tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post7856917423776834787..comments2024-03-28T22:50:02.315+11:00Comments on ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly: modernism at The Festival of Britain 1951-2011Helshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-24714082336515217302018-07-18T14:52:25.839+10:002018-07-18T14:52:25.839+10:00To examine Lucienne Day as a textile designer, vis...To examine Lucienne Day as a textile designer, visit the blog "Where Five Valleys Meet": https://wherefivevalleysmeet.blogspot.com/2018/04/. <br /><br />Lucienne's designs brought joy and colour into domestic homes, following the austerity of the war years.Helshttp://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-77891841125136030922014-01-02T10:35:49.382+11:002014-01-02T10:35:49.382+11:00Art and Design
what a great reference, thank you....Art and Design<br /><br />what a great reference, thank you. But it was written in 2008. Has progress been made towards rebuilding Skylon since?Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-77888310952397561792014-01-01T17:22:20.812+11:002014-01-01T17:22:20.812+11:00Churchill did his Battle-of-Britain best to shoot ...Churchill did his Battle-of-Britain best to shoot the vision of Skylon down in political flames.<br /><br />And, yet, images of this ethereal, beautiful and endearingly fascinating Supersonic-era sculpture have haunted architects, artists, designers and engineers over the past six decades. The Skylon stood on a site by the River Thames in a direct line with the London Eye, the enormous big-wheel designed and promoted by the architects Marks Barfield in a style very much influenced by the Skylon itself.<br /><br />Will Skylon return, or won't it, to London's South Bank?Art&Design Bloghttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/artblog/2008/jul/09/skylonwhatsthepointofrebunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-54102655983105459562011-09-21T10:23:58.194+10:002011-09-21T10:23:58.194+10:00I have added a reference to the blog called "...I have added a reference to the blog called "Lost London". It gives useful information about the building of Skylon and its destruction.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-10672738906525352022011-08-26T09:59:23.713+10:002011-08-26T09:59:23.713+10:00John
many thanks.
I am not sure it was just smal...John<br />many thanks. <br /><br />I am not sure it was just small-minded pettiness that caused the destruction of a really important, nation-wise exhibition. It seems like a rather vicious attempt to rewrite history from a conservative view point, eliminating almost everything that ordinary working families could participate in and enjoy.<br /><br />Apart from being politically nasty, it was also showing an astonishing blindness to the sense of depression and loss that followed the 1939-45 world war.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-16798490984761264702011-08-26T02:30:57.245+10:002011-08-26T02:30:57.245+10:00There was a staggering amount of small-minded pett...There was a staggering amount of small-minded pettiness concerning the end of the Festival. As you say, Churchill and the Tory party were adamant that every vestige of the Festival be obliterated, publicly if possible. I don't think Churchill ever forgave the Socialists for forming the first government after the war, and this was at least a partial public revenge.<br /><br />I must also disagree with Andrew. The fifties gave Britain, at least, some of the best textile design work it has ever produced. Much of the work still appears stridently contemporary.John Hopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495250254811460833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-60694350595503065342011-08-16T10:17:47.001+10:002011-08-16T10:17:47.001+10:00I have added a link to Caroline's Miscellany b...I have added a link to Caroline's Miscellany blog and her super post on the Festival of Britain's double decker buses.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-10525633693702977332011-08-09T10:19:03.791+10:002011-08-09T10:19:03.791+10:00resdientjudge
At the Degenerate Art Exhibition in...resdientjudge<br /><br />At the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich in 1937, the works were selected for sale or destruction if they were modernist, Jewish, Bolshevik and not reflecting German traditions. <br /><br />In 1951 the Festival of Britain the facilities were destroyed because they were modernist, socialist and not reflecting British traditions.<br /><br />Wasting precious community resources didn't seem to be as important as political values, in both cases.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-85997381907010091612011-08-08T21:10:36.446+10:002011-08-08T21:10:36.446+10:00I know that world fair structures are often demoli...I know that world fair structures are often demolished afterwards, but this seems such a vindictive dismantling, doesn't it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-52248214848735930102011-08-07T12:40:11.224+10:002011-08-07T12:40:11.224+10:00Hermes
I wonder if some people thought the Festiv...Hermes<br /><br />I wonder if some people thought the Festival of Britain was a waste of time and money back in 1951, just as many Brits think the 2012 Olympics are useless. Houses were pulled down, money was diverted away from more urgent uses and the jobs that were created weren't permanent jobs.<br /><br />You will have to see if the Olympics eventually add far more to the economy than they cost.<br /><br />On the other hand, if people in 1951 were not focused on economic impacts but focused instead on raising national morale, implementing technological advances and teaching about modern design, perhaps the Festival of Britain succeeded (whatever happened to the economy). It is still being debated in the history journals.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-9007321262892659982011-08-07T00:27:56.598+10:002011-08-07T00:27:56.598+10:00Sounds like we could do with something like that n...Sounds like we could do with something like that now. For me it would be much better than a useless Olympics. I was born in 1953 so the 60's was my generation really.Hermeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00968366076064269729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-49251548452260391852011-08-07T00:03:25.969+10:002011-08-07T00:03:25.969+10:00Hels gives the secret babyboomer handshake :)
Rob...Hels gives the secret babyboomer handshake :)<br /><br />Robin Day's furniture employed very sensible materials and very neat designs for the job at hand. Formica laminate was very long lasting and easy to clean; the tubular metal legs made lifting the chairs easy; and in smaller houses after the war, the layout of the furniture in the kitchen could be more flexible and less spacious.<br /><br />No wonder he was considered cutting edge modern.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-89674235336575519692011-08-06T18:22:46.150+10:002011-08-06T18:22:46.150+10:00My parents had a formica kitchen table in the earl...My parents had a formica kitchen table in the early 1950s, along with chairs in tubular chrome and patterned vinyl. I cannot remember if any of us liked the furniture or not. I just remember my mother thought it was very easy to keep clean.BabyBoomernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-37984744084877473012011-08-06T18:06:38.677+10:002011-08-06T18:06:38.677+10:00foto fanatic
hehe you didn't :) I suppose pe...foto fanatic <br /><br />hehe you didn't :) I suppose people were very grateful that war ended, most men came home again and found jobs, and that rationing was gradually ending. <br /><br />Ok we didn't like flavoured straws, cream brick veneer homes, laminex table tops and Aeroplane Jelly. But life was full of a brighter future, I think.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-14632537466376779012011-08-06T18:01:07.246+10:002011-08-06T18:01:07.246+10:00Andrew
I am still delighted now, 60 years later, ...Andrew<br /><br />I am still delighted now, 60 years later, that the Labour government had the insight and sensitivity to put on a huge post-war, future-oriented show. Millions of people attended the various events and people really did start to talk about future trends in town planning, architecture, design, the arts etc etc. Other people just had a great time in the centres of entertainment.<br /><br />But I am still angry about Churchill and his conservative cronies. They destroyed something important, something that ordinary people could enjoy and wonder at.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-45896148639101573842011-08-06T15:35:12.580+10:002011-08-06T15:35:12.580+10:00Ah -the fifties! Polishing machines. You bought fl...Ah -the fifties! Polishing machines. You bought floor polish and applied it to the timber flooring, then buffed it with an electric polisher.<br />Flavored straws. You put them in a glass of milk and sucked, thereby imparting strawberry or chocolate flavor to your drink.<br />Hoola hoops & jacks - If you were playing with your sisters! :-)<br />Aeroplane jelly!<br />Davey Crockett hats!<br />Movies: Shane & Old Yeller!<br /><br />Sorry - nostalgia got the better of me. Didn't intend to hijack your post.the foto fanatichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17234840691455844914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-10060131427276351472011-08-06T08:15:18.516+10:002011-08-06T08:15:18.516+10:00I am struggling to think of some things I like fro...I am struggling to think of some things I like from the fifties. Anodised metal kitchen canisters? Cream brink veneers? Maybe you are right. Not a great period. Aren't we lucky to have a usable southern bank of the Yarra, so we can too can have an artistic Southbank! Oh you say, a casino and a forest of tall buildings is not artistic. Must be an eyes of the beholder thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com