Medieval marvels and psychedelic sixties

Recently my studies have kept me busy, but I have still managed to visit a few exhibitions.  I thought I would try and catch up and post some information about three that have not much longer to run. The first is the one with the most textiles and that is the one I shall start with.

Opus Anglicanum looks at a type of embroidery that dates to the medieval period.  Such was the expertise in England that all over Europe those who wanted the best came here for quality workmanship.  Sadly the re-using threads and jewels, as well as the dissolution of the monasteries meant that very few survived, and many that do are the ones created for elsewhere.  Because of their fragility it is unlikely some of this work will ever by seen in England again and it really needs to be seen slowly and up close.  

This is not a huge exhibition but the work is absolutely exquisite.  My friend and I spent quite some time trying to understand some of the stories they portrayed and I realised that my art history course had not gone to waste!  Quite a lot of the works include the life of the Virgin - not just the story of Mary but that of her mother Anne as well.  The Tree of Jesse also features quite regularly.  The very last piece includes the pall of the Fishmongers Guild - the mermaid is looking at her reflection in the mirror and both are worked in Opus Anglicanum.

The Butler Bowden cope shown above is one of the items on display (image courtesy of Wiki Commons from the V&A).  The Syon Cope is another.  However one of the most beautiful sets of fragments comes from Iceland.  

Definitely worth seeing if you have any interest in embroidery, this exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum continues until 5 February 2017 - so not long to go.

After a spot of lunch my friend and I then went on to a completely different exhibition at the same museum - You say you want a revolution?  This looked at a very different and much shorter period of history.  It looked at the politics, culture and in particular the fashions and music of the years 1966 to 1970.  Dresses worn by Twiggy, the Beatles (including their Sgt Pepper suits), Jimmi Hendrix and many others are included in this exhibition.  I even spied a jacket made up from a piece of Warner fabric, with a space ship design - a sample of the same fabric has been on display in the Warner Textile Archive.  

This is a noisy, busy, frenetic exhibition - especially after the calm of Opus Anglicanum.  You are bombarded with images, ideas, and music.  It showed how this period of time wanted to be one of possibilities - almost Utopian.  But there were negatives too, to some of the ideas of the time.  It was really interesting, thought provoking and sometimes quite challenging. 

You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels - 1966-1970 continues until 26 February 2017 also at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The last exhibition I mention has only a very small piece of embroidery included and but it does have an interesting history.  It is part of Bedlam at the Wellcome Collection.  This exhibition looks at history and attitudes regarding mental health asylums and is another thought provoking exhibition.   There is also a whole section on art works made by former asylum inmates.  

The textile pieces included are two sampler pieces stitched by a Mary Frances Heaton admitted to Wakefield Asylum in 1837 where she lived for 36 years.  Her illness was described as a combination of epilepsy and 'delusions' about an affair she had with Lord Seymour, whose children she had taught music.  She stitched complaining about her confinement to none other than Queen Victoria.   I do not know if Queen Victoria ever saw them or what she thought about them, but they are an intriguing piece of social history.  Unfortunately this exhibition finishes on the 15 January, but it is free to visit so if you are in the area you could just visit to see the stitching - personally I found the whole exhibition quite fascinating.

Past, Present and Future

My present situation means that I have not been blogging lately.  Partly down to distractions in the past (ie, successfully finishing my degree) and partly as I was busy preparing for my future (studying for a higher one), something that is now my present.  It means visits to galleries and exhibitions have been severely limited.  I did manage a quick trip to Opus Anglicanum (V&A) but I'm hoping to return as it is an exhibition that needs more time.  I have also been to Bedlam at the Wellcome Collection which includes two interesting embroideries - again I hope to return so I will try and write something about both these exhibitions when I revist.

This week however, I did manage to get to an exhibition by my friend and fellow textile artist, Chris Spencer.  Chris is also thinking about the Past, Present and Future as that is the title of her exhibition.

Chris has put together a small retrospective and alongside pieces I knew, there were others that were new to me.  She is a talented felter and embroiderer.  It was good to see work made over the the last few years altogether.  It was also small enough for my mum to enjoy and made for a very pleasant afternoon.  We took our time and examined everything closely.

One set of work that was new to me was a set of six panels featuring the caps of the six wives of Henry VIII.  I have recently been re-reading Peter Acroyd's History of England, so I felt I knew the story of each queen reasonably well. This collection of panels illustrates how each queen was an individual with a different story to be told rather than just a set of wives.  Sadly their lives were often tragic but not all. The Tudor period is such a major part of English history.  The major repercussions of the need for Henry VIII to have a son or two (an heir and a spare), changed not just the lives of those involved but affected the lives of everyone.  Changing the church affected even the lowest of the people at that time. 

I also enjoyed revisiting Chris' 18th century work that relates to her research at Rainham Hall, and her bird pictures, which I had missed when Material Girls exhibited at the RSPB reserve at Rainham Marshes.  The sea, sea life and woodlands are also strong themes in this exhibition.  

Chris' work is on display at Gallery 50, Craft Arena, in Billericay Barleylands (craft village), Essex and continues until the 30 October 2016.  Based in a gallery within a craft store, a visit can be combined with a bit of retail therapy - what's not to like!

Childhood, Consciousness, Collage and Collectives

Yesterday was a real mix of a day - nostalgia, creativity, and plenty to think about.  It started with a visit to the V&A Museum of Childhood.  On entering the museum I came across an exhibition on Indian Warli painting in The Tales We Tell - Warli Painting.  An ancient technique, traditionally applied to walls (usually by women), the exhibition showed work by contemporary artists, who are keeping the tradition alive. Additionally a project with local school children introducing them to the technique was also on show.  From a distance these works (on paper and canvas) had a lace like quality, and warranted careful viewing as they are full of details about everyday life (see below).

(Below) - part of the collaborative project by local school children.

Also at the museum at the moment is a small exhibition that was really an excuse for nostalgia, Clangers, Bagpuss & Co.  All the clangers are there with the soup dragon and the iron chickens, Bagpuss and friends and the Pogles. Some original art work for Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog is on display too.

The last exhibition I visited at this museum was very different.  It told the story of children sent abroad in the 18th-20th centuries usually to Canada or Australia, and something I had a personal interest in through my family history - On Their Own: Britain's Child Migrants, was a sad but important story.

From Bethnal Green, I travelled to Euston Square, to see an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection - States of Mind: Tracing the Edges of Consciousness. Although not a textile related exhibition, it does relate to creativity.  The exhibition combines scientific and cultural explorations on what consciousness is, how it has been understood in the past and how some of our understanding can be explored artistically.  I was particularly interested in the section on synaesthesia and discovered that letter-colour training can be learnt.  Part way through my visit an announcement came across of a free collage workshop in the Reading Room, and I decided that would be the next thing I would explore.

I had never visited the Reading Room of the Wellcome Collection before and that in itself was a worthwhile discovery - a cross between a library, a gallery, a place to relax and to learn.  The tutor for the workshop (Elaine Duigenan) gave us a brief introduction to some simple collage techniques, provided all the materials and then let us play.  I could have stayed longer if I did not have an appointment to meet a friend elsewhere.

(Below and at top of page - my work from the drop in session.)

My last port of call was the Foundling Museum.  My friend and I had a whirlwind trip around Found, but our real reason for visiting was an evening event.  United We Stand: Artists and Collective Action was a discussion on why artists collaborate, who they might collaborate with and what collective working can achieve.  The panel consisted of Iwona Blazwich, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, Dr Tanya Harrod, an independent design historian, Louise Jury from the Creative Industries Federation and artist Bob and Roberta Smith.  All spoke very eloquently on the importance of art, not just as something that enhances life, but as an essential that is good for society in general. The importance of craft skills and manual dexterity was highlighted - not just for craftsmen and women, but for surgeons and dentists.  I was reminded of the exhibition at the Wellcome exploring the connections between body and mind.  I was also interested to learn of the dental surgeon who sends her students to drawing classes - to teach them to look.  

Collaboration has in the past been used by artists to explore the possibility of Utopian societies or change art in radical ways.  Nowadays it is more often about challenging government and society in general about the importance of art and creativity, not least of which for improved health and economy.  It is something we should all think about.

On Their Own: Britain's Child Migrants continues until 12 June 2016

Clangers, Bagpuss & Co continues until 9 October 2016

The Tales We Tell: Indian Warli Painting continues until 6 November 2016

All the above, at the V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green are free.

States of Mind: Tracing the Edges of Consciousness continues until 16 October 2016

The Wellcome Collection is also free - there are two permenant galleries, and another temporary exhibition that are also free.  Drop in sessions in the Reading Room are not always advertised in advance, but the room itself is free to visit when the galleries are open.

Found at the Foundling Museum continues until 4 September 2016 - admission charge applies; see website for details.

"... Wonderful things"

When Howard Carter first peered into Tutankhamun's tomb and asked if he could see anything, he is said to have replied, "Yes, Wonderful things".  I was reminded of these words when I visited Alice Anderson's exhibition at the Wellcome Collection - Memory Movement Memory Objects.  

The exhibition is about the act of preserving objects.  The performance and meditative effect of the wrapping process is as important as the objects themselves. The background music added to this effect. The exhibition opens with an opportunity to try some wrapping, including assisting in the wrapping of a car - a full size one - in thread.

It is as you step into the second gallery, that you are bedazzled by the "wonderful things",  In a darkened room, objects stand on plinths, and at the back a staircase - everything wrapped in shimmering, copper thread.  As you walk around the room you are surrounded by objects on these black plinths - so it is only the objects you really see. Yet these were not precious things they were ordinary everyday objects - an electrical plug, a telephone, keys, tools, a Coca Cola bottle, a TV, a record player.  Some were difficult to make out at first but ultimately it was the fun of sudden recognition combined with seeing things differently. Everything was beautifully lit and that added to the drama. Even though it was going nowhere, the staircase pulled you forward with the desire to climb its glittering path. 

In a room with combined objects my first instinct was to work out what was inside - before stepping back to consider them as something new.  Another room was filled with a length of rope or pipe, hung from the ceiling - twisting and turning.  It was like being in a mystical forest - though without the trees.  Then there were collections of objects, laid out on shelves or framed - tiny things like coins, some perhaps simply chosen for their shape.  In the last section there were objects distorted with the wrapping - including a canoe, a wheelbarrow and a set of shelves.  

This is one of those exhibitions that has to be experienced - images do not do it justice.  Even if it is hard to grasp why anyone would want to wrap ordinary things it is worth seeing how the wrapping makes things more beautiful.  In a way it is a bit like looking onto a familiar landscape unexpectedly covered in snow - the familiar is seen in a different light.

The exhibition continues at the Wellcome Collection, Euston Road until 18 October 2015.  It is free to visit.