Maryon Park was the main setting for the 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni’s cult movie ‘Blow-Up’ featuring David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave. David Hemmings played Thomas, a top London fashion photographer captivated by his photographs of a murder, whilst Vanessa Redgrave is the woman at the centre of his interest. His photographs depict a murder scene… or do they? What you see, and what you don’t see, is the enigma central to the story. My photographs taken in 1998 show a park that has changed little in 32 years, the upper meadow where the supposed murder took place is a bit run-down now, but the lower meadow still has its original tennis courts used in the movie, and much of the scenery is unchanged. Beyond the courts there is a hedge now, the flower beds have been altered since the movie, and there is perhaps a little more litter around, but to be fair… a school party had just left from having a picnic when I arrived! http://pageocall.webs.com
Strange and Familiar: Three Views of Brighton…
Strange and Familiar: Three views of Brighton is an exhibition of new works by three Internationally acclaimed photographers, each presenting a very different response to the city of Brighton and Hove in the UK. Rinko Kawauchi (Japan) and Alec Soth (USA) are commissioned by Photoworks, and Stephen Gill (UK) in association with the Archive of Modern Conflict. The exhibition, held between October 2nd until November 2010 is at the BPB at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, and is part of the Brighton Photo Biennial curated be Martin Parr.
Interesting People from The Past…
Earl of Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood. After holding various Government posts, he was given a peerage in 1925 as Baron Irwin and in the following year was appointed Viceroy of India. After again returning to Government posts in England, he was made the British Ambassador to the US from 1941 until 1946. He was born in 1881.
Sir Alan P. Herbert. Writing for Punch as a freelance, he joined the staff of the paper in 1924. In 1918 he had been called to the bar, following his legal studies, but kept to writing humorous prose and verse, and as an independent MP introduced the Marriage Bill in 1938. He was born in 1890.
Sir H. Walter Gilbey (Baronet). He was a wine merchant, prominent sportsman and agriculturist. He became a notable figure in social London of the ‘nineties, a racehorse owner, and a member of the Jockey Club. Also he was chairman of the Royal Agricultural Hall Company. He was born in 1859 and sadly died in 1945.
Interesting Quotes from The Past…
Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Susan Ertz 1894-1985 American writer.
Everyone is a bore to someone. That is unimportant. The thing to avoid is being a bore to oneself. Gerald Brenan 1894-1987 British writer.
Death and taxes and childbirth. There’s never any convenient time for any of them. Margaret Mitchell 1900-49 American novelist.
A diplomat is a man that always remembers a woman’s birthday but never her age. Robert Frost 1874-1963 American poet.
A well written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one. Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881 Scottish historian.
An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing. Quentin Crisp 1908-99 English writer.
We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth. Pablo Picasso 1881-1973 Spanish painter.
Art is meant to disturb, science reassures. George Braque 1882-1963 French painter.
The Mexican Suitcase…
The Mexican Suitcase is a ground breaking exhibition revealing the most famous group of recovered negatives of the twentieth century. The exhibition will be at The International Center of Photography in New York USA from September 24th 2010 until January 9th 2011.
Considered lost since 1939, the so-called Mexican Suitcase is in point of fact three boxes containing 4,500 negatives documenting The Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa, Chim (David Seymour) and Gerda Tard. There are also several rolls of portraits of Capa and Taro by Fred Stein. Besides offering new images by these major photographers that provide a comprehensive overview of the war, the cache of negatives also includes previously unknown portraits of Ernest Hemingway, Frederico Garcia Lorca, and Dolores Ibarruri (known as “La Passionaria”)
Bruce Davidson photographer…
A Bruce Davidson lecture and book signing is to take place on October 5th 2010 at Barnes & Noble, 150 East 86th Street, New York NY10028 USA. Bruce Davidson began taking photographs at the age of 10, in Oak Park, Illinois. While attending Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University he continued to further his knowledge and develop his passion. He was later drafted into the army and stationed near Paris met Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the founders of the renowned cooperative photography agency of Magnum Photos.
Interesting People from The Past…
Albert Chevalier was a vaudeville actor, and a child actor at the young age of eight. He made his first professional appearance with the Bancrofts in 1877. He was associated for many years with the Kendals, Sir John Hare and Pinero, and achieved fame on the music-hall stage touring with his own entertainments in Cockney imitations, notably with My Old Dutch and Mrs. ‘Enery ‘Awkins. He was born in 1861 and died in 1923.
Early Works…
Henri Cartier-Bresson. The early work of this most famous of photographers is currently on show at the VB Photographic Centre, Kuninkaankatu 14, Kuopio 70100, Finland until the 29th of August. This exhibition takes the viewer to the atmosphere of 1930′s Italy, Germany, Spain and Mexico. Cartier-Bresson was one of the most original and influential cameramen of his time.
Interesting People from The Past…
Actress Yvonne Arnaud made her debut in 1911 at the Adelphi Theatre, London, in The Quaker Girl. Stage success followed in London and New York with The Girl in the Taxi 1912, Kissing Time 1919, Henry V 1934, Love for Love 1943, and Traveller’s Joy 1948. By 1924 she had entered films, appearing in Tons of Money, Canaries Sometimes Sing, A Cuckoo in The Nest, and many others. She was born in 1895.