“All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the true poet must be truthful.”

above statement by Wilfred Owen, the greatest First World War poet.

In honour of Remembrance Sunday, here is the Foresters’ House in Northern France where British poet & soldier Wilfred Owen wrote his last letter home (sheltering in the cellar) before he was killed in 1918 aged just 25. The modest farmhouse has been transformed by British artist Simon Patterson (renowned for his artwork The Great Bear, a re-working of the London Underground Map). It is certainly not a typical War memorial, rather a particularly potent example of what can happen when artists get involved with such projects. The house has become a sculpture, incorporating sound (the reading of poems & letters) and visuals (engravings of poems & text) with light.

Some (including Owen’s nephew and the W Owen Association) were initially concerned about the proposal believing that the original house would be ruined. Now, with the house transformed, they say it maintains its architectural integrity and, perhaps more importantly, has highlighted Owen’s poetry, making it more accessible. Very surprising and beautiful; moving are some of the comments from locals, heard in an excellent BBC Radio 4 documentary.

Spirit of Place Website Launches!

The website for my new project about landscape art is now live, beautifully designed by Nigel Marshall.  Spirt of Place Norfolk is mapping contemporary artists living and working in North Norfolk. It is an attempt to understand better the genus of the place, its heart, its core, by an examination of the art work produced by the artists who are rooted in this place. Visit soon!

David Hockney: I’m very busy painting England

It was good to hear David Hockney speak of his love of nature when interviewed forBBC’s Front Row tonight. He said that England was a beautiful country and we should all get out more and see it. He also called for a return to studying the discipline of drawing in art schools, as it teaches artists how to look. A show of his landscape painting, mostly of Yorkshire, will be at the Royal Academy next year. Also on view will be drawings from his iPad series and I hope to be able to feature one of these in my column Computer Art Image of the Month next year.

Mapping Norfolk, exhibition by Kabir Hussain

I was pleased to attend an excellent exhibition of work by Kabir Hussain from his on-going landscape project – “Mapping Norfolk 3” at the Greyfriars Art Space Kings Lynn, held over the August Bank Holiday weekend. On show were charcoal drawings complimented by wire sculptures both of which had a spacial and linear quality, which he says are “based on a general aspiration of landscape rather than specific locations, they essentially are an exploration of mark-making. These deceptively simple works have a beauty and purity of line that associates them with the tradition of minimalism.

Kabir is involved with the forthcoming Fakenham Contemporary Art show 2011, which also looks to be well worth a visit.

Snettisham, charcoal drawing by Kabir Hussain
Snettisham, charcoal drawing by Kabir Hussain