Art & Culture

ARTIST AT WORK

No. 32: Grażyna Wikierska, Biological Robot 1, acrylic on canvas, 127 cm x 101cm, £600

Art, for me, is a portal to consciousness, to freedom. It is a journey to healing our suppressed and unrecognised emotions. I like to be a wanderer, an explorer, so I do not identify with any medium – no gates are closed.

Three years ago, I was disturbed by the feeling that I must be productive, that I must achieve success – it was so far from my soul! I let go and I started to feel light; I listened to that inner voice. It has always been my strong need to return to this freshness in creation, to play – childlike – where you let your heart speak. When creating, I like this meditative state – I am at home.

I share here ‘Biological Robot 1’ painted in 2019. I felt this as a breakthrough of my own limits. I was so happy. This painting is important to me – it’s like a captured state of mind. I always had this need for line work (inner work) which represents connection. A metaphor furthered by using thread. In most of my paintings I use an abundance of bright colours, lines, and shapes. It’s organic and intuitive. Art has a shamanic role for me as a type of sacred activism, to raise awareness.

grazynawikierska.com grazyna.wikierska

ON FILM

Andy Hastie, Yeovil Cinematheque

Dear Comrades! (2020)

Well, we have finally, finally, reached the point where we can seriously talk about opening up Cinematheque again. The team at the Swan Theatre in Yeovil are pressing on with their production of Night Must Fall on the 19th24th July, which means that we can start arranging Wednesday evening dates, from August onwards, to show the remaining films from our cancelled 2019/20 programme. As I am writing this before the Government’s 21st June opening-up target, things may change yet again, but we’ll think positively and plan a new season anyway. Our membership has told us pretty unanimously that they are itching to get back into the Swan Theatre for our screenings, and that we have been missed, which is encouraging – knowing that people are gradually coming out of hibernation to get on with their cultural pursuits.

If anyone is interested in what we shall be showing, check on our website below, to see details updated as soon as we can arrange a full programme. The only problem for us will be selecting just 7 extra films from those that have been released over the past 19 months. There are some exceptional films to consider, including Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), an 18th century French drama concerning the affair between an aristocrat and the artist painting her portrait. With universal acclaim, beautiful cinematography and shed-loads of awards, this view of the world through a woman’s eyes cries out to be seen.

Andrei Konchalovsky’s Dear Comrades! (2020) winning the Special Jury prize at the Venice Film Festival, and with Academy Award and BAFTA nominations, tells a personal account of the true story of a 1962 Government cover-up of the shooting of workers on a demonstration, in order to hide the facts of a mass strike in the USSR. ‘Dear Comrades! takes a sharp commanding look at a dark chapter in Soviet history made even more effective by its director’s cold fury.’ (Rotten Tomatoes).

Piotr Domalewski’s I Never Cry (2020) is a moving and raw coming-of-age story of economic migration to Western Europe, told from the Polish side. 17-year-old Ola is sent to Ireland as the only English speaker in her family, in order to bring home the body of her father, who has died in a dockyard accident. This compelling and sensitive story, with much dark humour woven through, has a realism and true-to-life tone, as Ola battles the various layers of bureaucracy in her way.

Many other titles, amongst which Honeyland (2019), Nomadland (2020), Quo Vardis Aida (2020), The Assistant (2019), Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020) have all been well reviewed and give us many hard choices, but it will be just great to be back, selecting world-class films to show locally.

Fingers crossed then for positive news on 21st June and the opening up of the Swan Theatre and Cinematheque to their eager audiences!

cinematheque.org.uk swan-theatre.co.uk

Never Cry (2020)

CONFESSIONS OF A THEATRE ADDICT

Rosie Cunningham

Karen Olivo as Satine and Aaron Tveit as Christian in Moulin Rouge!

Iwas lucky enough to be at the opening night of Four Quartets by TS Eliot, performed by Ralph Fiennes, at the Theatre Royal Bath. The theatre was packed, though only a quarter full due to Covid distancing restrictions, but for eighty minutes you could have heard a penny drop. It was a spell-binding performance of intimacy and quiet resolution, which Fiennes pulled off with aplomb, and with bare feet. He deserved the standing ovation and seemed almost humbled by it, clasping one hand to his heart as he took the praise.

The Royal Academy is bursting with energy and welcome. The Tracey Emin and Edvard Munch exhibition, on until 1st August, is small but powerful.

Photo © 2019, Matthew Murphy

"A joint exhibition of two kindred spirits exploring dark territories and raw feelings. Two such powerful artists bearing their souls."

A joint exhibition of two kindred spirits exploring dark territories and raw feelings. Two such powerful artists bearing their souls. Exhausting but uplifting too. David Hockney’s The Arrival of Spring exhibition of his iPad drawings from Normandy in 2020 is on until 26th September. There has been some negativity about his paintings made using an iPad, with The Telegraph commenting that they have ‘an airless, artificial quality’ and The Independent stating that ‘his usually vivid palette is dulled by the digital medium’. I listened to Hockney being interviewed at the Hay Festival online this year and he stressed that ‘It’s still about the craft of painting. It’s not the tool; it’s the person using the tool. It’s a skill you have to practise. You have to work on it – train yourself.’ He felt that his work had developed in a new way during lockdown, and he was pleased with the outcome. I loved the paintings but go and have a look for yourself. It is a good example of it never being too late to learn new things, even for an 83-year-old artist from Yorkshire.

The big news this year is Hilary Mantel’s final book in the Wolf Hall trilogy, The Mirror and the Light, comes to the stage from 23rd September. Ben Miles will reprise his role as Thomas Cromwell and the actor joined forces with Hilary Mantel to adapt the story for the London Stage. This world premiere is at the Gielgud Theatre, produced by the RSC and Playful Productions, directed by Jeremy Herrin, for 9 weeks only. The action starts with the execution of Anne Boleyn and ends with the execution of Thomas Cromwell. Exciting stuff.

Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley are set to star in a revival of Cabaret in the West End from November. Apparently, a new 550-capacity theatre called The Kit Kat Club will be opening to host this fabulous musical. Awaiting more details but something to look forward to.

Finally, the musical of Baz Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge! opens at the Piccadilly Theatre from 12th November. The theatre has been revamped and reconfigured especially for this production and it is bound to be big and bold. Set in Paris in 1899, this is a world of indulgence and passions and love. Tickets are selling out fast. It’s a must!

royalacademy.org.uk gielgudtheatre.co.uk thepiccadillytheatre.com

THE DORSET OPERA FESTIVAL 2021

Hugh Watkins

Dorset Opera was founded by Patrick Shelley in 1974 with a production of The Bartered Bride by Smetana. Except for 1975, at least one opera every summer was staged at Sherborne School until 2005, when performances and the associated summer school were moved to Bryanston School near Blandford Forum. In 2011, two operas were staged for the first time and so the event has become The Dorset Opera Festival.

It has been described as ‘the world’s foremost residential opera summer school’ whereby young people, working alongside professional singers; orchestral musicians; theatre directors and technical experts, are given the opportunity of experiencing the thrill of being involved in producing an opera, involving a large chorus of about 80 with plenty to sing. Some of them have subsequently pursued musical or theatrical careers, even in a few cases singing principal roles with the major UK companies including the Royal Opera House as well as at the Glyndebourne Festival and elsewhere.

Very sadly the pandemic led to cancellation last year and has meant that this year the productions must be scaled down without a summer school. Wisely, Artistic Director Roderick Kennedy has opted for two of Mozart’s most popular operas, Cosi fan Tutte and Don Giovanni, together with a semi-staged performance of Mozart’s arrangement of Handel’s Acis and Galatea. I am much looking forward to this Mozartfest later this month and then to the resumption of the Summer School in 2022.

Cosi fan Tutte is a comedy about women’s fidelity being tested whilst Don Giovanni (Don Juan), is a darker affair about one man, who thinks he is wonderful with women, getting his just desserts by being dispatched to hell – shades of the Me Too movement and a certain disgraced film producer! Acis and Galatea is a pastoral opera about two country lovers and a bit more besides. Simultaneous translations above the stage (surtitles) will guide you through the plots, such as they are!

Since I was first taken to the opera over 60 years ago, I have attended numerous performances around the UK, Europe and beyond. I look forward to the Dorset Opera Festival every year not only because the standard is phenomenally high, but also the whole experience of Bryanston with its marquee and beautiful grounds, a choice of eating your own picnic with friends or taking advantage of the excellent catering facilities during the long interval reminds me of Glyndebourne on a smaller scale. What’s more, the dress code is nothing like as strict!

One hears far too much about opera being elitist from people (mostly politicians) who don’t know

Gounod's Faust, Dorset Opera Festival 2017

Image: Alan Wicks

what they are talking about. There are so many venues around the UK (including Bryanston) where you can watch an opera and pay less for your ticket than you would pay to see a Premier League football match. Furthermore, you don’t have to travel to and stay in London at additional expense.

So, enjoy the music of two wonderful composers, performed by a company which, to quote the influential Opera Now journal, ‘is consistently on a par with the UK’s five main opera companies.’ Indeed, Mozart, as most people’s favourite composer, occupies more places in the Classic FM Hall of Fame for 2021 than any other. At the time of writing while the country is negotiating its way through the COVID-19 roadmap, it is not clear whether the festival will be allowed to sell all of the seats in Bryanston’s Coade Hall Theatre. So, if you can’t buy a ticket this year, do try again in 2022

___________________________________________ Monday 19th – Saturday 24th July Dorset Opera Festival 2021 Dorset Opera present a MozartFest! With performances of two of the three da Ponte operas; Don Giovanni and Così fan Tutte along with a semi-staged performance of Handel’s Acis and Galatea in the Mozart orchestration. For tickets and full schedule of events go to dorsetopera.com

THE ARTIST’S PERSONA interviews by Ali Cockrean

COLIN WILLEY

While The Artist’s Persona interviews artists from all around the UK, it seems a good proportion of our best contemporary painters are in fact living on our own doorstep. It’s not that surprising, given our proximity to the coast and the beautiful countryside we enjoy here, that many landscape artists chose to make this area their home. One such artist is Colin Willey.

Colin is a Dorset based landscape artist. ‘As a painter I have been drawn to the Dorset landscape as a subject for many years. Working outside in all weathers and at all times of the year, I’ve built up an understanding of the way the landscape changes. The structure of the places can be relatively constant yet the light, seasons and weather can have a dramatic effect on how they look. I often revisit the same places and each time they reveal something new. A view from Charmouth beach – crisp and clear on one day can be shrouded in mist the next. The tide moves in and out and the light alters constantly. It calls for a gutsy approach, working quickly, trying to capture something of the moment before it changes. It’s about experiencing nature first hand: being out in the elements; battling with the wind, the rain, the flies or an approaching herd of inquisitive cows.’

So, with all the challenges that ‘plein air’ painting brings, why does Colin prefer to work outside? Surely, the comfort of studio painting would be more appealing on a wet and windy day? Colin does admit that sometimes a day in the studio wins out. However, he tells me that being at one with nature gives a much more rounded experience that’s impossible to replicate in the studio environment.

‘Working outside is all about infusing my paintings with immediacy and excitement. A painting evolves as I’m working on it. Nothing stands still in nature, so my painting becomes a history of several hours of standing looking, hearing and feeling a changing landscape – not just a single moment, but many fleeting moments captured in one image.’

The studio does, however, play an important part in Colin’s process, giving him the space for a more selective, considered approach. It’s where he has an opportunity to view his works on their own merit away from the subject. ‘Some are left as they are,’ he says, ‘while others are refined or reworked onto a larger canvas. Equally, some are discarded or painted over on another day.’ >

Cows by the river at Lewell, oil on board, 20x25cm

It’s an important hallmark of professional working artists that they never anticipate every painting will be a success. They hope, of course, and when it does happen it’s immensely satisfying. However, the reality is that very few paintings come together without a degree of struggle or challenge.

And, sometimes, it’s not just the physical act of painting that can create the challenge. Painting outside also means that quite often artists attract an audience of onlookers. Many are just curious and will stand quietly for a while watching the artist work before moving on, while others prefer to get more actively involved.

‘When you are a lone painter on a beach you do stand out, so everyone can see you for miles around. It does put some artists off and when you are going through that inevitable ‘ugly stage’ of a painting, you do have to be able to concentrate without worrying what other people are thinking. You have to have a sense of humour about it. People say all sorts of things. I once had someone remark, ‘Your painting looked really good from over there…’ which was a little disconcerting!’ Colin laughs.

Not that Colin has any need to worry. His work appears in many prestigious collections including four paintings in the House of Lords’ permanent collection and a work in the private art collection of HRH Princess Anne. He has exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London, in the Laing Landscape Exhibition, with the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the New English Art Club. His work is represented by Carina Haslam Art, who regularly exhibit his work in London, New York and Singapore.

If you would like to hear my full interview with Colin, you can find it on Facebook. Just search for The Artist’s Persona and join our free membership to view it. You can also visit Colin’s website to see more of his wonderful work: colin-willey.co.uk