Birmingham School of Art International Exhibition Space with works by Printmakers from the School and Musicians from the Conservatoire. The exhibition was coordinated by Eleanor Bruno and Claudio Lisci from the respective schools.
Elenora Bruno, Katrina Cabanikova and Claudi Lisci
music and print collaboration
Listen and Look – Luciano Berio inspired my Bach Double Up 4 colour silkscreen with digital visualisations of the sounds with mirror images of Double Bassist Claudio Lisci.
I live and work in Birmingham which amongst other attributes has a wonderful city museum and art gallery with a particularly strong and widespread print collection. I have been ushered in through the ‘strongroom’ doors on a number of occasions to glimpse the collections. Most recently Victoria Osborne the gallery Fine Art Curator was kind enough to show me the photographs taken by John Parsons of Jane Morris under the direction of Dante Gabriel Rossetti in his Chelsea garden in 1865. I first was alerted to these series of posed photographs in the Painting with Light at Tate Britain in 2016. These photographs were from the V&A collection, but when I mentioned the exhibition to Victoria she offered to show me the Bmag examples from the collection.
One of the series of photographs is of Jane Morris leaning forward. I am not sure as yet, whether the studio photos were made as images in their own right or whether to be used for Rossetti’s paintings of Jane morris or his compositions she clearly featured in, including Reverie.
The only information I can locate is a short letter from Rossetti to Jane morris to establish the time of the session. It gives little away to the rationale behind the this use of photography.
Copy of a letter written by Rossetti to Mrs. Morris
Sunday Night [4 June 1865].
My dear Janey The photographer is coming at II on Wednesday. So I’ll expect you as early as you can manage. Love to all at the Hole— Ever yoursh
D. G. Rossetti
There is a lot more research required to understand what was the motivation for the photographic session.
On the theme of early use of the new medium of photography by painters Victoria brought to my attention the portrait of the writer and commentator Thomas Carlyle used by Ford Maddox Brown in his painting ‘Work’.
Clearly this photograph by Charles Thurston Thompson with Carlyle perched on the wood support was destined for the character on the far right of ‘work’.
Commentary on ‘one of the greatest and most radical paintings of the 19thC”
The Verb to ‘GET’ – Carlyle writes to Ford Maddox Brown to accept his request to be photographed using the term to GET.
Carlyle’s writings were known for their lively rhetoric which comes across in the letter he wrote to Brown agreeing to pose for the photograph:’I think it a pity you had not put (or should not still put) some other man than me in your Great Picture. It is certain you could hardly have found among the sons of Adam, at present, any individual who is less in a condition to help you forward with it … I very well remember your amiable request, and the promise I made to you, to ‘sit for some photographs.’ That promise I will keep; and to that we must restrict ourselves, hand of Necessity compelling. Any afternoon I will attend here, at your studio, or where you appoint me, and give your man one hour to get what photographs he will or can of me. If here, the hour must be 3½ pm (my usual hour of quitting work, or to speak justly, the chamber of work); if at any other place, attainable by horseback, it will be altogether equally convenient to me; and the hour may such as enables me to arrive (at a rate of 5 miles per hour we will say!)’ (F. M. Hueffer, ‘Ford Madox Brown: A Record of his Life and Work, p. 163)Again More research again needed to clarify the constructive and valuable adoption of photography by painters and drawing artists in these early days of the medium.
There was a great breadth of printmaking knowledge and history from Andrew Bell’s 17th Century 540 copper engravings for the Encylopedia Britannica through to present day digital, laser and 3d Printing at Edinburgh Printmakers.
As a contribution to the place of Scottish print and politics Dr Lucinda Lax, from The Scottish National Portrait Gallery delivered a paper on ‘The Bonnie Prince in Print: Sir Robert Strange, Allan Ramsay, and the origins of the ‘Everso Missus’ portrait.
Dr Lucinda Lax, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery
This was a fascinating insight into the background, context and process to make the portrait of the Bonnie Prince Charlie before he led the ill-fated army South.
Dr Lax quoted the letter sent to the artist inviting him to come to the Prince at Hollyrood : ‘Sir, you are desired to come to the Palace of Holyrood House as soon as possible in order to take his Royal Highness’s picture” The word ‘take’ seems to come from a future practice of Photography rather than a request to a traditional portrait painter.
Dr Lax thesis suggests the portrait was required to be made at speed before the Prince went south. This may have led to the use of the word ‘take’, rather to ‘paint’
Scottish Society of Art History.
The symposium was organized by SSAH and Dr Lax is looking forward to publish her paper through the Society.
Dr Lesley Logue
Dr Lesley Logue, University of East London.
A Study of the Role of the Master Printmaker at Edinburgh Printmakers. The Master Printmaker is an artist in their own right, a technician and a collaborator.
Master PrintmakerEd Ruscha’s books
David Faithfull presents Ed Ruscha’s books as part of his presentation on Palindromes.
David Faithfull and Dr Ruth Pelzer
David Faithfull and Dr Ruth Pelzer-Montada take questions to conclude the Symposium.
The programme at Edinburgh Printmakers
The Printmaking Workshop
10.05 – Alastair Clark, Master Printer and Studio Director.
A tour of Edinburgh Printmakers studio as an example of printmaking workshops in Scotland and more globally. He will illustrate printmaking practise through a lithography print demonstration of work by Andrew MacKenzie. Printmaking Practitioners
11.25 -Artist Andrew MacKenzie discusses his artwork, and how introducing printmaking into his methodologies changed his artistic practice.
Process & Possibilities
12.10 – Lesley Logue.
Curators talk on the exhibition Process & Possibilities and insight into Edinburgh Printmakers print archive. Printmaking in Scotland, Panel discussion
14.00 – Panel discussion concerning the history and way forward for printmaking in Scotland today.
The programme at the Scottish National Gallery on Saturday 4th is as follows: Early Development and Training
10.05 – Ann Gunn, University of St Andrews.
‘Five Hundred and Forty-two Copperplates’: Andrew Bell’s illustrations for the Encylopedia Britannica 1771-1797
10.25 – Jonathan Macdonald.
Printmaking at the Foulis Academy (1775-1773)
Scottishness and Politics
11.00 – Dr Lucinda Lax, Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
‘The Bonnie Prince in Print: Sir Robert Strange, Allan Ramsay, and the origins of the ‘Everso Missus’ portrait
11.20 – Mary Modeen and Nel Whiting, University of Dundee.
‘Groups of the manners in Scotland: David Allan – The Process and Politics of Printmaking
11.40 – Murdo Macdonald, University of Dundee.
Printmaking and Scottish Literature in the Nineteenth Century Print Collecting
13.45 – Arthur Watson, Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture.
Print, Press and Cabinet
14.05 – Dr William Rough, University of St Andrews
Print Collecting in Dundee: Orchar, Haden and the Dundee Fine Art Exhibitions 1879-1881 Process
14.40 – David Faithfull, Visual Artist.
PALINDROME, REFLECTIONS IN THE SCOTTISH LANDSCAPE: Their physical and spiritual manifestations in printmaking process and concept, with particular focus on David Young Cameron’s ‘Ben Ledi’
15.00 – Dr Lesley Logue, University of East London.
A Study of the Role of the Master Printmaker at Edinburgh Printmakers
15.20 – Dr Ruth Pelzer-Montada, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh.
Leaving the Frame: Print in Contemporary Scottish Art
This is my first post for this new site. Working on my first 4 colour silk screen for ‘twoasone’ Eleonora Bruno’s print exhibition with Claudio Lici’s music performance on the 28th at Birmingham School of Art.
