barbican) - with many free sessions in the Clore Ballroom (first floor, underneath the main concert venue) and the foyer of the Purcell?Queen Elizabeth Hall. The latter from time to time also puts on early evening jazz throughout the year, though sadly less frequently than the weekly events there and in the RFH bar a few years ago.


My reason for mentioning this is that while, as might be expected, these freebies attract huge throngs, including whole families with tiny tots one has sometimes to be careful to avoid tripping over or treading upon, and also an inevitable amouint of noise and bustle around the edges, within the main auditoria areas audiences appear to have acquired the elsewhere enviable knack of concentrated listening in silence, offering at least something of a buffer between on-stage performers and peripheral wandering zones. If touring/day tripping crowds are able to show such levels of courtesy and attentiveness for jazz, I believe that this offers powerful pre-evidence in favour of what you are suggesting.

[Serial_Apologist]

9.00 Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds: a Tale of Three Cities

Shortly on BBC4:

New series 1/3 Dr James Fox tells the stories of artistic communities that changed the world, starting with Vienna in 1908, where Gustav Klimt painted The Kiss

[Serial_Apologist]

An excellent programme, parallelling new developments in the arts, music and Freud's take on the Viennese psyche with that city's leader's virulent antisemitism, and the last gasp of hot air from the Austro-Hapsburg empire that year with its annexating of Bosnia-Herzgovena.

Dr Fox is charming and persuasive without being patronising, but one criticism, which will probably also apply to the two other programmes: the simpering Einaudi-type background music used to underpin his narrative in a way totally inappropriate to his subject, when there was so much other Viennese music from that year that would have served admirably to illustrate the programme's strong points.

[aeolium]

Yes, I thought it was interesting, S_A. Some of the material inevitably has been covered in earlier programmes on Vienna but Dr Fox brought it together well and the two items on the woman who wrote about the experiences of Viennese prostitutes and the contemporary photography of the homeless surviving in the sewers were not known to me. I'm not sure that his account of the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina told the complete story, since under the Treaty of Berlin 1878 they already had rights of administration and occupation of this territory and their action was to some extent pre-emptive against Serbia who also had designs on the region (and it was supposedly agreed in advance with Russia). I thought also that if Dr Fox was covering wider intellectual trends, he could have mentioned Ernst Mach who was an influence on scientific and philosophical trends, and also the writers of the time like Hoffmanstahl, Schnitzler, Kraus. But I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Incidentally, should this topic be in ferney's thread which I think is intended to be about what art exhibitions people have visited recently?]

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[Incidentally, should this topic be in ferney's thread which I think is intended to be about what art exhibitions people have visited recently?]

Well - it's about the visual Arts, so not entirely divorced; and, until the Thread "takes off", it's not exactly distracting from the Topic and might attract attention to it. It also enables greater discussion as it's something that we can all "look at" - an exhibition in a small gallery/museum will be more "personal".

I admit, I started the Thread in the hope of hearing reactions to Exhibitions that Forumistas wish to share. I'm intending to see the Marlowe Moss and Gego displays in Leeds before they come to a close - I shall report on them when I've seen them. Meanwhile, any other Exhibition reports will be very welcome.

[mercia]

recently visited a Peggy Angus exhibition at The Towner, or just Towner, Eastbourne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Angus

also they seem to have a permanent collection of Eric Ravilious

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Ravilious

both Sussex artists, very decorative, easily understood and appreciated by a fool such as me

http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I hope to find time to visit another, more conventional, exhibition of watercolours and drawings by various artists about Tintern Abbey at Chepstow Museum:

http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Sites-of-Inspiration-Media-Release-English-Final.pdf

It's interesting to see David Jones' name among those of Turner and Gainsborough. I know of him mainly through his poetry and also some illustrations and engravings but little about his watercolour work. What a versatile and accomplished artist he was!

- I must have missed this Post (this often happens at the bottom of pages, I find ) when it first appeared, aeolie, but I quite agree. Like you, I know Jones' poetry and caligraphic work (good to see In Parenthesis reprinted as part of the WW1 Centenary markers - Anathemata is a quite overwhelming experience) but know less of his watercolours. I hope the War centenary helps restore the reputation of a remarkable creative figure whose neglect since his death I find disheartening.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

recently visited a Peggy Angus exhibition at The Towner, or just Towner, Eastbourne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Angus

also they seem to have a permanent collection of Eric Ravilious

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Ravilious

both Sussex artists, very decorative, easily understood and appreciated by a fool such as me
http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/

You don't fool me, mercs - your performance on Alphabet Associations demonstrated that you're no fool!
I don't know Peggy Angus, but I was recently introduced to the work of Ravilious by friends who live in Eastbourne (not far from The Wheatsheaf, which is a bonus ). When I lived there, the Towner (the old one) was a regular haunt of mine. It was there I first encountered the work of Paul Nash (whom frenchie mentioned earlier) and the late works of Lowry - a painting of the North Sea (presumably painted on one of his trips to Berwick-upon-Tweed) I found rivetting: fifty shades of grey, and cold, cold, cold ... but magnetic!

Ironic that a Lancastrian should encounter Lowry in, of all places, Eastbourne - but the Towner (or "Towner" - or, as compromise, "t'Towner"?) is exactly the sort of small gallery space that does such imaginative work in bringing unique Artworks to the people in its locality. I'm so glad to hear its work continues to flourish.

[vinteuil]

It's interesting to see David Jones' name among those of Turner and Gainsborough. I know of him mainly through his poetry and also some illustrations and engravings but little about his watercolour work. What a versatile and accomplished artist he was!

... David Jones is certainly interesting.

For my money, up there with Turner and Gainsborough wd be the truly great Welsh artist Thomas Jones -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jones_(artist)

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http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/thomas-jones

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http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/artist37644/Thomas-Jones/page-1

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http://www.llgc.org.uk/pencerrig/

[mercia]

I expect we're all aware of the paintings that can be looked at here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/search

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I expect we're all aware of the paintings that can be looked at here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpainti...intings/search

Oh, yes - a terrific public resource.

[amateur51]

Last Chance To See The Matisse Cut-outsat Tate Modern, London

This week is the last chance to see this life-enhancing exhibition of work from Matisse's final years when he could no longer hold a brush with confidence and took to creating wonderful cut-outs which were then fixed and moved to the background until he was satisfied.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/henri-matisse-cut-outs

The similarities between this cut-out work in the 1950s with scissors and paper and Hockney's Yorkshire landscapes today with his iPad are remarkable. Both men made use of devoted younger assistants to help them to achieve their vision. The sheer volume and diversity of their output is staggering and a constant joy, witness the low murmurings of delight and broad smiles to be seen in each room of the Matisse exhibition.

And delight of delights there is some work from Matisse's period in Vence when he was dying, drawings for the stained glass windows & chasubles that he created for the nuns who were looking after him and the final piece, some of the stained fglass.

What better time to see these masterpieces than during an English Indian Summer