Ian Marshall on his art
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If art encompasses the generation of a certa in rapport between arti st and c li e ntele, then nostalg ia can be regarded as a possible common source of in spiratio n. B ut one does not need to be confined to the reco llecti on of direct experi ence. It is poss ibl e to evo ke-and enj oy-the spirit of an era whi ch came to an end before one's lifet ime. For some years I have been interested in the idea of trying to recapture the fl avo r of the not-so-di stant past, of the peopl e, the places and the shi ps of the wo rld in which one's parents and grandparents moved. W hen attempting to portray events in , let us say, the 18th century, the imagery is likely to become cluttered by fa ncy dress and archaic modes of speech and behavior. But the Battle of Dogger Bank, the Boer W ar and the Boxer Rebelli on took place in c ircumstances that were not so remote from our own. Peopl e spoke, dressed and behaved in ways which we find not unnatural. Bes ides, we have photograph s fro m these times which can suppl y, as it were, an acrid whiff of coal smoke . (How many readers rememberthe exciting smell emitted from a coa l-fired bo iler ming led with steam a nd warm engine o il ?) We are not obli ged to rely fo r info rmati o n on a contemporary artist' s idea li zed conception of the event. So it is not hi storic ships that hold my interest, or delving into arch ives to establi sh the appearance of a certain seaport in a spec ific year. It is all the circumstances that I wo uld like to know abo ut, and the political significance behind the presence of thi s shi p, in thi s locati on, and on thi s parti cul ar date . I' m always on the lookout for a ship and a port which will
exemplify the period and might help to dramatize its personali ty. Vi suall y, not all ships are equall y attracti ve or interesting, and there are not so many pl aces aro und the wo rld where a big ship could be seen close to the shore in recogni zabl e surroundings. One looks for a di stinctive vessel, one whi ch embodi es so me technological innovati on or which represents a phase in the evoluti on of design. One looks fo r a pl ace where she could have been seen in her day in the contex t of some famili ar topographical feature. For ships, the references are extensive. Seamanship call s fo r attention to detail. One mu st be sure to get right the mooring arrangements, the ri gg ing of awnings over the quarterdeck and the handling and storage of ship 's boats. Naval signal codes al one compri se a considerabl e fi eld of study. Wars hips were constantl y being modified and brought upto-date; care mu st be exercised that their appearance matches the chosen date for the picture. It is less easy to find pictures of places. Contemporary and recent photographs are not diffi cult to find , but it takes time to di g out appropriate old photograph s of harbors, bridges and canals. I have found family photograph albums to be useful , a lso charts and illustrated books whi ch may have nothing to do with the subject of shipping. As fo r the choice of occasion, individual ships sometimes exerted influence on world events. The mutinous battleship Potemkin steaming into Odessa, and then out to sea again to confront the whole of the loyal Black Sea Fleet in 1905 or the little German gunboat Panther standing off the Moroccan port of Agadir in 1911 which very nearl y precipitated war between France and Gem1any; each of these has been made the subject of a painting. But I have painted many less obviously dramatic occasions when the presence of a ship can be seen to have had historic significance.
AMERICA:S TEAM
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