‘The Legend of King Arthur , A Pre Raphaelite Love Story ‘ at Falmouth Art Gallery, 17 June to 30 Sept 2023.

‘The Legend of King Arthur , A Pre Raphaelite Love Story ‘ at Falmouth Art Gallery, 17 June to 30 Sept 2023. Walking into the show is to enter a different world, dimly lit, where romantic tales of voluptuous sad women and dark knights hopelessly in love with them can overwhelm the imagination. This is from a time when hundreds of hours could be spent by people paid to hand embroider and weave wall decorations. I would have liked some medieval lute music or a pipe organ to accompany my absorbed enjoyment of the brooding atmospheres and detailed narratives. One note of humour relieves the seriousness as Simeon Solomon’s cartoon is discovered, ‘Sir Galipot bearing the Holy Gruel’

It’s a treat to have some preparatory works close by the finished versions of the paintings. In the case of the ‘Lady of Shalott’ by John William Waterhouse which belongs to Falmouth Gallery, the sketch has a remarkable life and energy in the brushstrokes and the red paint looks as if it was applied that morning. The finished item has more symbols and a higher degree of finish and is less exciting.

The stories of the artists and their love interests sets add another layer of intrigue to the experience. I thoroughly recommend this exhibition, which is free to visit. Mon to Sat, 10 - 5.

The Casablanca Art School -exhibition at Tate St.Ives 27 May 2023 to 14 January 2024

 ‘The Casablanca Art School’. Tate St Ives, May 27th to January 14th 2024, and in Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates, from February 2024

This show at first viewing struck me as very colourful and reminded me of seventies hard edge painting in UK

 

 

 

 

 

Mohamed Melehi 1969

 

It seems, free of French colonial rule at last 1956, Casablanca Art School developed to follow the prevailing western style.
I was a bit disappointed, expecting something more different from the 22 artists I had never encountered before.
It was the brown more political and savage pieces by Farid Bekahia, 1961, about torture under the French regime and the spirit of revolutionary victory in Cuba that attracted me.

 

 

 

 

Farid Belkahia Torutres, 1961-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farid Bekahia, Cuba SI, 1961

Coming back to see it all again I slowed down to read the captions and view the slide shows. This showed me that a lot of art was placed in the streets on the walls.

 

There’s a photo of students irreverently accessorising a classical statue - their studies now turning to the local design of jewelry, carpets etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Melehi's notebook

Astonishing facts are found in the wall texts but not highlighted in any way.
In colonial times classes at the art school had been divided not just by gender but by social class.
One of the female artists, Chaibia Tallal had been forced to marry at a very young age, but this I found out from chatting to an attendant, its not in the captions.

 

 

 

  Chaibia Tallal , Marriage Ceremony, 1983

Two teachers of graphic design were imprisoned for Marxist tendencies for 6 and 8 years by the new Moroccan rulers but this is a brief reference which I would have liked to learn more about.

There are some poster designs that feature Palestine but the show does not enlighten us about these.

 

I got some idea of how it was an exciting time when the artists met at the school, in the 1950’s and changed the whole emphasis of the teaching, started controversial magazines and took their art outside the building to the ordinary people. They sought to infuse their work with motifs from their Moroccan culture whilst joining the western mainstream in many ways.

I would have liked to find out something of what goes on at the school of art in Casablanca now.

When the show goes to United Arab Emirates I visitors will be subject to the dress restrictions there.
It would be good to find out how it is received there in a tribal autocracy, an authoritarian state whose cooperation with Tate may serve controversially to polish its unpalatable undemocratic image.

Although Human Rights Watch warn that conditions are worsening in UK,  they are still considerably more intolerant and dangerous in both Morocco and Sharjah. However,  the Tate
Casablanca Art School show limits itself to the past although its subject raises curiosity about present day conditions.