Richard Billingham

Richard Billingham is a British artist and photographer who was thrust into public attention after the release of his photo-book entitled 'Ray's A Laugh'(1996), which contained sincere snapshots of his dysfunctional family who occupied a flat in the West Midlands. The artist revealed "My father Raymond is a chronic alcoholic, my mother Elizabeth hardly drinks but she does smoke a lot ... my younger brother Jason was taken into care when I was eleven but now he is back with Ray and Liz…" (Who have since passed away).  

At a glance, the images resemble grotesque caricatures of a crass clan, people often look down with disgust at such sights. However, if one looks beyond the surface, it is obvious that these photographs entail a story of tragedy and poverty in a post-Thatcher experiment known as Britain. 

Liz & Ray (untitled) 1995

Jason & Ray (Untitled) 1995

Liz (Untitled) 1995

Liz & Ray (Untitled) 1994

Ray (Untitled) 1995

The title itself is rather interesting as it is, seemingly, derived from the '50s' domestic sitcom entitled 'Ray's A Laugh'. By seeing the title, the viewer may expect something light hearted however the title is contrasted by the content. The photographs may have provoked more grimaces than laughter due to their shocking sincerity. Julian Germain, who initially discovered Billingham's photographs, comments that while looking at "... the first few shots you'd be laughing, but, by the sixth or seventh, you'd stop laughing and become increasingly disturbed".

Untitled (1995)

Furthermore, these photographs contain such vulgar realism that they sit on the verge of absurdity. Sometimes the viewer may feel discomforted by such images, as they reveal a truth that many would prefer to keep behind closed doors. Take this image of Ray (right) for example. It is perhaps more painful for the viewer than it was for Ray, who seems to have been in a temporary state of alcohol induced unconsciousness. The viewer may be irked by the display of faecal matter that clings to the side of the toilet, above which Ray's hand is hovering. The tightness of the space is claustrophobia inducing, making this an overwhelming photograph to look at however Ray's condition conjures sympathy as it may be assumed that his un-kept state is due to some tragedy that he has experienced in his life.

Social realism such as this is somewhat reminiscent of the 'kitchen sink realism' movement that took place during the late '50s and early '60s, sweeping across the spheres of art, literature and entertainment. This makes Billingham's work stand apart from his contemporaries as journalist Robert Chessyre elaborates "The contrast between his pictures and the conceptual art that normally dominates the Turner could scarcely be greater ... Billingham's photographs come straight from life".

Upon observation, one realist painter that springs to mind while looking at Billingham's work is John Bratby, who often painted mundane and grotesque images in an impressionistic style. Below is a painting by John Bratby and an early painting of Ray by Billingham. A resemblance can be seen between the two due to to the harsh, hasty brush strokes that can be identified aswell as a similar use of dim colours.

Ray, by Richard Billingham (Untitled) n.d.

'Jean Holding a Baby' 1956

After this comparison it is was a surprise to discover that Billingham claimed, in an interview with Gordan MacDonald, that his biggest influence is romanticist John Constable which seems like a far cry from Billingham's visceral photographs. The artist justified this by claiming "...nature, to me, is escapism".

Regardless of this, though, Constable's influence is more so evident in Billingham's later projects where he photographed various places in Constable Country as well as the Black Country, where he was raised. 

Constable
Dedham Lock & Mill - Circa 1818

Billingham
(Constable Country) n.d.

Billingham
Black Country (Untitled) 2003

Fishtank

Richard Billingham is also celebrated for his film entitled 'Fishtank' (1996). These recordings, like the artist's photographs, were not intended as a public feature however Billingham realised that a coherent film could be made if the footage was correctly edited. 

Fishtank was filmed around the same time as when the photographs from 'Ray's A Laugh' were taken.

The title itself is a running motif that flows through the film. There is the literal 'fish tank' however, metaphorically speaking, the flat itself is a fish tank. The inhabitants are trapped inside and barely see the outside world. It seems that only mode of escape is through the television which seems to have a hypnotic effect on whomever stares into it.

In review, the footage contains very mundane activity, such as Jason killing a fly, Ray drinking and Liz applying her makeup. However the dialogue between family members is most intriguing as Billingham has managed to capture the extreme aspects of their personalities and relationships. In one scene you may witness bickering between Ray and Liz, which consists of Liz threatening to leave. However, towards the end of the film, you see that Ray and Liz have re-conciliated and are discussing the absurdity of life.

Such unfolding of events are similar to the likes of a Shelagh Delaney production, with it's exaggerated behaviour and thick regional accents.

The most masterful aspect of the film, though, was the closing scene where the Teddy Bears' 'To Know Him is to Love Him' plays in the peripheral. An emotive close up of Ray's nostalgia riddled face appears, ending the film on an emotional cliff hanger.

Conclusively, though, Billingham has managed to capture the existential struggle of a quintessential working class family as well as his home environment, which appears to be soul destroying. Regardless of it's emotional impact, however, Billingham has presented his work with a certain stoicism that encourages the viewer to accept reality as it really exists, as opposed to the reality that they want to exist.

Such social realism is something that I have been quite interested in recently, and I hope to explore it further in the future.

Source(s)

Chessyre and Germain quote, 15/02/14, 15.50, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4726608/Meet-the-parents.html

Billingham quotes, 

19/02/14, 20:00
http://gordonmacdonald.org/2012/05/04/richard-billingham-interviewed-by-gordon-macdonald-in-2007/

19/02/13, 20:12
http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/07/richard-billingham-rays-laugh.html

Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth (1917 - 2009) was born to a wealthy Swiss/German family  in Chad's Ford, Penssylvania, and lived there until his death. Chadds Ford was a rural area which greatly influenced Wyeth's work as he would document the lanscapes as well as the people who lived there - although it is arguable that his greatest influences came from his artist father, Newell Convers Wyeth (1882 - 1945).

N.C. Wyeth, himself, was infamous for his elaborate water-colour and oil

N.C.Wyeth

illustrations for Scribner's Magazine as well as Scribner's Classics' Treasure Island which contained melodramatic images of Pirates at battle. 

 This aspect of fairy-tale heroism is something that was installed within A. Wyeth's psyche from a young age. In a recent documentary entitled 'Micheal Palin in Wyeth's World'  Palin investigated the work of A. Wyeth whose Niece, Robin McCoy, reveals that, as a child, her uncle would play in the nearby woods, re-enacting the tales of his father's paintings - "It was always what pa said what pa did ... He created this world for us all". So it becomes apparent that A. Wyeth was heavily influenced by his father in many aspects. 

Also, due to suffering from a number of illnesses as a child, A. Wyeth was home schooled by his father because he was deemed too fragile to attend a conventional school. This factor made it inevitable for the young Wyeth to be heavily influenced by his father's artistic style - perhaps at a subconscious level. Micheal Palin comments "He wanted his son to be free, both artistically and personally".

Wyeth's Work

In 1937 A. Wyeth held his first exhibition at New York's Macbeth gallery, and sold out. Because of his father's tremendous impact on him, Wyeth's success was as much a victory for his father as it was for himself however the artist longed to escape the shadow cast by his father's success.

This attempt at escaping is evident within Wyeth's style as he decided to work as a fine artist as opposed to a commercial artist. Also, Wyeth's technique differs largely to that of his contemporaries as he often enjoyed painting with a medium known as egg tempara which requires mixing egg yolk with pigment and water.

Andrew Wyeth: Early Self Portrait 
(1938)

Brian Baade, conservator at the Brandy-Wine Museum, explains that the medium pre-dates the renaissance and was dominant in Europe from the middle ages up to the 1500s. This somewhat caused the young Wyeth to become an outsider of the art world especially during the 1940s as the artistic Zeitgeist lent towards Abstract Expressionism - as Joyce Stoner, conservator at the Brandywine River Museum, mentions "Andrew was fascinated with outsiders".

Newell Convers Wyeth: Self Portrait With Pipe
Circa (1915-1920)

In this early self portrait (above), A. Wyeth used egg tempara and it is evident that this medium is effective in depicting colour and light, whereas oils can sometimes appear rigid and somewhat 'dark' - especially with the passage of time. You can see this when comparing the painting with N.C. Wyeth's self portrait (right).

On a less superficial level, A. Wyeth's self-portrait has a mischevious quality about it. Although, at a glance, it emits a sense of seriousness, the painting portrays A. Wyeth in a sarcastic light. It almost appears to be a feigned, or mocking, seriousness. It becomes apparent, too, that the lightness of A. Wyeth's skin contrasts his clothing however the background seems to contain both the dark and the light - emphasised by a chiaroscuro technique used by those such as Caravaggio and Giovanni who used light to emphasise drama and the three-dimensions. 


http://www.ncwyeth.org/ncbio.htm 21:38 Saturday 4/01/14
http://books0977.tumblr.com/post/27845557681/louise-loved-to-climb-to-the-summit-on-one-of-the - Nc Wyeth Lady painting 20:16 07/01/14

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/newell-convers-wyeth-self-portrait-with-pipe-5752478-7details.aspx N.C. Wyeth Self Portrait 20:37 07/01/14

Micheal Palin In Wyeth's World: BBC TWO, Sunday 29th December 2013,21:00

A Picture of Liz...



The Pop art movement exploded from mid-50s Britain, and had it's impact on American culture by the late 50s. One of the pioneering figures of this American Pop Art movement was Andy Warhol (1928-1987) who's foundations were in commercial art, however he is widely appreciated as a studio artist due to his extensive production of screen-printed portraits - often of celebrities and popular brands. 

'Liz' 1964 Synthetic polymer,
 paint and silkscreen on canvas
(101.6 x 101.6cm)

This particular piece is a portrait of actress Elizebeth Taylor (1932-2011) known for her parts in films such as Lassie Come Home (1943) and Cleopatra (1963). Apart from acting Taylor has been celebrated for her work as an AIDS activist and an embracer of the gay community - a rarity of the time.


Technique

To create such prints Warhol would use a silk screen - a mode of screen-printing which soon became his signature technique. This would be carried out by laying canvas material onto the ground on to which Warhol would then place a specially prepared silk-screen with the image masked on. Sometimes Warhol would work on monotonous images although many of his pieces involve layers as demonstrated in his paintings of Taylor.

Here is an insight of how Warhol used to create his prints. He makes a print of Marlon Brando, with assistance from Gerard Malanga. 

It is evident that Warhol was a prolific worker and created many variations of this image, experimenting with colour and composition as can be seen in many of his prints. It can also be observed that components such as the lip and eye makeup appear to be off register - adding to the atmosphere of the piece. 


Conceptual Qualities

It seems that Warhol was preoccupied, obsessively so, with ideas of fame, glamour and superficiality but in a way that may be considered satirical or humorous. As the once claimed "I am a deeply superficial person". 

This idea of deep superficiality is something that can be seen in Warhol's paintings of Taylor as he has depicted a media icon that is known for her outstanding physical beauty however the artist has portrayed her in a darker light - like a journalist who scratches away at the surface, revealing the dirt that lies beneath. Warhol creates this atmosphere by allowing the background to bleed through thus creating a sense of ethereality which is exaggerated by the darkness seeping in from the left. This darkness seems to drown out Taylor's violet eyes for which she is notorious for.

This darkness is contrasted by the vivid red and blue, which Warhol has applied like make up on a clown, thus turning Taylor's portrait into a sinister caricature of celebrity. At a glance the viewer may judge this image according to the slight smirk that Taylor seems to be exhibiting, however this smile may be intended as a façade to hide a dark truth.

Elizebeth was even considered the "personification of charisma whose highly public life charged with drama, tragedy, and romance, this iconic muse was a perfect vehicle for Warhol's vivid silk-screen portraiture ..." (Review from the Gasgosian Gallery)

Ultimately, Warhol has painted an image made of layers thus portraying Taylor as an illusive individual who has become trapped within the trade of celebrity - a delusional world of false expections. Begging the question:  

What is a persona and what it real?

(Source(s): http://artdaily.com/news/50569/Exhibition-of-portraits-by-Andy-Warhol-of-the-late-Elizabeth-Taylor-at-Gagosian-Gallery#.Ul-2OFA3tjk
http://artobserved.com/2009/06/go-see-paris-warhols-wide-world-a-retrospective-on-andy-warhol-at-the-galeries-nationales-du-grand-palais-through-july-13th-2009/ http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/andy-warhols-portraits-of-liz3-24-11.
asp  )