The Great Spectacle

250 Years of the Summer Exhibition

“There shall be an Annual Exhibition of Paintings. Sculptures and Designs, which shall be open to all artists of distinguished merit”

Simultaneously seen as a “monster”, a “farrago”, a “delight” and a “triumph”, the Royal Academy is celebrating its 250th Summer Exhibition since 1769, a few months after the Academy was founded with permission of King George III on 10th December 1768. Considered to be the most democratic art exhibition in the world, the RA has gone to town with the anniversary celebration, decorating the nearby streets with flags designed by some of the Academicians: Grayson Perry, this year’s curator, Cornelia Parker, Rose Wylie and Joe Tilson.

 

 

The Summer Exhibition contains a mish-mash of artwork of all genres produced by artists working today. Although it is impossible to give it a theme – Grayson Perry has titled it Art Made Now – it is safe to say that the exhibits fall into the “contemporary” or “modern” category. Many people turn their noses up, unable to appreciate what they see because they “don’t understand it”. Nonetheless, the RA attracts thousands of visitors every summer who walk around saying things such as “that is clever” or “I like that one”, although, whether they are being serious is another matter.

“You go into the Summer Show and it’s a huge tumble-dryer of art swirling around you.”
– Grayson Perry RA

The RA Summer Exhibition was not always as varied as it is today; at the beginning, the “contemporary art” displayed is now considered traditional or masterpieces. Running concurrently with the Show is another major exhibition The Great Spectacle, which explores the history of the Summer Exhibition, or Annual Exhibition as it was originally called. The first exhibition in 1769 contained works from the founding members, including Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88), Benjamin West (1738-1820) and RA President Joshua Reynolds (1723-92). Only running for a month, the show attracted approximately 14,000 visitors, a phenomenal amount for a new enterprise in the 18th-century.

Typical of the Georgian era, the first few exhibitions showed examples of portraiture and histories presented in the standard style that was taught in art schools, influenced by the Renaissance. The curators of The Great Spectacle have selected the works that they believe have had the strongest impact on the Annual/Summer Exhibition over the years, to provide visitors with a “chronological walk” through the changing themes and conventions in both art and British society.

 

 

Maria Marow Gideon and Her Brother, William – Joshua Reynolds PRA

Joanna Leigh, Mrs Richard Bennett Lloyd, Inscribing a Tree – Joshua Reynolds PRA 1776

Hector Taking Leave of Andromache – Angelica Kauffman RA

The Royal Academy’s first president, Joshua Reynolds was known for his full-length portraits. Although portraiture was common during the 18th and preceding centuries, Reynolds stood out for his striking poses and literary motives. For him, painting likenesses of his sitters was not just about vanity. For example, in Maria Marow Gideon and Her Brother, William, whilst Maria sits with her head turned towards the viewer, her brother strikes a nonchalant pose, his attention solely focused on his sister. In Reynold’s portrait of Joanna Leigh (1776), he shows her inscribing the name of her husband into the tree in front of her, referencing a scene from Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), one of two women to be included amongst the Founding Members, the only female members to be elected until the 20th-century, also excelled at portrait painting. However, the example of her work shown in The Great Spectacle is a grand history painting titled Hector Taking Leave of Andromache (1768), which depicts a scene from Homer’s Iliad. Hector is saying goodbye to his wife and baby son, Astyanax, completely unaware that this will be his final farewell – Hector is heading off to war and will not live to see the end.

 

 

St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall – Turner, 1834

Calais Sands at Low Water – Turner

The Leaping Horse – Constable, 1825

The beginning on the 19th-century saw noticeable changes in the style of artwork exhibited. In 1790, the fifteen-year-old Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) exhibited in the Annual Exhibition for the first time. Rather than painting portraits or histories, Turner preferred seascapes, often blurring the colours of the land, sea and sky. He also introduced watercolour as a respectable medium, which had previously been considered unprofessional. He received mixed reviews and critics remarked upon the small scale of his canvases that were dwarfed by the much larger paintings of the other Members. Instead of causing his work to be overlooked, the diminutive size caught people’s attention, allowing visitors to study and comment on the details: “the sun is positively shining.”

The appeal of landscape painting was a result of the many wars in which Britain was involved. The breath-taking scenes, such as St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, were symbols and reminders of what the soldiers were fighting for. Unfortunately, the increase in landscape painters created tension amongst members of the RA, particularly between Turner and John Constable (1776-1837). The two artists were always in competition with each other to produce the most noteworthy painting.

 

 

Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch – David Wilkie, 1822

Ramsgate Sands (Life at the Seaside) – William Powell Frith, 1851-4

Another artistic development of the early 19th-century was the arrival of “genre painting”. These revealed scenes of everyday life including those of common people, not only the upper and middle classes seen in earlier works. The walls of the Academy were soon full of dirty urchins, lowly family homes and bustling marketplaces, topics that were previously taboo amongst the well-dressed exhibition-goers. One example is the Scottish painter David Wilkie’s (1785-1841) Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch, showing a slightly inebriated crowd celebrating the decisive coalition victory of the Battle of Waterloo (1815). William Powell Frith (1819-1909) also produced a number of genre paintings. His depiction of the crowds at a private view of the Annual Exhibition is positioned at the beginning of The Great Spectacle, later, his painting Ramsgate Sands (Life at the Seaside) reveals a whole host of people of different status.

 

Isabella – John Everett Millais, 1848-9

My First Sermon – John Everett Millais, 1863

My Second Sermon – John Everett Millais, 1864

In 1840, the Royal Academy Schools admitted its youngest ever student, the eleven-year-old John Everett Millais (1829-96). Less than a decade later, his genre painting Isabella (1848-9) was displayed at the Annual Exhibition, revealing the skill and tuition he had received by the RA teachers. This painting, however, is rather significant in the timeline of the history of art due to one small segment. On the bench that Isabella is sitting on are the initials PRB. At the time, critics did not know what this stood for, yet it would soon become clear. In 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded, a group of artists who rejected the teachings of the Royal Academy believing the classical poses and compositions students were encouraged to produce were a corrupting influence. The group particularly despised Sir Joshua Reynolds, whom they nicknamed “Sir Sloshua”. Ironically, Millais was elected as President of the RA in 1896, however, died of throat cancer later that year.

Being part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood did not prevent artists from submitting works to the Annual Exhibition. Millais’ two paintings My First Sermon and My Second Sermon were both included, which expressed two opposing attitudes about going to church. In both paintings, the little girl, Millais’ daughter Effie, is dressed in her Sunday best, seated on a pew in a church. In the first scene, Effie is fully focused and engaged with the sermon, whereas, in the second, she has fallen asleep. Previous artists would never have dared to tackle such controversial themes.

The Roll Call – Elizabeth Butler, 1874

From the PRB onwards, artists became radically honest in their artwork. Rather than paint beautiful images or portraits that people wanted to see, they began painting what could actually be seen, the truth. None is more poignant than Elizabeth Butler’s (née Thompson, 1846-1933) The Roll Call showing the surviving soldiers from the Grenadier Guards during the Crimean War. Instead of smartly dressed, respectable heroes, the artist revealed the horrors of war through their collapsed, exhausted states. The Roll Call, the first of its kind, needed to be guarded by a policeman due to its popularity amongst exhibition-goers. Later, Queen Victoria insisted on purchasing the painting and it still remains part of the Royal Collection today.

It was unfortunate that there were no policemen around on 4th May 1914 to protect John Singer Sargent’s (1856-1925) painting of the writer Henry James (1843-1916) from being attacked with a meat cleaver. The Suffragette Mary Wood smuggled the weapon into the Summer Exhibition and slashed the painting with a cry of “votes for women”, in protest of art by men being more highly valued than those by women.

The year 1914 sparked the beginnings of turbulent times for the RA. Although the Summer Exhibitions continued through the First World War, there was a significant drop in visitors, resulting in a financial struggle for the Academy. To make matters worse, the Academy was hit by a bomb in 1917, completely destroying Gallery IX. When the war ended, the first ever poster advertising the Summer Exhibition was produced in the hopes of enticing visitors back to the gallery – it worked. Examples of posters from the past century are included in The Great Spectacle.

 

Lamorna Birch and His Daughters – Dame Laura Knight

Winter Sunshine – Sir Winston Churchill

The end of the First World War also resulted in the right for women (aged 30 and over) to vote. Although women had been involved with the RA, two of whom were founding members, they had mostly been shunned from the Academy. In 1922, the RA elected its first female Associate Member, Annie Swynnerton (1844–1933), but it was not until 1936 when it named the first woman to be a full Member since Kauffman and Moser in 1768. Laura Knight (1877-1970) was honoured with this position and her painting Lamorna Birch and his Daughters received mixed reviews from critics.

After the Second World War, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was elected Honorary Academician Extraordinary. To date, Churchill is the only person to ever hold this title. Unbeknownst to some, Churchill had submitted a couple of paintings to the Summer Exhibition under the pseudonym David Winter.

 

The Toy Shop – Sir Peter Blake

There’s a lot of money in chairs – Tracey Emin, 1994

Stolen Thunder III – Cornelia Parker, 2015

The final rooms of The Great Spectacle resemble what parts of the Summer Exhibition looks like today. Post-WWII, the Academy accepted works from a number of the new art movements that were cropping up throughout the world. Peter Blake’s (b1932) Toy Shop was the first example of Pop Art in the Exhibition, which caused many people to begin questioning what “art” meant. Also, the year 1956 introduced the first non-painter President, Charles Wheeler (1892-1974). Although a previous President, Lord Leighton (1830-96), had produced sculptures, he was primarily a painter; Wheeler, on the other hand, was solely a sculptor.

By the 1990s, the Royal Academy was seeing more contemporary art than ever before. In 1997, Tracey Emin’s (b1963) re-upholstered chair There’s a lot of money in chairs was exhibited at the Summer Exhibition, a complete contrast to the types of art shown at the original shows. Tracey Emin later became a Royal Academician as well as a number of other contemporary artists.

The final artwork in The Great Spectacle is Cornelia Parker’s (b1956) Stolen Thunder III, which certainly challenges the meaning of “art”. Since 1865, red dots have been used to indicate that an artwork has been sold; Parker photographed an example containing numerous red dots, digitally removed the artwork from the frame, and submitted the resulting photograph to the Exhibition. She then photographed her own image, complete with new red dots, and submitted that the following year. Every year since, she has presented a similar outcome; one can be seen in the current Summer Exhibition.

As Academicians, Emin, Parker and other artists, such as David Hockney (b1937), can forego the selection process and exhibit their work in the Summer Exhibition. Hockney has several wall-sized paintings on display this year, which are detectable by his very unique style.

 

If Sir Joshua Reynolds could see the Royal Academy now, would he be pleased? Probably not. No longer are the traditional art styles of 18th and 19th centuries submitted to the Academy. Instead of fighting to produce the best work, artists are determined to create something unique in order to stand out amongst the thousands of others. Often, it is not what an artwork looks like, it is the artist’s intention and purpose that earns it a place in the Summer Exhibition. Nonetheless, as the current President Christopher Le Brun (b1951) points out, the RA was originally established to “promote the arts of design”, therefore, since everyone today has a different perception about what makes art “art”, it is only right that a mishmash of submissions makes it to the final show.

This year’s exhibition, the extra special 250th, is the largest thus far, spreading out over several galleries. It is also one of the brightest, colourful exhibitions the RA has ever produced. Often, art exhibitions are situated in dimly lit rooms so as not to damage the artworks, however, the Summer Exhibition is so light and spacious that it could almost be outside in daylight.

Although many people turn their noses up at “modern art”, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition receives more visitors than ever before, the record being more than 230,000. Since it is the Summer Exhibition’s anniversary, it is anticipated that this year will surpass the current record of attendees, setting a precedent for the next 250 years.

Both The Great Spectacle and the Summer Exhibition are open to the public until 19th August 2018. The former costs £14 (£16 with donation) per person and the Summer Exhibition costs £16 (or £18) plus an additional £3 for a catalogue of artwork. 

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Discover a Whole New World …

From Broadway to the West End, Disney’s Musical Comedy Aladdin has been taking audiences on journeys to a whole new world for the past four years. Premiering on 26th February 2014 at the New Amsterdam Theatre in Manhatten, Aladdin soon flew to London in 2016, landing at the Prince Edward Theatre, taking the place of the successful Miss Saigon.

Based on the Number One Movie of the Year 1992, Aladdin brings to the stage some of the most loved Disney characters and songs for everyone, young and old, to enjoy. With magic tricks, pyrotechnics and lots of dancing, it is an experience unlike any musical production in the West End so far.

The well-known tale tells the story of a poor young man living on the streets of the Middle Eastern city of Agrabah who is granted three wishes from a genie in a lamp, which he uses to win the heart of the princess Jasmine and defeat the evil Grand Vizier. Featuring most of the scenes from the 90-minute animated film, the musical contains new songs and characters, extending the performance by an additional 40-minutes.

Loosely based on the story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights, Aladdin, played by Matthew Croke, the co-principal of RMC Academy of Theatre Performance in Sheffield, is a street urchin who first meets and falls in love with Princess Jasmine when he meets her in the marketplace. Running away from the palace and her father’s attempts to find her a suitor, Jasmine is disguised as an ordinary woman and Aladdin has no idea who she really is, although he soon finds out. Arrested by the Royal Guard for supposedly kidnapping the princess, Aladdin is rescued by the sultan’s Grand Vizier who, it turns out, has an evil ulterior motive.

Jafar, the Grand Vizier, is an evil, determined man who wants to become sultan and ruler of the city of Agrabah, but he can only achieve this with the help of a magic lamp. Although he knows the lamp is hidden in the Cave of Wonders, only a “diamond in the rough” can access it, and that diamond turns out to be Aladdin. The street urchin must enter the cave and take the lamp without touching anything else, however, a shiny ruby catches Aladdin’s eye. A single touch causes the cave entrance to collapse leaving Aladdin trapped inside.

 

Abu

For the majority of the first half, the storyline has stayed almost the same as the film version, with the addition of a few new characters. Those who have seen the animation will recall that Aladdin had a kleptomaniac pet monkey named Abu, however, this was not possible on stage. Instead, Aladdin has three friends, Babkak, Kassim and Omar, who sing and dance with him in the marketplace as well as getting into all sorts of trouble. Although these are never seen before characters, they were originally written for the film but never made the final cut. Reintroducing them into the story allowed Howard Ashman’s (1950-1991) upbeat song Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim to be heard for the first time. This is a great tribute to the lyricist who died shortly before the release of the film to which he had devoted so much time.

Iago and Jafar

Another animal in the 1992 version of Aladdin was Iago, the sultan’s sarcastic, rude parrot who teamed up with the evil Jafar. Likewise to Abu, it was not possible to have a talking animal on stage, so Iago became a man. Working as Jafar’s personal assistant, Iago’s character has a comedic effect with his disrespectful comments and over-the-top grovelling.

Thankfully, the most popular character in Aladdin, and most vital to the plot, receives the portrayal he deserves with fantastic songs, costumes and stage presence. It was going to be difficult to beat Robin William’s (1951-2014) character Genie of the Lamp but award-winning Trevor Dion Nicholas rose to the challenge, not only performing in the original Broadway production but making his debut in the West End, too.

By the end of the Act One, Aladdin has rubbed the lamp, met Genie and discovered he can be granted three wishes. This culminates in the popular song Friend Like Me, also written by Ashman, however, instead of performing the 2-minute film version verbatim, the producers extended it to last an impressive 8-minutes. Full of various forms of dancing and style of music, Friend Like Me pays tribute to other Disney productions, such as The Little Mermaid, and contains a tap dancing element in recognition of the show 42nd Street. Including magic tricks worthy of being in any magician’s repertoire, the final number of the act is thoroughly entertaining causing the audience to fall about laughing several times and wish for more.

 

Act two begins with the first of Aladdin’s wishes: to be a prince so that he can try to persuade Jasmine to marry him – cue the lengthy, amusing number, Prince Ali. This leads on to the awe-inspiring flying carpet scene where Aladdin takes Jasmine to see the world.  Whilst up in the air on a carpet held up either with invisible strings or real magic, the pair sing the most famous song from the film A Whole New World. Written by award-winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice (b1944), the romantic song is a stark contrast to the upbeat, fast numbers that preceded it, the only exception being Proud of Your Boy, which was cut from the original screenplay.

It does not take long for Aladdin to realise that pretending to be someone he is not causes more problem than it solves. Jasmine has recognised him from the marketplace but believes he is a prince. On top of that, Jafar and Iago trick Aladdin into getting arrested and thrown into the dungeons. Thankfully, Genie releases him with the use of a second wish, but what should he do with his third wish? Aladdin had initially promised Genie he would release him from his lamp but he also needs help rectifying the situation his first wish got him into.

Before he has a chance to decide, Jafar gets his hand on the lamp and wishes to become sultan. With everyone in the palace under his control, the new sultan wishes for more power and becomes a sorcerer. However, Jafar’s greed for strength and influence results in his downfall. Aladdin, with no help other than his own intelligence, convinces Jafar to wish to be an all-powerful genie, thus tying him to a lamp, cursed to spend the rest of his days granting wishes.

Although he could still wish for the princess’ hand in marriage, Aladdin chooses to set Genie free. Moved by his actions, the sultan (now restored to his rightful position) declares Princess Jasmine may marry whoever she pleases, be he royalty or commoner. So, Aladdin gets his other wish after all!

 

It would not be Disney without a happily-ever-after ending, however, Aladdin is full of hidden messages and morals, which makes the ending even better. Having three wishes fulfilled (as long as they do not involve love or death, Genie is banned from granting those type) seems like a fantastic opportunity, however, it also causes unforeseen problems. Aladdin thought to become a prince would improve his life and win him the heart of Jasmine, instead, he ends up insulting the princess and landing himself in prison.

Likewise, Jafar thought having his wishes granted would lead him to be the most powerful man in the kingdom. The power hungry villain was blinded by his greed and easily tricked into wishing to be a genie and sealing his fate, literally, in a lamp. With great power comes great responsibility, the obligation to grant everyone else three wishes!

As both Jafar and Aladdin discover, attempting to be someone you are not is not the right way to go about things. Jasmine loved the street urchin she met in the marketplace, not the arrogant prince who flaunted his wealth. Jafar pretended to be a trustworthy Grand Vizier but eventually received punishment for his wicked ways.

The biggest theme, however, is imprisonment and freedom. Genie, although powerful, is tied to his lamp, destined to do his master’s bidding for the rest of eternity. Jasmine and Aladdin, one rich, one poor, are both limited by their lifestyles. Aladdin is always looked down on for being homeless and a disappointment to his late mother, whereas, Jasmine has no rights as a woman and must do everything her father wishes. The lifting of these restrictions on each of the characters makes the ending all the more perfect.

The West End musical Aladdin has only been running in London for two years but if the film is anything to go by, it will be one of the more successful shows in theatres. In 1992, Aladdin was the highest grossing film of the year ($217 million) and won a Grammy for the song A Whole New World. This phenomenal achievement was for an animated movie that only contained six songs, whereas the newer stage version has fourteen.

Disney was fortunate to have the eleven times Grammy Award-winning composer Alan Menken (b1949) on the team to produce both the film score and agree to work on the musical performance two decades later. Along with the lyricist Chad Beguelin, incredible new songs were produced for the stage that made the music much more impressive than in the original film. Of course, Rice’s A Whole New World needed to be kept in the script as well as Howard Ashman’s original songs and a few that never made it into the film. Ashman, who died of complications due to AIDs in 1991 would be proud to know that people are finally hearing more of his great works. Known as “our friend … who gave a Mermaid her voice and a Beast his soul …”, the added snippets of songs from A Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are a perfect tribute to him.

 

Of course, the stage musical could not work without the phenomenal set design arranged by a whole team of people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The scenes are truly impressive, not just for the way they look but for the way they function too. Just like the dancers, the sets had to be choreographed to move when they needed in order to transform into a different scene at the given time. During songs, particularly Friend Like Me, the set design is constantly moving as Genie uses his magic. Only the performers get applauded at the end of the show, however, the design team ought to be given greater recognition.

Members of the ensemble, for many of whom Aladdin is their debut West End performance, need to be appreciated too. Whilst they may not be a named character, they play a number of different roles, know most of the songs, learn hundreds of dance steps and are extremely quick at getting changed in and out of various costumes. In essence, these performers are the backbone of the show.

It is safe to say that Aladdin is a must-see show. It may not have the timelessness of other productions such as Les Misérables, but its upbeat, comic value makes it an entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable show. Suitable for all ages, Aladdin is the perfect show to see as a family outing or friends’ get-together, as proved by the rapidly selling tickets.

Tickets are available to purchase from Delfont Mackintosh Theatres at a variety of prices. Book online, by phone or in person at the Prince Edward Theatre in Old Compton Street, London. 

The Great British Seaside

“August Bank Holiday – a tune on an ice-cream cornet. A slap of sea and a tickle of sand. A fanfare of sunshades opening. A wince and whinny of bathers dancing into deceptive water. A tuck of dresses. A rolling of trousers. A compromise of paddlers. A sunburn of girls and a lark of boys. A silent hullabaloo of balloons.
I remember the sea telling lies in a shell held to my ear for a whole harmonious, hollow minute by a small, wet girl in an enormous bathing suit marked Corporation Property.”

– Dylan Thomas, 1946

With over 11,000 miles of coastline, Great Britain is famed for its beaches. Only 72 miles separate the furthest person from the beach, resulting in the majority of the population having experienced the sand between their toes and the crashing on the waves. Nearly everyone has memories of paddling in the sea, donkey rides, buckets and spades, picnics on the beach, fish and chips by the pier, searching for crabs in rock pools, and running wild and free. With this in mind, the National Maritime Museum‘s summer exhibition is The Great British Seaside: Photography from the 1960s to the present, a display of over 100 images by four British photographers taken in 42 different seaside locations.

Beaches differ throughout the world, for instance, the Mediterranean photos seen in Travel Brochures, with perfect white beaches and no sandcastle in sight. The Great British seaside experience is a totally different, unique affair. Nowhere else will families be seen putting up multicoloured windbreaks, stubbornly sitting in deckchairs determined to enjoy the so-called summer despite the nippy wind.

Children run around wearing only a pair of shorts, whilst young women sunbathe in their swimsuits and elderly gentlemen daringly roll up their trouser legs as they settle into their seats with a newspaper, sweating in their shirts and ties.  Regardless of what people are doing or wearing, everyone is fully occupied by their own activities to notice or judge one another.

As the photographs in this exhibition reveal, everyone behaves differently at the seaside. Away from the offices, schools and everyday life, families and individuals can be themselves and enjoy some uninhibited fun. Children reveal their innocence and adults become nostalgic, remembering their childhood holidays.

Seaside holidays have always been popular in Britain; not only are they easy to get to, they are relatively cheap. In some ways, British beaches are stuck in a time warp where, except for the changes in fashion, photographs from different eras all look the same. Buildings are not modernised as they are in the city, walls are painted bright colours, and the decay caused by the salt in the water and air only adds to the character of the seaside town.

The four photographers featured in this exhibition: Tony Ray-Jones (1941-72), David Hurn (b1934), Martin Parr (b1952) and Simon Roberts (b1974); aim to reveal the idiosyncrasies of the population that define a day at the seaside. From 1960 until the present day, the photographs reveal the timelessness of the beach experience, the humour and joy it brings, as well as the more uneasy emotions of humankind. Displayed on the walls of fake beach huts, with deckchairs or seaside-type benches to rest on when needed, photographs in The Great British Seaside perfectly sum up beach culture around the isles and evoke happy memories of past holidays and day trips.

“My aim is to communicate something of the spirit and the mentality of the English, their habits and their way of life, the ironies that exist in the way they do things, partly through their traditions and partly through the nature of their environment and their mentality. For me there is something very special about the English ‘way of life’ and I wish to record it from my particular point of view before it becomes Americanised and disappears.”
– Tony Ray-Jones

Punch and Judy man, Broadstairs, Kent, 1968 TR-J

Blackpool, Lancashire, about 1967 TR-J

Brighton beach, East Sussex, 1967, TR-J

The exhibition is set out in an almost chronological order, beginning with the two oldest photographers and ending with the youngest. Although Tony Ray-Jones (1941-72) was not the eldest of the four, the first twenty photographs displayed were taken by him. Born Holroyd Anthony Ray-Jones in Wells, Somerset, Ray-Jones developed a passion for art, later studying graphic design at the London School of Painting. At 19, he won a scholarship to study at the Yale University of Art, where his talent for photography was discovered. From here on, Ray-Jones was never without a commision from one magazine or another.

Ray-Jones prefered the non-commercial side of photography, capturing the emotions of the world, the unseen and the underappreciated. When he returned to Britain in 1966, he embarked on a two-year journey around the country in a campervan taking photographs of “the sadness and the humour in a gentle madness that prevails in a people.” His beach scenes reveal the “gentle madness” that people reveal when away from the constraints of everyday life.

Although the fashion and hairstyles have changed since the 1960s, many of Ray-Jones’ photographs reveal similar scenes that could be observed at the seaside today. People are relaxing in deckchairs, lying on beach mats or listening to music, although with a portable record player rather than an iPod. No matter what scene Ray-Jones captured, everyone is completely focused on their own activities, making the photographs seem casual and unplanned.

One particularly spontaneous photograph was taken in Broadstairs, Kent in 1968, showing a few children walking alongside a man playing a pipe. The man was Peter Butchard (1909-2009), famed for his Punch-and-Judy performances during the 60s and 70s. On this occasion, he began playing a tune as he walked along the beach. Children nearby stopped what they were doing and followed him, skipping, dancing and running –  reminiscent of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Tony Ray-Jones’ career was cut short by leukaemia, for which he lost the battle on 13th March 1972. Despite this, Ray-Jones continues to influence many photographers, including the remaining three in the exhibition. In 2013, The Guardian wrote that “in his short life he helped create a way of seeing that has shaped several generations of British photography.”

“Life as it unfolds in front of the camera is full of so much complexity, wonder and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as-they-are.”
– David Hurn

Barry Island, Wales, 1981 DH

Tenby, Pembrokeshire, 1974

Aberavon beach, Port Talbot, 1917

David Hurn (b1934), a British documentary photographer and member of Magnum Photos had the opportunity to meet with Tony Ray-Jones. He admired Ray-Jones’ photography skills, which inspired his own work. Hurn has also been spurred on by images by later photographers, including Martin Parr.

Born in Surrey in 1934, Hurn’s family soon moved to Wales where he spent his entire childhood. Suffering from dyslexia, the young Hurn took to photography, teaching himself to use a camera. Hurn gained his reputation working in photojournalism in London, however, in the late 1960s, he returned to his beloved Wales and spent a year living in a van photographing the country in a similar vein to Ray-Jones.

Wales may be relatively small in comparison to the rest of the island, however, it has 746 miles of coastline, providing Hurn with plenty of opportunities to take photographs on the beach.

“The seaside is a place for uninhibited fun. It is cheap and very democratic, full of laughter, tenderness, ridiculousness but basically a way of having a good time.”
– David Hurn

Curious as to how people enjoy themselves, Hurn spent a lot of time on the beaches taking photographs of different activities. Since everyone is fully occupied in their own activity, Hurn was able to take photographs of people unawares, thus revealing natural holiday scenes, unlike the posed versions in many family albums.

The exhibition displays some of the negatives from Hurn’s camera films, revealing that he often took several photographs of the same scene. In each one, someone had moved, creating a slightly different picture and atmosphere. From these, Hurn chose the ones that worked best compositionally to develop and blow up to larger proportions.

“In New York, you have the street; in the UK, we have the beach. I end up being like a migrating bird, being attracted to it.”
-Martin Parr

West Bay, Dorset, 1996 MP

Weymouth, Dorset, 2005

New Brighten, Merseyside, 1985

Martin Parr (b1952) is one of Britain’s most popular photographers. After studying the subject of photography at Manchester Polytechnic in the early 1970s, Parr began recording life in the north of England. Later, in 1982, he turned to colour photography, which he continues to use to the present day.

Like Ray-Jones and Hurn, Parr considers the seaside somewhere people can be themselves. Through his photographs, he studies the varied reactions people have to the beaches. He captures the “craziness of the British beach” through close-ups and landscapes, providing different perspectives of the seaside experience.

“The British beach experience is unique: it is slightly wet or humid, down-at-heel and past its best – literally fraying at the edges – and of course full of ironies and contradictions.”
-Martin Parr

Unlike his predecessors, Parr is able to reveal slightly more about the seaside through the colour in his photographs. The typical bright colours expose a timeless world; people’s lives may be moving forward with the many contemporary inventions, but return to the beach and it is as though nothing has changed. The wear and tear of the buildings and landscape only add to the uniqueness of the Great British seaside.

“I see the British seaside as a series of landscapes through which we can trace part of our national history.”
– Simon Roberts

Saunton Sands, Devon, 2008 SR

Blackpool promenade, Lancashire, 24 July 2008 SR

Camel Estuary, Padstow ,Cornwall, 27 September 2007 SR

Although Simon Roberts (b1974) has had the chance to meet Hurn and Parr as well as study the works of Ray-Jones, he takes a different approach to photographing the British seaside. Roberts also travelled the country in a motorhome but his focus was more on the landscape of the coastal areas rather than the people who frequent them.

Printed in large-scale, Roberts’ photographs attempt to explore the collective relationship between people and landscape, preferring to stand at a distance rather than producing close-up shots. Roberts believes the British landscape is central to British identity and the changing times. Landscape photography reveals the changes in architecture, the habits of different races and cultures compared with the nostalgia the seaside represents in people’s memories.

“There are several things I believe the photographs convey, from the psychological – how the British seaside is closely linked to our changing habits as a nation – to the physical – whereby they record vanishing forms of vernacular architecture. The photographs contain elements of faded romance and nostalgia for the quirkiness, and they project some of the innocence that the seaside inhabits in our sense of place.”
– Simon Roberts

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, 2017 MP

Shoeburyness, Essex, 2017 MP

The Last Day of Shravan, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, 2017 MP

Whilst Ray-Jones, Hurn and Roberts have roughly 20 photographs each in the exhibition, Martin Parr has an additional 20, which were commissioned by the National Maritime Museum for The Great British Seaside. Subtitled The Essex Seaside, 2017, Parr visited two coastal areas of Essex: Leigh-on-Sea to Shoeburyness; and Clacton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze. These photographs aimed to observe the behaviours and activities of beachgoers today, comparing the outcomes with those of the past.

Looking at the other photographs in the exhibition, it appears little has changed between Ray-Jones’ earliest snap and Roberts’ latest images. Yet, the cultural diversity of Great Britain has changed significantly in recent years, which can be seen in Parr’s latest project.

In Leigh-on-Sea, Parr photographed the typical beach scene that all four photographers managed to capture over the past five decades, however, further down the road in Shoeburyness, an elderly Sikh man was observed taking gentle exercise on the promenade. In Southend, languages from all over the world could be heard, including, Arabic, Polish, Mandarin and Italian, which goes to show how diverse the seaside town has become.

Over in Clacton, the standard beach photographs were taken alongside those that would never have been witnessed in the 1960s and 70s. At the end of August, Parr came across a large group of Hindu women commemorating the last day of the Holy month of Shravan, making offerings to Lord Shiva, wetting their feet in the sea and laying out candles. In the same week, Parr saw a group of Sikhs relaxing on the beach as well as day trippers from St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Stratford, East London.

“The seaside has to be one of the most fascinating places for people watching. It is a place where we relax and lose our inhibitions, and that’s when true personalities come on display.”
– Martin Parr

As Parr’s photographs go to prove, the seaside is a place for everyone. Free from discrimination, multiples of different cultures can enjoy the same beach, whether relaxing and enjoying themselves or taking part in something more special.

Looking at all the photographs in the exhibition as a whole, the seaside comes across as a safe, happy place where people can leave their troubles behind in the city and relax and unwind. The seaside allows people to just be; no one knows nor cares whether someone is CEO of a major company, a bank clerk, a cleaner, a bus driver or unemployed, everyone is equal.

In a world where discrimination causes so many problems, where people are caught up in their careers, where people lose their human-ness, it is gratifying to know there are areas of Great Britain where people can go to be themselves.

The Great British seaside is a unique concept that no other country can replicate, and for that reason alone it ought to be celebrated. Through the photographs of these four photographers, the happy experiences are captured forever, proving that we, as a nation, have something special, which should not be taken for granted.

From the abandoned piers to the dazzling arcades, celebrate the British seaside through the lenses of Britain’s most popular photographers, featuring Tony Ray-Jones, David Hurn and Simon Roberts and new work by Martin Parr at the National Maritime Museum. Open until 30th September 2018, tickets cost £11.50 for adults and £5 for children. Various concessions are available.

Don’t forget to photograph your friends and family on the pretend beach outside the entrance to the exhibition! #GBseaside

Handel & Hendrix in London

Separated by a wall and 200 years are the homes of two musicians who chose London and changed music.

There could not be a more musically contrasting pair than George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix, yet, there is so much that ties the two together. Situated in Mayfair, London are the former homes of these two world famous musicians. Now a museum, numbers 25 and 23 Brook Street were once inhabited by people who brought new tastes in music to the British capital. Handel & Hendrix in London (previously Handel House Museum) contains a set of restored rooms in both buildings that reveal the contrasting ways in which both Handel and Hendrix lived.

The museum was opened in 2001 by the Handel House Trust after the careful restoration of the rooms in 25 Brook Street to their original Georgian decor. A room in the house next door was used as an exhibition space, however, in 2016, the museum took the plunge and expanded to incorporate the reconstructed upper floors of 23 Brook Street, Jimi Hendrix’s home. Despite being an unlikely pairing, the museum has been a great success with thousands of fans and visitors attending every year.

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) moved into 25 Brook Street shortly after it was built in 1723 at the age of 38. Born in Germany, he had already been living in London for thirteen years, however, this was the first home he could call his own, although, he only leased it because foreigners could not buy property at that time. (For more information about Handel’s life, click here.) For Handel, his new home was in a perfect location due to its closeness to the theatres where his musical works were being performed. It was also close to the newly built church, St George’s Hanover Square, which Handel regularly attended after it opened the following year.

Entering the Georgian house from the rear, visitors come across the ticket desk in what would have once been the basement of the house. This area has not been reconstructed for the museum but would have once held the kitchen. The ground floor, now owned by the luxury leather goods shop, Aspinal of London, was where Handel once sold copies of his music and tickets for his concerts. The very top of the house contained a garret in which the servants had their quarters, leaving the floors in between for Handel’s personal use.

 

Composition Room

Music Room

The museum has expanded the buildings in order to create exhibition space, so the first room visitors see that actually belonged to Handel was his Composition Room on the first floor. Within these walls, as the name of the room implies, is where Handel composed his music. He spent an astonishing amount of time in here, rapidly writing an entire opera in 40 days, then promptly starting on another one. His quickest creation, which no doubt was composed in this room, was Messiah, one of the most inspiring oratorios in the world. Within a mere 24 days, Handel had composed the music that made up this phenomenal composition, culminating in 53 pieces of music that last approximately two hours and 40 minutes.

The room next door at the front of the house was Handel’s Music Room. Containing a harpsichord, this was naturally where Handel rehearsed his compositions with various musicians and singers. It was officially a dining room, so may also have contained a table where he would entertain his friends and patrons over various culinary delights. He would also hold small performances of his new music before they opened to the public at the theatres nearby.

 

Dressing Room

Bed Room

On the second floor are the two most private rooms in the building. One was Handel’s Dressing Room, which, when the house was built, was intended as a second bedroom. Having no family of his own, Handel was able to use this room to store his clothing and powdered wigs. His manservant, Peter le Blond, would have helped Handel dress in the typical Georgian fashions, a combination of a shirt, cravat, waistcoat, tailcoat and breeches.

Finally, the front room on the second floor reveals where Handel would have slept. This was both used as his bedroom and bathroom since Georgian houses did not contain indoor plumbing. A jug of water and a basin would have sat on a dresser from which to wash in and a stool designed to contain a chamber pot was also close at hand.

It is presumed this room was where Handel died on 14th April 1759, however, the bed is a reproduction of a typical 1720s four-poster bed. The length of the bed is noticeably shorter than those of today. This is because it was recommended that people slept sitting up in order to aid digestion. Being a big lover of food, it is likely Handel slept upright on doctor’s orders. The other furniture in this room, for instance, the dressing table and mirror, whilst not Handel’s, are genuine objects from the 1700s.

The third floor of Handel’s house has been converted into an exhibition space for his musical neighbour, Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970). With a brief history of the rock guitarist and an insight into his life in London, the exhibition prepares visitors to step from the Georgian building into a completely different world.

Only two rooms of 23 Brook Street have been reconstructed for the museum: the bedroom and the Record Room (originally a storeroom). In July 1968 when Hendrix and his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham moved in, the house had been split into several apartments. Hendrix’s began on the third floor and contained a bathroom on the level above. Whilst small, this was the first place Hendrix could call his own, similarly to Handel 200 years earlier.

Johnny Allen Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington in 1942 where he discovered his talent for music, picking up the guitar at age 15. After a brief stint as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, the talented guitarist, now known as Jimi, began touring as a backing band with various performers, including the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. It was not until he moved to England that he really made a name for himself. With Chas Chandler, the bassist of the Animals as his manager, Jimi quickly earned himself three UK top hits: Hey Joe, Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary.

Hendrix liked to entertain his friends in his personal flat, also using it as a base to give interviews and pose for photo shoots. It is many of these photographs that helped the museum curators recreate the colourful bedroom Hendrix spent most of his time in. Many of the original furnishings had been removed when Hendrix and Etchingham split up in 1969, the rest being removed after Hendrix’s death in 1970 from asphyxia as a result of drug consumption. Fortunately, the photographs and Etchingham’s memories were sufficient enough to reconstruct his 1960s-style home.

The majority of the items in Hendrix’s bedroom are replicas recreated using the photographs and knowledge of the typical styles of the 1960s. This may come as a disappointment to some fans, however, there is an oval mirror on the wall, which did belong to Hendrix and hangs in the exact same place where he would stare into it often. Although it may not look like much, this was one of Hendrix’s favourite possessions. The only reason it has survived is that Etchingham stole it after their break up.

The photoshoots revealed that Hendrix was fond of batik wall hangings and Persian rugs. It is said that he owned more than he had space for, therefore, frequently swapped them around. The museum displays three examples of the type of rugs he was passionate about on the bedroom floor and a silk hanging, replicating the one Hendrix owned, hangs on the wall above the bed.

Photographs of Hendrix’s vibrant bedspread were taken to the textile specialist Wallace Sewell (founded in 1992) who painstakingly wove an identical spread specifically for the museum. The Dog Bear that sits on a chair to one side of the room was recreated by Judy Roose, a volunteer at the museum, however, the original was made and given to Hendrix by a fan.

The furniture, including Hendrix’s iconic chair, are all typical of the 1960s and match those that featured in various photo shoots. Visitors are welcome to sit in the chair and strike one of Hendrix’s many poses.

To make the room feel more authentic, as though Jimi Hendrix has just left and will return soon, a model of his guitar lies on the bed and a photocopy of handwritten lyrics rest on the bedside table.

The back bedroom, which Hendrix used as a storeroom, has not been restored with its 1960s decor. This is most probably due to the lack of photographs and the fact that everything in it was in storage, therefore, not much to look at. Instead, this room has been retitled the Record Room, displaying a number of LP sleeves that Hendrix once owned. Although he was famous for Rock and Roll, Hendrix listened to a wide range of genres. He owned over 100 titles and was particularly inspired by electric blues.

Many of the records in Hendrix’s collection were purchased at the One Stop Record Shop in South Molton Street, of which he was a frequent customer. Most interestingly, amongst his set were a number of classical pieces, including Water Music and two versions of Messiah, thus linking him to the former occupant of the house next door.

When not in use, Hendrix kept his guitars in the storeroom. On display is Hendrix’s second-hand Epiphone FT79, which he bought in New York for $25. He brought it with him to the UK and used it to compose new songs and arrangements. Hendrix always used this guitar first, perfecting the notes, before transferring to an electric guitar.

George Frideric Handel – Thomas Hudson

Portrait of Georg Friedrich Handel – Philip Mercer

The Charming Brute (1754)

In comparison to Hendrix’s lavishly decorated bedroom, Handel’s house comes across as bland and unexciting. Since Handel assembled a large collection of art throughout his life, the walls of his house were most likely a monotonous grey, allowing the paintings to stand out for themselves. Handel’s House is almost as much an art gallery as it is a museum, with several paintings and etchings of Handel, his contemporaries and other connections to his life. These would not have been owned by Handel but they look at home here in the house of “the most excellent Musician any Age ever produced.”

Hanging on the wall in the Composition Room is a large portrait of Handel painted by Thomas Hudson (1701-79). Whilst the painting is a splendid work of art, it is the ornate frame that entices the viewer. This sumptuous frame features sculpted bulrushes, a plant associated with the Biblical prophet Moses who’s mother used bulrushes to hide him from the Egyptian Pharoah. The significance of this frame is to highlight Handel’s involvement with the Foundling Hospital for abandoned children, of which he was elected as governor. He also donated Messiah to the hospital to use for benefit concerts, bequeathing it to them in his will so that the concerts could continue annually after his death, which they did until 1775.

A couple more portraits of Handel can be found throughout the house including a copy of the composer in informal attire by Philip Mercier (1689-1760). Here, Handel poses next to a harpsichord, pen in hand with the latest music he is composing in front of him. The original painting can be seen at Handel House in Halle, Germany.

Other depictions include a bust showing Handel as a middle-aged, balding man, which was once owned by King George III who boasted that Handel was his favourite composer; and a caricature, The Charming Brute (1754), depicting Handel as a pig playing the organ whilst surrounded by food. It is believed that Handel was a gluttonous man who liked to eat an abundance of rich and expensive delicacies, which was evidenced by his protruding stomach.

Several well-known faces from the 18th century are also hanging on the walls of Handel’s house including Louis-François Roubiliac (1695-1762) who sculpted a statue of Handel that can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Thomas Arne (1710-78), the composer of Rule Britannia. Other images show the buildings of Georgian London that Handel frequented and a watercolour drawing of 25 Brook Street by John Buckler (1770-1851) records what Handel’s house looked like in 1839 before the top floor was transformed from a garret into a full-height attic.

Since the two musicians are so contrasting in style and personality, it is difficult to compare the two sides of the museum. Whilst Hendrix’s flat is more aesthetically involved, the history on Handel’s side is much more impressive. It is likely that visitors come with the intent of seeing the home of one past inhabitant but enjoy discovering the other as well.

Often, musicians and singers can be found in the Music Room rehearsing for various performances. Visitors are welcome to sit and listen to them if they wish. At other times, the museum puts on concerts for which tickets can be bought in advance.

Handel and Hendrix in London is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am until 6pm. For £10 (£5 for children), visitors have access to both Handel’s house and Hendrix’s flat. With a lift to each floor, the building is fully accessible for disabled visitors. For more details, see https://handelhendrix.org.