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As part of our efforts to get the Epstein Archive out to the public and show you good people what’s down here, I’ve been meeting with a group of composition students from Birmingham Conservatoire. The plan is to have 10 or so students spend some time in the archive, find some source or sources of inspiration from it and write an original piece of music which will be performed at a special evening event at the gallery in June next year.
It has been great meeting everyone and most of the students have now been up in smaller groups to have a look around the gallery and archive. What interests me the most is seeing where everyone falls subject wise: there has been very little cross over so far and, even if there was, it would be interesting to see two different perspectives on the same object/subject matter. As always, Theo Garman is a popular character because of his painting, his personality and, of course, his tragic illness and death. Sally Ryan interested one of the students, which is great as this would help give a voice to an important and underrepresented character.
The students will, as time goes on, contribute to this blog and offer their own insights into the project and how their compositions are going.
If you make art what happens when you die?
Dear Neil
I have just finished reading Stephen Gardiner’s biog of Epstein. It’s such a difficult story to absorb. At one moment one is disgusted at how Epstein was treated by the Art Establishment then you are appalled by his activities as a parent. One of the most misguided acts was to attend his investiture as a KBE just weeks after his sons death. Not only that but he took Esther his daughter with him. I came across a reference to her relationship with ‘a young student who fell in love with her’ who killed himself when she rejected him. This seems to have been followed by a trip to Italy an attempted suicide and then result is her actually killing herself. Is their any evidence of this relationship in the archive? I know Cressida Connelly makes mention of it in her book.
This sad episode is preoccupying me at the moment. I think we should make a more serious film which looks at what the archive can tell us about Esther. We looked at her letters from Italy two weeks ago. These seemed quite jolly and certainly not suicidal. They must be from that 1954 trip after Theo had died. Is there a way of checking? We were looking at a beautiful photo of Esther and Theo last week. It captured a moment of quiet joy. She was sitting on his lap and they are both laughing. I find this aspect of the archive heartbreaking.
On a slightly less dark note (although hardly) it was great to work on the ‘What happens if you make art when you die’ installation. It’s important to think about Epstein’s reputation now. I think it is true that Epstein is not the central figure that he was when he died. But what is interesting is how a generation of sculptors who were around at the time have passed on a visual interested in Form and narrative which goes largely unsaid. I think there is a link back to Rodin and going forward through George Fullard, and Peter Startup to Phyllida Barlow to Helen Chadwick to my generation and artists like Eva Rothschild, Jennet Thomas and Brian Griffiths. It would be great to put a show together along these lines. It would be a kind of romp through a very important area of British Art. Epstein is a fantastic connection point with Fin de siecle Paris. He might well have been included in Roger Shattuck’s book The Banquet Years.
I have grown to really enjoy his big carvings. I had a guy who works for Anish Kapoor on my Radio show last week who said he got into carving because of Jacob and the Angel. I have an idea to make a carving of Theo as part of the residency. Epstein never made a head of him. I would like to have a try.
Very excited about our visit to the Tate archive can we make a film of some of Epstein’s works in London?
Esther Film next plus the making of Theo’s Head.
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