This exhibition contained 100s of examples of Blakes work including both his artwork and poetry.  A great deal of work had gone into curating it and pulling all these works together.

When I first entered the exhibition I was struck the by the quantity of examples of he work just in the first room.  He started his career as an apprentice engraver, and he did this work during the day in order to fund his own creative work.  He was helped by his wife Catherine who was married to him for 45 years, until his death.

Initially I was intrigued by his work.  I was fascinated by the intricacy of the prints made using his own technique of making prints using a “relief etching” process enabling him to introduce colours into his prints.  At the same time he was developing his career as a poet and many of his prints consisted of intricate scripts decorated with complex designs.

As Blake progressed through life his religious beliefs became stronger.  His work had a strong religious influence, and he created a number images of his own “made up” mythology.  This made me start to doubt his mindset at this time in his life, he was clearly a troubled man.

As I progressed around the exhibition I found his work became darker and that, combined with the subdued lighting in the exhibition, started to make me feel uncomfortable.  I did try to focus on the lighter works, such as his etchings of the Canterbury tales, but in the end left the exhibition well before the end of the 2 hours agreed for the viewing.

We had a discussion following the viewing, and everyone took something different away from it.  I was interested to hear the other student’s views, but I still had an uncomfortable feeling about Blake’s work.  However, I am pleased I went to the exhibition because I believe that we must all experience different works before we can put forward our own opinions of artists and photographers.

 

On 3rd December I visited the Magnum Manifesto Exhibition at Compton Verney Art Gallery.  This was a very well curated exhibition displaying images created by some 40+ members of the agency.  Firstly I investigated the background to the agency and why it was established.  According to the Compton Verney website:

 

In 1947, following the aftermath of the Second World War, four pioneering photographers founded a now legendary alliance, combining an extraordinary range of individual styles into one powerful collaboration: The Magnum Photos agency.

https://www.comptonverney.org.uk/thing-to-do/magnum-manifesto-2/ [accessed 4/12/19]

The four pioneering photographers were:

• Robert Capa
• Henri Cartier-Bresson
• George Rodger
• David “Chim” Seymour

The ethos of the group was to embrace the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and this exhibition developed this ethos and displayed photographs old and new taken by members of the Magnum Photos Agency.

The exhibition was divided into 3 parts.

Part 1: Human Rights and Wrongs

A display of images showed some harrowing scenes of post war refugees.  On poignant image was that of an old lady saying goodbye to a loved one in Turkey taken by Ara Guler.  Was the passenger setting off with the hope of the better life?

 

Part 2: An Inventory of Differences

 

These images showed the abnormal and marginalised.  Many were taken in asylums and mad houses.  There seemed to be a renewed interest in these types of people and places because the post war period had little to shock.  Life had become prosperous, so those differences became the focus of the photographer.

 

Part 3: Stories about Endings

 

The Broken Manual

One of the sets of images had been taken by Alex Soth.  He took a series of photographs of people in America who had dropped out of society, lived alone, lived a self sufficient life and he created a manual on how to disappear. However, because of his concerns for its intrusiveness and that these people had become hidden from society, he decided to create a hidden book.  The actual book was hidden inside another book which had been hollowed out.

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Overall I feel privileged to see this collection of images created by members of Magnum Photos agency, as it is rare for all of these images to come together into one exhibition.

 

Together, art and science help us to interpret, study and explore the world around us.

Examining this ongoing relationship, The Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter looks at the interaction between scientific progress and social change, how machinery has both influenced and threatened the human body and how tools that go beyond human senses can capture the unseen.

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/art-innovation-enlightenment-dark-matter [accessed 1/12/19]

As you enter the exhibition you see a sculpture by Conrad Shawcross called Paradigm, a scaled down version of his original model commissioned by the Sir Francis Crick Institute.

Commissioned by the Francis Crick Institute and funded by the Wellcome Trust, Paradigm, by artist Conrad Shawcross, is one of the tallest public sculptures in central London.  At an imposing 14 metres, it comprises of a twisting stack of tetrahedra that grow in size. The work is a feat of engineering and continues the artist’s long-standing collaboration with structural engineering practice Structure Workshop.

Thomas Kuhn’s theory of the ‘paradigm shift’ provided a starting point for Shawcross’ work for the Crick. Kuhn, an American philosopher of science, believed that scientific advancement does not progress in a seamless linear fashion, but rather through massive shifts that lead to breakthroughs, which change the course of thought, comprehension and application.

https://www.crick.ac.uk/about-us/our-history/our-building/paradigm [accessed 27/11/19]

 

The exhibition was divided up into four sections: Sociable Science, Human Machines, Troubled Horizons, Meaningful Matter.

Sociable Science

This section covered the earlier scientific discoveries which affected both the scientific community, and society.  A painting depicting a lecture being delivered to a mixed group using an Orrery by Joseph Wright of Derby was prominently displayed.

In this area we learnt about David Humphrey and his experiments with Nitrous Oxide, complete with the sceptics.  Many people thought this was all “hot air”, hence the proliferation of cartoons relating to it.  A cartoon by James Gillray depicting a lecture being delivered by Humphrey on the merits of Nitrous Oxide was on display.

At that time dyes were being developed, particularly in use by architect and textile designer Charles Francis Annesly Voysey. At the time mauve became very popular, but unfortunately tended to fade.  It became so popular, that “ladies of ill reput” were frequently seen wearing this colour.  Hence the quotation from Dorian Grey (Oscar Wild): “Never trust a woman in purple”.

Human Machines

This section covered machines which have had an impact on the artistic world.  Prosthetic limbs and artistic images of those with the limbs, Eadweard Muygridge’s work with movement, particularly the horse.

 

Muybridge’s  Zoopraxiescope used to create pictures of moving animals when researching movement.

Muybridge’s moving horse

At the same time, in France Etienne-Joules Marey was working on capturing movement in images.

 

Troubled Horizons and Meaningful Matter

This section focussed on the changes and the effects on the environment as a result of man’s technology.  Although much of the work on display related to earlier in the 20th century, it is still current.

The exhibition was very well curated and yet again reinforced the fact that science and art can work together to explore and develop new artifacts and technologies.