TRY this for size – an exhibition mixing the poems of William Wordsworth with the musings of razor-edged rap star Eminem and late Nirvana frontman and maverick rock star Kurt Cobain?
It is not an easy concept to grasp, but that’s contemporary art for you, particularly Conrad Atkinson’s work… challenging, to say the least.
But let’s not forget Wordsworth was probably as controversial in his own time as Eminem and Mr Cobain are perceived to be today.
In his Common Sights exhibition, running at Wordsworth Trust’s 3°W Gallery, Conrad Atkinson weaves together images and the art of 20/21st Century lyricists with William Wordsworth’s immortal words.
Described by some as Cumbria’s greatest living artist, the Cleator Moor born artist is every bit as radical as Wordsworth was, and has gained a reputation for tackling controversial political material.
His work has engaged the plight of workers in West Cumbria, industrial disease, the troubles in Northern Ireland, the Thalidomide scandal, BNFL, and - more recently - the proliferation of landmines. Conrad is official artist of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines (Vietnam Veterans Trust) and divides his time between his home county and the University of California at Davis, where he’s professor of Art.
Conrad explains that, in his work, he challenges the way we remember the history that makes up our perceptions of the present, and questions the motives of those who seek to manipulate it for their own ends.
Taking its title from Wordsworth’s poem Intimations of Immortality, Common Sights is his first exhibition in Cumbria since his hugely successful outing at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Millennium year.
It runs until the end of February and is the Grasmere trust’s way of linking the worlds of Wordsworth and other Lakeland poets.
The gallery will also display a version of the suit Wordsworth wore to collect his Poet Laureateship in 1843.
A Saville Row pinstripe, it has been decorated with gold embroidery of wildlife, flowers and insects and is displayed alongside a small text panel describing, in typically sardonic fashion, the origins of the suit.
Conrad explores Wordsworth’s poetry with images of the poet, mixing his words with modern-day lines investigating the damaged world and the culture in which we live.
He also touches on the foot-and-mouth crisis, creating porcelain casts of calf tongues with a mobile phone attached. Like most artwork it’s open to the viewers’ own interpretation.
Born in 1940, Conrad’s career as a visual artist is a long and celebrated one exhibiting all over the world.
In Common Sights he recreates Henry Edridge’s 1805 portrait of Wordsworth shaping it with text (along with an assortment of butterflies) paying homage to William’s passion for nature, particularly poems such as To A Butterfly, Resolution and Independence and To A Celandine.
And, believe it or not, there’s not a single daffodil in sight.
The gallery, Dove Cottage, and the Wordsworth Museum are open daily from 9.30am to 5.30pm.
Contact 015394-35544 for more details. If you want more information about the artist, visit www.conradatkinson.com
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