I have a confession to make.
I was thrown into a bit of a tizzy when I saw
the title of this week’s blog. Despite
being a creative type of person for the whole of my life, attending art college
for four years and graduating with a BA in Graphic Design, I am a total
ignoramus where ‘proper’ art is concerned.
Art history at ‘A’ level consisted of our art teacher putting on a slide
show, naming the artist and describing the image before us. It scored a very high boredom factor. My friend and I sat at the back, giggling
(which was how I spent most of the sixth form).
The single fact I retained from those lessons was Mr Jackson announcing
the title of one famous painting as something to do with cornfields. My friend leaned across and whispered in my
ear, “What? Cornflakes?” We spent the
rest of the lesson shaking uncontrollably (I know, I know – but it was
hilarious to a pair of silly sixteen year olds, hell bent on making Mr
Jackson’s life a misery. I think we
succeeded) And that is why I don’t know my Leonardo from my Raphael, unless
we’re talking turtles, and I’m even losing that ability since my children grew
up and became parents themselves.
What do you do when you need a bit of
information and inspiration? You google,
of course. The first thing I learnt as I
desperately searched, was that the title ‘Great Master’ could be applied to
experts with many different skills and talents, not just artistic ones. Initially, that was a relief. I would write about something other than
art. By the time I’d trawled through
music, golf and darts I decided that art might be the best option after all.
Don’t get me wrong, I love art (in a philistinian ‘I
like what I like’ sort of way) but having missed that early grounding due to
the ‘cornflake incident’ I think I gave up on finding out about the great
masters. I did do a quick cramming
session on Michelangelo, Van Gogh and
Picasso for my interview for art college, but this was the sixties and all the
questions sounded like the interviewer was tripping on acid. I think my portfolio (consisting of several
scrappy pieces of paper with doodles on) was flicked through in a bored sort of
way, and as far as I remember art wasn’t mentioned at all. Which is obviously how I managed to secure a
place. As my journey through college progressed I somehow managed to fit in the practical sessions between partying and meeting the future husband, but, once again, the theory and the meaty facts seemed to slip through my fingers.
Up until the publication of this blog I
think I’ve managed to keep my ignorance pretty well hidden. All conversations about art have involved a
lot of smiling and nodding knowledgeably, and all information about art and
artists has been on a strictly need to know basis. The husband is pretty hot on this subject,
especially the older stuff, so, in the absence of Google, he is my ‘go to’
information point. I have to say, he
wasn’t particularly helpful this time, suggesting I wrote the whole article and
then revealed at the end that it was about the Ninja Turtles. That's the sort of man I married. You’ll be glad I didn’t take his advice.
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| The Gap in My Art Education |
With the shame of my ignorance about 'great art' growing as I wrote my post this morning, I did a bit more googling and then composed the following poem.....
The Gap by Jill Reidy
In my woeful ignorance
I spent an agreeable hour today
Familiarising myself with Michelangelo
His life and paintings
Those wonderful murals
I zoomed in on details
That looked impossible to create
I stared at that enormous ceiling
Followed its curve
And marvelled at a skill
Beyond my comprehension
Beyond my imagination
I studied the hands
From every angle
Those elegant fingers
Tentative yet strong
So near but still so far
That gap, unlike my own
Will be there for eternity
Thanks for reading Jill
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