Henry Moore at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

I'm a regular visitor to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park because their exhibitions are second to none.   Henry Moore was the founding patron and was influential in making it the great place it is today. I went specifically to see the drawings of Henry Moore but there was also a large exhibition of the work of Sir Anthony Caro.

I'd not known of Moore's skill as a artist until my tutor drew my attention to the Shelter drawings done during the war.  I was keen to see more.

The exhibition is called "Back to Land" and demonstrates the effect a Yorkshire upbringing had on Moore's life.

The land of Moore's Yorkshire childhood was one of revealing contrasts: the industrial, smog laden town of Castleford and the clean air and dramatic beauty of the surrounding countryside .... (1)

As usual the exhibition was well curated and my focus was on the drawings.  I immediately picked out some that I could learn a lot from and the main ones were the Stonehenge drawings from 1973.

Stonehenge A - Henry Moore.  1973.

Stonehenge B - Henry Moore.  1973.

Stonehenge B - Henry Moore.  1973.

These images impressed me because they take my understanding of mark making to an entirely new level .  Moore manages to get shape, form, perspective and tone with (apparently) very simple lines.  

Moore himself seemed quite overwhelmed by Stonehenge and appreciated it for its current presentation rather than historical significance.

I began the Stonehenge series with etching in mind, but as I looked at, and drew, and thought about Stonehenge, I found that what interested me most was not its history, nor its original purpose – whether chronological or religious – or even its architectural arrangement, but its present-day appearance. I was above all excited by the monumental power and stoniness of the massive man-worked blocks and by the effect of time on them. Some 4000 years of weathering has produced an extraordinary variety of interesting textures; but to express these with an etching needle was very laborious, and after making two or three etchings I changed to lithography which I found more in sympathy with the subject – lithography, after all, is drawing on stone. (2)

The work itself is quite small but there is a feeling of Moore's experience of "monumental power" about them.

There was also some of Moore's Shelter Drawings in the exhibition.  One of the reasons Study for Grey Tube Shelter (1940) was interesting to me was the use of wax as a resist.  Many of the important parts of the work like heads and limbs are drawn using wax.

 Study for "Grey Tube Shelter - Henry Moore 1940 (1)

Another image that impressed me was "Women Winding Wool" because of its very human subject and personal feel.  It's amazing that Moore could work on the huge scale of his sculptures and such a small scale on his drawings and retain sensitivity in both.

Women Winding Wool - Henry Moore 1948 (1)

In the exhibition this work was accompanied by a poem by Simon Armitage which details the everyday life of women like those in the drawing.  Very powerful.

This is a wonderful exhibition and I feel lucky to have been bought the catalogue as a long lasting resource.

(1) YSP (2015) Henry Moore Back to Land,  p13

(2) file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/resource-pack.pdf

Exhibition - Voices from the Inside

A clever logo

I've been to two wonderful exhibitions recently and the first was Voices from the Inside at Doddington Hall (1).  Each summer the Hall has an exhibition and this year showed the way that the dedication a a relatively few number of people can turn lives around.

Fine Cell Work is a social enterprise that trains prisoners in paid, skilled, creative needlework undertaken in the long hours spent in their cells to foster hope, discipline and self esteem. (2)

The work shown was from all skill levels - the less skilled learn by making small things like lavender bags.  The more experienced produce amazing, very varied work and take commissions from the likes of English Heritage.

Fine Cell Work (1)

Fine Cell Work (2)

A look at the website is hard evidence of the impact this initiative has had.

http://www.finecellwork.co.uk/

Alongside this work was a range of quilts both ancient and modern a list of which is available on the Doddington Hall website (2).  Many have been made by Fine Cell Work.

My favourite of these is The Cell Quilt (3).  This is a quilt that shows a birds eye view of a two man cell (life size) with all the items that constitute daily living even down to correspondence.  The men planned, drew and stitched the quilt over a period of period of a year.  At first the group was stable but a sudden change of stitchers meant that less experienced men took over.  The website tells us that "the varying quality of the applique and quilting stitches reads like the signatures of the men working on the project at different stages". (3)

It is a very sobering and moving piece of work.

The Cell Quilt - Fine Cell Work

I saw famous quilts like Grayson Perry's controversial "Right to Life" quilt.  The colours are amazing and it is well sited in the Hall. 

Right to Life Quilt - Grayson Perry

It's really well worth a look at the website - there are some amazing works by Stella McCartney and The Sleep Quilt commissioned from Fine Cell work by Tracey Chevalier.

(1) http://www.doddingtonhall.com/blog/key-pieces-fine-cell-work-social-history-summer-exhibition-quilts-stitchwork/

(2) Fine Cell Work brochure

(3) http://www.finecellwork.co.uk/news_and_events/blog/439_the_cell_quilt

(4  http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/mar/14/germaine-greer-textiles-quilts

RAS Exhibition

Retford is a small market town and it doesn't have an art gallery.  The Art Society Exhibition before Christmas was held in a Church and figure drawing pieces were not permitted.

However, just as I am embarking on Figure Drawing the Art Society is holding its annual Life Class Exhibition in Bassetlaw Museum.  There is dedicated gallery space so the lighting is good but I'm afraid that being small many of the paintings were a little high for me.

The exhibition showed the nude in a variety of styles and media and I was able to take photographs of what I liked best. When I got home I realised that out of all the coloured images I could have taken I'd actually taken none.  These were my favourites.   I seem to have unconsciously chosen modest poses. 

Seated Nude - Ann Everitt
Line and wash

This resonates with my current tasks.  It is line and wash and also has some contextual fabric which at the moment I'm finding hard to draw.  I particularly like the tones of the wash as they show the definition of muscle (the arm) and the way the skin folds as the model is slightly bent. I have tried using an ink wash and found there was little room for manoeuvre if things go wrong.  It is a very spare image but very sensitive.

Life Drawing 1 (Male) - Michael King
Charcoal and chalk

I like this pose because it has lots of shapes that give long sweeping lines - the back is a case in point. However, the image owes as much to tone as line. The chalk highlights are very pronounced and I think this sits well with the general darkness of the picture. The darkness of the outlines varies throughout the drawing from dark to almost not there at all.  The background is indeterminate but indicated in charcoal in three ways, straight sweeps, a hatching and the model is on a scribbly seat. This gives additional interest.

Life Drawing Kim - Michael King
Charcoal

The torso of "Kim" is also by Michael King.  This time he uses the paper as his way of indicating the highlights and charcoal to show the shadows - it's an altogether lighter picture than the one above.   There is some darkness around Kim's right shoulder and this adds both definition and interest,  There is almost the same tone under the right arm leaving just a sliver of highlight on the top.  I'm wary about getting things too dark but this shows that it works.

I've looked closely at the marks that King makes for the hair because it's very textural.  The male model has very short hair and this is shown with short, even marks of different densities.  The skull can be seen below the hair.  I think I know what it feels like.

Kim's hair is different, a little longer but springy and ruffled probably with some gel on.  I think this because of the spikiness shown with dark uneven marks.

Pensive - Sally Telfer
Ink and pencil

Even if I didn't know this drawing is called "Pensive" that's what I would have called it.  Somehow it just gets the mood.  Maybe it's the uncertainty of the washes (I'm sure intentionally) and the way it is cropped.  There are no indications of creases in the skin and the image looks smooth.  The context is not distracting; just a square cushion briefly sketched in.  I am drawn in by his thoughfulness.

After the Shower - Margaret Presley
Pen and ink

 "After the Shower" is different to the other images I have chosen.  It is far less textural, almost like an illustration.  Although the hair is a few curvy lines somehow I know it is damp.  Even being so insubstantial it evokes a mood of  repose and some wistfulness.   The context here is the couch which is drawn with the same precision and emphasis as the figure. I wish I could be so accurate with ink.

This is a lovely exhibition and I've probably not done it justice.  I seem to have chosen from the heart instead of looking more widely at what was shown.  Whilst I have been doing Drawing 1 I have involved myself in various art activities locally and been amazed at how much talent there is even in a small market town.  Who knows I might even exhibit in next years show! 

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

This morning I took my Exploring Ideas work to the OCA office in Barnsley ready for assessment.  The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is so close that it really is a "must do".

There were several things I wanted to see but as always there's lots of lovely work that I hadn't bargained for.

Ursula von Rydingsvard

Ursula von Rydingsvold

This artist is renowned in the US but relatively unknown here.  This is her first large scale exhibition in Europe and it is huge with work of all sizes, indoors and outside.  The work ranges from drawings to sculptures six metres high.  Bronze Bowl with Lace was made especially for this exhibition and is placed at the entrance to the Park.

Bronze Bowl with Lace - Ursula von Rydingsvard. 2014. 1

This impressive patinated bronze work looks so at home in the landscape that I couldn't edit out the countryside around it.  Apollo Magazine reports it like this:

On press day, I saw this in broad daylight.  Heavily patinated by the artist in shades of brown, orange, blue, copper and silver, in one light it dominates the landscape.  But - in a manner that is true of much of von Rydingsvard's monumental work - from another angle, and in softer afternoon light, the piece almost disappears into the background of trees and grass.  In the evening, lights both within and around the work lend it an other worldly presence.  The combination of grandeur and discretion and the gesture towards domestic craftsmanship on quite another scale in this case lace), is the key to the powerful, unsettling appeal of von Rydingsvard's work. 2

I would really love to see it lit at night.

Many of the works are inside in the Underground Gallery and a number are made in cedar which made the gallery smell wonderful. von Rydingsvard uses 2" x 2" blocks of wood that she glues and carves into shapes that remind me of rocky outcrops or even the sea.  This is one I particularly liked.  It changed its character as I moved around it.

Scratch by Ursula von Rydingsvard. 2013/4
My image

There was work made out of the intestine of a cow, wire and paper.  My favourite indoor exhibit was "mama build me a fence"

Mama build me a fence - Ursula von Rydingsvard. 2002 3

This is a free standing work with the cedar planks simply leaning against the wall.  They are marked with chalk and graphite and heavily cut into.

Mama build me a fence - Ursula von Rydingsvard. 2002
Detail.  My image

Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin 5

Tracey Emin doesn't often make work for outdoors but Roman Standard (2013) is one of those works.  The piece is of a very fragile looking blackbird on the top of a long pole.  At certain viewpoints the bird seems to disappear.  The YSP literature says that it "presents a purposeful contrast to the eagle-topped standards traditionally carried into battle by the Roman army to symbolise power". 4

Roman Standard - Tracey Emin. 2013.  4

I must say I found it rather underwhelming.

Magdalena Abakanowicz

Magdalena Abakanowicz 5

This artist is fairly new to me but when I saw she had work at YSP I just had to have a look and it was monumental.  The YSP is just the place for such a piece because it too is vast.

Seated figures - Magdalena Abakanowicz. 2010.  My image

Somehow these made me feel quite sad.

I noticed that the cast iron the seats are made from had taken on the markings of the moulding  pattern from which it was cast.  It seemed strange to see "metal wood".

"Metal wood" from the Seated Figures
My image

I thoroughly enjoyed my day at YSP.  They always have such wonderful things to see it's a privilege to go.

1  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p01x5rs3
2 http://www.apollo-magazine.com/review-ursula-von-rydingsvard-yorkshire-sculpture-park/
3  http://www.ursulavonrydingsvard.net/site/selected_sculpture/detail/36.html
4  http://www.ysp.co.uk/exhibitions/tracey-emin
5  http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/tracey_emin.htm
6  http://www.abakanowicz.art.pl/about/-about.php

Sculpture at Doddington Hall

A few miles from where I live is a beautiful Elizabethan house called Doddington Hall.  The gardens are full of interest no matter what time of year you visit and for the past few weeks have been host to a sculpture exhibition curated by David Waghorne and featuring the work of over 80 national and international sculptors. There is also a sizable indoor exhibition as well.  

The artists range from ceramicists to blacksmiths and everything in between .  Out of so many pieces of stunning art it's hard to choose favourites but here's a few that caught my eye.

Herd of deer by Simon Hempsell.  Steel.

Every park should have a herd of deer and this group of highly stylised beasts complete with stag were somehow very convincing.

Emergence by Jo Taylor.  Ceramic

I'm not sure about Emergence but I've selected it because the negative space is so important and I'm about to become heavily involved in negative space.

Leaping Hare by Penny Hardy. Mixed media.

It's unusual for me to choose animal subjects but I'm surprising myself.  This hare was so full of life he was hard to resist.

Winston Churchill by Stephen Kettle.  Slate

This is an amazing bust made of small pieces of slate and glue.

In the garden is a folly called The Temple of the Winds built as a memorial to the parents of Antony Jarvis who is the father of the Hall's present owner.  Jarvis was an architect before his retirement and has built another folly to coincide with the sculpture exhibition.  It is called The Pyramid and set a kilometre from the house beyond the ha-ha and can be viewed from the rear of the house..

The Pyramid designed by Antony Jarvis.  Re-cycled concrete.

This folly is designed to provide shelter for walkers and a home for bats and owls.


This exhibition is a real snip at just £6 but far more expensive if you want to buy.