Ian Dejardin, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, writes about some of the paintings in the permanent collection.
With wit and intelligence, Ian gives us at times sublime, at times hilarious, insights into the nature of the pictures and the artists behind them.
By Iain Betterton, manager of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s shop.
Scala’s new Director’s Choice series starts with Ian Dejardin’s personal tour through the permanent collection at Dulwich Picture Gallery. The series aims to be a refreshing new approach to re-examining already well known and loved bodies of artwork, through the eyes of those who have ultimate responsibility for their upkeep, display and interpretation.
Ian is better placed than most Directors for the task, having been Curator at Dulwich for many years before taking over the hot seat. His choice of 40 works from the collection contains some of the major works, a few lesser known gems, and some complete surprises. Those who assumed there was little else to know about the Dulwich collection ought to think again, and be prepared for some, at times sublime, at times hilarious, insights into the nature of the pictures and the artists behind them. Continue Reading »
Posted in Art, Books and poetry, Dulwich Picture Gallery | Tagged Director's Choice, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Ian Dejardin, Scala Books | Leave a Comment »
By Erica Green, fitness and lifestyle coach
No need to feel guilty watching Wimbledon, your exercise can come later.
Illustration by Tahra Morton
“20 minutes of moderate sex burns about 93 calories – about as much as a couple of sets of doubles tennis.”
Does sexual activity count towards the Governmental recommendations of 30-50 minutes of exercise 3 to 5 times a week? Continue Reading »
Posted in Favourites, Health & Fitness, Rude bits | Tagged golf, Keep fit, sex | Leave a Comment »
June 30, 2009 by Angie Macdonald
We know that there are a lot of you out there and many of you read Dulwich OnView. Anne Shelton was a Dulwich resident for many years and her niece, Kelly Richards, is organising a tribute concert to be held in Eastbourne at the end of July. Kelly writes:
31st July 2009 will be the 15th anniversary to the day that Anne sadly passed away. The world not only lost one of the greatest female singers that England has ever produced, but also the most kindest, loving lady that one could have ever met. I thought that it would be a fine tribute, to such a fine lady of song to produce a show in her memory, and in celebration of her life, and what better than to add to that a 1940’s theme?
The next step was to produce the show for a worthwhile charity, as Anne spent so much of her life working for all sorts of charities, and was well known in the show business circle as a great fund raiser. There are so many worthwhile charities that deserve so much support, but the one that I felt would be most appropriate for this show is the Not Forgotten Association which is a charity for disabled ex-servicemen and women from all conflicts from WW2 to current day warfare. This also is the charity for which Continue Reading »
Posted in Events, Film, Theatre & Music, South London People | Tagged Anne Shelton, Not Forgotten Association | 1 Comment »
June 30, 2009 by asayburn
Suddenly, life drawing is trendy. Classes have sprung up across London; Radio 4’s Front Row investigated the phenomenon, and Channel 4 has run ‘live’ life drawing classes in the afternoon, with artists like Maggie Hambling providing the expertise. Dulwich, of course, has long been ahead of the curve, as Anna Sayburn explains.
I went along to one of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s popular life drawing classes for three consecutive evenings last year, with tutor Luke Jones. Not having picked up a pencil since school, it felt like a bit of a leap, but I was curious.
One of my life class drawings
The class was a mixture of art students wanting to brush up their drawing, amateurs improving their skills, and a few beginners, like me. However, as we went round the room introducing ourselves and our experience, I felt surprisingly nervous and out of my depth.
I needn’t have worried. Everyone was friendly, and far too immersed in their own work to have time to laugh at my efforts. I began attempting a charcoal outline of the model’s lovely curves – only to be told by Luke to avoid lines, and to attempt to model the body with patches of dark and light, shade and highlight.
Much harder, but eventuallyI began to get the hang of it. It felt closer to modelling in clay than drawing on paper, as we moved quickly through some five minute ‘warm-up’ poses – for us or for the model, I wondered?
One surprise was how quickly one got over the slight shock of seeing an adult stranger standing naked before a class of people, all gazing intently at her. Continue Reading »
Posted in Art, Dulwich Picture Gallery | Tagged channel four, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Life drawing, luke jones, Maggie Hambling | 1 Comment »
Dawn Kozoboli is a local writer who loves swimming at the Brockwell Lido, soaking up the sun at the side of it, and like many others, is inspired by the water, the open space, and the people there.
Illustration by Rosa Goodman
‘Some come to swim, some to sunbathe, some to mend broken hearts and some you can see are just about to have their hearts broken….’
He, the visiting Eurocrat,
She, the linguist queen at home.
She loves the Lido for
being uncomplicated,
regal in its simplicity:
just get in and swim.
Paradigms
of every kind
they just float away.
No tense
but the present,
the only aspect
- this.
Grief may be around the corner; Continue Reading »
Posted in Around Dulwich, Books and poetry, South London People | Tagged Brockwell Lido, Dido and Aeneas, poetry | Leave a Comment »
June 26, 2009 by stevejslack
Local glass artist Sue King talks to Dulwich OnView about her work and her studio in south London.
As I sit here writing in my study, I can’t help casually glancing* over out of the window and admiring the striking glass sculptures in my next door neighbour’s garden. That’s because I live next to Sue King, an artist who creates these stunning pieces of fused glass. So I went to pester her and find out how she does it.
Sue works using thin strips of coloured glass which, when laid out flat on a sheet of clear glass and then fired at temperatures around 800° C then fuse together, to create these seamless and mesmerising pieces.
Continue Reading »
Posted in Art, East Dulwich, Interviews | Tagged Cockpit Arts, designer maker, East Dulwich, glass artist, Maker Difference, Sue King | Leave a Comment »
The Blue Elephant Theatre in Camberwell has collaborated with Sweet or Sour to present Short Cut(s)/Catharsis, a double bill of performance art which showed last week.
Laverne Hunt talked to the director and one of the actors, and went to the press night.
Catharsis depicts the personal quest of a disgraced man for rebirth through a series of choreographed rituals and visual confessions. Blending live projections, introspective movements with ambiguous written and spoken words, this performance art piece explores the themes of redemption, inner struggles to regain dignity and self-esteem.
Short Cut(s) is a performance installation inspired by the Ancient Greek and Medieval theories of The Classical Elements. Referring to R. Altman’s film, Short Cuts, this experimental piece re-interprets some of D.H Lawrence existentialist poems through movement, spoken words and multimedia to explore the feelings of isolation, resistance and the constant fear of alienation experienced by 5 lost souls condemned to wander eternally in the Abyss.
The Blue Elephant is tucked away in a side road off the Walworth Road. On arrival you are welcomed by a dimly lit contemporary bar hung with illustrations from past and present.
I had been invited to interview Bronwen Sharp, a Dulwich based actress. She has a fresh and sweet personality full of enthusiasm Continue Reading »
Posted in Art, Dance, Film, Theatre & Music, Interviews, Past Events, Reviews, South London, South London People | Tagged Blue Elephant Theatre, performance art, Short Cuts/Catharsis | Leave a Comment »
