Tag Archives: House of Illustration

Anime Architecture

I am grateful to John Kirkwood for visiting and writing about this exhibition:

Anime Architecture: Backgrounds of Japan, Main Gallery at House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1, until 10th September 2017

Background illustration for Ghost in the Shell cut 341 by Hiromasa Ogura
©1995


Being totally unfamiliar with Anime, this exhibition came as a delightful surprise.  The technique involved in producing these films seems quite complicated but the results are well worth the trouble.
Perhaps the most well-known anime film is Ghost In The Shell, recently remade as a live action film with Scarlett Johansson who looks as much like a Japanese as I look like Scarlett Johansson – the beard of course doesn’t help!
Hiromasa Ogura’s watercolours for the anime Ghost In The Shell are on display and are based on photographs of Hong Kong and depict a slightly exaggerated contrast between a derelict Chinese town and the extreme development of the urban space.  They are quite haunting and intriguing and somewhat reminiscent of film noir of the forties and fifties.

Concept Design for Ghost in the Shell 2 Innocence by Takashi Watabe
© 2004 Shirow Masamune KODANSHA

Pencil drawings by Takashi Watabe whose fantastically realistic style has become a hallmark for Japanese anime films are also on display.
By the end of the exhibition I was very keen to see an anime film and in the last room of the exhibition my wish was granted as there are three short excerpts from two anime films.  I now look forward to watching more on DVD.

 

 

 

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm. Closed Mondays

 

houseofillustration.org.uk.

 

House of Illustration 2

Linda Kitson: Drawings and Projects, Quentin Blake Gallery at House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, London N1, until 30th April 2017

Argentinian pucaras at Stanley airstrip in 1982
credit Linda Kitson

It is completely appropriate that Quentin Blake should have curated this small display as he has been a friend of Linda Kitson since she first started as a student at the Royal College of Art some fifty years ago.

Linda was the first officially commissioned female war artist as her drawings of the 1982 Falklands War attest.  Other works recall the BBC’s 50th Anniversary and The Times when it was still in Fleet Street.  Her more recent iPad drawings capture the architecture of the City of London.

The Times in 1982
credit Linda Kitson

 

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm. Closed Mondays.

 

houseofillustration.org.uk

House of Illustration 1

Jo Brocklehurst: Nobodies and Somebodies, House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, London N1, until 14th May 2017

Untitled
credit Estate of Jo Brocklehurst

Jo (Josephine) Blanche Brocklehurst (1935 – 2006) was both an artist and a lecturer at Central Saint Martins fashion school and this exhibition proves exactly how talented she was. Brocklehurst depicted the subculture scene of the 70s through to the 90s drawing live whether in fetish clubs, punk squats – one was near her Hampstead studio – and the performance scene, in Berlin and New York as well as London. Some of her iconic punk images are in the V&A’s collection and her works inspired designers such as Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Die Eingeborene (The Natives) for Berliner Zeitung
credit Estate of Jo Brocklehurst

Many of the works are being shown for the first time and don’t miss the documentary film which features the show’s co-curator Isabelle Bricknall and the artist Howard Tangye. It is a show that should be seen in the flesh – so to speak – because it perfectly recaptures the spirit and place of its time.

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm. Closed Mondays.

 

houseofillustration.org.uk

The Power of Imagery

Kathy Prendergast – Atlas: A Reverie, 12 Star Gallery, 32 Smith Square, London SW1, until 9th September 2016

Installation View: Kathy Prendergast - Atlas: A Reverie Courtesy of 12 Star Gallery.

Installation View: Kathy Prendergast – Atlas: A Reverie
Courtesy of 12 Star Gallery.

This exhibition features thirty-eight wall-hung images and a freestanding work.  Using the AA Road Atlas of Europe the artist has transformed the maps into what may almost be thought to be charts of the stars but in fact using white and grey dots she denotes villages, towns and cities. In doing it in this manner she raises the question of migration and settlement in both a historical and contemporary way.

 

ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/

 

A New Childhood: Picture Books from Soviet Russia, House of Illustration 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1, until 11th September 2016

Image by Galina and Olga Chichagova. Courtesy of Sasha Lurye

Image by Galina and Olga Chichagova.
Courtesy of Sasha Lurye

This is a wonderful voyage of discovery into the world of Russian children’s books in the post-revolutionary period of the 20s and 30s with these works from the Sasha Lurye Collection. Much of the artwork has not been seen before and includes rare early 20th century Jewish books and hand-printed books made by the Segodnya Collective.  It is fascinating to learn that these books which told about contemporary life or traditional folk tales were influential on book design in Europe, including the UK.

www.houseofillustration.org.uk

 

Georgiana Houghton: Spirit Drawings, Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2, until 11th September 2016

Georgiana Houghton (1814 –1884) The Eye of God c. 1862 Watercolour on paper, 54 x 44 cm Victorian Spiritualists' Union Melbourne, Australia (The inscription on the reverse names Correggio as Houghton’s spirit guide)

Georgiana Houghton (1814 –1884)
The Eye of God
c. 1862
Watercolour on paper, 54 x 44 cm
Victorian Spiritualists’ Union
Melbourne, Australia
(The inscription on the reverse names Correggio as Houghton’s spirit guide)

Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884) was a spiritualist and medium whose drawings were part of her communications with the spirit world.  Her colourful, abstract watercolours are now considered to be a precursor of abstract art.  She believed that when executing the drawings she was being guided by spirits, including Titian, Correggio and St Luke and she duly noted on the reverse of the works whose help she had received. An intriguing show indeed.

http://courtauld.ac.uk/gallery

REVOLUTIONARY ART

Revolution under a King: French Prints 1789-92, UCL Art Museum, South Cloisters, Wilkins Building, Gower Street, London, WC1, until 10th June 2016

Jean-Michel Moreau after Noël Le Mire, Louis Seize: Bonnet des Jacobins donné au Roi, le 6 Juin 1792, Copper Engraving, UCL Art Museum

Jean-Michel Moreau after Noël Le Mire,
Louis Seize: Bonnet des Jacobins donné au Roi, le 6 Juin 1792, Copper Engraving,
UCL Art Museum

 This is a delightful small exhibition that focuses on the period between the Fall of the Bastille on July 14th 1789 and the end of 1792.  This was a period when Louis XVI was still king but the old order was undergoing radical change that not only affected France but also caused concerns in the rest of Europe.  The prints are a wonderful record of what was happening in France in this short period as they give an easily understandable interpretation of the very complex issues involved.

Louis XVI was executed on 21st January, 1793.

For visitor information please go to 

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/uclart/visit/exhibitions/Revolutionunderaking

 

 

Comix Creatrix: 100 Women Making Comics, House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross London N1, until 15th May 2016

“Genesis 3” Alison Sampson © Alison Sampson Courtesy of the artist

“Genesis 3” Alison Sampson © Alison Sampson Courtesy of the artist

In some ways this exhibition might be described as “revolutionary” as it traces the emergence and work of female comic creators from the 19th century until the present day, but with an emphasis on the 21st century creators. Many of the works are having their first public airing.

“The Collector” Marion Fayolle © Marion Fayolle Courtesy of the artist

“The Collector” Marion Fayolle © Marion Fayolle Courtesy of the artist

houseofillustration.org.uk

100 years of Ladybird Books

Ladybird by Design, House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, London N1, until 27th September 2015

Shopping with Mother, 1958, Harry Wingfield

Shopping with Mother, 1958,
Harry Wingfield

This is a trip to a world of nostalgia and a facing up to the fact that we have grown up.  The books have lost none of their appeal and in this show of some 120 of their images one can easily see why they remain popular with children of all ages.  Do go and see it – they even have some vintage books on sale.

Exploring Space, 1964, B. Knight

Exploring Space, 1964,
B. Knight

houseofillustration.org.uk

‘Mad Men’

Mac Conner: A New York Life, House of Illustration 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1, until 28th June 2015

How Do You Love Me Mac Conner 1950 Courtesy of Museum City of New York

How Do You Love Me
Mac Conner 1950
Courtesy of Museum City of New York

 ‘Mad Men’ comes to London in this exhibition that features works by one of the leading exponents of this form of illustration – McCauley (‘Mac’) Conner. There are over seventy artworks from the 1940s-1960s which totally capture the spirit of American post-war life and define the look of a generation. They appeared in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping.

Strictly Respectable Mac Conner 1953 Courtesy of Museum City of New York

Strictly Respectable
Mac Conner 1953
Courtesy of Museum City of New York

Alongside the illustrations are reference photos, letters to/from editors and art directors, and sketches which build up a picture of Conner’s working life. The gallery’s director, Colin McKenzie, says: “Mac Conner is one of an influential group of New York illustrators from the golden era of advertising, when New York was the world’s media capital. We are delighted to show his remarkable work, which was created at a time when illustration defined the popular aesthetic and had a huge influence on mainstream publishing”.

Let's Take a Trip Up the Nile Mac Conner 1950 Courtesy of Museum City of New York

Let’s Take a Trip Up the Nile
Mac Conner 1950
Courtesy of Museum City of New York

 

Don’t miss it!

 

Where is Mary Smith Mac Conner 1950 Courtesy of Museum City of New York

Where is Mary Smith
Mac Conner 1950
Courtesy of Museum City of New York

http://www.houseofillustration.org.uk