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Anne Vardon (Chairman) opened the meeting by announcing that the Society had been awarded ‘Highly Commended’ by NADFAS in the media digital awards 2005, for the Website design created by Joe Michel a member of the society - he was then presented with a certificate for this fine achievement. The chairman went on to introduce Alicia Salter graduate of Oxford University, and founder of the ‘Art Circle’. Her lecture subject was Daniel Libeskind, Architect for the V&A spiral and the Twin Towers in New York. This contemporary Architect came from a Jewish intellectual family living outside Warsaw. At the age of 11 they emigrated to Israel where they lived in a camp. He was awarded an American scholarship so the whole family moved to New York where they lived in the Broncs. He decided to study Architecture. and having graduated he came to England to do his postgraduate studies. His upbringing and the variety of places he has lived have had an influence on his designs. In Britain he has designed the New Imperial War Museum in the Salford Quays, Manchester. A very contemporary building with three distinct shapes, a tower, and concave and convex structures, to signify the air, the sea and the land forces. It is a very sculptural building. His budget was reduced considerably and so the planting around the building was lost. Also in Britain he won the competition for an addition to the V and A. His winning design was a Spiral tower, again very avant garde, but this has not yet come to fruition as permission from Westminster council has not yet been granted, and English Heritage have asked for ‘something more exciting’- an extraordinary statement, in view of this sculptural design. In 1988 he entered the competition to provide a new wing as a Jewish Museum in Berlin. Artefacts from Jewish buildings in Berlin and other cities had been distributed to relevant communities at the end of the war by the Americans. After some controversy the German Government decided to go ahead with the building of the new Museum. Libeskind won the competition and decided to move to Berlin to oversee the project. The building is a zigzag, and the visitor is moved around the building in an unusual way to get the feeling of “the void” that the removal of the Jews from Germany left. Alicia Salter said visiting the building was “a quite overwhelming and challenging experience”. The latest and most prestigious commission he has won is to replace the Twin Towers in New York. The design incorporates a tower that reaches to 1776 feet (the date symbolises the American Declaration of Independence). It has not been started as there is a legal wrangle between the leaseholder and New York. Anne Vardon reminded members that the next meeting on June 22 is the AGM and arrangements for the evening including an earlier start of 19.30. The lecture following the AGM is Vermeer - his musical pictures. She also reminded members of the visit to Watts Gallery on Saturday 11 June 2005. CWDFAS is a member of NADFAS |
Cobbett’s Wey DFAS report April Lecture
Stephen Taylor a professional painter and lecturer at The Inchbald School of Design delivered a fascinating lecture that traced the main fashions of the past three hundred years of picture hanging and interior design. He ended with some practical options for hanging in today’s homes, encouraging the audience to think about their own picture hanging. Stephen Taylor explained how originally painters produced their work on site, painting into the frame on the ceiling or wall, be it a church, palace or mansion. They produced cartoons first of the work and then transferred this to the area to be painted. These paintings were done to enhance the architectural effect. Many examples of this can be seen today. One of the illustrations used was of the ‘Double Cube Room ‘in Wilton House, which as the Society visited this last year was particularly relevant. The sketch books of Inigo Jones show not only the Architecture of a building but illustrations of the Art work to be included in the building showing how inclusive the planning of interiors was. The ability to paint on canvas, and produce a transportable image, changed the way the painter had to work, ( he could now work in his studio, not spend years on his back as Michelangelo did painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling). This lead to less formal hangings with pictures sometimes being displayed on easels, instead of being hung. During the Arts and Crafts movement there was no specific way to display paintings; every surface was crafted in someway. During the Art Deco period few paintings were displayed at all. Nowadays less formal hangings take place, with the context of work being mixed, there can be numerous pictures of different shapes and sizes hung together, working well if the top line is the same. Stephen Taylor provided a reading list to support the lecture, which can be found on the website. Anne Vardon announced the visit to ‘The Watts’ Gallery’ on Saturday 11 June The next lecture on 22 June is ‘Daniel Libeskind Architect for the V&A and twin Towers in New York’ GO TO PRESS ARCHIVE FEBRUARY 2005 & MARCH 2005 GO TO PRESS ARCHIVE NOVEMBER 2004 & JANUARY 2005
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