Poster Girls–a century of art and design

Cup Final, by Anna Katrina Zinkeisen, 1934

London Transport Museum is celebrating 100 years of poster art and design by women with a major exhibition that opened on Friday 13 October. Women artists contribution to art on the underground has been largely overlooked during the 20th century but with the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI in 1918 and 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918 which allowed some women the right to vote in elections it was decided that the time was right to unearth some of the visual treasures stored in the museum’s archive and put them on public display.

Epping Forest, by Nancy Smith, 1922

Frank Pick was responsible for commissioning artists to design the iconic London Transport posters during the 1920s and 1930s and this period coincided with the birth of commercial art and advertising and the emergence of graphic design. The exhibition begins with the first poster designed by a woman, Ella Coates in 1910. It portrayed a landscape with a few words of text which was typical for the time and promoted travelling to Kew Gardens by tram. The exhibition continues, more-or-less chronologically until 2015 with fascinating examples of design that reflect the social concerns of the day like the Motor Show at Olympia, Derby Day, Rugby at Twickenham, the Oxford Cambridge boat race, the summer sales, days out to the countryside including Epping Forest and the hop gardens of Kent.

Some of the artists have signed their work but others remain anonymous. What they have in common is the ability to tell a story and to evoke an atmosphere through their draughtsmanship, use of typography and colour that are not only a pleasure to look at but at the same time promoted London Underground as an optimistic and forward thinking company.

I was invited to review this exhibition by the Islington Archaeology and History Society and while I was exploring the exhibition I was very excited to see a poster designed by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis in 1936. Clifford Ellis is the only man featured in this exhibition because he and his wife Rosemary always worked as a double act and he was also the head of Bath Academy of Art until 1972 where I later studied graphic design. In addition to this Jane Strother also has a poster from 1999 in this exhibition–we were students at roughly the same time–and seeing these pieces of work reminded me of the three years I spent at this remarkable school of art.

Poster Girls–a century of art and design, 13 October to January 2019, London Transport Museum. 

Come out to play, by Clifford Ellis and Rosemary Ellis, 1936

 

Sensing spaces at the Royal Academy

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the rarefied atmosphere of the Royal Academy of Arts last week at the Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined exhibition. Seven distinguished, international architectural practices were set the challenge of giving us, the viewer, a new perspective of architecture. The result was a number of large architectural installations designed to make us ask questions about space, light, structures, textures and materials – things we generally take for granted in our daily lives and don't ever think that architects need to answer when they are designing buildings.

You can see some very good photographs of this exhibition at Join the big picture blog which conveys an excellent impression of the installations. I found it great fun moving from one installation to the next and slowly immersing myself in each different experience be it moving from shadow to light, or climbing up a tower and then walking slowly downstairs via a ramp. Inhaling the smell of pine and pretending to be in a forest. Entering a darkened space lit only by spotlights shining light onto wavy twigs felt quite hypnotic and adding a plastic straw to an experimental sculpture made me feel part of the process not just an observer. On the way towards the exit I appreciated the film where the different architects explained the reasons behind their design decisions.

Entering Canary Wharf underground station

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience but then I began to wonder if I really needed to visit an art gallery to have my eyes opened to the built environment. I often travel around London from Canary Wharf underground station which is like a cathedral to concrete. It was designed by Sir Norman Foster and opened in 1999 and it was voted the 'most loved' tube station in a poll in 2013 which suggests I'm not alone in my admiration of this station. Once you have reached the ticket hall you then descend as far again to the platforms. As you walk through these vast spaces you can't help but be physically affected by the way the series of giant pillars relate with the soaring ceiling and contrast with the gleam of the floor and the matt qualities of the concrete walls. I find it all quite soothing so for me this station has all the qualities of an art installation while at the same time being something of great practical use.

Public art 7: Torsion II by Charles Hadcock

Torsion II outside Canary Wharf underground station

This sculpture caught my eye as I was dashing towards Canary Wharf underground station last week. I don't remember seeing it there before so it might have been installed quite recently or I might just have been walking around with my eyes shut for the last few months.

I took this photo on a dull day with my camera phone so it's not a very distinct image. I recommend visiting Charles Hadcock's website where you can see this sculpture much more clearly along with many others displayed in outdoor settings.

Charles Hadcock is a new artist to me although he has been labouring away for years. I find this sculpture interesting because of its upward movement and geometric qualities but I wasn't particularly taken with some of the other work on display on his website. I found some of it rather clunky and too big for its setting. The monumental sculpture I prefer is by artists like Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Anthony Caro.