Fab, Mighty, Brilliant... FORD MADOX BROWN.

Today I spent four amazing hours with a good friend looking at one of the most fabulous art exhibits I’ve ever been to too. 

FORD MADDOX BROWN at the Mosley Street Art Gallery here in Manchester.

FMB was one of the great originals of British art, best known for his pre-Raphaelite masterpieces.

Amazing as they were, it was not these that caught my attention and admiration.

For me it was his composition for these pieces which within themselves were highly advance in technique and style throwing out the ideas that surrounded the academic easy solutions of prettiness of the traditional Victorian formulae.

With FMB, you see children without sentimentality, the poor without condescension, beauty within landscapes where you wouldn’t expect to find it and you find the colours and freshness which you’d later see coming from the impressionists.

He clashes colour, has confrontational poses, agitated movements, forceful expressions, and plenty of humour which is present until the very end with his death in 1893.

For each painting he would piece together the composition with a collection of black chalk drawings, each concentraing on one point, movement, folds in clothes, expressions etc…

For myself, one of the highlights was his illustrations of Shakespeare’s King Lear, my favourite Shakespear play for its intensity of emotions and dramatic confrontations, which for FMB suit his style immensely, the shadows, generalised attitude but it verged on the grotesque.

These drawings were considered, simple and incomplete in their day but for me it was the forerunner of 20^th century illustration and can be seen in perhaps one of the most memorable and climatic parts of the play with the storm; King Lear with His Fool in the Storm.

Jumping ahead a few years into 1856 here, otherwise I may be able to talk about this guy forever…

Study of a Corpse for the Prisoner of Chillion painting.

HOLY MOLEY!!!

This was grotesque. This was not the average study for physiological research.

He asked surgeon friend John Marshall from the university college hospital of London for a corpse. This was someone well and truly gone!!!, classic horror study.

Simply amazing.

Within his diary the day after drawing this corpse it was reported that he wrote;

‘’ When I saw it first, what with the dim light, the brown and parchment like appearance of it, with the shaven head, I took it for an imulation of the thing. Often as I have seen horrors I really did not remember how hideous the shell of the poor creature may remain when the substance contained is fled.’’

Between the years of 1851-1859 we see some of his most famed landscape work.

I LOVED the title of the ‘’The Pretty Baa Lambs’’ the baby talk of the title for myself summed up a connection of parenthood.

With further reading I found the women and baby within the picture are his wife and child which at the time were looked upon as; ‘’Madonna and baby’’ something he always denied as he claimed there was no religious meaning to his work.

Sadly due to the title, this painting was described at the time as; ‘’an effort worthy of a nursery’’

His work on stained glass windows depicting the legends of King Arthur and the death of Sir Tristram were simply breath taking with colour and poignancy of these legends.

After the gallery our trip lead us to Manchesters town hall. It is here I started to feel very conscious of myself, standing in my Grateful Dead dancing bear converse and Captain America t-shirt I was surrounded by the mighty grandeur of what is known as the Great Hall…  

In the south side was a huge pipe organ overlooked by gold leaf and midnight blue solar system, shields and emblems of cities and countries, near and afar and surrounding the walls, FMB morals… mahogany panels, giant fire places made for a breath taking experience.

Something I had never realised was right on my door step.

The exhibit is on till the 24th Jan and worth every penny!

Silver Screen Icon Dies aged 80, or so we think?….

Of course, I’m talking about Cheetah, that loveable hairy
sidekick that belonged to Tarzan in the 1930s.

But while Cheetah’s death is reported around the world as fact,
doubts and dubious thoughts are starting to emerge about whether
the chimpanzee in question had ever appeared on our screens?

Experts shout:

‘’Chimps kept in captivity seldom live beyond the age of 45!!’’
AND in the past animal trainers have claimed that their chimp
starred in the films with the loin clothed and rugged Johnny Weissmuller.

There doesn’t appear to be any verification that this chimp was
ever in any movies or television shows.

He might even just be an urban legend?

FEAR NOT!!

I’m sure someone will find this chimp actors union card
with his REAL birthdate and stats and not what Hollywood would
like us to believe will come to light.

But for now...

AWAY with the speculation and doubt!!!

This greying primate retired in the rather comfortable Suncoast Sanctuary.

The sanctuary claimed he arrived there in 1960 and was donated by Weissmuller’s estate.

Comic Turkeys!

One very iconic image is Norman Rockwell's Thanksgiving family painting and this is one picture which has been emulated time and time again.

I know the turkey is traditionally served at Thanksgiving for my US friends, but here in the UK it is traditionally the Christmas dinner.

So as we're only two days away here are my choices for some of the best turkey covers in comix and pop culture!

Enjoy... lick your lips and get that mouth watering for the 25th!

                     OK so that All Star #3 is slightly enhanced! ;)

Good Smaritans, A Child In Distress

I haven't posted a Weekend Whimsy for quite a while, but as it's Christmas, people like to give a little extra and hear of heart warming stories.

This is a letter in my local paper published this week written by a grandma, which shows both sides to human nature. 


It's a reminder for how we should not judge or jump to conclusions over someones actions as an onlooker, but it is also a reminder of how deep down the kindness of the human spirit can shine through when we see another in distress.

Published in the Prestwich and Whitefield Guide Thursday Dec 15 2011.

 I would like to express my extreme gratitude to two good Samaritans whom I encountered on Bury market on Friday November 25.
Our child, now 14 years, has autism and severe learning difficulties.
He has neither expressive nor receptive language and is non verbal.
Having completed our shopping in the Mill Gate Centre, I indicated that it was time to go to the car to go home.
At this point our child became extremely distressed, biting his hand and stamping his feet. His hand was bleeding and he was shrieking.
I was having great difficultly keeping hold of him and the attitude and comments from passers by were so hurtful and unkind I cant bring myself to repeat them, but the words, animal, loony, and not right were some of the less hurtful descriptions articulated.

As I endeavoured to control the situation it slowly became apparent that the source of the problem was video cassettes

Our child loves Disney videos and on the last two visits to the market we have bought videos.

In his mind the expectation had been that once on the market, he would get to choose a video as that is what happened before.
He couldn't understand why this time it was different as I hadn't prepared him for not getting one.
Because of the degree of his disability the care/parent has to anticipate events. Think for two and plan for change.

I had let our child down because I hadn't thought in advance to condition his thinking.

He was distraught but couldn't communicate the source of the distress.

Although I had my debit card and credit cards with me, I wasn't near a cash machine and had only coppers in my purse. I knew if I went to the video stall without cash would rise to another scene but I couldn't explain this to our child or even if I did he wouldn't understand my explanation.

I was in despair and he was still in so much distress.

Just then, a young women who was serving on the bra stall near the exit tunnel asked if she could help.

She was kind and concerned for a child's welfare.

When I explained she asked how much a video would cost and immediately gave me two pound coins.

Another voice behind me added; ''and here, take this. Just in case''

An elderly lady pressed another pound into my hand.

It was then I broke down and cried.

Their kindness and compassion and their willingness to see a child in distress rather than a ''a brat in a strop and in need of a good hiding '' as others had said was such a contrast that my emotional and exhausted state hardly mumbled my thanks.

I hope they both see this letter and I would like them to know that they saved my sanity, restored my badly damaged faith in human nature.

I will treasure their kindness forever, Bless you both.

Grateful Gran.

She's Leaving Home...

The year was 1966 and 17-year-old Barbara McVay decided she really needed to get to the U.K.

The problem being? She lived in Maryland, which in whatever way you try to swing it was tragically not in any way connected to the U.K.

So there was only one thing to do and that was to run away from home.

So lets see...

Why did she do it?

And what was her chosen mode of transport?

We know it's 1966.

The Beatles have an attraction with teenage girls...

The song "Yellow Submarine" had just been released.

This is starting to make some sense!

So Barbara slipped past officers guarding the British submarine, which was docked in Baltimore on a goodwill visit, she hid herself  inside a conning tower compartment of the HMS Walrus

I kid you not... goo goo g' joob!

Where she stayed for 12 hours before making her presence known, due to the fact that she was on the edge of fainting from carbon monoxide fumes.

The compartment would have slowly filled with water when  fully submerged.

As it was, they were only four hours into its trip when the crew found her.

So they turned the sub around and dropped her back off at Baltimore

Barbara told police:

"I like English boys, I couldn't go legally, so I had to do it illegally.

Right on Sista'!

Euro Crime And Steampunk at one of it's best!

This week I stumbled upon the comic book series; The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec.

Attracted by the art and its subtle hues it was presented in a hard back book.

All together there are 10 stories and at present we are on book five of those translated into English.

1. Extraordinary Adventures

2. Adèle and the Beast

3. The Demon of the Eiffel Tower

4. The Mad Scientist and Mummies on Parade

5. The Secret of the Salamander

First published in 1976 and written and illustrated by French comic’s artist Jacques Tardi these  books were originally printed on a Sunday in the newspaper Sud-Ouest.

The character to whom we follow is heroine Adele Blanc-Sec who within herself is a popular fiction writer; inspired by secret sects which history has long forgotten.

She is cynic and it’s this cynicism which leads her into a mystical world of crime. We get corruption, the occult, incompetence which leads to the dangers of patriotism.

The majority of the stories are set within Paris in real life locations during events throughout the 20^th century.

The book starts off pretty light hearted in the year of 1910 and is an excellent parody of books and illustration of that time, but as we move forward, we see the mood get darker as World War 1 is just around the corner.

The thoughts and ideas of Adele becoming a nurse soon get over turned by her feisty nature, and of course, a lady was not allowed to fight.... BUT she gets injured.

Here we see the sudden leap into what we affectionately know as STEAM PUNK!

This is one of its finest.

Adele gets cryogenically frozen…. And I’m not going to give any more away.

The impression I got was though the author wanted to keep the time line historically correct he didn’t want this character entangled within war which is why we get this leap in genre.

SO...

It’s a thrilling ride and if you like disregard to the law, crime, scull duggery and a magic carpet ride then this book is for you!

One of things thing I like about it; is the story takes you on one of the wildest journeys but you never loose the feeling that you’re sat reading by gas lamp, the pictures and colours never betray the reader or story.

Backstage Pass To The Ronnie Wood Exhibit!

Over the next few months I have various celebrity art openings to attend and I hope to blog about each one in turn.

To kick this little section of my blog off, comes with someone and a band very near and dear to my heart.

Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.

I was able to attend a special showing to the Ronnie Wood art exhibit in association with the Castle Gallery here in Manchester.

Art is something not new to Ronnie and apparently, though he is best known as lead guitarist for the Faces and the Stones, you're as likely to find him sketching as with guitar in hand.

Ronnie was born in Middlesex in 1947.

He grew up surrounded by music of the great jazz legends and was strongly influenced by his dad, who was a jazz musician.

At the age of nine, he picked up playing washboard with his brother in their skiffle band!

Ronnie went to Ealing College of Art, and has continued painting, drawing and printmaking for over 35 years.

Throughout his musical career – first as a member of the Jeff Beck Group, then the Faces, and since 1975 the Rolling Stones – Ronnie has continued painting and drawing, his subjects ranging from self-portraits, to musicians, to family and close friends.

Ronnie Wood has used many mediums to capture legendary Rock n' Roll, Pop and rhythm & Blues performers which include Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, John Lennon and Madonna – all people he admires.

The portraits, featured in this exhibition were his fellow Rolling Stones band mates.

This solo exhibition has also been held in New York, Las Vegas and Tokyo, as well as retrospectives at the Modern Art Museum in Sao Paulo and the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame.

He builds limited edition silk screen prints in much the same way as working in the studio with overdubbing; you find the more defined ones are the things that stand out as the viewer.

Ronnie has even implied this himself as to when he is creating his art and it is certainly something which shines through as you stand in front of his art.

As a viewer we were given a very elegant A4 sized program reminiscent of a tour program which introduced us to who Ronnie Wood is and filled with interviews and comments about his art and his feelings on certain pieces and as to why he created them.

It focuses solely on his THE FAMOUS FLAMES project, glorious Stones inspired pieces set into a back drop of flames with names such as Rip This Joint, Wah Wah and Got Me Rockin’.

Alongside the program was a matching price list, prices start at £795 for heavy weight giclees print to larger framed box canvases for £10,250.

 

There is a choice of Ronnie Wood display items that can be added to an order from presentation wallets and frames, which all have the classy slick black look with Ronnie Wood signature logo.

If I was a richer lady, I would be sure to hang one of these on my wall!

 

I came out impressed and inspired and it made me kick out the jams with the album Some Girls for journey home!...

Next UP! The legendary Bobby Dylan!