Some of my favourite images from Walker art gallery, Liverpool.

Lucien Freud – ‘Interior at Paddington,’ 1951.

 

The man in the image is Harry Diamond a well known photographer of the bourgeois London 60’s scene and Freud’s friend. I like that even though he is a close companion he captures him as wearing an ill fitting coat, mood of depression and anxiety by clenched fist and how he is focused on the plant which seems out of proportion to himself as though he is self consumed in his own feelings. I feel there is a comical element to the image of Freud denoting his friend as a moody, self consumed character.

 

Harold Gilman- ‘Mrs Mounter,’ 1916/17.

This image is of his landlady Mrs Mounter she is represented as a specific real character and is not glamorised in the process, the use of colour I like as is a balanced composition of her face against background I feel that the colours all blend nicely together to accurately represent Mrs Mounter in her own surroundings. Also the use of thick brush strokes re-immerse that she is a real character and is not highly staged to appear neat and exact but in true likeness to the character.

Paul Cezanne – ‘The murder,’ 1868.

Cezanne was an important figure in abstract art and cubism movement but this is an example of his earlier work I like how it is so different to his later work it is as his use of dark subject matter of anonymous violence as cannot see attackers faces and desolate surroundings is an indicator of his mind process of his confusion of trying to determine his style and his turmoil over the process by his blurred background and thick brush strokes used of bodies which is so different to his later style.

Frederick Sandys – ‘Helen of Troy,’ 1867.

This image I love as is an example of the Pre Raphaelite favoured style of beauty of her rosy cheeks, full lips and pale complexion. I think it is slightly humorous as well by her sullen and guilty expression by her eyes being out of focus it is as she is withholding a secret glimpse at someone, she was described as having fatal beauty which I feel this image represents by the juxtaposition of her sullen expression versus her features it is as the burden of being so beautiful comes at an expense.

Paulus Bor – ‘Mary Magdalene,’ 1630-39.

I think this image is dramatic, theatrical and emotional by the use of strong lighting effect above her head to illuminate her face of the repentant sinner. The use of colours and her posture all work by encapsulating on the story behind the image and it made me have an emotional sad response as you feel for her, it is very typical of the dramatic style of Baroque era.

The little artists, John Cake and Daniel Neave, ‘Hirst’s shark tank,’ 1994 and ‘Emin’s bed,’ 1999.

The conceptual artists Lego representations of Hirst’s and Emin’s work I feel is comical and a light-hearted reprimand to the effect of art as a commodity as is a humorous look at the power of the original art work and is showing how art is now a commodity.

Birgit Dieker, ‘Bad Mummy,’ Blue coat Liverpool.

Birgit Dieker 2005 sculpture ‘Bad Mummy’ was showcased as part of DaDaFest at Bluecoat in Liverpool the theme of the exhibition is questioning what it means to be perceived as normal and the codes of looking we establish in creation of a system of ideals that we as a society measure ourselves against.

‘Bad Mummy’ is a solid black leather form of a pregnant woman with obtrusive spiked pins and needles. The use of dark leather is symbolic as it is normally classified as fetishistic material so it is questioning the opposing ideals of sexual fantasies and motherhood. Leather also has associations with bondage and sexual dominance/submission so by being a pregnant limbless woman it raises the question that once a woman has given birth is she now just supposed to be submissive to her child at the cost of her own freedom and self identity.

‘Bad Mummy’ also works I feel in its setting it is perched high on metal stool and in the corridor against the white wall it connotes a feeling of aloneness as well as strength  of its impact on the passing visitor.

Contemporary Welsh Artists

Welshness as a theme conjures for me imagery of a rich cultural history and landscape which work by juxtaposing against one another creating a mythical dream like imagery, connoting the hardness of the industrial past coupled with majestic scenery

Contemporary Welsh art is unifying the past and landscape but also cementing that as the past in becoming more visual in display techniques not to just display history of Wales but also its innovative techniques.

Lois Williams - 'A reconstructed thing'

This has many connotations for me the way it is hung on the wall in equal distances from one another suggests the conformity of the past with its draping down and becoming more thread bare it reflects hanging onto past routes which are systematically falling away through time. I like how you can visually become part of the history of the production and its effect over time as metamorphosing into something which was not how maker intended, which is symbolic of holding onto Welsh national past.


Huw Jones - 'Tom Jones,' oil on canvas

The surrealist quality of the image appeals to me by choosing to portray Tom Jones an iconic Welsh personality it gives a comical approach it has a hyper-real quality by the displacement of background it is as he is floating, it looks Margritte inspired. I enjoy how the only real life like of the image is portrayed in Tom Jones face it is as he is laughing at the absurdity of his surroundings and his pposition as celebrity position, it acts as comical metaphor for the increaseness of the role of Celebrity importance played in society.


Tim Long - 'Dyffryn 1'

The initial reading I take is the connotation of subverted ugliness versus beauty balance as by the placement of displayed face against an aesthetically pleasing background of flowers it is challenging the notion of how we analyse beauty and the collage 3D effect of the face is demanding attention against background, it is as the subverted face is challenging the person reaching towards the flowers. For me his mix of colours works by blending the piece together but the redness in the face is obtrusive and reflects to viewer a harshness that remains behind our perceived values of what constitutes as beauty.

Fashions green print

Fashion is maintained and run by consumer desire with the speed and accessibility of new trends being constantly accelerated every season. Each new style renders the older one obsolete, ultimately ending up in the landfill site.

The Sustainable Clothing Action Plan was launched in 2009 by the UK Government Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. (Defra.) It aims to encourage shareholders to invest in sustainable fashion where there is no adverse impact on people or the environment at any stage of the fashion cycle, from production to end of life management.

Tribulations of fashion.

Anthony Griffiths, representative of Defra said, ‘In the UK, two million tonnes of textiles are consumed per annum with the fast/discount fashion sector making up one-fifth of the UK market. Yet about 50 per cent of this is destined for landfill, leaving just half a million tonnes of textiles a year collected for reuse or recycling.’

Unbeknown to the consumer, by buying readily and cheaply they are contributing to resource depletion. Last year the price of cotton was forced to increase as consumption worldwide is exceeding the production of the cotton. This will have a direct consequence on the fashion industry, as no longer will it be common practice to have cheap, disposable clothes, such as one pound t-shirts from Primark.

In 2005 the Co-operative Bank ‘Ethical Consumerism Report,’ showed that the market for ethical fashion had grown by 30% between 2003-04. However, now in 2011 sustainable fashion is still not common practice by the mass market. Bronwyn Lowenthal, design director for Lowie a handmade ethical clothing brand explained that sustainable fashion,’ should be encouraged but there is still a huge amount of education to be done before designers and manufacturers realize how important it is.’

Plant the seeds of thought.

Sustainable fashion is a way of thinking, the formula for environmentally friendly fashion should be people plus planet then profit in equal measures. The London College of Fashion, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, is a fore runner in the development of a sustainable approach to fashion design. They offer advice and work with small to medium sized businesses to inform them with knowledge on how to become a sustainable brand, by questioning corporate social responsibility.

Ruth Ferguson representative of sustainable swimwear designer Olga Olsson, who only uses organic cotton and wool in her designs, also works in correlation with the London College of Fashion said, ‘The business support program has assisted me by giving advice about how to improve sales, marketing, and reduce my business carbon footprint.’

New approaches to fabric development are being developed to equate to an ethical approach to fashion design, this is required to reduce the volume of hazardous waste produced from the production stage especially by dyeing and distressing treatments on the fabric.

Nadja Solovieva, designer behind the brand Vassilisa, who has trained at Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen is currently in the development of new innovative fabrics. ‘I have always been rather minimal in terms of how I do things, I naturally use maximum efficiency pattern cutting, it is all fairtrade manufactured, to date only natural materials. I also have a philosophy of liberty, multi cultural acceptance and challenge of perceptions,’ Nadja explained.

The British Fashion Council founded ‘Ethestica’ in 2005 to promote sustainable fashion development. The designers who are part of Ethestica all have to adhere to at least one of the core principles of sustainable fashion development such as fair trade, ethical practices and the use of organic or recycled materials.  

Ethestica Autumn/Winter 2011 collection showcased at London Fashion Week, with twenty designers being involved who all have ethical credentials and design excellence.

Designer Michelle Lowe-Holder who has designed for Topshop explains her involvement with Esthetica,’ I have shown my last 2 collections here, the season before that I showed under London College of Sustainable Fashion. It is a great way to show your collection to buyers and press. There are many ways to ensure that you are ethical and sustainable when you are small, the challenge comes when you are a larger company, at present I control all my sourcing sampling and production. As the label grows the real challenge will come.’

Questioning the fashion status quo.

More emphasis on investment in good quality items is needed, as the majority of the public view the high street as the destination for cheap, disposable clothing that fuels consumer spending habits. The amount of choice available coupled with consumer desire for the latest fashion trend at affordable prices equates to an overall increase in damage on the environment. Such as, ‘energy use, resource depletion and GHG emissions from processing fossil fuels into synthetic fibres,’ explained Anthony Griffiths, representative of Defra.

However some stores, such as New Look and Next now have an organic cotton and fair trade range which promotes the encouragement of sustainable fashion. Topshop currently stocks ‘People’s Tree’ range which uses only organic cotton made from plants grown without chemicals or pesticides, and treated with natural dyes.

Katherine Hamnett is an ethical clothing innovator, it is by her work in the 80s of protest slogan t-shirts that bought a sustainable approach to fashion in the public eye. Her slogans such as, ‘Clean up or die,’ placed emphasis on the ethical concern with regards to the fashion industry.  She has now signed a deal with Tesco to create an ethical and environmental clothing range using organic cotton. Her condition was that Tesco had to agree to sign a contract with the cotton farmers for sustainable development.

Stella McCartney is the ultimate eco designer not only does she develop collections that are sustainable and ecologically friendly, such as organic cotton and the use of no leather or fur, she takes the sustainable approach to every aspect of the Stella McCartney organization. It has been acknowledged as a carbon neutral company as all the offices and studios in the UK are powered by Ecotricity, which invests all money spent on electricity into clean forms such as wind power encouraging a sustainable approach to the future. Also, all the shipping bags are made from corn which is 100% biodegradable instead of the commonly used plastic.

‘I can only hope sustainable fashion will be the future, it is a long way off but many things need to change, and fashion is a small part of a large cultural way of evolving,’ said designer Michelle Lowe-Holder.

The cultivation of an Eco future.

In the future, fashion will begin to blur the lines between fashion and science by the collaboration of designers and scientists to produce new innovative fabric development. Designer Suzanne Lee is the senior researcher at Central Saint Martin’s college where they are growing garments from the bacterial cellulose. It is a totally new alternative to fabric development as no resources will be affected, it aims to grow your own garments using natural resources in the formation of a utopia fashion garden.

Donna Franklin, lecturer at the School of Communications and Contemporary Arts at Edith Cowan University explained the process of bacterial cellulose fabric as having, ‘a lot of potential, as the source is organic. However, the chemicals used to make the fabric viable are as yet not. As an arts/science practice it aims to speculate on the potential cross-over’s between clothing as living and clothing as an art project.’

Another approach to tackle resource depletion in the future is to combine technological developments with fashion to create wearable technology. Avant-Garde designer Hussein Chalayan is looking towards futuristic styling by combining clothing as a mechanism. He is making everyday objects transportable, tables and chair folding into dresses as seen in his Autumn/Winter 2000-01 collection ‘Afterwards.’ He is an innovator in finding new uses of materials as seen by his use of material from aircrafts to create a dress which changes shape via remote control. It is his innovation in fabric development that will be a necessity in the future due to resource depletion.

Gary Cass, Lecturer at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia said, ‘I do not think sustainable fashion is the future because it involves two main issues, money and vanity. When it comes to vanity humans are the vainest, this is perpetuated by the corporations and mass media. Economics and environmental sustainability are not compatible. Do not let the economist steer the ship as it will be directed down the cheapest path, with no consideration for the environment or ethical production.’

As we look to the future with the current rate of resource depletion, more innovative fabric development will have to be considered to cope with the growing demand of new fashions. Coupled alongside with consumer knowledge more emphasis needs to be placed on investment in good quality pieces, instead of short term trends.

Ultimately customers drive fashion by their demands, so by stressing the importance on consumers of ethical and environmental purchasing, it should encourage a sustainable fashion system that doesn’t adversly damage the environment in any part of the fashion cycle. 

Tassen Museum, Hendrikje museum of bags and purses, Amsterdam.

The Tassen Museum, Hendrikje museum of bags and purses is set in an opulent seventeenth century house on the Amsterdam canal system, it is home to 4000 bags dating from the late Middle ages until contemporary today.

The canal house works as an majestic setting with period feature rooms and painted ceilings dating from seventeenth to eighteenth century, it heightens the romanticism of the bags and helps to envisage a previous life of the bag and its past grand owners.

The layout was simple with use of soft lighting and handbag shaped encloves in the wall containing bags, had an enchanting approach. All the bags and purses were in glass cases with small labelling stating the designer, date and previous owner of the bag.The labelling was concise, informative and helped to contextualise the bag with its previous life which I feel added to the aura and speculative experience of the visitor.


The bags were arranged in chronological date order starting with sixteenth century bags of lace and ones that once belonged to the Freemasons. One of my favourite bags showcased from the sixteenth century was made from goat, with a leather pouch and iron frame. It is a bag designed for function with eighteen pockets enclosed, it evokes a time of hardship which is seen in the bag itself I feel as it looks like a disgruntled, crumbled face.

As you follow the exhibition you can follow the fashion changes and styles of bags and purses over the time period, as the last quarter of seventieth century the bags become more decorative with silver frames and use of bright colours. The eighteenth century saw more varied use of animal skins for bags and purses such as tortoise shell, toad, ostrich, horse, zebra, lizard which still had its head and body attached fully on the bag in a petrified manner. My favourite animal bag is made from an armadillo, I like how structured the bag is, the contrast of colour and its bizarre quality.

Designer bags from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Vivienne Westwood were shown in the contemporary designer section. Alongside well recognisable bags from the Sex and the City movies, the Lulu Guiness fish bag and the Judith Leiber cup cake bag.

Overall I really enjoyed the Tassen Museum I liked how the layout, structure and display techniques all work in unison to complement the bags and purses. It doesn't feel like a structured museum environment but one of which to appreciate the bags and purses for their beauty and more concerned with visitors speculative experience rather than a doctrine environment. 

Alice in Wonderland, Tate, Liverpool.

An apparent trip to Wonderland ....

Alice in Wonderland for me is essentially about connoting the mysterious, surreal and thought provoking knee jerk reactions. I love Lewis Carroll's imagination and the way in which you are able to relate to Alice in her growing and learning through the two books.

The exhibition at the Tate, Liverpool was lack lustre and didn't evoke a magical transition from room to room. Their was no use of interactive features, lighting was bright and overhead, room layout was restrictive in atmosphere with more attention being paid to the history of Lewis Carroll and Charles L.Hodgson, illustrator.  It evoked an educative, informative experience but by doing this it lost its imagination therefore essence of the book.

The exhibition leads to work by Surrealism artists such as Max Ernst, Salvador Dali and Roland Penrose. I can see the relation between surrealism art and Alice in Wonderland but for me it didn't flow cohesively as the Alice in Wonderland part of the exhibition was mundane and controlled compared to the paintings which have an air of fascination of the uncanny and strange, which should be connoted throughout the exhibition.

Bill Woodrow 1987 sculpture, 'Humpty Fucking Dumpy,' added a comical and light hearted touch. It allows the viewer to re-connect with their earlier child hood stories in a juxtaposed twist of new meanings which are connoted from the sculpture against the original motif of the child hood story.

The final stages of the exhibition represent the transgression to 'Alice through the looking glass,' and is designed through its use of perspex clear boxes in which viewer can sit within, and mirrored walls with quotes shown on to directly question yourself in a self reflecting manner.

Overall I feel that the exhibition was unsuccessful in what I feel to be its aim of representing the mysterious and uncanny world of Alice in Wonderland. Instead I find the start of the exhibition to be too informative in its display contents and display layout. the surrealism art displayed is the only part of the exhibition that allowed me a 3D conceptual experience which I expected when visiting an Alice in Wonderland theme exhibition.

Everything begins with an end ....





The Finishing Touch, Women’s accessories 1830-1940.

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Liverpool.

27 May to 11 December 2011

The Lady Lever Art Gallery was built in 1922 by the philanthropist and factory owner William Hesketh Lever, set in a purpose built model village Port Sunlight for all his factory workers, he believed that ‘art can be to everyone an inspiration.’ It was built in dedication to his wife and the gallery contains all his own personal collection of art work, so makes for an authentic, intimate experience to a fore gone decadent lifestyle which the exhibition also aims to display.

            The Finishing Touch exhibition contains over sixty accessories from the National Museums Liverpool’s collection where some have never been on display before, set in three side rooms which lead off from one another in chronological date order. They are all brightly lit by overhead lights and individual spot lights inside the glass containers, illuminating the accessories as pieces of work of art to be adored and looked upon.

            Each room has fashion illustrations drawn upon the boards on the walls of ladies wearing the fashion of the time, this visual approach leads to visitors being able to appreciate the accessories in the context of which they would have been worn and helps to visualise a background to the accessories. It also educates the visitor of fashion of the time without being seen as forced, as you progress through the three rooms you can see a visual representative of how the fashion has changed.

            Each room has a bench to allow the visitor to relax and fully consider each accessory, which ties in with the rest of the gallery space atmosphere of being welcoming. A guide booklet is also available in each room, which gives examples of the fashion from the time period in which each room sits. It contains comical imagery from ‘Punch’ magazine which makes fun out of changes in fashion of the time, examples of fashion plates, illustrations from la mode illustrée and Vogue. The booklet contains no text so allows the viewer to form their own judgements and make back stories to the accessories, thus enabling a creative free flowing atmosphere. I think it is a way to successfully educate the visitor without giving numerous text examples which can seem overwhelming and not a leisurely enjoyment in which a gallery should aim to be.

            The signage by the glass cabinets containing the accessories is minimal, it is on a white board and contains the key facts that are needed to know such as, what it is, materials used, date produced and who owned the item. The signage is clear and concise and is easily recognisable at a glance so doesn’t take the attention away from each individual item. 

            Some of my favourite items from the exhibition include an 1859 ‘Pork Pie’ hat which has a round, brown base, large brown feather from the side and elastic straps to keep it in position. It was considered to be shocking and only worn by ‘fast young ladies’ at the time.

There was a beautiful dark brown beaver fur bag with matching muff from 1880-90, which evoked a feeling of unadulterated glamour and excess which I could visualise on a lady travelling on a night train with an explicated lover.

It wasn’t until the mid nineteenth century that shoes were shaped for left and right feet until then women wore shoes that were seen to give them small, delicate features. My favourite pair of shoes from the exhibition is a pair of Russell and Bromley wedged suede shows from 1939, they are brightly coloured with royal blue and emerald green. Radiating wealth, glamour and the excess of the 1930’s upper class lifestyle. They are exciting to look at and at the time would have been quite a daring shoe, which I feel is still wearable and desired today.

In the early nineteenth century to 1940 fans were the fashionable accessory for stylish, decadent women and are suitably conveyed in the third exhibition room.  They were seen as dualistic, as can be an extravagant extension of a dress but also used as an emotive device used for flirting by a means of communication.

In the final room of the exhibition it takes on a more interactive element with hats supplied by ‘Barstons Village hat hire’ available to try on from the time period of 1830 to 1940. This discredits the usual space of an exhibition of being one to look but not touch, it becomes more personal and the atmosphere is informal with people chatting about the hats and trying them on. A comments box was positioned by the exit of the exhibition as visitors were invited to give their own critique and leave messages about what they enjoyed, this enables the curator to become more personal with the public and dispel the notion of the hierarchy prevalent in gallery spaces.

The exhibition was extremely specialised in that it only showed the accessories of high class ladies and none of the working class or men between the periods of 1830 to 1940. It did however show the accessories in the best light and enabled the visitor to pursue them at their will and make their own judgments on them. I particularly enjoyed the exhibition as when I was progressing through each room I could see a clear transgression between time periods and was able to appreciate the glamour and excess that the ladies who wore the accessories would have enjoyed.