JULY - SEPTEMBER 2016
museum of art and design. EXIBITIONS 3 DISPLAYS 5 EVENING EVENTS 6 COURSES & WORKSHOPS 7 SPECIAL EVENTS 8 FREE TALKS & TOURS European Styling in South America 10th July - 30th September, Daily 13.00-13.45 To coincide with the current Brazilian Baroque exhibition, we will be conducting tours of our recently redesigned Europe 1600-1800 Galleries. You will be able to gain further insight into how the Baroque style was utilised in European countries during this period of time by various designers and artists and why it became so immensely popular and in fact the first really truly global style. The Sculpture of Aleijadinho Wednesday 10th August, 13.00-14.00 The magnificent design work of the great 18 th century Brazilian sculptor and architect Aleijadinho, is one of the key focuses in our current Brazilian Baroque exhibition. This talk will explore his working methods and what and who influenced his design style and approach to his sculptural work. FAMILIES & YOUNG PEOPLE 9 OPEN STUDIOS & DEMONSTRATIONS 10 FREE TALKS & TOURS 11 The three month period covered by this guide offers a range of displays, exhibitions, workshops and events that concentrate on the idea of the opportunity to explore and discover areas of art and design history and processes which are less well known or often overlooked. The focus for this period of programming will include the art and design of South America as well as the art of the silversmith. Front cover image: Christ praying, by Aleijadinho. FURTHER INFORMATION Jon Miller - http://www.jmillerphotography.com/ Miriam Hanid - http://www.miriamhanid.com/ Emily Myers - http://www.emilymyers.com/ Image: The Passion Figures, by Aleijadinho 2 11
OPEN STUDIOS & DEMONSTRATIONS Resident Silversmith: Miriam Hanid Every Tuesday and Thursday 13.00-16.00, July - September We are very lucky to have Miriam Hanid working with us, in one of our studios in the Sackler Centre for the next six months, as our silversmith artist in residence. She is an experienced silversmith and has a large body of work already behind her. Feel free to drop in during your visit to the V&A, on the allotted days below, and see the work she is doing during her time with us. She will be happy to talk about her work both past and present, what drew her to the art of silversmithing and answer any questions about the techniques and processes involved in creating beautiful objects out of this precious metal. Image: Japanese Waves Beaker, by Miriam Hanid Resident Ceramicist: Emily Myers Every Tuesday and Thursday 13.00-16.00, July - September If you have not already visited our wonderful ceramics galleries on the sixth floor of the V&A (rooms 136-146) then we encourage you to explore them and then feel free to drop into our ceramics studio up there and see the work of our current resident ceramicist. While working with us she will be producing pieces inspired by our current focus on art and design from South America. She will be happy to talk about what inspired her to pursue a career in ceramics and to discuss the work she is doing while with us and the skills and techniques needed to create works of art in ceramics. EXIBITIONS Brazilian Baroque: European Styling in South America 7th July - 30th September, Exhibition Road Gallery Before Brazil emerged as one of the leading economic powers in current world affairs, it had experienced a very different history. After its discovery by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500, Brazil was ruled from afar as a colony of Portugal until 1822 when it finally achieved independence. As a result of being ruled by a European country during this period, Brazil could not avoid being influenced by movements which were taking place across the European continent at the time. The European love affair with the Baroque style began in the late 16 th and early 17 th Centuries. Firstly in the Italian capital Rome, before spreading across most other European countries and then eventually to many other parts of the world, including Brazil, and becoming arguably the first truly global style in art and design terms. This exhibition explores the origins of the Baroque style in Brazil and how it was then utilised by artists and designers through a variety of different art and design mediums, including furniture design, architecture, gold and silverware and sculpture. But it also explores how the relationship worked the other way and how Brazil influenced design processes, particularly in furniture making, due to the use of materials from the South American country, by furniture makers in Europe during the time of its status as a Portuguese colony. One of the celebrated artists in this exhibition is the 18 th century Brazilian sculptor and architect Antônio Francisco Lisboa, (1738-1814), or Aleijadinho as he is more commonly known. He is noted for his work on and in various churches of Brazil and was heavily influenced by the Baroque style in his sculptural and architectural design. This exhibition provides the V&A and our visitors the opportunity to explore the art and design of a major South American country, a part of the world that is not often represented on a large scale in British and European museums and galleries. Image: Facade of the Church of the Third Order of St Francis in Ouro Preto, by Aleijadinho. 10 3
The Architecture of Oscar Niemeyer 14th July - 6th October, The Porter Gallery Do not be fooled into thinking that just because Brazil embraced the Baroque style for a substantially longer period than European nations, such as Portugal, Germany and Britain, that this led to Brazil being behind in design terms come the end of the 19 th century. It is certainly true that Brazilian artists and designers continued to be influenced by the Baroque style well into the beginning of the 20 th century. However this newly independent nation also embraced the emerging influence of more modernist movements in the fields of art, design and architecture. One such individual, working during the 20 th century, to explore with using modernism in his work was the noted Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012). This exhibition explores his work as an architect from the blueprint design stage to the realisation of his ideas in concrete form. He was responsible for some of th century architecture, including the civic as being the architect behind so many renowned buildings in his homeland, Niemeyer gained many commission in other parts of the world, for example he headquarters in New York City. This exhibition gives visitors a chance to discover why this is the general consensus and to explore and understand the working processes of a man not afraid to push the boundaries of modern architecture. Image: The Cathedral of Brasilia, by Oscar Niemeyer 4 FAMILIES & YOUNG PEOPLE Images: Above right, exterior, by Claudia Leverentz, Above left, interior, by Riccardo Monaco Architectural Photography Workshop (16-19 year olds) 1st - 12th August, 10.30-17.00 Inspired by our current exhibition on the work of the architect Oscar Niemeyer, we are offering students with a keen interest in photography the opportunity to explore and develop skills in the discipline of architectural photography. Run by contemporary experts working in this field, students will get the chance to try out the specialised equipment and photographic techniques that architectural photographers use. Discover and try out the different processes and skills required to take both interior and exterior shots of buildings, and to fully capture the style of a room or a building. We hope that this workshop will supplies student with some good skills to take away with them and build upon and that it will make them aware of the different avenues that can be taken, career wise, in the field of photography. Drawing Sculpture Workshop (16-19 year olds) 15th - 26th August, 13.00-17.00 Artists working in the area of drawing choose to capture a wide range of images and styles in their work, but the focus of this workshop is how to effectively draw sculpture. We invite students with a keen interest in drawing who want to learn and explore the different skills and techniques required to capture the detail and sometimes ornate style of sculpture. This workshop will take students through some specific techniques of the best way to draw different sculpture styles on paper and let them experiment with these. This will all lead towards the students then choosing a piece of sculpture from any of our permanent or temporary displays and exhibitions and putting the skills and techniques they have learnt into practice. 9
SPECIAL EVENTS Panel Discussion The importance of engaging with art and design from all around the world Wednesday 24th August, 19.30-20.30 Very much inspired by our current focus on the art and design history of Brazil and other countries on the South American continent, we are holding a discussion on the importance of engaging and displaying art and design work from areas of the world which are often overlooked by many museums and galleries. Come and join our expert panel of curators and art and design historians as they discuss and debate the issues surrounding this topic, such as the ins and outs of how best to represent previously unexplored parts of the world, in art and design terms, and how the curators of our major Brazilian Baroque exhibition went about researching and sourcing the objects used to explain the detailed history of the Baroque style influence in South America. There will also be the opportunity for the audience to participate with any questions they have for our expert panel. Talk Baroque Style and the Church Wednesday 14th September, 19.30-20.30 Our current Brazilian Baroque exhibition covers a wide range of art and design areas where this style had a major influence. However in this talk the aim will be to focus very specifically on the nature of the relationship between the Baroque style and the Church, in both Europe and around the rest of the world, during the period of its height namely the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Discover the ways in which this global style influenced the way churches were adorned, in terms of the sculpture and paintings installed and the additions to the interior architecture. When next on your travels, if you happen to visit any churches you can look out specifically for the Baroque style influences on the exterior and interior architecture and design. 8 DISPLAYS Image: Bodice ornament, with topaz and rock crystal set in silver, 1770 Jewels from South America 8th July - 1st December To complement our wonderfully rich and varied jewellery collection, many of which are on permanent display of jewellery in the William and Judith Bollinger Gallery (Rooms 91-93), we will be displaying a selection of pieces which contain jewels originally sourced from across the countries of the South American continent. This new display will give visitors a chance to discover the different gemstones mined in South American countries, whether it be amethyst from Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, the emeralds from Colombia or the beautiful chrysoberyl from Brazil. See how they have been expertly cut and shaped, and then used to produce some truly fine pieces of jewellery. Highlights in this th century Bodice ornament made in Portugal but with topaz from Brazil and an 18 th century ring made in Europe but using yellow chrysoberyl from Brazil. Argentine Silver 15th July - 30th September To complement our rich collection of British and European silver (found in rooms 65-71) this is a display of assorted pieces made from silver mined in producers of silver and we want to give visitors the chance to see these stunning pieces of silverware and to appreciate the processes and techniques involved, as well as materials which come originally from a part of the world have rarely displayed before. Discover everything from silver platters to ornate drinking vessels as well as how exquisite the silver mined in Argentina really is, and be sure to look out for the hallmark on these pieces unique to Argentine silver. 5
EVENING EVENTS From Monteverdi to Pergolesi: Music from the Baroque Period Friday 12th August, 19.00-21.00 Enjoy an evening of Baroque music performed by musicians from the nearby Royal College of Music. To complement our current Brazilian Baroque exhibition, we will be hosting this celebration of some of the lesser performed composers from the Baroque period of music history, along with the more well known big hitters of this style. The programme will include performances of pieces from Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Jean-Philippe Rameau and António Teixeira, as well as a piece or two from the likes of Georges Frederic Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach. The setting for this concert will be the newly redesigned courtyard, which forms part of our new development on Exhibition Road, and is a perfect setting for a summer evening of fine music performed by a group of exceptionally talented musicians. Image: Exhibition Road Courtyard Daylight to Dusk: The Architectural Photography of Jon Miller Tuesday 13th September, 19.00-20.00 Join us for an evening talk with the photographer Jon Miller, who specialises in the field of architectural photography and was named architectural photographer of the year by the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photography) in 2007. Hear him discuss why and how he got into working in the field of architectural photography and what he believes are the key ingredients to being a successful architectural photographer. Also he will be sharing with audience the techniques and equipment he uses to get the best interior and exterior shots of buildings possible and showing some of his best and favourite work to illustrate this. COURSES & WORKSHOPS Practical Workshop: The Art of Silversmithing 4th July - 30th September, 10.30-17.00 Over this three month period we invite participants to learn some of the basic techniques used in the field of silversmithing and to work towards producing a piece of silverware of their very own by putting into practice the skills and techniques they have picked up. Contemporary experts in this field will be on hand to demonstrate to participants, and let them try out, some of the different styles and techniques and styles used by silversmiths across the centuries that enabled them to produce such fine pieces of silverware. Participants will then be guided through the processes of creating their own pieces of silverware, using any of the style and design ideas they have already had a go at. We hope that this will engage a new audience in this field of art and design work, an area which is still very much practiced today but is not often focused on all that much. Short Course: Furniture Making in the 18 th and 19 th Centuries 5th - 30th September, 11.00-16.00 This short course would be suitable for anyone with a keen interest in the history of furniture and a desire to learn more about the materials and techniques involved in the process of producing furniture. The course will explore the different techniques used to produce different types and styles of 18 th and 19 th century British furniture pieces, with a particular focus on veneering on wood using imported material from other countries, for example zebrawood and partridge wood both found in Brazil. Here at the V&A we have some fine pieces of wood furniture in our collection which perfectly demonstrate the art of veneering, such as an 18 th century writing table veneered with partridge wood and a 19 th century bureau bookcase veneered with zebrawood. Image: Bureau bookcase, 1808, made from mahogany and veneered with zebrawood from Brazil 6 7