Foreign correspondent Part 2
Paris vs. London 2022
© Bing McGilvray
“All travel is local.”
— Phileas Fug, Adventures in Paradox
Ben, Bing and Doug in Cambridge. Photo: Jane Munro. Text: Bing.
April 27. London and the BBB.
The high-speed Eurostar rail, which connects France and England via tunnel under the Channel, is a sleek, efficient marvel of modern engineering, imagination, construction, and cooperation. Paris to London in about two hours. Doug Roberts and I arrived at David Hockney’s studio and were warmly greeted by my longtime, good friend Ben. Here we would stay for the next few days. Doug has many pals in London and soon set off to socialize. My deteriorating right hip made that increasingly difficult. Were it not for our scheduled visit to see Hockney’s Eye on Sunday, I would have gone home, posthaste. I have no trouble amusing myself though and David’s shelves were stocked with books.
Ubiquity of Imagery: Piers Moron (as Private Eye calls him) on a London bus.
Buying cigarettes in London. What’s the password?
The next morning, I walked up to Kensington High St. to buy some American Spirits. I soon discovered that only one place was allowed to sell cigarettes in the entire area, the Waitrose grocery mart. Way down the back of the store, the cashier must slide open a wooden door to fetch the smokes. Of course, the selection wasn’t too varied, and they didn’t have my brand. The difference between Paris, with its many Tabac shops, and London’s citywide taboo was stark and startling. Chalk it up to what David calls the Bossy Boots Brigade (BBB), mean-spirited authoritarians who always worm their way into lawmaking. Liberal, right wing, do gooders, evil doers … they come in all stripes and aggressively, repressively tell you how to live your life, or else. So far Parisians, being far more experienced at sophistication, have kept the BBB at bay. They’ve got a firm foothold in Gloucester, however. Be wary. Beware! I will say no more.
A wall in Lucien Freud’s studio.
Portrait of Martin Gayford (2013) hanging with the Old Masters.
Doug and I spent a delightful Saturday afternoon with the artist David Dawson, Lucien Freud’s assistant for twenty years up until his death in 2011. He invited us to see Lucien’s studio where evidence of the master’s furious working methods still splatters the walls. David paints there now. We three savored a light dinner and lighthearted conversation at the pub across the street. There were lots of smokers having a laugh on the sidewalk outside. One thing I love about the English, they do dark, subversive humor better than anyone.
In the evening, I reread the catalogue for Hockney’s Eye before tomorrow’s main event. This a very scholarly book that nonetheless never talks over the head of the reader. It is a groundbreaking examination of optics (lens) and art compiled by the Fitzwilliam’s interdisciplinary curator Jane Munro and art historians Martin Gayford and Martin Kemp. It is as much a science book as an art book. The two Martins were early proponents of what has come to be known as the ‘Hockney Thesis.’ They each made significant contributions to Hockney’s Secret Knowledge (first published in 2001, expanded in 2006), a revolutionary rewriting of art history that caused much critical backlash from the ‘experts’ but not among artists … or scientists, as it turns out.
Gayford went on to coauthor several books with Hockney including A History of Pictures … from the cave to the computer screen (2014). Nothing difficult to comprehend, lavishly illustrated, very entertaining … there’s even a kid’s version by illustrator Rose Blake. The critics have diminished to very few, now just a distant din of cranks akin to ‘Flat Earth’ enthusiasts.
A small selection of books that developed into the ‘Hockney Thesis.’
Portrait of Damien Hirst (1999) made with a pencil and a camera lucida.
May 1. Cambridge and Hockney’s Eye
Ben drove us to Cambridge and by now I needed a wheelchair, which was provided by the friendly staff when we arrived at the Fitzwilliam Museum. Jane Munro welcomed us at the door. The guard who pushed me through the exhibit was a very fine chap named Peter. Our chat throughout enhanced the experience. The show was everything I was anticipating and more.
Cambridge UK and Cambridge MA have much in common, both being major hubs of youth and academia, a buzzing hive of higher intelligence and student mischief. A most appropriate location for Hockney’s Eye, a place of profoundly serious fun. Cambridge is also a high-tech center where advancements in Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality are going full steam ahead. Both AI and VR require mastering the manipulation of images, the cutting-edge intersection of art and science, algorithms, and analytics. During the rather recent shift of focus towards the auction house, the ‘art world’ has lost touch with the fact that the Arts & Sciences have been intricately linked for millennia. We live in a world inundated with pictures, a non-stop stream, a bombardment, particularly on screens but absolutely everywhere, from the sides of buildings to yes, cigarette packs. Just today, there was a video playing on the pump while I was filling my gas tank! Why might you ask? This show is very much about that, the Power of Images; how they are made, the profound impact they have on every aspect of our lives and on human consciousness itself. It is also a jolly-good time if you like looking at things. And it’s wonderful to see the world through Hockney’s Eyes, if just for a few hours.
Matelot Kevin Drues 1 (2009).
Long before the movie theater was the Camera Obscura. It still astonishes.
If you do not give a hoot about optic science and just enjoy great paintings, this show does not disappoint. David’s ‘modern’ work is interspersed among the Fitzwilliam’s impressive collection of ‘old masters.’ The juxtapositions offer the viewer the enlightening opportunity to see the art of the past in a very new way. ‘All great art is contemporary’ as David would say. Science buffs will love the assemblage of historic optic inventions including a variety of camera lucidas, a walk-in camera obscura and a pair of William Blake’s spectacles. Nearby on-campus, the Heong Gallery mounted a carefully chosen selection of Hockney works, a perfect companion to the main exhibition. Another show at the Fitzwilliam, True To Nature: Open-Air Painting in Europe 1780 1870, ostensibly unrelated, perfectly aligned with the themes of the day. And an unforgettable day it was.
We had a bite to eat at the café with Jane. No stuffy historian is she. When I pointed out that the banners, posters, and gift shop trinkets had cropped the cigarette from David’s iconic self portrait (but not from the catalogue cover), she laughed and disavowed any involvement with those decisions. David’s delicious Davidoff was not cut off the fridge magnet though, so I bought a few.
After Hobbema (Useful Knowledge) (2017).
Viewers looking at Viewers Looking at a Readymade with Skull and Mirrors (2018).
May 4. Coda: Return to Cape Ann
A required 24 hour, £100 ($124!) Covid test delayed my departure, but I was finally classified ‘fit to fly.’ Ridiculous since no one on the plane or at Logan airport was wearing a mask. Enough already. Crippled and exhausted I was glad to be back, happy if not completely intact. I’ve no intention of traveling again anytime soon. As the French say ‘Je suis trop pour cette merde.’ Going to stay in Gloucester now. It is my home … and where all the angels are.
