Graphic Journey Blog

Paule Vézelay: Life imitating art

I was rather surprised by the remarkable similarity between Orla Kiely's 'Stem' fabric, designed in 2000.

And Paule Vézelay's 'Composure' fabric (above) designed in 1967. 

Paule Vézelay in 1984

The painter, sculptor, etcher and book illustrator Paule Vézelay was born and brought up in Bristol as Marjorie Watson-Williams. In 1911 she went to the Slade School of Fine Art but soon left finding it old hat and meaningless to her. She moved to Paris in 1926 and changed her name to Paule Vézelay, and submerged herself in abstraction. She joined the Société Abstraction-Création in 1934 and a friend of Hans Arp and his wife Sophie Taeuber-Arp, exhibiting with Arp and Wassily Kandinsky in Milan in 1938. At the outbreak of war in 1939 and to avoid internment by the Nazi's she returned to Bristol where she recorded bomb damage and barrage balloons. In the 1950s she designed textiles for a number of companies including Heal's. She continued to paint until her death in 1984.

Above Vézelay's abstract  shapes and colour combinations from the 1950's.

And in a blatant imitation I spotted these garden deckchairs in Habitat. (below)

There is a wonderful little documentary film made in1984 where Paule Vézelay is interviewed by a very non-Assie sounding Germaine Greer (Link at foot of this post). Paule comes across and fiercely independent but with grace and modesty. She maintains the artists should never marry. I think she is right about that.

A Kiely cushion.

Meanwhile, Orla Kiely has built up an empire from one simple graphic shape (often referred to as 'iconic') by applying it to just about everything she can lay her hands on.

The Paule Vézelay fabric 'Variations', designed in 1954

On the other hand, Paule Vézelay worked every single day from the 1930s to her death in 1984, not long after the documentary was made. And it was only late in her life that was she recognised in the UK. She never made her fortune but her work was her life. She never stopped.

For the documentary click HERE

Derek Birdsall: Birdseye view

Derek taking in the sea view, snapped by me.

Following the recent reposting of my interview with Derek Birdsall from 2002 I now have something bang up to date. A recorded interview with Derek from last week. We talked about his childhood, family, work and life after retirement. You can listen to it HERE.

Above the Church of England's Common Worship prayer book, 2000 is Derek's favourite piece of work selected from his long career that started back in the late 1950's when the world of British Graphics was very small and a London centric affair.

The above is one of my favourites. Derek's Royal Mail stamps celebrating The Royal Society of Arts 250th Anniversary. It typifies his love of type and image.

Derek has returned to sketching. Here is a very recent self-portrait.

Tate St Ives: Profound or piffling?

 

Patrick Heron's show in the new extension.

While I’m very happy for Tate St Ives on winning the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2018, I have to take exception to the view that the gallery has a ‘profound’ effect on visitors (as reported on BBC's 'Front Row') – the exhibits perhaps, but not the building.

It doesn’t have that effect on me. I have never liked the clumsy architecture. 

On arrival, the exterior of the place, no matter which way you approach it, is downright ugly. Once you have negotiated the clumsy stairs, you arrive at a drab-looking amphitheatre, for no apparent reason that I can see, other than echoing the original footprint of the gasometer from its previous life.

But it is the perfect place for drunks to urinate in. The actual entrance doors are unwelcoming and mean. Once inside, you do have the delight of Patrick Heron’s Matisse-like stained-glass window.

After which, you become aware of the internal detailing: a kind of cross between Rennie Mackintosh and dreadful postmodern fussiness. 

The new gallery extension itself is big and airy, as a gallery space should be, but nothing more, and it is certainly not ‘profound’. 

When you compare the architecture of Tate St Ives with the work of the brilliant Japanese architect Tadao Ando, you will understand what I mean. If you have ever visited one of his creations, you will indeed find it ‘profound’.

Above Tadao Ando's Benesse House Museum opened in 1992. And below the Punta della Dogana Centre of Contemporary Art in Venice.

The Punta della Dogana Centre of Contemporary Art in Venice is a good place to start: it is a breathtaking space.