A three aspect portrait of the same subject.
Alla prima, on gesso-primed board.
Category: portraits
With a focus on ‘extreme expression’ in this two-day studio workshop we took our inspiration from the excellent Messerschmidt and Modernity exhibition currently on show at the Getty Center. Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was a German artist who was obsessed with human expression and his striking kopfstücke (head pieces) created in the 18th century have amazed and inspired those interested in the complexities of human emotion.
During the sessions we had the benefit of studying two live models who both had an amazing ability to pull and hold acute expressions. We worked with oil clay, (one of my favourite mediums) to create high reliefs on board supports, and had fun studying proportion and distortion as faces contort in various expressions. Our instructor Jonathan Bickhart was a pleasure to work with and his enthusiasm and admiration for Messerschmidt was infectious.
The workshop tied in very well with the exhibition, on both days we studied the busts on display in the gallery, noting the fine detail, surface textures, design elements, and artistic licence which made the artist’s work so compelling. We discussed the notion of the fine line between artistic obsession and mental illness – Messerschmidt many believed was a genius plagued with schizophrenia. The compulsion to study and create scores of intense expressions frozen in time may have stemmed from the impulse to ward off malevolent spirits which disturbed the artist.
This unmissable exhibition continues until October 14th and features a number of Messerschmidt’s intriguing character heads from all over the world, including one from the Getty’s permanent collection. Interesting contemporary responses in a range of media are also on display from artists such as Tony Cragg and Tony Bevan. An ‘Expression Lab’ next door cleverly brings the sculptures to life through mirror responses from the public – a photo booth set-up allows us to indulge ourselves in gurning Messerschmidt style and share the extremely unflattering results!
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Dia de los Muertos
I returned to one of my favorite events here in LA, the Day of the Dead festival held in the impressive surroundings of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This year I was more focused on photography (if you excuse the pun), shooting the spectacle on behalf of the organisers, rather than getting dressed up myself, which was great fun last year.
As the event was held early this year , (I suspect to avoid coinciding with Halloween parties) it was incredibly busy, a sensory experience – so many people with their own twist on the calaca costume, fun sparkly confections to buy, tasty morsels to sample, parades, and entertainers on a flamboyantly dressed stage. As the only cemetery in the US to hold a Day of the Dead festival, art exhibits inside the cathedral, rituals and dance performances on the lake,and altars nestled amongst the tombs and gravestones celebrate the unique location with both reverence and the spirit of fun. The community altars ranged from really moving dedications to ancestors or the military to cleverly humorous subjects including the dear departed dinosaurs, and demoted planet Pluto…
A selection of images are up over on my photography site
The other day I opened a small cardboard box given to me by my Mum. Inside I found delicate pockets with negatives saved from the rubbish tip – the school she worked in was clearing out storage space and everything was being thrown away.
I kept the box for years but recently discovered my husband Chris has scanning equipment to handle the large format negatives, so we set to work…. I never expected to be so excited as each image revealed itself… One after another, fascinating untouched photographs appeared from British missionaries based in Africa, from 1916 and thereabouts…
The arresting images include women with scarification, some sort of military march, impressive Zulu warriors in full regalia, and my favourite – a grinning man with his teeth filed to points. The Victorian lady in white really sets the colonial time period, as do annotations with such comments as ‘a peculiar hairstyle.’ Some of the countries referred to (Rhodesia and Nyasaland for instance) have changed names and borders, some several times in the interim.
The photographer had a great eye for portraiture, the subjects appear strong and unfalteringly return the viewer’s gaze. It is absorbing to think about the equipment the photographers must have used to take the pictures in situ, their feelings and motivations and what the subjects must have felt towards them. Did they ever see the processed exposures? The young girls playing in the pictures would be more than one hundred years old if they were around today.
I am grateful the little box was rescued from the landfill as a thought-provoking glimpse through the lens of another place and time.
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Faust in my House
My apartment in Liverpool has an interesting claim to fame – as recording studio! The peculiar acoustics of the high ceilings and large windows of the old converted brick structure added a unique quality to the sound, as a specially commissioned new soundtrack was recorded in my living room.
Stan Ambrose is a lovely gentleman and accomplished musician, also known for playing harp in local bohemian cafés in Liverpool such as the Green Fish and Egg Café & Gallery. Quite the cinephile, he was delighted when approached to create a new interpretation of the 1926 silent classic ‘Faust’ from F.W. Murnau. The beautiful improvised soundtrack he created in response to the film was featured in Masters of Cinema’s DVD release as a special feature.
Watching him play reminded me that the concept of ‘Silent movies’ really is interesting, as the films in their day were always shown with evocative live music – and were anything but silent!
The photos I took of Stan during his performance were published in the booklet inside the DVD packaging.