Graham Ward: The Custodian: Museum of British Folklore. Costume by Jenna Rossi-Camus; hat by Stephen Jones

Showing posts with label The Custodian: Museum of British Folklore. Costume by Jenna Rossi-Camus; hat by Stephen Jones. Show all posts

Friday, 1 May 2009

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CHAIR THING

This iconic paper chair was designed in 1964 by Peter Murdoch, and was put into production the following year. The simple form was created for children from a single piece of die-cut polyurethane-coated laminate paper which required folding and tucking. It was marketed as 'Those Things: Fibreboard Furniture for the Young' and had a playful yet utilitarian function. They were hugely popular, with over 76,000 sold in the first six months of 1967, and retailed at £1.00 each. Murdoch's chair perfectly captured the look and ethos of the sixties Pop movement, and was offered in a range of colours. Designed to be disposable, surviving examples are extremely rare.

WE LOVE....

...this rare Pelham rod puppet of Zebedee, the enigmatic character from Serge Danot's popular children's programme from the 1960's and 70's. Initially based in Marlborough, Wiltshire, Pelham produced a wide range of iconic puppets throughout its history, and became a British institution for generations of children. Prompted by the huge popularity of 'The Magic Roundabout', Pelham produced a small range of characters from the show, including Florence, Ermintrude the cow and Dougal the dog, but Zebedee remains the most elusive, and is highly prized among collectors.

OWL SERVICE

This wonderful Redware charger was created by American ceramicist Julia Smith, and is a facsimile of an original 17th-century Staffordshire piece. The wave-decorated rim encircles a whirl of owls surrounding the perky creature at its' centre in brown trailing slip over a pale yellow ground. The jaunty bird was wonderfully appropriated by William Nicholson for his cover for the 1923 edition of 'The Owl', a short-lived publication which featured a miscellany of the best examples of contemporary poetry, prose and illustration, edited by Nicholson and his son-in-law Robert Graves. My recent attempts to contact Ms. Smith to enquire whether this wonderful piece might be acquired have so far come to nothing; it would seem that she and her kiln are not currently producing.

PACKING UP THE CHRISTMAS TREE

The ritual of putting away the Christmas ornaments is upon us again. Before he disappears into the dark of the attic for another year, here is the lovely glass clown which I found in a junk market in Prague ten or so years ago. Amazingly fragile, his companions included two jaunty birds that always occupy the upper reaches of the tree, a hot pink mirrored-glass trumpet and a pair of red and white spotted glass toadstools. Every year they re-emerge, mercifully unbroken, to take their place once more amidst the lights of Yuletide.

Dreamboy: Thoughts on Lindsay Anderson's 'O Dreamland'

Although made in 1953, Lindsay Anderson's 'O Dreamland' was shelved by the director with, he opined, little prospect of it ever being shown. He said 'you don't do anything with a 10-minute, 16mm. film. It's just there, that's all'. It was, therefore, not until 1956, when the Free Cinema programme was launched, that it occurred to Anderson to include it. He used one assistant of photography on its production, a young man named John Fletcher, who was to become a hugely important figure in the Free Cinema movement. Their sole equipment was a 16mm camera and an audiotape recorder. The film is a whistle-stop tour of the Dreamland park of the period, and its style is defined by the bleak, largely unattractive style of the footage, the spare and expressionistic soundtrack heightening the mood of the filmed sequences. Devoid of commentary, but overdubbed with an almost exaggerated babble of voices and sounds, this is the world of the 'Penny Dreadful', the end-of the pier atrocity exhibition (featured is a 'Torture through the Ages' show with Joan of Arc at the stake, and a cavalcade of badly mechanized mannikins who rock, cackle and roll in their cages and glass enclosures, much to the awestruck and hesitant gaze of their onlookers). Here too, are the diversions of bingo, bangers and mash, the endless fug of fag-smoke. The lack of commentary- which I believe lends the film its air of menace and melancholy-was a decision forced on Anderson by the costs that synchronized sound would have involved. A constant feature of the soundtrack is the mindless, recurring laughter of the mechanical policeman that the camera returns to frequently, and which gives the film its edgy, rather unsettling feel, whilst the shots of the grisly attractions are counterpointed with the gaze of children, and a haunting, film-noir sensibility which remains long after the film has ended. The effect of 'O Dreamland' is perhaps best summed up by Gavin Lambert in his article on Free Cinema: '...Everything is ugly...it is almost too much. The nightmare is redeemed by the point of view which, for all the unsparing candid camerawork and the harsh, inelegant photography, is emphatically humane, Pity, sadness, even poetry is infused into this drearily tawdry, aimlessly hungry world'

WILDGOOSE WUNDERKAMMER

The primary focus of attention in Jane Wildgoose's North London apartment, which is also home to the Wildgoose Memorial Library, is this fabulous cabinet of curiosities. The WML exists, in the words of its august proprietor, as 'an ongoing accumulation of reference material that informs [her] work as an artist and writer', and as 'a place of meditation and consultation on the universal themes of life and death'. The WML 'pertains', says Wildgoose; 'to the mysteries of the living in relation to the dead, transience, memory and immortality'. This wondrous cabinet, with which, as a frequent visitor to the Library, I am familiar, often undergoes metamorphoses according to the whims of the proprietor, and was at one stage, the setting and showpiece for a series of portraits of friends and contemporaries, where each subject was requested to bring an object of particular significance to them personally. Subjects were photographed with their treasured items and were also asked to choose an item from the Library collection upon which to meditate and reflect. For further details of the collection, and the work of Jane Wildgoose, see www. janewildgoose.co.uk

MUSEUM OF BRITSH FOLKLORE: SIMON COSTIN IN LAUNCH PARTY HAT BY STEPHEN JONES

This remarkable stovepipe, commissioned especially by Costin from milliner extraordinaire Stephen Jones, comprises a soft green leather body and base, hand-embellished with barge-art roses and with a striped silk under-brim. The cut-out front alcove features a miniature miscellany of objects, including a swinging bird cage, a blown painted egg and dolls' house furniture with arrangements of tiny knick-knacks. A cockade of barley ears and pheasant feathers complete the look. See opposite posts.

POSTERBOY

This stunning poster for Bruce Weber's 1987 film 'Broken Noses' features the film's hero Andy Minsker, with handwritten calligraphy by Weber overlaying the image. An alternative poster was also released, featuring collaged photographs by Weber of Minsker and the boys from the Mt. Scott Boxing Club, the subjects of this engaging and at times, deeply moving documentary film. The power of this poster lies in the sheer audacity of Weber's image, with his subject's portrait, the face over ten times life-sized in close-cropped detail, making this this one of the most collectible film posters of the past twenty years. I was foolhardy enough to part with a limited-edition version of this poster, which I acquired in 1987 from the film's UK distributor, printed on heavy handmade stock, with Weber's calligraphy in silver overlaying the image which may even have been reproduced in collotype. So lavish and enormous was it that it is probable that a mere handful were ever issued, and doubtless to the industry only. This is the German version of the poster, no less stunning for its reduction in stature, which I bought from a Berlin poster dealer some three years ago.

CAMINO TYPOGRAPHY 5: METAL SIGN NEAR ATAPUERCA, CAMINO DE SANTIAGO. PHOTO. C. GRAHAM WARD 2005

A SONG IN STONE: PHOTO C. GRAHAM WARD 2005

This astonishing relief is a fragment from 'the Cortege of the Magi', a one-time feature of the original stone choir in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. Carved by Master Mateo at the end of the twelfth century, its creation was believed to be roughly contemporaneous with the sculptor's jaw-dropping 'Portico de Gloria' which dominates the cathedral's entrance and overwhelms the onlooker with its complexity and power. Mateo's original stone choir was dismantled in the late 16th century and replaced with the carved wooden stalls that remain today. I love the conundrum of its incompleteness, and often wonder about the adjoining fragment which would have made the horses whole and given meaning to the lilting tower from which they emerge. That the architecture makes a nonsense of their scale, yet seems in perfect harmony with their attitude of purposeful power is what appeals to me most of all. I love their heads bent in supplicance, and the remnants of polychrome that still adhere to their bodies, despite the centuries that have intervened since their creation. Now displayed in the cathedral's crypt, were I ever in a position to be asked to name a luxury item to take to a desert island along with my hard-considered playlist, it might just be this.

From 'FINISTERRE' - Sylvia Plath Photo c. Graham Ward 2006

DISH OF THE DAY

This small, press-moulded trinket dish was a staple of the famous Cinque Ports Pottery, still actively based in the town of Rye, and sold to visitors as a souvenir. The boat device and distinctive letterforms are typical of the style, with the traditional double outer rings of dark blue glaze. The company have made variations on the design for a number of local organisations and businesses, including the Flushing Inn, the renowned gourmet restaurant in the town's Market Street. Their version is slightly larger, and features a similar boat design, with the name of the establishment set in a circle around the rim, and with six incised stars as decoration.

MODERN NATURE

'Taurus the Bull' by Arnold Machin, for the Wedgwood Company, Stoke-on-Trent. c. 1945. Earthenware with hand-coloured printed transfer decoration; length 41cm. Widely-considered to be the first 'Contemporary' style ceramic to be produced in Britain, Arnold Machin's 'Taurus the Bull', designed for the Wedgwood company at Barlaston, continues to astonish by its sheer modernity. Variously-called 'Ferdinand the Bull' and 'The Zodiac Bull', the astrological symbols that cover him were designed by Eric Fraser. There was also a black basalt version without the decoration; rarer is the floral-pattered edition, both of which use Machin's original form. First exhibited at the 'Britain Can Make It' exhibition of 1946, it was suitably feted in the 1947 volume of 'Designers in Britain'. Machin's design spearheaded the drive towards the Contemporary in all aspects of British ceramic production, with companies such as Poole and Hornsea employing young designers such as A.B. Read and John Clappison in the 1950s. The achievements of companies such as Midwinter, Hornsea and Rye undoubtedly affected the most established of British ceramic institutions, who soon chose to include contemporary products in their catalogues. Although many of the new designs were derided by an establishment slow to embrace the new, many began to gain acceptance, particularly with the help of exhibitions such as the 1951 Festival of Britain, which showcased the best of British contemporary design. By the close of the decade, the Contemporary style was an accepted facet of British ceramic production, influenced no doubt also by the new wave exemplified by European ceramic and glass companies such as Orrefors in Sweden and Littala in Finland.

Dish of the Day

'Peaceful Village' by Scottie Wilson, for the Royal Worcester Porcelain Company c. 1963. The imagery of Scottie Wilson's ceramic designs is of a landscape of paradise regained. When Robert Baker, who was chief art director for the Royal Worcester company during the sixties, viewed some of Wilson's home-painted plates, he realised a mass-market potential for the wondrous landscape designs of the Outsider-artist from Glasgow; a magical, internalized world where swans glide gracefully above shoals of fish in pools overlooked by tall trees and curious architecture. Now highly collectible, the tea, coffee and dinner services that Scottie designed for the company were available in various colour combinations, including terracotta with black, and in this instance, soft grey and black on a white Queensware ground.

'Nature Cure' by Richard Mabey. London: Chatto & Windus. 2005. In the final year of the old millennium, the author, one of Britain's foremost nature writers, fell into a severe depression. Unable to do more than lie in bed for the best part of two years, this remarkable book is the account of his route back to recovery and ultimately, into a new life. At once a rite of passage, a diary and an observation about our ever-changing yet somehow constant seasons, it recounts Mabey's departure from a long-cherished Chilterns home, and his subsequent relocation to the flatlands of Norfolk. In his gradual rediscovery of self, the author finds a new niche that gains him crucial insight into our human place in nature. A contemporary reflection on the inherent value of all creatures, 'Nature Cure' confounds mankind's perceived wisdom as to his superiority over other creatures, setting us instead in the greater, changing context of a world in flux. Intricate and intelligent, this novel is a joy from beginning to end, and a work of hope for all species.

Graham Ward

Friday, 1 May 2009

About Me

MARGATE MON AMOUR

Followers

CHAIR THING

WE LOVE....

Pages

WE LOVE...

THE MADNESS OF ART...

THERE, THERE. MY DEAR...

A JUMBO AT JO'S

WE LOVE...

WE LOVE...

WE LOVE...

OWL SERVICE

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Ms. WALKER SAYS

PACKING UP THE CHRISTMAS TREE

BRITANNIA DE LAS MUERTAS

Lion and Unicorn

Kilpeck Corbal

King of the Mountain

Dreamboy: Thoughts on Lindsay Anderson's 'O Dreamland'

ON ZELDA FITZGERALD

WE LOVE...

WE LOVE...

We love...

TELLING TILES

Domestic Interior with Dalek Playsuit

HEADS SHE WINS

HEADS SHE WINS

WILDGOOSE WUNDERKAMMER

A windswept Ms. Wildgoose at Hastings Jack-in-the-Green, 2009

SURF'S UP: COVERS FOR HOME-MADE COMPILATIONS OF THE MUSIC OF BRIAN WILSON

'Jumping Girl' graffiti, Viking Bay, Broadstairs.

MUSEUM OF BRITSH FOLKLORE: SIMON COSTIN IN LAUNCH PARTY HAT BY STEPHEN JONES

Monsters Inc.

FRIENDS

TOPIARY TED!

TROUBLE IN MIND

POSTERBOY

CAMINO TYPOGRAPHY 1: WAY-MARKER AT PALENCIA. PHOTO. C. GRAHAM WARD 2005

CAMINO TYPOGRAPHY 2: SHOP WINDOW SIGN: SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA. PHOTO. C. GRAHAM WARD 2006

CAMINO TYPOGRAPHY 3: INCISED PLAQUE IN THE CLAUSTRO ALTO OF LEON CATHEDRAL. PHOTO: GRAHAM WARD

CAMINO TYPOGRAPHY 4: TRAVEL BOOKSHOP, BURGOS PHOTO: GRAHAM WARD 2005

CAMINO TYPOGRAPHY 5: METAL SIGN NEAR ATAPUERCA, CAMINO DE SANTIAGO. PHOTO. C. GRAHAM WARD 2005

Pilgrim Door, Castrillo de los Polvazares photo: c. Graham Ward 2005

A SONG IN STONE: PHOTO C. GRAHAM WARD 2005

From 'FINISTERRE' - Sylvia Plath Photo c. Graham Ward 2006

DISH OF THE DAY

MODERN NATURE

Dish of the Day

FOLKY THREADS

WISE READ

RECOMMENDED

Ms. Flite's Birds

whirligig

WE LOVE SCOTT

Festival too!

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