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| Flowing to the sea 27.5x27.5cm collagraph and mixed media ©2022LisaLeQuelenec |
Barbara Hepworth – Art & Life
by Eleanor Clayton
ISBN 978 0500 0942 59
A book so good, I thought it needed it's own post...
I received this book for my birthday and waited until the holidays to read it as I knew I would not want to put it down once started. It really didn’t disappoint! I have long been a fan of Hepworth and spent many happy visits at the museum (her garden and studio) at St. Ives whilst I studied at Falmouth College of Arts and during later visits to Cornwall. I am reminded of her work with every hagstone that I pick up of the beaches of Dorset and share her attraction to the mystery of holes in things.
‘So much depends, in sculpture, on what one wants to see through a hole! Maybe, in a big work I want to see a sun or moon. In a smaller work I may want to lean into the hole.’ Barbara Hepworth
I see parallels between her work and Georgia O’Keeffe’s, whom I also enjoy, for the spaces in between and weight of their work. I think she is to sculpture what O’Keeffe is to painting in many ways.
This book has been a joy to read, Clayton has done a wonderful job her style is at once warm, accessible and intimately knowledgeable. She is, after all, the curator of The Hepworth Wakefield which I hope to visit in the not too distant future. (For now I am satisfying my interest looking through the gallery via google arts and culture here.) Clayton has also curated Hepworth’s work at the Tate Liverpool and co-founded The Hepworth Research Network, so who really would be better placed to write such a book?
Throughout there
are illustrations of her work, both the sculptures and also the two-dimensional
pieces explored further when materials and money were in shorter supply. The
drawings are a large body of work in their own right but they are also presented
here in relation to the sculptures they inform. Most books I have read previously have shown
them more in isolation. Also worth noting is that whilst, of course, Hepworth’s
husbands are mentioned within the context of her life they don’t get to take
over as ‘famous husbands’ can be wont to do in other books and are shown as being equally
influential to her work as other friends, acquaintances and contemporaries in different
fields.
There was so much within the book, reading excerpts from her writing and letters to enjoy and provide further insight to the art; the integrity, determination and professionalism about her work, her empathy, her political outlook in some cases. I think what I enjoyed most was how Clayton’s writing shows the human and likeable qualities of, in my opinion, a truly great sculptor and artist. I felt the balance between writing and illustration, 259 of them, was good and was impressed they were in colour for the most part where possible. Whilst not something I would normally mention, the layout with wide margins toward the spine is most useful for jotting down notes if you are so inclined. I will be exploring further titles mentioned in the bibliography too.
One thing that did strike me whilst I read this book was how many parallels I could see between Hepworth’s life during motherhood and the war years and how life has been during the pandemic with, ‘…her increasing frustration with juggling the traditionally feminine domestic labour with her own artistic practise.’ Despite this Hepworth wrote in a letter:
‘I’ve always felt that if I renounced my responsibilities, I should lose something. I have always believed in doing everything.’ Hepworth
How many parents have felt that pressure within the context of everyday life and then increased tenfold with the added responsibility of home school during lockdowns (In Hepworth’s case the second world war.)? I think, to her credit she managed this wonderfully, bringing up four children (she had triplets after her first child), at times single-handed and furthering her career to international acclaim. The book shows a formidable character, strong willed and with a marvellous energy but also the struggle, sacrifice and frustrations that come with a life well lived.
Whether you are already a fan or are new to Hepworth’s work I would highly recommend this book both for its insights into her work, the person behind them and also for the social history context surrounding the making of the work. For me this book is a keeper for my bookshelf and will be returned to in the future, there are many aspects to enjoy and I would rate it as the best book I read in 2021.
To visit the Hepworth - Wakefield website click here.
To visit the Barbara Hepworth St. Ives Museum and Sculpture Garden website click here.
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| Shelfie book pile ©2022LisaLeQuelene |
I hope everyone had a lovely break over the holiday season. I was very lucky to receive a lovely pile of watery and blue books for Christmas and I can't wait to get started on them. Before I can tuck in though I have to finish a most wonderful book that I got for my birthday - more on that one later....
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| ISBN 9781848224766 |
First up is Kurt Jackson's Sea - as you may know I have been a fan of his work for years and used to coincide trips to Cornwall with exhibitions of his at the Lemon Street Gallery back in the day. I can't wait to visit the Kurt Jackson Foundation Gallery in St. Just - hopefully in summer. Now I have, of course, had a sneaky peek and it looks like another visual delight of his signature paintings. I was really pleased to see some of the more recent surfer paintings included as well as a couple of my old favourites.
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| ISBN 9780008294779 |
I read Adam Nicolson's 'Sea Room- An island life in the Hebrides some time ago and enjoyed it immensely and am really looking forward to this one. The author is wonderfully descriptive, painting images in the mind. There are also some gorgeous illustrations by Kate Boxer to enjoy. The end papers to this edition are delightful white line drawings of shells - I'm a sucker for beautiful endpapers, they make a book even more special.
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| ISBN 9780198834571 |
During the first lockdown and attempting home-schooling my son and I would get through the lessons set, some days doing bits from the next days job list in the hope we could finish the weeks work by Thursday. This meant that we could have 'Fun Friday' woop! I picked a topic that would interest us both and we learnt all about the Vikings. It was good fun and without him realising he learnt quite a bit about history and geography. We made 'Viking bread', built a longship, weapons and jewellery out of cardboard and whatever was to hand and read lots of Norse mythology which for him led to some very creative storytelling. It fascinated the both of us until it was time to return to school.
For me the interest has continued and I am slowly working my way through different books of myths and sagas. The Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington looks like it will be a great read and very accessible. I'm particularly interested in finding out more about Ran, Aegir's wife a giantess of the sea. If anyone can point me in the direction of information about her, I would be grateful as she has captured my imagination and I can only find a couple of references to her.
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| ISBN 9781786891211 |
This book has been on my wish list for quite some time so will look forward to diving deep into it over the coming weeks. It will be interesting to read something from a female perspective. It seems to cover a lot of ground from mythology and folklore to history, art, religion, literature and the natural world.
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| ISBN 9780375708138 |
The final book might not be as watery but what a wonderful subject! It is one that I read a quote from on another blog, though for the life of me I can't remember which one. I did make a note of it and popped it straight on my 'to find out more about list'. Intriguing and not an author that I have come across before. As you know I have a thing about books on colour and look forward to finding out more about one of my all time favourites.
So we may be heading towards the lighter days now but as Winter proper is still to get through I am well prepared with reading material to be inspired by and to travel with from somewhere warm, dry and hopefully with a hot cup of coffee.
Have you read anything good lately? Is there anything that you would recommend? Maybe something I should add to my 'to find out more about list'? Do tell...