Barbara Hepworth Teachers' Resource Pack: Pelagos
Barbara Hepworth Teachers' Resource Pack: Pelagos
Barbara Hepworth Teachers' Resource Pack: Pelagos
Contents
Folder Colour Poster (Pelagos, 1946) Information for Teachers What is the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden? Who was Barbara Hepworth? Looking at Hepworths sculpture: questions to ask of any work Key themes in Hepworths work Suggested Activities for Primary groups Suggested Activities for Secondary groups Simple Drawing Activities for all ages Further Reading and Information Information for students Before You Visit Key Work Cards Working Processes Carving Casting Plaster/construction Tools Installing and conserving Hepworths sculptures
The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden at Trewyn Studio in St Ives presents the artists sculpture in the place where she lived and worked for many years. As a studio museum it is unique in this country and it has changed very little since Hepworth lived there. She placed many of the sculptures in the garden exactly where they are today. Hepworth lived at Trewyn from 1949 until her death in 1975. In her will she asked her executors to consider the practicality of establishing a permanent exhibition of some of my works in Trewyn studio and its garden. She envisaged her working studio being shown, as in her lifetime, with small works in the house and a few large works in the garden. A year after Hepworths death, the Museum and Sculpture Garden were opened to the public. In 1980 the Barbara Hepworth Museum was presented to the nation by her family and executors and today it is maintained and managed by the Trustees of Tate.
Finding Trewyn studio was a sort of magic. For ten years I had passed by with my shopping bags, not knowing what lay behind the twenty-foot wallHere was a studio, a yard and a garden, where I could work in open air and space.
Barbara Hepworth: A Pictorial Autobiography, London, 1970, p52
Ground floor This room, which was originally the kitchen, dining-room and bathroom, introduces you to Barbara Hepworth as a person not just a sculptor. Today there is an archive display of photographs, documents and other memorabilia which tell the story of her life. There is also an alcove where some unfinished woodcarvings and the artists tools can be seen. First floor Upstairs you will find the studio. This room was at first a workroom but it soon became a bedroom and eventually a sitting room as well. It still contains some of the original furniture and the rugs and curtains that the artist always preferred. The works on display include wood and stone carvings, paintings and drawings. There is also a bronze cast of her left hand. The garden Hepworth said it was important to have trees and plants around her sculptures. She said with space and the sky above, sculpture can expand and breathe. She created the garden, with help from her friend the composer Priaulx Rainier, especially for her sculptures. When she began to work in bronze in the 1950s she often kept back an artists cast of each sculpture for the garden. Today it
contains three large stone carvings and eighteen bronzes, including Four Square (Walk Through), 1966, the artists largest work. The greenhouse contains the artists collection of cacti and some original plasters for bronze sculptures. At the bottom of the garden you will find the summerhouse where Hepworth used to have an afternoon rest.
The workshops Outside the workshops you can see the yard where Hepworth did most of her stone carving. Underneath the magnolia tree you can see blocks of uncut marble. She called them her flock of sheep. The turntable is as it was when she died, with the stone blocks of a new multipart marble carving in place. From here you can look into the plaster and stone-carving workshops which have also been left more or less untouched since the artists death. The top workshop was where the plasters for bronze were made, and you can see some of the original plasters among the tools and materials. In the stonecarving workshop you can see more unfinished works and a wide range of tools and equipment. Who was Barbara Hepworth? Barbara Hepworth (1903-75) was one of Britain's most important twentieth century artists and probably the most famous female sculptor. She achieved worldwide success at a time when it was very unusual for a woman to be a sculptor. She is perhaps most famous for her abstract sculptures of pierced forms. Her work can be found all over the world for example, The Family of Man (Nine Figures on a Hill), 1970, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Winged Figure, 1963, John Lewis Oxford Street, London and Single Form, 1962-3, United Nations Plaza, New York. Born and brought up in Yorkshire, Barbara attended Leeds School of Art at the age of 17 and went on to study sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London. She first learnt to carve in stone during a visit to Italy in 1924. Her early works were based on the figure, animals and birds. While in Italy she married the sculptor John Skeaping. They returned to London in 1926 where they set up a studio. Her first son, Paul Skeaping was born in 1929. From 1930 Barbaras work became more abstract as she explored space and shape often piercing right through the form. In 1931 she met the painter Ben Nicholson who became her second husband. Nicholson and Hepworth were involved in developing an abstract art based on pure simplified forms and during the 1930s they were associated with many of the leading European avant-garde artists of the day. In 1934 Hepworth gave birth to triplets, Simon, Rachel and Sarah Hepworth Nicholson.
Just before the outbreak of World War II, Barbara and her family moved to Cornwall. In 1949 Barbara bought Trewyn Studio in St Ives where she lived and worked for the rest of her life. In the1950s Barbara began working in bronze often on a larger scale. She received a number of important public commissions and her work was exhibited worldwide. She was awarded many honours including a DBE from the Queen. Barbara died in a fire at her studio in 1975. She was 72 years old. The following year the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden was opened at Trewyn.
Timeline
1903 10 January Barbara Hepworth was born in Wakefield Yorkshire, the eldest of four children. Attended Wakefield Girls High School. 1920 Won a scholarship to the Leeds School of Art. 1921 Awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, London to study sculpture. 1924 Awarded a Travel Scholarship and went to Italy. 1925 Married John Skeaping in Florence and went to live and work at the British School in Rome. 1926 Returned permanently to England, living in St Johns Wood London. 1927 First exhibition of carvings with John Skeaping in their Studio. 1928 Moved to Mall Studios in Hampstead, London. First solo exhibition at the Beaux Art Gallery, London. 1929 Birth of son, Paul Skeaping. 1931 Met her second husband, the painter Ben Nicholson. Joined the Seven and Five Society with which she exhibited. Carved her first pierced sculpture, Pierced Form (1931), in Alabaster, destroyed during war. 1933 Visited Paris and St Rmy de Provence with Ben Nicholson. Met Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Constantin Brancusi, Piet Mondrian, Jean Hlion and Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Invited to become a member of the avant-garde AbstractionCration group. Hepworth and Skeaping divorced.
1934 Became a member of Unit One, London. Birth of triplets, Simon, Rachel and Sarah Hepworth Nicholson. 1935 Met Mondrian and Naum Gabo in Paris. 1936 Met Jean Miro while on holiday in Dieppe. Met Arp and Braque again. 1937 Circle published. 1939 A week before the outbreak of war, moved to Cornwall with her husband and children. Stayed at Carbis Bay. Ran a nursery school and small market garden during the day. At night drew and made small plaster sculptures. 1943 First retrospective exhibition held at Temple Newsam, Leeds. 1946 First book published on her work (Faber & Faber, London, Ariel Series, foreword by William Gibson). Invited by London County Council, in a limited competition, to produce maquettes for four sculptures at the ends of Waterloo Bridge (no commissions were awarded). 1947 Drawings of operating theatres. 1949 Bought Trewyn Studio in St Ives where she lived permanently from 1951. Founder member of Penwith Society of Arts in Cornwall. 1950 Visits the Venice Biennale, Italy where she represents Britain. Two works commissioned for the Festival of Britain Contrapuntal Forms and Turning Forms. 1951 Major work installed at Festival of Britain. Designs sets and costumes for the production of Sophocles Electra at the Old Vic Theatre, London. Hepworth and Nicholson divorce. 1953
Death of her son Paul. He was a pilot in the RAF stationed in Malaya and his plane crashed over Thailand.
1954 Major exhibition of her work at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. Visits Greece and the Aegean and Cycladic Islands with Margaret Gardiner. Designs sets and costumes for Michael Tippets opera, The Midsummer Marriage. 1955-6 Major exhibition tours North America. 1958 Created CBE in New Years Honours List. 1959 Awarded the major prize at the 5th So Paulo Biennal, Brazil. 1963
Single Form bronze sculpture (21ft high) commissioned for the United Nations, New
York. 1964-5 Major exhibition tours in Europe. 1965 Made Dame of the British Empire. 1966 Diagnosed with cancer of the throat: the disease is successfully treated. 1968 Invested as a Bard of Cornwall. Awarded Freedom of the Borough of St Ives. Retrospective exhibition, Tate Gallery, London. 1970 Published Barbara Hepworth: A Pictorial Autobiography. 1975 Dies 20 May in a fire in her studio. 1976 Opening of Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden at Trewyn, St Ives.
surface and grain. In some works she used contrasting materials to highlight their different qualities. She also enjoyed chance elements such as mineral inconsistencies or fossils while for some works she applied paint. Groups in space Hepworth made a number of multi-part and group sculptures. She explored the harmony and tension between separate but inter-related forms. This related to her fascination with human relationships and harmonious human interaction. She was interested in how people move in different spaces and in relation to each other.
Suggested Activities for Primary Groups A visit to the Gallery and Museum could be part of a range of curriculum-based work. Direct links can be made to Art and Design Schemes of Work such as What is Sculpture?, Mother Nature, Designer, Can Buildings Speak?, Can We Change Places? and A Sense of Place. Links can also be made to the science, geography, history and literacy curriculum. Gallery-based activities First response Take a look at one room/area with your group. Encourage children to think about their senses (listening and looking carefully) how they feel physically in the space. Ask each child to contribute one word based on their first response to being in the gallery/museum. Work in focus Choose a sculpture and look at it closely together. Try looking at it from different angles and, if you can, walk right around it. Ask the group, in pairs, to look at the work and discuss their initial reactions. Go round the group and get each pair to describe their responses. Ask questions such as, what is it made from, how do you think she made it, what does the shape make you think of? 10 Words to describe sculptures Ask children to fit the words to the sculptures they have seen. (you could make key word cards for children to use in the gallery). Smooth Shiny Bumpy Round Dark Curved Curly Twisted Light Hollow
Memory Game Look at one work with your group. Ask them to look at it closely for one minute. Then get them to turn away from the work and ask each of them to remember one thing about it. Then look at it again as a group they will look much closer the second time! Journey of the eye This activity encourages close looking. Start looking at one point in a work and encourage students to travel with their eyes across it describing what they can see as they go. Another version of this activity is for students to imagine they are a tiny ant and they have crawled inside the sculpture. Describe your journey around the shape and surface of the work. Titles Invite your group to think of their own names for particular works. Discuss the titles they choose and consider why they think they are appropriate. Barbara Hepworth did not like her work to be displayed with their titles - she wanted visitors to think of their own ideas. Sculpture in the air This activity works well in the Barbara Hepworth Garden. Hepworth thought it important to stand next to a sculpture and think about its shape, position and balance. Get children to stand next (but not too close!) to their favourite sculpture. How big is it compared to them? Does it stand firmly on the ground or does it lean to one side? Is its shape even or lop-sided? With their arms, ask them to make the shape of the sculpture in the air. Start by making it small, with just their hands then use their arms, stretching higher and wider. If their sculpture is really big, they may need others to help them make the shape. Nutty wood and gorgeous slate Barbara Hepworth liked to explore the particular qualities of materials. She said she liked the nutty quality of wood, the luminosity (brightness) of marble and the density (solidness) of stone. She described slate as gorgeous and said it had a dark silkiness that was smooth and yet sharp. Choose sculptures made from different materials and see if students can find words to describe their qualities. Remember students can only touch the sculptures in the garden. Words and phrases about sculptures Bowed with grief and dancing with joy were ways Barbara Hepworth talked about the shapes that sculptures make. Ask older children to think of phrases to describe the sculptures they like best. Give examples to help them such as balanced like a pack of cards or shaped like an egg or curled like a wave. Poems and stories Find a quiet spot in the Gallery or in the Garden at the Barbara Hepworth Museum. Ask children to make a list of works to describe the place and how they feel. You
could then get them to develop a poem or story based on these words and ideas. This could be further developed back at school. Conversations Hepworth often made sculptures in groups where each piece is part of a larger sculpture. In the garden at the Barbara Hepworth Museum there is a large group sculpture entitled Conversation with Magic Stones, 1973 (see Key work card). Encourage children to see the links between Hepworths works. Imagine that some of the sculptures are having conversations with each other. What would they say to each other? What would they say to you?
Stories and poems Use material gathered during the visit to develop stories and poems. You could extend this work to link to projects on the idea of memories or journeys. Use the Key Work Cards to develop oral and written work. Children could also design card and/or board games which encourage matching and identifying links and simple memory tasks.
Public Spaces.
a) b) c) d)
20 words to describe sculptures Ask students to fit the words to the sculptures they have seen. Enclosed Alive Solid Human Plant-like Natural Light Abstract Weathered Cold Worn Smooth Hollow Shiny Tense Bumpy Harmonious Angular Circular Upright
15 words to describe different surfaces and textures Ask students to choose the words from the list which best fit their favourite Sculpture. Incised Cut Clawed Chiselled Bumpy Smooth Flat Pitted Rough Coarse Uneven Shiny Sharp Reflective Weathered Key themes - clue cards Use the Key Themes section of this pack to develop your own set of clue cards to use in the exhibition. Before the visit, write key words on pieces of card. In small groups students choose a card and find a work that connects with it. Encourage them to share responses and to discuss/write down their ideas. Recording labels and titles Encourage older students to write notes and sketch what they see. Annotation is a good way to record information about a work (they could use labels with arrows or bullet points) and their reactions to it. Ask students to write their own labels and titles for the works. This can help students to develop their ideas and can be useful for future classroom work. Follow-up work 2D/3D Develop a drawing based on a 3D object into a design for a three dimensional piece. On completion of the three dimensional work students can then draw their designs. Variations on this project could result in collage, printmaking, textiles or digital work. Carving versus modelling Explore and discuss the different methods and materials used by sculptors. Students to experiment carving into soap, wax, plaster and if possible wood or stone. Contrast this experience with modelling materials such as clay and wet plaster.
Natural and geometric forms Drawing work based on direct observation of natural forms. Make use of a field trip to a local garden or site or ask students to collect materials to bring in. Students to make a series of drawings where they gradually simplify the shapes and look for geometric forms. This work could be developed into a collage, textile, digital or 3D project. From figure to abstraction Explore the human figure in Hepworth work. Look at how other artists have treated the subject. Develop painting and drawing work based on direct observation of the figure. You could focus on the theme of mother and child or more broadly explore the relationship between different figures. Casting Simple casting methods can be very effective and will help students to understand what can be a complicated process. Make clay or plasticine moulds into which students can pour wet plaster. Encourage experimentation make impressions in the clay with a variety of tools and objects as well as hands etc. 3D constructions and installations Students could develop 3D constructions using a variety of materials and techniques. They could create armatures onto which they apply clay or plaster (Modroc) or they could use scrap materials such as cardboard and wire and metal. As an extension of the above activity they could develop constructions by joining their cast pieces together by making another clay mould. Barbara Hepworth in context 1. Find out more about Hepworth. Why is she so famous? Why was it unusual to be a woman sculptor in her time? Who influenced her? Where did she live and work? Why did she particularly like to carve? 2. Research other artists who can be compared to Hepworth for example, Jean Arp, Constantin Brancusi, Anthony Caro, Frank Dobson, Jacob Epstein, Elisabeth Frink, Naum Gabo, Peter Lanyon, Piet Mondrian, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, John Wells and Bryan Wynter. 3. Research contemporary sculptors for example, Richard Deacon, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Richard Long, Antony Gormley, Andy Goldsworthy, Anish Kapoor, David Nash, Cornelia Parker, Peter Randall-Page, Veronica Ryan, Yinka Shonibare, Rachel Whiteread and Alison Wilding. Extension work Sculpture for public spaces. Explore sculpture in relation to landscape, architecture/built environment. Extend students own 3D work by designing a context, thinking about a suitable base/plinth etc. Design maquettes for a public space. Note: your visit to St Ives could include a tour of the town to see Hepworths sculpture in public places (see the Map Guide to Barbara Hepworths public sculpture in St Ives). Art and the environment. Extend work with a field trip that explores issues related to the environment and ecology. Link to geography and science work. Explore
rocks, weathering and environmental change. Consider the tension between development and conservation. Landscape and Land art. Look at other artists inspired by the landscape. Look at artists who make work directly in the landscape such as Andy Goldsworthy, Richard Long, Robert Smithson and Christo. Extend to look at how people have used objects in the landscape past and present. Look at pre-historic stones and megaliths in Cornwall and the UK. Extend to a discussion of worldwide land art such as the Easter Island figures, Indian Totem Pole and Aboriginal earth drawings. Modern day Hepworth equivalents What are contemporary artists concerned with? How do they explore the human figure, deal with issues relating to landscape and the natural world. Why are their approaches, materials and processes different to Hepworth? In what ways has the context for making sculpture changed? Why was it unusual for a women to be a sculptor in Hepworths time? What access to education, training and support did she have? How might this be different to artists working today? Drawing activities for all ages We recommend your students bring a sketchbook (please refer to sheet on Safety of Works of Art for details of materials permitted in the Gallery). It is an important tool for recording observations and ideas. Experiment with different coloured pencils, biros, fine liner pens, crayons and papers (eg white pencils on grey paper). You might like to consider some of the following activities. Quick sketching and memory drawings Encourage your students to make quick drawings. You could set them a time limit or tell them that the Gallery is about to close and they need to record as much information in as short as time as possible. Look at one work closely. Then ask your students to turn away from it and draw it from memory. Then ask your students to make another drawing, this time looking at it. What did they forget first time round? Outline/on top drawings Ask students to choose a sculpture and draw the outline. Then get them to choose another two sculptures and do the same but this time ON TOP of the drawing theyve just done. With their pencil trace a heavy line around the outside of their three shapes to create a new one. Get them to give their new shape a name. Negative Shapes Look at some of the sculptures that have holes or spaces through them. Talk to your students about negative spaces and observe the shadows and reflections that are created. Ask students to find some negative shapes that they like and draw them. They can draw their shapes separately or together, side by side or one on top of the other, as one big shape. Drawing through holes Similar to the activity above. Ask students to look at some of the larger sculptures such as Four Square (Walk Through), 1966 in the garden at the Barbara Hepworth
Museum. Draw what they can see through one of the holes. They might see another sculpture or other visitors as well as parts of the garden/gallery. Textures and rubbings This activity can only be done in the garden. Ask students to choose a sculpture, close their eyes and run their hands across the surface. If there are lots of different sides or surfaces, get them to run their hands inside and out. How does it feel? Then ask them to make a selection of rubbings from the different surfaces in the garden but not the sculptures themselves. Compare them with the surfaces of some of the sculptures in the garden. Group drawing by rotation Ask each student to find a space from which to draw the work. After two minutes stop and move onto the next persons drawing and continue working on their drawing. After four moves round stop and compare drawings done from various viewpoints. Encourage students to discuss how they feel about making group drawings. Inside/outside Hepworth liked to explore the inside and outside of shapes and materials. Get students to look at one sculpture and make two separate drawings one of the outside and one of the inside. An extension of this activity would be to think about the actual space they are in. If you choose a space such as Lower Gallery 2 at Tate St Ives students could sketch views both inside and outside the Gallery. Get them to move around and choose different viewpoints.
Barbara Hepworth
Useful Websites www.tate.org.uk Tate Gallery on line www.stivestrust.demon.co.uk/archivesite St Ives Archive Study Centre website www.bronzeage.co.uk Bronze Age Foundry with useful information on bronze casting techniques www.learningstone.net Learning Stone www.grizedale.org Grizedale Forest Sculpture www.sculptor.org/Outdoor.htm Outdoor Sculpture parks and gardens www.ysp.co.uk Yorkshire Sculpture Park www.sculpture.org.uk Sculpture at Goodwood (British contemporary sculpture) www.sculpturebooks.co.uk Latest publications on sculpture www.sculpture.uk.com New Art Centre Sculpture Park and Gallery, Wiltshire www.forestofdean-sculpture.org.uk Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail www.scottishsculpturetrust.org Scottish Sculpture Trust - promotes public education in contemporary sculpture www.landartnet.org Landscape & Arts Network (LAN) international network of artists interested in the environment www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk Henry Moore Foundation Sculpture resources for teachers www.accessart.org.uk On line visual arts workshops including What is Sculpture and Casting and Constructing. Also has good links to other websites. www.cambridge-sculpture-workshops.co.uk Offers workshops to schools, colleges and adults throughout the region. Information on projects and workshops. www.ysp.co.uk Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Teachers Resources, Curriculum 2002
Leach and Hepworth, The Stories of Two Great South West Artists, TSW Films and Television Archive, 19.50. Note: this film will be shown at the Education Study Point during the exhibition. In September there will be a special programme of film screening focusing on four decades of film on Barbara Hepworth. Programme available from June. Midsummer Marriage, Michael Tippet, Naxos No Title Required (a selection of Rainiers music) Priaulx Rainier and Sadie Harrison, Metier
Barbara Hepworth Centenary exhibitions: Wakefield Art Gallery, 17 May 29 June 2003, www.wakefield.gov.uk/community/museumarts Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, Wakefield, 17 May 14 September 2003, www.ysp.co.uk Museum het Catherina Gasthuis, Gouda, Holland, July September 2003 Insititut Valencia dart Modern, Valencia, Spain: autumn 2004, www.ivam.es Other places to see Barbara Hepworths work St Ives Town (See Map Guide to Barbara Hepworths public sculptures in St Ives). Public collections and sites in the UK, including Manchester, Wakefield, Leeds, Birmingham, Norwich and Stromness. Her work is also in public collections in America, Canada and Europe.
Before you visit Fascinating facts about Barbara Hepworth She was born a century ago in 1903 She was brought up in Yorkshire She went to Art College in London at the age of 17 She learnt to carve marble in Italy and is best known for making sculptures with holes in them She was married twice, first to the sculptor John Skeaping and then to the painter Ben Nicholson She had four children, Paul Skeaping in 1929 and triplets, Simon, Rachel & Sarah Hepworth Nicholson in 1934 She moved to St Ives to escape World War II She won lots of awards and exhibited her work all over the world She was made a Dame of the British Empire by the Queen in 1965 She died in a fire in her studio in 1975 She is probably the most famous British woman artist, achieving incredible success at a time when it was unusual for a woman to study sculpture. What inspired Barbara Hepworth? The human figure she drew the figure and made sculptures based on it The landscape and the natural world especially the landscape of her childhood in Yorkshire and the landscape of West Penwith in Cornwall Geometric and mathematical forms African and other non-European Art European abstract artists such as Piet Mondrian, Constantin Brancusi, Jean Arp and Naum Gabo Her travels to places such as Italy and Greece Music and dance Her experience of motherhood What will you see at Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum? Paintings, drawings and sculptures by Barbara Hepworth Sculptures in a range of materials including, wood, stone and bronze Tate St Ives is a public art gallery and there is a special exhibition of Hepworths work to mark the centenary of her birth The Barbara Hepworth Musem is a public place which was once Hepworths private home and studio you will be able to see where she lived and worked and visit her garden which she created especially for her sculptures. Pre-visit activities Take or collect photographs of your own family Go to the beach and collect a range of found objects such as shells, pebbles and driftwood Collect a range of natural objects that have interesting shapes such as unusual leaves or tree bark Collect one natural object and one man made object compare each objects characteristics
Find out more about Barbara Hepworth, Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden - visit the Tate website at www.tate.org.uk or see Further Reading and Information in this pack.