Questionning the Masterpiece Study Day

Vanessa Bell

Fascinating day at Sainsbury Centre.  Six speakers with their views on the word Masterpiece.  Topics ranged from

- 'Is masterpiece best understood as a neural phenomenon?' by John Onians.  He spoke about original paleolithic art being a masterpiece because it was observed and drawn from the natural environment and that subsequent copies of those marks were inferior.  Neuro-scientific research has also shown that brain activity is modified by verbal information, ie we are influenced by the opinions of others. Pre-language art, neural connections, observation, correction ... a lot to think about.

- 'The civic role of a masterpiece'

Joseph Stannard 1829
 

was argued by Sarah Monks.  She focussed on Joseph Stannards' 1829 painting of a coastal scene with fisherman. She described the painting as socially specific, minutely detailed, reflecting life at that time, naturalistic, truthful, intense and beautiful.  She also acknowledged that it was influenced by the market for Dutch representational seascapes and the purchaser didn't require a knowledge of art to understand it.  She compared it favourably to the works of Crome and Cotman - who used people as accessories to the painting. 

Lee Grandjean, Blue Legs and Crystal 2011

- sculptor and painter Lee Grandjean declared that are no masterpieces - only works of art that have survived.  He also spoke about the concept of craftsmanship - whether technical mastery is learnable, whether it is relevant to creativity and whether overcrafting is an impediment to art.  He described art as an energy of restless doubt and enquiry.  The audience likened his work to the punk movement and to Bruce Maclean.

Hieronymus Bosch

- I was especially interested in Michael Brennand Wood's presentation.  His consistent inspiration is the 'bewildering perplexity' of Hieronymus Bosch who he discovered in his local library when he was a teenager.  Whilst I have seen and admired Michael Brennand-Wood's work but I don't think I ever understood the depth of it.  For instance in his piece 'Pretty Deadly' he includes an image of a soldier's face on each of the 1000 flowers.  I was pleased to hear that he finds satisfaction in making all his embroideries himself  - he "likes making stuff" - because I too enjoy the peace of repetition and creativity involved in multiple pieces.  His approach to designing a floral rug was to place real flowers together to create the design, the photographic image inspiring the final pattern. His interest in carpets prompted him to  'restore and remix' a threadbare rug which he very subtly changed - the traditional patterns became transformers and skull and crossbones.  I am inspired by that subtlety - it has the power to transform meaning, mood and humour.  Michael and I did a little tour of the exhibition together to look at the Vanessa Bell textile.

- Liz Rideal, a fine art photographer spoke about how

Liz Rideal 2010

'Mistresspieces' are influenced by fashion, taste and money - enhanced by the death or knighthood of the artist. She has worked with photobooth photographs using handshapes to create large pieces.  She has also worked extensively with silk textiles which are thrown within classic architecture and photographed creating beautiful ethereal images.  



- and Mark Wilsher spoke about his role as an cultural, sociological artist/writer (Art Monthly).  His current work involves meaningfully constructed 3 dimensional models about philosophy which he introduces to philosophy students for comment and to invite them to make their own models.  The size and shape of the cardboard sections reflect the importance of the philosopher's theories.  Each section is annotated.

The panel/audience discussion at the end of the day discussed the lack of contemporary art/outsider art/children's art in the exhibition, the use of the word 'masterpiece' in the title, the success and popularity of the exhibition and the perplexity of the exhibition which displays such a wide range of artists/styles/eras/subject matter.  Of course the common thread is East Anglia but sometimes that connection is a little tenuous.   Masterpiece is surely in the eye of the beholder.