The Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Recently, I went on an Art Fund trip to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, Yorkshire, and the near-by Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP).

I'm afraid it didn't occur to me to take photos of the buildings there, which is a shame as they're very nice, but you're going to have to do without. Also, photography wasn't permitted at the exhibition in their indoor gallery, which was also a shame as it was terrific. Called Fabric-ation, by Yinka Shonibare, it's interesting and thought-provoking, and great fun at the same time, and his use of fabric is wonderful.

Part of it was outside and so photographable, though:

Time was very tight and I had to rush round without seeing everything, so this is just a quick overview of what did see.  Next time I go, I'd like to spend a whole day there - it certainly warrants it.

In the beautiful setting of the the formal garden was an exhibition of work by Hans Josephsohn:

Joan Miro:

Molecule Man 1+1+1, by Jonathan Borofsky:

The Family of Man, by Barbara Hepworth, which I loved - it's very serene, somehow:

Buddha, by Niki de Saint Phalle, which I didn't like at all. It looks like a cyclops dressed as a Mexican wrestler:

Nelly, Mark di Suvero:

I don't know, I couldn't find a label:

Damski Czepek, Ursula von Rydingsvard - it looks like a lace bonnet:

Seated Figures, Magdalena Abakanowicz:

Sitting, Sophie Ryder:

Another unknown:

Promenade, Anthony Caro:

Possibly another Caro, I'm not sure:

Invasion, Michael Zwingmann - it looks very like those plastic-wrapped bales of hay you see in fields!

123454321, Sol LeWitt

There was then a game of Hunt the Gormley. According to the map, I was in the right area, but where was it?  Look up!

One and Other, Antony Gormley:

Tread Pad Pair 1, James Capper:

Part of Bee Library, though I missed the artist's name:

Definitely not sculpture!

Seventy One Steps, David Nash

Uptight Motives 1, 2 and 3, by Henry Moore (with added sheep):

The YSP has a large collection of Moore's work, but I'd run out of time so these were all I had the chance to see.  Definitely a reason for going back.

And finally, a farewell view over the lake to the magnificent Emley Moor tower:

The Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield

On Friday, I went on an Art Fund trip to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I hadn't been to either of them before and thoroughly enjoyed both, though I could have done with more time for a better look round.  I saw all I could in the time available, though!

Hepworth Wakefield

While the Hepworth Gallery concentrates on the work of Barbara Hepworth (you probably guessed that bit), it also has far more than I'd expected by other artists, which was a bonus. A couple of large spaces were dedicated to an exhibition by Haroon Mirza; part of this consisted of works borrowed from the gallery's collection and arranged:

Haroon Mirza installation from the front

And from the back

I have to say, I think incorporating a piece by Henry Moore into your own work is cheating a bit.  I preferred his work that didn't borrow quite so heavily from others:

Haroon Mirza light installation

There were also major exhibitions on William Scott and Post-War British sculpture and painting, but neither of them allowed photography, I'm afraid. You're just going to have to take my word that they're well worth seeing.

Some other items, on loan from York Art Gallery, could be photographed, such as this wonderful painting by John Piper:

Stair Hole, Lulworth, by John Piper

Onto the Hepworth pieces. There were some limited restrictions on photography, but most items were fair game.  I wasn't very good at taking a note of what's what, though, but just try and appreciate them as a whole.

Smaller sculptures:

Prints:

Larger works:

The magnificent Winged Figure:

Winged Figure, Barbara Hepworth

You don't get any sense of scale in the photo, but it's absolutely huge; this is a full-size aluminium model for a piece on the exterior of the John Lewis building in London.

And all together:

One of the most interesting galleries covers how Hepworth worked, with her tools and equipment:

It showed how she would carve blocks of plaster to give the forms she wanted and which could then be cast in bronze, or working with metal mesh, which would then be covered with hessian and plaster:

This piece was intended to show how bronze pieces were then given an oxidised finish, but I just liked the colours:

Next time: the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Sculpture in Gateshead

As I was looking for a bit of practice with my new camera, my friend Steph suggested a trip to Gateshead riverside.  Gateshead, on the south bank of the River Tyne, have made quite a feature of public scuplture, with Antony Gormley's Angel of the North the most famous, but by no means the only, example, and there are a series of sculptures along the river bank

It was rather a rainy day, but undeterred, we headed across the river from Newcastle.  Walking down the path, the first piece we came to was Cone, by Andy Goldsworthy:

Goldsworthy's work in natural settings is always striking, and Steph's a big fan, so that was a good one to start with.

A little further along was Rolling Moon by Colin Rose:

I presume by the name that it's intended to evoke the passage of the Moon in the sky, but it also reflects the curved shapes of the iconic bridges over the Tyne.

A close up of the steel sphere:

Further down still is Goats, by Sally Matthews:

These slightly larger than lifesize recycled metal goats are foraging amongst the undergrowth up the bank:

Moving down to the road next to the river, we next saw the Thornbird Railings by Marcela Livingstone:

To me, they look like a flock of swallows.

Finally, on the way back, we headed past Rise and Fall, by Lulu Quinn:

This is filled with LED lights that light up in random patterns, but I never seemed to click the shutter at the right moment, so you'll have to take my word for that!

Maker Faire UK 2011

I took a day out from sewing today and went to the UK Maker Faire in Newcastle upon Tyne, and I was very glad I did - it was fantastic!

Held simultaneously at two venues, I started at the Centre for Life.  It was busier than I expected and I had to queue for a while for a ticket, but it was worth the wait.  As you might expect, there were a lot of people making things, mostly though not all electronic:

There were also a lot of stands with individuals and groups of makers, who were all very happy to talk, even though my first question was usually, 'What's that?'

Amongst a great deal of other stuff, there was a geodesic dome made out of estate agents' signs:

The Thing-O-Matic 3D printer, here printing out a key fob:

An intricate copper wire and ball bearing thingummy:

And a reel-to-reel-to-reel old fashioned tape setup, recording, overlaying and looping sounds, like an improv Radiophonic Workshop:

There was rather less steampunk than I'd expected, but a couple of heroic representatives:

And, I was very excited to see, Tesla coils!

I've never seen these for real before, so somehow it came as a surprise that the arcs are three-dimensional - they clearly occupy a volume, rather than being in a flat plane.  I don't know why I didn't expect that, but I didn't.

Outside, there was a marvellous scrap metal dragon:

He moved his head and neck, tail and wings (which don't show up at all here, sadly), and, thanks to the propane tanks in his chest, breathed fire:

He was impressive enough for a couple of Daleks to come along for a look!

Some token textiles - someone was yarn-bombing the area, with random knitting attached to trees, lamp-posts and street signs:

That was on the way to the second venue, the Discovery Museum.  It was absolute pandemonium - the numbers of people attending by this stage was huge - not helped by Titan the Robot doing a turn and completely blocking the entrance:

This is a terrific museum, with an emphasis on science and engineering, but which somehow has a good textile collection too.  This was not the ideal day for a proper look round, however, so I'll just settle for a peek at the Turbinia, the first vessel to be powered by a steam turbine:

And finally, the highlight of the day: Arc Attack.  Sadly, none of my photos turned out at all well, so this really doesn't do them justice, but what we have here is a man in a chainmail suit (a wearable Faraday cage), playing the Doctor Who theme tune with a million volts of electricity:

It might be hundred-year-old technology, but it was still one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

The Maker Faire is on tomorrow too, so if you're in the Newcastle area, go and have a look.