LICHFIELD FESTIVAL
JULY 17th 2010

Expressions of interest are sought from artists for participation in an unique commissioning event during this year’s Lichfield Festival. The Arts Den, which will be loosely based upon the TV programme, “Dragons Den”, will see short listed artists invited to give a brief presentation of their artwork to a small panel of commissioning representatives.
Artists will be invited to give a presentation / overview of their working practice, including presenting an original example of their artwork and answer questions from the commissioning panel with regards a work that they would like to produce. This will last no more than ten to fifteen minutes. At the end of the interviewing process the commissioning panel will present a £1000.00 commission to the selected artist who will be commissioned to produce an original artwork relating to their presentation over the next 12 months, which will be unveiled and exhibited at the 2011 Festival.. The event will take place in front of a small audience at the Garrick Theatre in the afternoon of Saturday 17th July.
The project is being organized as part of the development of a new Arts Foundation for Lichfield and District. The commissioned artwork will be owned by the new arts foundation and become a part of its new contemporary art collection for the city of Lichfield.
Artists from all backgrounds may enter. This is an excellent opportunity for both recent graduates and established artists to propose an artwork they wish to produce and have it commissioned.
Artists should send a brief outline about their artwork, along with no more than 6 images of present work and a CV (preferably as jpeg and PDF format) by the 18th June. Selected artists will be notified the week after and invited to the event on the 17th July.
Please forward submissions to : info@52weeksofart.com

Artists Peter Walker and David Harper revealed their latest collaborative installation artwork at the first anniversary of Lichfields speakers corner this weekend. The sculpture and sound artwork became a central feature of the celebrations. The sculpture which was sited at the end of Dam Street near to the site of the Speakers Corner was a point of fascination throughout the day.

A new sculpture and sound installation has been placed in Lichfield Cathedral for the next two weeks. The sculpture is a bronze cast representation based upon the concept of Mary Magdalene’s suffering at the Crucifixion of Christ. This is represented through the reduction, distortion and abstraction of the realistic physiognomy of the portrait, which has been designed to convey both powerful and poignant emotional qualities. The representation of the portrait has been developed in line with the historic portrayals of Mary Magdalene produced since the Renaissance, initially in Italy and thereafter in Northern Europe, both as wood carvings and cast works. These include the screaming depiction of Mary Magdalene by Del Arca in his interpretation of the “Lamentation of the Dead Christ”. In line with this legacy the current work reinterprets this inheritance through 20th and 21st century visual means (such as the inheritance of cubist form, and the development of abstraction as key to the expression of emotive qualities). The power of the work is duly modified and complemented by the inclusion of sound alongside the sculpture. The sculptural work was completed first, and then the composer produced the companion sound piece as a second element. The sound is constant meditative composition, which ebbs between and alludes to different emotional qualities during the duration of the composition, which in its entirety runs for approximately eight hours. The composition is intended to be especially quiet – intended almost as a whisper. The sculpture which is located in the south trancept of the Cathedral will be on display until the 2nd Arpil.

The sculpture is by Peter Walker and the sound composition by David Harper.

The Evolution of Evolution is a reworking of the famous Alferd Barr - Cubism and Abstract Art poster of the 1930's. Utilizing the iconic image of Barr's work it makes for an interesting fine art take on the the stages of Evolutionary thinking.

Despite the rain, snow and freezing temperatures a good audience of around 75 people turned out to see the full text of the Botanic Garden, Erasmus Darwin's most famous work, projected onto the original entrance facade of his former home in the city. The project put together by Peter Walker and Andy McKeown, saw this masterpiece accompanied by works of local poets.
Such an important works as Darwin's poem, can be lost or forgotten over time, and this project enabled a perfect opportunity for the vastness of the work to be explored. The full projection took over 3 hours to complete, with the projection providing both a thought provoking and aesthetic addition.