Henry Moore Institute
Newsletter Newsletter 96 This ninety-sixth issue of the Henry Moore Institute’s Newsletter begins its distribution in digital format, with a print version available by subscription (contact gill@henry-moore.org for details). We will continue to announce news of research, exhibitions and collections at the Institute, as well as listing and reporting on matters pertinent to the study of sculpture. Two regular columns reporting on the study of sculpture by Institute staff are launched in this issue and issue 97. Ann Sproat, Librarian, reports in her new column on acquisitions to our Special Collections. The Library is at the centre of all of our activities - it is where ideas are developed, researched and tested so these ideas can be placed in public through exhibitions, displays, lectures, conferences and publications. Our Library is the base of our Research Fellowships, and it is where the Institute’s curatorial research takes place. The constant development of our specialist Library Collection is a central part of our work. We hold many rare exhibition catalogues, such as When Attitudes Become Form and Prospect ‘71 that have been used in the research towards our next exhibition in the Main Galleries, Mario Merz: What Is to Be Done? These holdings enable researchers to track the ways sculpture has been displayed and discussed through exhibitions – a subject that we will be exploring in a session the Institute is convening at the 2012 Association of Art Historians Conference. Sophie Raikes, Assistant Curator (Collections), begins a regular column in issue 97 reporting on sculpture collections displays in museums and galleries. The Henry Moore Institute manages the sculpture collection and archive of Leeds Museums and Galleries, a partnership which continues to build one of the strongest public collections of sculpture in Britain. How collections are displayed and developed is a key question for the study of sculpture, and one that we are constantly addressing as we work on bringing new material into the collections. Sophie Raikes’ column looks at how different institutions, both in Britain and abroad, approach the display of collections. Following are updates on our forthcoming activities across exhibitions, research and collections, as well as news on the Institute’s activities outside of our home in Leeds. Lisa Le Feuvre, Head of Sculpture Studies
Mario Merz: What Is to Be Done? Main Galleries, 28 July-30 October 2011 Mario Merz (1925-2003) rethought the possibilities of sculpture, working from observation to propose an invigorated way of perceiving the surrounding world, stripped of conventions and firmly embedded in the present. Our exhibition presents the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in the UK for almost three decades.
June/July 2011 Issue No. 96
Merz was a key figure in Arte Povera, a term coined by the art critic Germano Celant in 1966 that literally translates as ‘poor art’. Currently there is a keen interest in analysing this moment of art making: an exhibition of Pino Pascali’s sculpture has just closed at Camden Arts Centre; opening at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice is Marisa Merz. Non corrisponde eppur fiorisce (1 June-18 September) and in July, London’s Serpentine Gallery shows Michelangelo Pistoletto (12 July-17 September). Celant’s use of povera was informed by Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski’s (1933-2009) notion of ‘Poor Theatre’ which aimed for a stripped-back staging that was non-spectacular and used an economy of means to communicate complex ideas in a period of economic and political instability in postwar Italy. Artists associated with Arte Povera addressed the form and materials of sculpture, working with matter ready at hand. Mario Merz: What Is to Be Done? focuses on Merz’s use of sculptural materials as protagonists – in particular his use of neon. The title is a question central to Merz’s work. ‘What is to be done?’ - in Italian Che fare? - in Merz’s hands asks: what can an artist do in the face of a precarious future? The phrase itself is well known: it was asked by Vladimir Lenin in 1902 in a much discussed and vastly misrepresented political pamphlet that took its name from an 1863 novel by Nikolay Chernyshevsky, considered one of the first socialist novels. Chernyshevsky was concerned with art’s potential to expand human knowledge – an imperative that drove Merz’s approach to sculpture. The exhibition presents twelve works made between 1966 and 1977, a number of which have rarely been exhibited in the last four decades. ‘Automobile trapassata dal neon’ (1969) consists of a Simca 1000 car pierced with a neon tube. ‘Bottiglia’ (c.1966) is a wine bottle lanced with neon, spilling out light where one might expect wine. The title of one of his signature igloo forms, ‘Objet cache-toi’ (1968), wraps around its surface, formed from linen bags filled with wood shavings, in cursive writing. The exhibition is bracketed by two film portraits of the artist: Gerry Schum’s ‘Lumaca’ (1970) and Tacita Dean’s ‘Mario Merz’ (2002) which opens in Gallery 4 on 7 September. This exhibition has been made possible through the advice and support of the Fondazione Merz, Turin, with work lent by them being shown alongside loans from other lenders, including Collection Fundação de Serralves, Porto, CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, Nationalgalerie, Sammlung Marzona, Berlin, and Frith Street Gallery, London. We are also grateful for the support of Dr Rossana Pittelli, the Art Expert at the Italian Cultural Institute, London. The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated publication, the first in the Institute’s re-designed Essays on Sculpture series, a programme of talks and an international conference in October. Lisa Le Feuvre, Curator, Mario Merz: What Is to Be Done?
Research Wednesday Evening Talks: Imaginary Artists 6pm, Henry Moore Institute Seminar Room This series of talks throughout July has been programmed to accompany the current Institute exhibition Savage Messiah: The Creation of Henri-Gaudier Brzeska (Gallery 4 to 31 July) which looks at the ways in which the life and work of this twentiethcentury sculptor was constructed through biographical narratives and, in turn, through film. Three contemporary artists and writers will discuss the fictionalisation of the artist’s life and work from a broader perspective, and the compelling power of the myths which structure and further generate these fictions. Talks are free of charge, open to all and it is not necessary to book. 6 July Paul Becker: The Life and Work of Anton Lesseman 13 July Francesco Pedraglio: A few stories in the shape of abstract objects 20 July Chris Evans: The Freedom of Negative Expression ** Last Chance to Book ** To accompany the Gallery 4 exhibition, The Creation of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, a one-day seminar on 22 June will look at the broader historiography of the work and life of Gaudier-Brzeska. In the evening, Ken Russell will introduce the screening of his 1972 film, Savage Messiah, at the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds. See www.henry-moore.org/hmi/events2/all-current-events
Henry Moore Institute Dissertation and Essay Prizes 2011 As part of the Institute’s annual research programme, in 2011 two student prizes will be awarded for extended pieces of writing on any aspect of contemporary, modern or historic sculpture. The Henry Moore Institute Dissertation and Essay Prizes are open to BA and MA students of all disciplines. Henry Moore Institute Dissertation Prize MA Dissertation Prize: £250 BA Dissertation Prize: £150 Henry Moore Institute Collections Essay MA Essay Prize: £250 BA Essay Prize: £150 The Institute manages the sculpture collection and archive of Leeds Museums and Galleries. We encourage researchers from across the country to explore our collections during the course of their graduate and post-graduate studies. The Henry Moore Institute Collections Essay specifically invites submissions of original essays that attend to works or archive material from the Leeds collections. Over the last decade we have used the core of the collection, which is twentieth-century British (though we hold material from the eighteenth and particularly nineteenth centuries), as a platform on which to build up a broader-based collection, representative of the practice of sculpture in Britain over the last century looking at work by neglected practitioners, as well as those more widely known. Amongst the many artists represented in the collection are: Keith Arnatt, Phyllida Barlow, Tony Cragg, Tacita Dean, Jacob Epstein, John Flaxman, Gilbert & George, Eric Gill, Brian Griffiths, Phillip King, Langlands & Bell, Bruce McLean, David Nash, Eduardo Paolozzi, Cornelia Parker, Eva Rothschild, and Bill Woodrow.
Collections essays should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words. Both should be the result of original research. A coursework essay can be submitted. Students wishing to find out more about the collections should contact Kirstie Gregory. Essays should be submitted by email with a cover letter indicating the applicant’s academic institution and course of study and which prize is being applied for. Contact: Kirstie Gregory: kirstie@henry-moore.org / 0113 246 7467. Deadline: 30 September 2011.
Darrell Viner: Early Work Mezzanine Gallery, Leeds Art Gallery, 28 July-30 October 2011 This display of Viner’s work sits alongside Mario Merz: What Is to Be Done? in the Main Galleries. Like Viner, Merz employed numbers as a sculptural medium, drawing on the naturally occurring Fibonacci sequence that was observed in the reproduction patterns of bees and rabbits. Merz himself explained in 1971: ‘The Fibonacci series published in Pisa in 1202 is a very simple idea. Each number adds up with or involves the preceding number in the formation of the following one, eg 1+0+1. Then one adds up with one to form two. And two adds up with one to form three’. The Fibonacci series is infinite, where every move to the future is sustained by the past. Darrell Viner (1947-2001) was a pioneer in the field of computer art. He turned to computers to pursue his interest in movement and animation and went on to specialise in the application of computing technology to kinetic and interactive sculpture. Viner became familiar with computer and electronic systems whilst working in the research department at Courtauld Textiles in the late 1960s and started to experiment with the technology when he moved to London around 1970, creating kinetic sculptures in his landlady’s garage. He first used computers whilst studying at Hornsey College of Art (1971-4), where he worked with John Vince, lecturer in data processing, who developed one of the first computer packages for artists, PICASO. There, he learnt to write in computer code and encouraged Vince to develop ‘Rough’ and ‘Sketch’ features for PICASO, which transformed clinical computer generated plottings into believable hand-drawn lines. Viner went on to study in the Experimental Department at the Slade (1974-6), where he developed his own automated drawing systems. He also started to produce large-scale kinetic sculptures, controlled by computer, including a set of animated wooden motorised work for his degree show, described as ‘creepy crawly creatures’. These were later shown at the RA, where the moving legs scratched the wooden floor, by chance taking on the character of automated drawing machines. In the late 1970s, Viner worked with the UCL technician, Allan Hume, to create animated films, including ‘Inside/Outside’ (1977), which was drawn by a virtual automaton, programmed to simulate the actions of a kinetic sculpture. This display focuses on Viner’s experimental work in the mid-70s, and celebrates the recent acquisition to the Leeds collection of a series of early computer drawings created at this time. Plotted on computer paper and arranged in groups, the drawings have a remarkable hand drawn quality and appear almost as stills in an abstract animation, exploring subtle variations in form and line through a series of adjustments to the original procedure. Sophie Raikes, Curator, Darrell Viner: Early Work
Archive
Library
New Acquisitions
Online Database of the Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain 1660-1851
The Henry Moore Institute Archive has recently acquired several new collections, which are soon to be made available to researchers. Edward Onslow Ford, RA (1852-1901) We were fortunate to acquire a rare collection of papers of the artist Edward Onslow Ford, as few records survive relating to his life and work. Ford, who died prematurely at the age of fortynine, was an established figure in the New Sculpture Movement in the late nineteenth century and was particularly known for portraiture, his subjects including the Shelley Memorial at University College Oxford (1892), William Ewart Gladstone (1894) and Queen Victoria (1901). The collection consists largely of letters of condolence, telegrams and calling cards sent to Ford’s widow, Ann, on his death and are particularly striking, not only in their number but also content, and provide a record of his family, friends, associates and peers. The collection also includes seventy-five photographs of Ford’s work, shown in the studio, gallery and public sites. These are likely to have been taken by the artist himself, therefore providing a unique documentary record of his works but also Ford’s own view of his work as photographer. Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854-1934) A related acquisition is correspondence about the work of another key figure in the New Sculpture Movement, Sir Alfred Gilbert. The correspondence relates to a portrait bust of Mrs Eliza Macloghlin (1906-7) by Gilbert, who also commissioned a memorial to her late husband, Edward Percy Plantagenet Macloghlin, entitled ‘Mors Janua Vitae’ (Royal College of Surgeons Collection). Due to the breakdown of the relationship between artist and patron, both works were cast and finished by sculptor Albert Toft (papers also in Institute’s Archive). Casts were made of the portrait bust, which Mrs Macloghlin deposited with the National Gallery and Musée du Luxembourg, and which the newly acquired letter and postcard document. Rupert Gunnis (1899-1965) We are also delighted to announce the acquisition of the personal archive of art historian and collector Rupert Forbes Gunnis. Gunnis is well-known for his Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 published in 1953, which was the result of many years of dedicated research by Gunnis and a team of helpers. A revised edition was recently published with the support of the Institute, and the Archive holds papers relating to both the first edition, and the revision project. The papers document Gunnis’s life and work, from childhood through to the months leading up to his death in June 1965, the majority of which were written, collected or compiled by Gunnis himself. From an early age, the papers show Gunnis was a keen writer and collector of information, later finding antiquities and sculpture as the focus for his interests. The collection includes photograph albums, drawings, press-cuttings, scrapbooks, journals, correspondence and diaries, and is particularly rich in relation to his period of colonial service when in Cyprus from 1926-1939 where he was a founder of the Cyprus Museum and wrote Historic Cyprus. Claire Mayoh, Archivist The archive is open by prior appointment only. www.henry-moore.org/hmi/archive/contact-the-archive
June sees the launch of the Online Database of Sculptors in Britain 1660-1851, developed from the Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain 1660-1851, by Ingrid Roscoe, Emma Hardy and M G Sullivan (Yale University Press, 2009). The database contains all of the published information, comprising over 3,000 authoritative biographical entries and details of 30,000 signed or documented works, all supported by a bibliography of over 2,000 citations. All this data will now be fully searchable, and accessible without subscription via the Henry Moore Institute website. The database has recently been edited and revised by M G Sullivan to incorporate scholarship produced in the last ten years (the publication was based on a bibliography compiled in 2001). Corrections and additions, generously donated by scholars working in the field, have also been added. The database will continue to be updated at monthly intervals. New information (with full details of their supporting evidence), and notice of publications, will be gratefully received via the homepage. The database was designed by Barry Herbert and developed for the web by Serifnet. The project is supported by The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, The Henry Moore Foundation and the Research Department of the V&A. Search the database online at: www.henry-moore.org/hmi/library/biographical-dictionary-ofsculptors-in-britain
On Display Blast: Review of the great English vortex London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1914-1915 The first edition of Blast, the literary and artistic magazine of the Vorticist movement, from the library’s special collections, is on display in the library until July. ‘ …that hugest and pinkest of all magazines Blast - whose portentous dimensions and violent tint did more than would a score of exhibitions to make public the fact that something was happening’
(Wyndham Lewis) Only two issues of the journal were ever produced, Blast no.1, published in July 1914 and no. 2: the War Number, published in July 1915. Wyndham Lewis, the editor, was responsible for the striking typography and general appearance of the journal; the design was heavily influenced by the Futurist documents of Marinetti and writings of Apollinaire. With vertical and horizontal text in varying point sizes and copious illustrations of Vorticist art by Wadsworth, Lewis, Etchells, Roberts, Epstein, GaudierBrzeska (who is studied in the current Gallery 4 display) and Hamilton, the journal still has the power to grab attention. The second more sombre War Number includes text by GaudierBrzeska sent from the Front and published posthumously.
New Acquisitions The library recently received a donation of catalogues from Anthony d’Offay. The gift comprises publications produced by the Anthony d’Offay Gallery between 1977-2003, including catalogues on Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread, Gilbert and George, Lawrence Weiner and Christian Boltanski amongst others. Recordings of the talks from The New British Sculpture: Reviewing the persistence of an idea conference held at Leeds City Museum, 17-18 February 2011 are now available to listen to in the library. Ann Sproat, Librarian
Noticeboard Vacancy: Exhibition and Displays Curator The Henry Moore Institute invites applications for the full-time post of Exhibitions and Displays Curator. Based at the Institute in Leeds, the Exhibitions and Displays Curator will work closely with the Head of Sculpture Studies across curatorial, research, publications and collections areas to ensure integration of activities across the Institute. The key objectives of the post are to work with the curatorial and research teams to encourage and stimulate the study of sculpture; deliver a high-quality and varied programme of contemporary and historical exhibitions and associated publications; initiate and develop partnerships at local, national and international levels, for artistic, administrative and operational purposes; and work in collaboration with internal and external curators to realise exhibitions, displays and publications of the highest artistic quality. Salary: £25,000 per annum. For more information and full application details visit www.henry-moore.org/hmi/exhibitions Deadline for applications: 13 June
Matthew Darbyshire: Untitled Billboard (Leeds Station) - ends June 2011 Matthew Darbyshire (b. 1977) has become known for his unravelling of various contemporary design tendencies in the fields of furniture, architecture, fashion and graphics, and has recently been making particular reference to the history and conventions of billboard advertising since the 1970s. It was most appropriate then that he be invited to make a work for a billboard in the bustling Leeds railway station. Sited amongst other typical product and service adverts the chameleonic status of ‘Untitled Billboard (Leeds Station)’ could easily be mistaken for one of them. See www.leedsmet.ac.uk/arts/3CC2A6ED3BF640068C6BB24A9DBA E7EF.htm
Lisa Le Feuvre features in The Director's Cut, presented by Axis and Creative Times The Henry Moore Institute’s Head of Sculpture Studies, Lisa Le Feuvre, is one of several gallery leaders to feature in The Director’s Cut, a series of short film interviews commissioned by Axis, the online resource for UK contemporary art and Creative Times (www.axisweb.org / www.creativetimes.co.uk) in association with the Leeds-based audio-visual agency Lumen. This online video series tours the north of England and Wales to profile heads of galleries who are either new in post or have led significant capital projects. Other interviewees include Alex Farquharson (Nottingham Contemporary) and Godfrey Worsdale (BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead). The last in the series is Simon Wallis, Director of The Hepworth Wakefield, filmed in the lead-up to the gallery's recent opening. To watch all the interviews see www.axisweb.org/thedirectorscut
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Exhibitions Guided Tours Free guided tours of the current Henry Moore Institute exhibitions are available on Wednesdays at 7.30pm and on Saturdays at 2.30pm. It is not necessary to book in advance; please enquire on the day at gallery reception. To book a tailormade tour of any part of the Institute contact 0113 246 7467.
Main Galleries To 26 June 2011 Jean-Marc Bustamante: Dead Calm 28 July-30 October 2011 Mario Merz: What Is to Be Done?
Gallery 4 To 31 July 2011 Savage Messiah: The Creation of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska 7 September-4 December 2011 Tacita Dean: Mario Merz
Leeds Art Gallery Sculpture Study Galleries: Mezzanine To 26 June 2011 Dear Henry Moore: Connections and Correspondence 28 July-30 October 2011 Darrell Viner: Early Work
Sculpture Galleries To 5 June 2011 Construction and its Shadow To 1 October 2011 The Practice and Profession of Sculpture: Objects from the Leeds Collection To 11 November 2011 Joseph Gott in Leeds and Rome Leeds Art Gallery is open daily 10.00am – 5.00pm Wednesday 12.00pm – 5.00pm, Sunday 1.00pm – 5.00pm
The Henry Moore Foundation in partnership with Leeds City Council
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www.henry-moore.org ISSN 1363-1152 Newsletter co-ordinated by Gill Armstrong (gill@henry-moore.org)