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Lost Photos of Nude Men on the Beach from the 1930s

15/11/2022 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Keith Vaughan is an artist who is often overlooked, but when you view his work, and in particular ‘Nude Men on the Beach’ you will be hooked.

Nude Men on the BeachMuch is known about the British painter Keith Vaughan thanks to his extensive journals, written between 1939 and his death in 1977, and described as some of “the greatest confessional writing of the 20th-century”. They document the trials he faced as a gay artist whose principal focus was the male nude, rendered first in an erotic, Neo-Romantic style, and later an increasingly abstracted one.

GALLERY

Keith Vaughan male nude erotica 1930s vintageNude Men on the Beach - Keith Vaughan male nude erotica 1930s vintageKeith Vaughan male nude erotica 1930s vintageKeith Vaughan male nude erotica 1930s vintage

Keith Vaughan

Now further light has been shed on Vaughan’s oeuvre thanks to the rediscovery of a collection of lost photographs from Nude Men on the Beach, taken by the self-taught artist during covert visits to Pagham Beach in West Sussex in the 1930s, with a coterie of male friends. “When Vaughan decided to become a fine artist in 1938, he began to distil a visual language through photography, based on the male figure,” explains David Archer, curator of a new exhibition of the images in London. “After the war, he used the photographs to develop his unique drawing style, with compositional elements recurring in his gouaches and oil paintings until the mid-50s.”

The pictures depict Vaughan’s lithe pals cavorting on the beach, nude or semi-nude, performing handstands and drinking from shells. They brilliantly capture the abundant joy of their protagonists, temporarily freed from the shackles of societal prejudice, while their technical skill aligns Vaughan with the likes of Man Ray and László Moholy-Nagy. “It’s as if he could disappear from his subjects’ presence; he was an observer but never a ringleader,” notes Archer. “Like all true works of art, these images transcend time.”

Keith Vaughan: On Pagham Beach is at Austin Desmond Gallery until 8 December, 2017.

  • Wikipedia – Keith Vaughan
  • Artnet – Keith
  • The Art of Persuasion

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: 1930s, artist, Beach, exhibition, Keith Vaughan, men, Nude., Pagham Beach, West Susses

Street View: Matthew Finn

21/03/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Belfast Exposed is delighted to present Street View: Matthew Finn which features four projects – Mother, Uncle, Wife and Son – by artist Matthew Finn. Finn uses the people and events directlyStreet View: Matthew Finn surrounding his life as visual references for projects that sometimes take years to realise. With no commercial constraints or deadlines, Finn’s subjects are people that are important in his life.

Over a thirty-year period, from 1987 onwards, Matthew Finn collaborated with his mother, Jean, to document her everyday life through a series of portraits taken in her home in Leeds. This series, Mother, is a record of the ordinary, of a daily routine with which we are all familiar. It is also a record of the gradual shift from middle age to old age, and, in Jean’s case, to the onset of mixed dementia and a move from the family home into residential care.

Finn’s father never lived with him and his mother and many times he would make promises that he never kept. His mother would wait to be picked up for a night out with Finn’s Father. Finn can remember her standing there dressed in her fawn, mohair coat, and he wouldn’t turn up. Eventually, she would retreat upstairs to take off her makeup and going-out clothes and return to the TV. This seemed to happen a lot.

Finn’s father is not present in these photographs just as he wasn’t in their lives and yet he haunts these images. He was also the main reason that this project became so important to both Finn and his mother.

Matthew Finn’s series Uncle follows a man through his journey around his home in a suburb of Leeds. The unremarkable story becomes poignant and remarkable through the time span of the collaboration as we follow Uncle Des from the age of 58 up to his death aged 84 in 2014. For over 25 years Finn followed his uncle documenting the everyday habits and quirks that we recognise in ourselves and how we utilise our space. Seeing Des struggle to understand a microwave, choose between potted plants, or being caught in the act during his annual task of cleaning the windows at Christmas, offers the viewer a unique insight into how time is spent at home. Ultimately, through these images, we slowly follow Des into his final moments.

Finn’s partner Martina was also happy to continue his obsession with photographing everybody in his life in his series entitled Wife. Relationships are about sharing and communicating. In this way, this collaboration is not based on unconditional love but an equal voice between Finn and his wife. As a result, this partnership is as much about Finn’s journey as it is Martina’s presence within the pictures.

The final work from Matthew Finn is entitled: Son. A person always there to be photographed. The ultimate expression of the photographer’s unique vision. A subject that never says no. But, how to photograph a baby, a young boy, and then a child with independent thought?

Finn started making pictures of his son Sebastian when was upset or unhappy but Finn soon realised that wasn’t who his son is. The photographs were not about Finn or his son. They were representations of a photographer weighed down by his own understanding of the visual histories of children in art photography. Finn had to learn that when your child says no it is sacred and should not be broken even for a photographic opportunity.

Street View

Street View provides a multimedia exhibition experience to increase the accessibility and visibility of photography on the streets of Belfast. Street View is a large digital window display, complimented with audio narratives, that showcases contemporary artwork by internationally renowned and local emerging photographers to an external audience on the streets of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.

Belfast Exposed believe photography is for everyone, it is accessible, meaningful and has the ability to tell stories, allowing us to create dialogue and reflect upon our history, inform our present and inspire a positive future. Street View is another opportunity to extend our vision beyond the confines of the gallery.

 

Links:

 

  • The Art of Persuasion

Tagged With: Belfast Arts Other, Belfast Events, Belfast Other, exhibition, photography, Things To do In Belfast, United Kingdom Events

Ulster Museum

09/09/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Ulster MuseumUlster MuseumUlster Museum - Outside Sculpture

 

Dear Sir or Madam

I was an avid user of the museum before the lock-down, and in particular, the art galleries, and have really enjoyed the exhibitions over the last three years since my return from Spain, where I had been living for a year.

I was wondering though if it would be feasible to plan ahead and have some exhibitions to cover the areas of:

  • Chinese paintings – maybe something to rival the ‘Masterpieces of Chinese Painting: 700-1900 put on at the V&A
  • An exhibition of Henri Matisse and some of his contemporaries
  • An exhibition of Leonora Carrington’s work,
  • Willy Conor’s work based around the book Conor’s Attic, published by Ormeau Books

It is difficult to suggest areas which might be explored, as I have no idea what the current breadth of paintings and other artistic artefacts are held by the museum and its contemporary institutions which you could borrow from.

I am also very conscious of the terrible burden that the COVID 19 virus both in terms of finances and staffing, has had on institutions like yourselves.

I look forward to hearing from you in due time.

 

Yours faithfully

Dave

 

Reply:

 

Today I received a lovely reply from the Ulster Museum.

 

…

Dear Mr McFarlane

Thank you for your interest and enquiry about future exhibitions. I have copied a number of colleagues into this reply so that your ideas and suggestions can be brought to their attention. If you would like to know more about the art collection at the Ulster Museum you can explore the Art UK website. Unfortunately as I am working remotely I can’t send you a link to this site on this email however I will try to send it separately.

With best wishes

Anne

 

…

 

What made this very satisfactory is that I made my first visit to the museum since ‘lock-down’.  It was a surreal experience in that I had to book my visit first online, then on arrival, I had to queue to have my ticket validated and have the route explained as everything is one-way.

Obviously the standing exhibits have not changed, and whilst I did stop at one or two, I moved quickly on to see the art exhibitions which are always my main interest points.

 

In the main gallery, there is an exhibit of Ursula Burke ‘A False Dawn’ which is on display carried over from lock-down.  Ursula’s work explores abuses of power in the social and political realms of the West (National Museums NI) The main room consists of busts and other individual pieces on separate stands. For me, it was interesting to look at the pieces and in particular the faces of what was white males and compare against that of the one black man’s head – the difference in the facial expression does stop you in your tracks and make you think.

There was another wonderful exhibition on art which had been produced before the realm of posters, postcards, television etc as a means of educating people about exotic places.  Two striking pieces are those of Susanna Drury (fl.1733 – 1770) which she had painted of the Giant’s Causeway.  It is even more poignant as the museum has pointed out that little is know about her.

 

East Prospect of the Giant's Causeway (c.1739)

National Museums NI
East Prospect of the Giant’s Causeway (c.1739)
There was another exhibit and also the main standing one – but you need to visit and look for yourself.



 

 

Filed Under: Community Journalist, Editor to ACOMSDave, Reviews Tagged With: art, Chinese paintings, exhibition, gallery, Henri Matisse, Leonora Carrington, Museum, Ulster, Ursula Burke, Willy Conor

2017 – Royal Ulster Academy of Arts Exhibition

11/02/2018 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

The RUA (Royal Ulster Academy of Arts) 136 Annual Exhibition took place last year in the Ulster Museum, Belfast.   The exhibition was on the 5th floor of the museum (one floor up from the Game of Thrones (GOT) tapestry) and the consisted of works by 266 artists, 169 of whom had been selected from countries, including Germany, Poland, USA< France, Italy, Finland and Denmark.

A backdrop to the RUA’s exhibition was the display of Poppies: Weeping Window sculpture by artist Paul Cumins and designer Tom Piper.  The original installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Sea of Red’ was originally at HM Tower of London in 2014.  This installation was to reflect, as with all 14-18 NOW projects,  aims to prompt a new, nationwide dialogue around the legacy of the First World War.

 

 

Whilst there is no direct link between the two events, the sculpture of poppies certainly made for an interesting talking point for many visitors, whether this is outside, in the refreshment area, the shop or the other areas of the museum.

Returning to the RUA exhibition, for myself, I did not find any of the items on display stood out as exceptional.  They were obviously all of a high calibre, selected for their excellence by the panels, however, I did go back to the exhibition three times and from my visits I came away with these artists as someone to relook at:

 

  • James Allen RUA – Blue Sea (Oil on paper)
  • Neisha Allen ARUA – Doorway (Oil on Board)
  • Daniel Chester – The Gap (Oil on aluminium)
  • Dan Dowling ARUA – In the city (2) (Pencil on paper)
  • Eileen Ferguson – Crossing (Photo etching)
  • Leila Henry – Ballyhernan Dune II (Charcoal on Arches)
  • Belinda Larmour – Kevin (Acrylic)
Crossing - RUA Exhibition

Crossing

Kevin - RUA Exhibition

Kevin

As I said I did go back to the exhibition a number of times and was drawn over that time by a few pieces which seem to hold an affinity for me.  They stopped me, made me think and reflect, and after all that is what art in any shape or form should do – I look forward to this years exhibition, and again will be asking what would I like on my wall, what could and would I talk about but wouldn’t have on my wall?

Filed Under: Editor to ACOMSDave Tagged With: art, exhibition, poppies, RUA, sculpture, ulster museum, World War 1

2016 Will be the Year of Robert Mapplethorpe

06/12/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

OUT dot com logo

BY JERRY PORTWOOD
DECEMBER 04 2015 10:55 AM EST
Robert_Mapplethorpe,_Self-portrait,_1980 (Wikipedia)

Self-Portrait, 1980, Robert Mapplethorpe. Photograph from Wikipedia

It’s been more than 25 years since Senator Jesse Helms and others denounced the controversial photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe due to their frank depictions of nudity, sexuality and fetishism, igniting a culture war, the photographer continues to be a touchstone and his work highly collectible. Now it looks like next spring will be a major turning point in Mapplethorpe’s artistic reputation.
Deputing April 2016 on HBO, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures is a the first feature-length documentary about the artist since his death and is from acclaimed filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Robert Barbato (Inside Deep Throat; HBO’s Wishful Drinking, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye), who are best known as the World of Wonder impresarios, and their breakout hit, RuPaul’s Drag Race.
This coincides with a joint retrospective organized by the Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, titled Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium, that both open in March 2016. The concurrent exhibitions about the late, provocative portrait photographer will delve into Mapplethorpe’s disciplined studio practice, figure studies, and legacy, as well as focus on his methods, sources, and creative processes.
More than 300 mostly black-and-white portraits, still lifes and nudes will be on display between the two museums. They jointly acquired most of the art and archives from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in 2011, including private correspondence, books, and ephemera from the late artist’s estate. In addition, LACMA will be featuring 30 complementary works from other artists as part ofPhysical: Sex and the Body in the 1980s. A new book, Thrill of the Chase: The Wagstaff Collection of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum, presents photographs from the extraordinary collection of Sam Wagstaff, Mapplethorpe’s mentor and lover, who was also the subject a biography last year.
The exhibition will then travel to three international venues—including the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney—after its L.A. run
 

Filed Under: History Tagged With: artist, exhibition, photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe

Struggle for LGBT rights remembered in Westminster banner

12/03/2015 By David McFarlane Leave a Comment

Paula Stevens-Hoare with Ruth Hunt. the CEO of Stonewall (all images: ParliOUT, Paula Stevens-Hoare, UK Parliament)

Paula Stevens-Hoare with Ruth Hunt. the CEO of Stonewall (all images: ParliOUT, Paula Stevens-Hoare, UK Parliament)


Reprinted from Pink News –
11th February 2015, 5:47 PM

  • Molly Rose Pike

 
An exhibition of banners celebrating 800 years of constitutional history, which features one about LGBT rights, has been unveiled at Westminster Hall.
Paula Stevens-Hoare has launched her banner at a talk hosted by ParliOUT, commemorating the struggle for LGBT rights in the time of significant legislation.
“My hope for the banner is that it poses as many questions as it answers.” said artist Paula Stevens-Hoare.
Her 1967 Sexual Offences Act banner was created to remember the struggle of the fight for rights but also celebrate the progress made since early legislation. It will be on display in Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament until November.
Paula, who was born in the same year homosexuality was decriminalised, particularly wanted to promote the achievements for LGBT rights made by wome. The banner features April Ashley, one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment surgery in the ’60s and Ruth Hunt, the CEO of Stonewall.
The banner also features silhouettes of little-known activists, the three women who abseiled onto the Floor of the House of Lords in protest against Section 28- legislation that stated that homosexuality must not be ‘promoted’ as an acceptable lifestyle. Paula was particularly fascinated by these women because nobody is still quite sure who they were.
She told PinkNews: “I’m a bloody feminist. Women’s achievements for LGBT rights aren’t as well documented because women generally aren’t as well documented.
“I suppose whilst I acknowledge that homosexuality for men was criminalised it was more pertinent to them to get the law changed, I recognised there were probably women involved in those campaigners but they probably weren’t in positions of authority or power and weren’t able to make those changes. I particularly wanted to add women to make that gender balance a little bit better.”
The banner features a ribbon connecting the very beginning of the movement to the struggles it faces today. The knots in the ribbon represent the times when the struggle for LGBT rights was very tough, such as Oscar Wilde’s arrest and sentencing and the fight to repeal Section 28.
Paula told Pink News that she hoped the banner would do exactly what Section 28 didn’t want LGBT people to do- promote equal rights.
“I love that it does that. I hope that school kids, anybody and everybody, but especially school kids, will ask questions passing the banner and think about what’s been achieved and what’s still left to achieve. That they will have the confidence to come out if they feel they want to and have the support and help of friends, allies and teachers.”
Ruth Hunt, CEO of Stonewall, told PinkNews that the fight for LGBT rights is not over and the next big change has to be transgender rights.
“The bigger change is how we can inspire LGBT people to get involved in politics in its widest sense and be interested and concern about legislation across the piece.”
Ruth said that the piece is important to remind us of the vitality of remembering our history: “It’s really important that we remember where we’ve come from. It’s our DNA as a movement, if we forget where we’ve come from we can’t safeguard our future.
For Paula Stevens-Hoare, remembering the struggle is personal: “I think seeing how things have changed within my life time gives me great hope for what’s coming next.”
‘The Beginnings of that Freedome’ banners exhibition is on now until November.

Filed Under: Anti-Bullying & Homophobia Tagged With: celebration, exhibition, LGBT rights, westminster hall

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