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| Victor Pasmore's pioneering public artwork celebrated in Durham | Victor Pasmore's pioneering public artwork celebrated in Durham |
| (5 months later) | |
| An exhibition in Durham looks at a pioneering work of public art that has been neglected for decades. | An exhibition in Durham looks at a pioneering work of public art that has been neglected for decades. |
| Victor Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion, built at the end of the 1960s in Peterlee, is arguably the first large-scale work of public art in the UK, and it paved the way for the boom in public art in the last 20 years. Without it, it is unlikely that we'd have Claes Oldenburg's Bottle of Notes down the road in Middlesbrough, and the Bottle inspired Gateshead councillors to commission Antony Gormley's Angel of the North. | Victor Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion, built at the end of the 1960s in Peterlee, is arguably the first large-scale work of public art in the UK, and it paved the way for the boom in public art in the last 20 years. Without it, it is unlikely that we'd have Claes Oldenburg's Bottle of Notes down the road in Middlesbrough, and the Bottle inspired Gateshead councillors to commission Antony Gormley's Angel of the North. |
| For many years the structure was vandalised and unloved, and there were even calls for the Territorial Army to blow it up. The artist himself wasn't always as tactful about the problems as he could have been – at a public meeting in 1982 Pasmore suggested that some nearby housing should be demolished rather than the pavilion, and that the grafitti covering it | For many years the structure was vandalised and unloved, and there were even calls for the Territorial Army to blow it up. The artist himself wasn't always as tactful about the problems as he could have been – at a public meeting in 1982 Pasmore suggested that some nearby housing should be demolished rather than the pavilion, and that the grafitti covering it |
| humanised and improved it more than I could ever have | humanised and improved it more than I could ever have |
| Now, fortunately, its importance has been recognised and, despite being turned down for listing in the late 1990s, in 2011 it became a Grade II* listed building. Toby Paterson, an artist from Glasgow who won the Beck's Futures Prize in 2002, has been inspired by the pavilion for many years, and it is thanks to him that a new exhibition will reassess Pasmore and his work, in the context of the pavilion and of new works specially created by Paterson. | Now, fortunately, its importance has been recognised and, despite being turned down for listing in the late 1990s, in 2011 it became a Grade II* listed building. Toby Paterson, an artist from Glasgow who won the Beck's Futures Prize in 2002, has been inspired by the pavilion for many years, and it is thanks to him that a new exhibition will reassess Pasmore and his work, in the context of the pavilion and of new works specially created by Paterson. |
| The new town of Peterlee was originally designed by Berthold Lubetkin in the late 1940s, but his revolutionary proposals for a high-rise city in the air caused worries about subsidence, and were shelved. | The new town of Peterlee was originally designed by Berthold Lubetkin in the late 1940s, but his revolutionary proposals for a high-rise city in the air caused worries about subsidence, and were shelved. |
| More than a decade later, the abstract artist Victor Pasmore was invited in to improve the architectural quality of the housing created by Lubetkin's bland successors in Peterlee. The section he worked on was separated from the area already built by a narrow green belt, the attractive deep wooded ravine, the Dene. Pasmore collaborated with two architects, Peter Daniel and Frank Dixon: all three were determined to make the new architecture work with the local landscape. Normally, when painters work with architects, they incorporate a 2 dimensional work into an architectural form. In the Peterlee experiment, the collaboration was what an architecture critic called | More than a decade later, the abstract artist Victor Pasmore was invited in to improve the architectural quality of the housing created by Lubetkin's bland successors in Peterlee. The section he worked on was separated from the area already built by a narrow green belt, the attractive deep wooded ravine, the Dene. Pasmore collaborated with two architects, Peter Daniel and Frank Dixon: all three were determined to make the new architecture work with the local landscape. Normally, when painters work with architects, they incorporate a 2 dimensional work into an architectural form. In the Peterlee experiment, the collaboration was what an architecture critic called |
| the utilization for architectural purposes not simply of the painter's skill with a brush on a wall, but of his eye trained in manipulating form and colour and in appreciating their influence on one another; also his ability to imagine form in terms of aerial perspective. | the utilization for architectural purposes not simply of the painter's skill with a brush on a wall, but of his eye trained in manipulating form and colour and in appreciating their influence on one another; also his ability to imagine form in terms of aerial perspective. |
| Pasmore said of his work in Peterlee: | Pasmore said of his work in Peterlee: |
| I transferred many of the spatial problems raised in urban design to the process of painting, so that the two activities became reciprocal. Then afterwards, as my painting changed and became fluid and linear, so the change was transferred to the layout of Peterlee, which in turn became fluid and linear. | I transferred many of the spatial problems raised in urban design to the process of painting, so that the two activities became reciprocal. Then afterwards, as my painting changed and became fluid and linear, so the change was transferred to the layout of Peterlee, which in turn became fluid and linear. |
His friend Ben Nicholson commented approvingly: | His friend Ben Nicholson commented approvingly: |
| the contribution of an artist with a complete conviction and a poetic sensibility can be invaluable to architecture, where vast technical problems have almost blotted out the aesthetic sensibility and all traces of poetic vision in architects. | the contribution of an artist with a complete conviction and a poetic sensibility can be invaluable to architecture, where vast technical problems have almost blotted out the aesthetic sensibility and all traces of poetic vision in architects. |
Toby Paterson first visited Peterlee in 2000. For the exhibition in Durham, a mixture of works by Pasmore and Paterson will be displayed in an environment designed by Paterson. Sculptural plinths will act both as works in their own right and as stands to display other works. As well as the environment for the exhibition as a whole, Toby Paterson will also be exhibiting a series of new paintings on aluminium and collage work created specially for this show. Paterson has said: | Toby Paterson first visited Peterlee in 2000. For the exhibition in Durham, a mixture of works by Pasmore and Paterson will be displayed in an environment designed by Paterson. Sculptural plinths will act both as works in their own right and as stands to display other works. As well as the environment for the exhibition as a whole, Toby Paterson will also be exhibiting a series of new paintings on aluminium and collage work created specially for this show. Paterson has said: |
| My intention with the exhibition was to seek to gently reinvest the contemporary town with some of the visual qualities obscured by the passage of time, whilst taking account of the sometimes problematic idealism that attended its creation. | My intention with the exhibition was to seek to gently reinvest the contemporary town with some of the visual qualities obscured by the passage of time, whilst taking account of the sometimes problematic idealism that attended its creation. |
| adding "A great deal can be gained from taking a new perspective on a town like Peterlee." The artworks by Pasmore featured in this exhibition include a rare chance to see the original model for the Apollo Pavilion. The other Pasmores also date mainly from the 1960s, coinciding with the period he was working on this unique urban design project. | adding "A great deal can be gained from taking a new perspective on a town like Peterlee." The artworks by Pasmore featured in this exhibition include a rare chance to see the original model for the Apollo Pavilion. The other Pasmores also date mainly from the 1960s, coinciding with the period he was working on this unique urban design project. |
| An Experiment in Total Environment: Toby Paterson & Victor Pasmore is on at the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery from December 1 to 3 March 2013. | An Experiment in Total Environment: Toby Paterson & Victor Pasmore is on at the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery from December 1 to 3 March 2013. |
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