Emily Pankhurst.

 For unit X I have been researching the Alumni of the Manchester art school from 1838 to 2013. While researching this brief I came across Emily Pankhurst had attended Manchester Art School in 1882 and  had studied art. So I thought I would do some artist research on her but unfortunately I cannot find any of her actual art work, but of course she was a very interesting person in her own right. So decided to write about her on my blog.

 The Petticoat Revolution. Gouache on paper.
 20th century. Private collection. Artist unknown.

 Emily Pankhurst.

 Emily Pankhurst campaigning.


 Emily Pankhurst was born in Manchester on July 15, 1858. Emily was born into a family who had tradition for radical politics, and she stepped into that mould becoming passionate campaigner for women's rights to vote.
In 1878, she married Richard Pankhurst, leader barrister, who was at the time 24 years older than her. Richard Pankhurst was a supporter of the women's suffrage movement. Together they had five children his death in 1898 was a shock to Emily. It was after his death that she threw herself into the suffragettes movement forming the Women's Franchise League in 1898. In 1894, she was elected a poor law guardian and she spent time visiting workhouses in Manchester becoming aware of the shocking levels of poverty many faced. Emily Pankhurst had this to say " I thought I have been a suffragist before I became a  Poor Law Guardian but now I began to think about the vote in women's hands not only as a right but as a desperate necessity."
It was in 1903 she formed the more militant Women's Social and Political Union. It was through the political action of the WSPU that the term women's suffragette movement was created. She was a leader of a passionate group of women who were willing to take part in drastic action by being tied to railings, smashing windows and launching demonstrations and in one case one woman threw herself under the Kings horse and died for her beliefs. Emily Pankhurst defended the militant tactics on the grounds that " The condition of our sex is so deplorable that is our duty to break the law in order tocolour tensions to the reasons why we do"
the government and establishment were shocked at the tactics of the women and many were arrested. While in prison they would go on hunger strike and they were force-fed already and released only to be re-arrested when they were in better health which was known as " Cat and mouse". In 1912 Emily Pankhurst was convicted of breaking windows and was sent to Holloway prison. While in prison she went on a hunger strike in protest about the appalling conditions, prisoners were kept in. She describes a time in prison" like a human being in the process of being turned into a wild beast"
In 1918 women over the age of 30 were given the vote by 1928 women were granted equal voting rights with men at 21. However in 1928 Emily Pankhurst fell ill and died.
It is thanks to Emily Pankhurst and her group who enabled us to vote. Today we take it for granted all the freedom us women have and we must always remember the women who campaigned for us.

So I'm very privileged to think that I am attending the same art school as Emily Pankhurst who changed the way of life for us women.

The only document in Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections for Emily Pankhurst. 

Ossie Clark

Ossie Clark.

Ossie Clark was born  Raymond Clark in Liverpool 9th June 1942. The name Ossie came from when he was evacuated to Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire during the Second World War. Ossie studied at Manchester Art School in 1960. In 1962 Ossie Clark was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. Where he graduated three years later – the only student to have been awarded a  First Class honours degree. Clark had impressive cutting skills and had the extraordinary productive collaboration with his wife the textile designer Celia Birtwell. He was spotted by Vogue's Marit Allen who printed a picture of Ossie and a model wearing one of his graduation pop art dresses and were photographed by David Bailey( photographer)in 1965.

 Dressing coat 1970. Ossie Clark.
 Celia Birtwell's print "floating Daisy."

Ossie Clark

Twiggy wearing Ossie Clark's outfit.

Wedding dress 1971. Clark said wedding dresses
"the most vital part is the back". Here the back features
dramatic fun pleating falling from a raised waistline.

Ossie Clark  1985.

.

 Dress 1971. This dress
was cleverly pieced together
from two different lengths of fabric,
a small multicoloured floral print and bolder red poppy print. They coil round the figure into continuous strands. Print by Celia Birtwell.

 From the mid 1960s to the mid-1970s Ossie Clark dressed the famous and the fashionable in showstoppers outfits. But since then, Clark's glamorous lifestyle and tragic death in 1996  have overshadowed his importance as a dress designer.

1969

1970   Chiffon dress.

 The back of a wool coat 1970.

 Strawberry embroidered lounge suit
1971

 Snake skin bomber jacket 1967.

 Costings for a outfit 1973 – 74.

Ossie Clark in the 1960s – 1970s one of the most influential dress designers of that time. He made Mick Jagger's stage outfits and Jaggers wife Bianca wore the most extravagant  designs of his.
Ossie Clark's vintage designs are still very sought-after and a lot of them are privately owned.  V&A  had a exhibition showing his designs in 2003. I just wished that I could have gone to see that exhibition because in this 1960s we all wanted a Ossie Clark's dress !

Celia Birtwell

 Celia Birtwell was David Hockney's  muse.

 I love the colours and the simple motifs of the fabric designs.

One of Birtwell fabric designs and Clarks
fashion designs.

Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark.

 Celia Birtwell  born in Bury and brought up in Prestwich  Manchester. At the age of 13years  Celia passed an exam to go to Salford Art School where she studied textiles. The school was part of Salford technical College in a Victorian building and overlooked the Georgian crescent called Peel Park. In 1959 she met the 16-year-old fashion designer Ossie Clarket in a coffee bar. Little did she know
from that meeting, how her life would change and she would become a very famous fabric designer who would marry Ossie Clark the fashion designer and become one of the most famous partnerships working in fashion in the 1960's.

One of Birtwell fabric designs.

They both went to live and work in London. Had two children. Eventually they opened a boutique called Quorum, on Kings Road, London.

 More designs by Celia and Ossie.

 Celia Birtwell had her fabric designs screen printed by a company in London. She always chose the fabrics she for printing. Often her designs would be printed on chiffon, silk, satin and crêpe.

Love the simple design.


 I  adore  Celia Birtwell's fabric designs they are very colourful large prints of flowers or leaves.
Celia was also well-known for her abstract prints which also were big and bold.  Her fabrics looked
fanastic made into fashion items. Many of her fabric designs were worn by the popstars of the 1960s.






 Celia is still designing fabrics, this time for the home. Shame really, because her fashion fabrics were absolutely  fabulous. The clothes made by Celia and Ossie command high prices in the vintage market. What I liked about her designs are, the simplicity and the colours she uses they are very striking and very, very desirable even today.

Zika Ascher.

Zika Asche came to England from Prague in 1939 and established a small textile business in London with his wife Lida. During the 1940s the Aschers commissioned leading artists such as Matisse and  Henry Moore to design a selection of headscarves to brighten up the dull post-war British wardrobe. From 1946 Ascher  supplied  fabrics to the international fashion industry. They opened their print works and became known for lively  screen printed designs and Ascher Textiles now feature regularly in exhibitions and auction.

 These are their designs used for fashion designers as seen above.

 These are designs by Ascher's wife. In 1961 Lida  begins designing ponchos and wraps from leftover mohair and silk. This evolves into a poverty line of clothing and assess raise in 1962. 

William Morris.

Have recently been looking at certain textile designers. And of course the king of all screen printers is William Morris with all his beautiful designs and prints. I just love William Morris work and would like to visit his place Kelmscott Manor near Oxford, which one day I will do.William Morris was born 1834 – died 1896 and was a designer and maker.

 This design is called Strawberry Thief  1883. This was William Morris most expensive printed furnishing
fabric and became a firm favourite with his clients. The pattern was printed by the Indigo discharge method an ancient
technique used for many centuries mostly in the East. William Morris admired the colour and crispness  of detail that this technique produced. This design was block printed on cotton and took a long time to produce. Therefore it was very expensive to buy.

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt Was the German photographer born 1865 – 1932.
German photographer who uses fantastic photographs of plants to educate students about the design  elements in nature. He devoted himself to the study of nature, photographing nothing but flowers, buds and seeds for 35 years.  His photographs are recognised as vital contributions of photography to this day.

 These are just a few of his black-and-white photographs taken of flowers and plants and seeds. Most certainly a very interesting photographer who I would like to spend more time studying.

Ursula Hilz

 



Ursula Hilz artist and designer. Born in rural Switzerland.
Works in typography, graphics. Since moving to London 10 years
ago, Ursula's work has focused on location and place.She creates
typographic maps of the worlds best-known cities. 

Map of Paris

Map of Rome.

Central New York.

Greater London.

Close up of Greater London.



I chose this artist because of her work with typography. The brief  
I am doing at the moment is Data and I feel this research fits nicely 
into the brief. I do think her work is stylish and has movement in the images. 






 

Matisse

Henri Matisse born 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambresis (Nord).
Died. 1954.
Painter and sculptor.



Matisse 1896


 

Matisse draws a head for the decoration of Chapelle
Du Rosaire in Vence in his studio / hotel room in
the Hotel Regina in Nice-Cimirz.      (1950 ) 

Matisse drawing the stations of the cross with
the aid of a bamboo pole in the interior of the
Chapelle Du Rosaire Vence. (1950)

Henri Matisse at work for the Chapelle

                                                                         Du Rosaire Vence.  (1951)

After drawing with my right hand and then drawing with a bamboo stick I realise how difficult

this must have been for Matisse. Yet he drew amazing pictures and images with his very long paint

brush and bamboo stick. As he became infirmed this did not stop him producing  art.  The images

below show Henri Matisse in his studio cutting out the shapes for his pictures shown below.

1952

La Gerbe 1953. 

 

 

 

La Perruche et al Sirene 1952.

The Snail 1953 (Tate Modern)

 

 

 

 

Henri Matisse was a very interesting artist, who started in life as a clerk in a law office.

Because of ill health Matisse started to paint. At 21 years old this was the turning point

of his life. He still worked in the office at the lawyers where he would decorate his books with

flowers and faces. Every morning he would attend a drawing class at the Ecole Quentin

de La Tour which specialised in tapestry and textile design. Lunch time he would spend

his time painting and then return to work. In 1891 Matisse abandoned law. His life as a artist

began. I love Matisse's work the colours, shapes and the fluid lines that he uses. What a loss

to the art world if Henri Matisse decided to pursue his career as a lawyer.

 



Mary Bourne

Mary Borne was born in England and moved with her family to Aberdeen 1970 where she was brought up.

1981 - 6   Attended Edinburgh School of Art.

                BA ( Hons) Sculptor/ Visual artiste.
               
                Now based in rural Moray, North East of Scotland.

                Has many commissions in public places home and abroad.

                Won a number of awards and prizes for her work. 

Fossil Record.

Birch Diptych.


These are examples of Mary's work.

  Mary Bourne works principally in natural stone using variety of techniques, caving, sandblasting, heat and polishing.

This is her quote about trees " Trees deflect wind and hold onto the soil; they are an important crop, providing income and employment. But they are also more than this; as you pass through the
landscape they are hooks to hang your thoughts on and silent watchers of your passage."

Regeneration.

Mountain Flower.

Bourne produces a sculpture that you want to pick up and touch the lovely smooth texture they appear to have. They are so rustic, yet very sophisticated pieces of art that would look good in a city or in a rural setting.