If you are a keen photographer, this weekend would have been the perfect time to capture on film the city that I love. London feels still, quiet. Its iconic buildings and landmarks wrapped in a blanket of snow. There
is a sense of innocence and softness that is often forgotten amid the bustle of commerce, tourism and day to day life in our capital.
So the snow put paid to my planned visit to the London Art Fair on Friday and unfortunately meant I did not get a chance to participate in the Macallan masterclass. The masterclass was an opportunity to discuss The Masters of Photography and the work of Annie Lebovitz with Roy Robertson, the President of the National Photographic Society and for the budding photographer get some insider tips on taking the perfect photo.
However, all was not lost as today, in still unforgiving English winter weather I finally made it to the Business Design Centre, Islington, all be it a little cold and snow swept! I have been to this venue before to a conference on the criminal justice system and the importance of offender education, but today I was first struck by the creative energy that the space was playing host to. The art lovers were certainly not put off by the weather!
The nearest I have been to an art exhibition has been the obligatory trip round the National Portrait Gallery on a school trip, when I was taking GCSE art exams in 1999, so I was excited to see what the 131 galleries and 1000 artists exhibiting over the past five days had to offer a novice.
The work was eclectic but felt very modern, up to the minute, a lot of it on the pulse of twenty first century London. A mixture of installations, animations, canvases and the Photo 50 project showing the work of documentary and photojournalism. Some of it I did not
understand and felt inadequate when stood beside the "experts' as they ruminated on form, composition and the artists vision and intention. Some of it I did not like and could not imagine it hanging on the walls of my home to be the talking point at a dinner party with friends.
is a sense of innocence and softness that is often forgotten amid the bustle of commerce, tourism and day to day life in our capital.
So the snow put paid to my planned visit to the London Art Fair on Friday and unfortunately meant I did not get a chance to participate in the Macallan masterclass. The masterclass was an opportunity to discuss The Masters of Photography and the work of Annie Lebovitz with Roy Robertson, the President of the National Photographic Society and for the budding photographer get some insider tips on taking the perfect photo.
However, all was not lost as today, in still unforgiving English winter weather I finally made it to the Business Design Centre, Islington, all be it a little cold and snow swept! I have been to this venue before to a conference on the criminal justice system and the importance of offender education, but today I was first struck by the creative energy that the space was playing host to. The art lovers were certainly not put off by the weather!
The nearest I have been to an art exhibition has been the obligatory trip round the National Portrait Gallery on a school trip, when I was taking GCSE art exams in 1999, so I was excited to see what the 131 galleries and 1000 artists exhibiting over the past five days had to offer a novice.
The work was eclectic but felt very modern, up to the minute, a lot of it on the pulse of twenty first century London. A mixture of installations, animations, canvases and the Photo 50 project showing the work of documentary and photojournalism. Some of it I did not
understand and felt inadequate when stood beside the "experts' as they ruminated on form, composition and the artists vision and intention. Some of it I did not like and could not imagine it hanging on the walls of my home to be the talking point at a dinner party with friends.
One exhibit, part of a collection made up of work by 4 African artists, really struck me. I have always thought that the purpose of art is to ask questions of or evoke emotions in the viewer. Mozamibque born and based artist Gonçalo Mabunda did this. His masks, made from guns and arms that he had recovered from the brutal civil war that has raged in his country between the years of 1977 to 1992, are haunting in their telling of the stark story of the atrocities of warfare. The juxtaposition of weapons of brutality being welded into something beautifully moving left me with a feeling of hope that the history is shared to encourage future growth from the lessons of the past.
After a wander through the exhibits it was finally time to make my way up to Level 2,towards the reason I had bought the tickets. To go and experience stand S1. The Macallan.
After a wander through the exhibits it was finally time to make my way up to Level 2,towards the reason I had bought the tickets. To go and experience stand S1. The Macallan.
Now I know nothing technical about taking stand out photographs. I do not know where to lace the light, what angles to set or lenses to use. I do know that Annie Lebovitz is probably the one photographer whose reputation means I could name some of her work without having to google it!
After taking the photos in I can see why she has deservedly been bestowed with the honour of being considered one of the greats in her field. The photographs are simply stunning.
Now I could wax lyrical about how beautifully masculine and rugged Kevin looks in these photographs. For me he has never looked better. But we all already know that! We have all been the photographs. Yet today I saw much more than that.
There is something even more mesmerising about experiencing the pictures in person. There is something that gets lost in translation looking at them from behind the barrier of a computer screen.
To stand in front of the images is to feel their raw power, their authentic warmth. The images look expensive, enhancing the message of luxury and opulence the Macallan brand has come to represent. Your eye is drawn, at times, away from Kevin (believe it or not!) and you marvel at the details in the backdrop- the colours of the whiskey, the sharp cuts of the wardrobe, the imposing presence of the New York sky line.
My favourite photograph from the series is shown here on the banner advert for the Macallan stand. The intensity of Kevin's gaze, when you stand in front of it and look, is amplified. You feel as if he is connecting solely with you, inviting you, almost intrusively, in to an individual but shared moment. This image feels both meticulously put together yet has a quality that is totally organic.
As much as these images are corporate advertisements encouraging the whiskey lover to choose this brand, they are also examples of technical excellence. Sometimes all the right people are in all the places at the right time and that synergy merges to create a moment captured and recorded as art.
So my stand out moments from the London Art Fair 2013 consisted of warfare and whiskey.
For my first steps into art appreciation I am glad that I got to take them with Kevin McKidd!
By Hannah-Adjoa Smith our UK Roving Reporter
London Art Fair
After taking the photos in I can see why she has deservedly been bestowed with the honour of being considered one of the greats in her field. The photographs are simply stunning.
Now I could wax lyrical about how beautifully masculine and rugged Kevin looks in these photographs. For me he has never looked better. But we all already know that! We have all been the photographs. Yet today I saw much more than that.
There is something even more mesmerising about experiencing the pictures in person. There is something that gets lost in translation looking at them from behind the barrier of a computer screen.
To stand in front of the images is to feel their raw power, their authentic warmth. The images look expensive, enhancing the message of luxury and opulence the Macallan brand has come to represent. Your eye is drawn, at times, away from Kevin (believe it or not!) and you marvel at the details in the backdrop- the colours of the whiskey, the sharp cuts of the wardrobe, the imposing presence of the New York sky line.
My favourite photograph from the series is shown here on the banner advert for the Macallan stand. The intensity of Kevin's gaze, when you stand in front of it and look, is amplified. You feel as if he is connecting solely with you, inviting you, almost intrusively, in to an individual but shared moment. This image feels both meticulously put together yet has a quality that is totally organic.
As much as these images are corporate advertisements encouraging the whiskey lover to choose this brand, they are also examples of technical excellence. Sometimes all the right people are in all the places at the right time and that synergy merges to create a moment captured and recorded as art.
So my stand out moments from the London Art Fair 2013 consisted of warfare and whiskey.
For my first steps into art appreciation I am glad that I got to take them with Kevin McKidd!
By Hannah-Adjoa Smith our UK Roving Reporter
London Art Fair
