Furness Fells from Morecambe

Tags:   seldonscott morecambebay lakedistrict fells snow sunrise furness fells

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A sculpture by Alan Johnston, a part of the Irwell Sculpture Trail In Radcliffe, Manchester.
It's been seriously damaged by vandals see previous photo.

I am slowly working my way along the trail, visiting and photographing the sculptures. After seeing this I think I need to hurry up before any more get damaged. Having said that, seeing this sculpture in this state was quite moving; a true "Northern Mirror". It occured to me that the idiots who committed this act actually held a mirror up to their own hopeless ignorance and may even have added to the meaning of the art work.
So, Yah Boo to them ;-P

www.irwellsculpturetrail.co.uk/IST_sculpture_leaflet.pdf
"Responding to a landscape formed by two hundred years of industrialization, decay and faceless regeneration, Alan Johnston created his sculpture in the unadorned, anonymous visual vocabulary of the site itself. The work is deliberately easy to miss and apparently unauthored. Asking the question whether the viewer, looking for art in the environment, sees it in the environment or in the art."

Tags:   seldonscott Irwell Sculpture Trail alan johnston northern mirror vandalised

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North west England seems to enjoy a different climate to the rest of the country. While most of England has suffered from feet of snow, bringing disruption and chaos, we have only had the barest sprinkling on the highest hills ;-(

A snowy Coniston Old Man, Swirl How, Black Sails Ridge and Wetherlam.

Tags:   seldonscott morecambebay fells lakedistrict coniston

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Tags:   seldonscott morecambebay lakedistrict boat lr191 eastern fells

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LS_Lowry is northern Englands iconic artist. His portraits and industrial landscapes of the mid 20th century are ubiquitous and have become almost a cliche of northern life. Certainly they best capture the mood, the poverty and hope of the people, and of the towns and cities. A life that was fast disappearing as I was growing up and is gone now.

I've seen many of his drawings, photos and paintings in different galleries and books. Prints of his most famous works are a common sight, a relative even owned originals so he feels very familiar to me. Perhaps not as familiar as I thought when I visited the Lowry galleries on Salford Quays. I knew he'd painted moorland landscapes of the Pennines and the Lake District but was surprised to find this seascape, a scene from just a few miles up the coast.

A brave subject for a painter given the lack of colour and absence of any point of interest. Difficult but he pulls it off well, capturing the bleakness and infinite depth. One gets the feeling of the scene stretching out beyond the frame.

Best of all, from my point of view, is his falling horizon, a feature of many of my own photos of this area. I'm beginning to wonder if the horizon actually falls away ;-)

Taken with my camera phone so I apologise for the quality. To appreciate it fully you'll have to visit the Lowry Centre yourself. The online archive is ok www.thelowry.com/Lowry_copyrighted_work/image_homepage.html, but there's nothing like seeing things 'in the flesh'. There is an exhibition of photo journalism on at the moment too, if you need any further encouragement to go.

Tags:   seldonscott ls lowry the sea salfordquays

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