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Article: Our VW Split Screen Camper Van Nightmare
I first published the following article in 1997. It told the story of our short period of ownership of a classic split screen camper. A few years later I published an update and a few years after that, I received news about what had happened to the vehicle in the 10 years or so after I sold it. We will start with part 1. Parts 2 and 3 will be added shortly.
For years I had wanted to own a classic VW camper van. We arrived back in England in July 1996 after several years working in the Middle East. We immediately started looking for camper vans. Unfortunately, most of the vans for sale weren’t in very good condition.
Then I saw an advert for a 1963 split screen in Cornwall. In the photo, it looked superb. We set off for Cornwall that night.
This was our first glimpse of the Van the next morning. It was parked down a narrow lane, next to the house of the vendors.
We knew straight away that this was the vehicle we wanted. It seemed well maintained and the bodywork appeared to be in outstanding condition. We put in an immediate offer.
We returned to Cornwall a few days later and completed the purchase.
Our first excursion was to nearby Lizard Point, the most southerly place in mainland Britain
On our way back to Manchester, we stopped at Lichfield. The Van looked sensational and attracted lots of admiring looks wherever we went.
Parked on the drive of my sister’s house, it looked very impressive. But little did we know what was in store for us…
The sitting and sleeping area had been superbly restored and fitted out by the previous owners.
Everyone who sat in her was impressed by the quality and charm of the restoration.
The interior was all original and in very good condition. The previous owner had added manually operated reversing lights and a courtesy reading lamp.
Even the radio was an original Neckermann 6 volt model! The clock was original too and still worked.
The engine was a 1600cc 12 volt, powered from two 6 volt batteries connected in series. Everything ran on 12 volts, except the radio, windscreen wipers, interior light and indicators, which were connected to one of the 6-volt batteries.
The following week, we set off for the Continent, but on the way to Dover, Ann was called away to to the Philippines due to a bereavement.
The Van also had problems – a serious oil leak, and a faulty starter motor. Using the breakdown cover provided as part of my insurance (Heritage from Norton Insurance, Birmingham) I had her transported back home. I decided to have the engine reconditioned, and the starter motor repaired.
A small garage in Cheshire undertook the job, and after two weeks, she was ready.
I took the van to Wales with my friend Andy and his young son Tom. Here we can see the attractive pop-up roof.
The seats convert into a bed using a wooden panel which also doubles up as a camping table. The Van could sleep four.
She seemed to be running OK. The engine was running superbly but that starter motor still wasn’t quite right, and there was a smell of engine fumes coming from the heating vents.
Tom loved the van and wished he could drive it. This photo was taken in North Wales.
I took the van back to the garage for an oil change and a final check-up. They put in another starter motor.
The problem now seemed to be solved.
The next day, I met Ann at Heathrow and we set off on our holiday two weeks later than planned.
We drove through Belgium and Holland, where the brakes failed! The starter motor was also being troublesome.
Using my continental breakdown recovery, I had the van transported on the back of a truck to the local VAG garage, where they fixed the brakes (for £260). They weren’t able to fix the starter.
We continued into Germany, Denmark, back into Germany and on to Berlin.
The Van had plenty of admirers in Germany, where she was manufactured 33 years previously.
I found driving on the Autobahns often frustrating, due to the speed and acceleration limitations of the vehicle. Lorry drivers were often impatient. She was very slow on hills. I missed the power, safety and reliability of a modern vehicle.
On our return journey, we were washed out by torrential rain in Holland.
After an overnight stop, the starter motor finally packed in completely, and I had to push start her single-handedly in the pouring rain! It took three goes, and we made the ferry just in time!
Back home, we put the Van away in the garage.
Some weekends, we went on excursions. This photo was taken near the Trough of Bowland, Lancashire.
Generally, she performed well, but the starter was still temperamental. We also had a financial problem – I was studying full time, and needed money…
We had to face up to it – the Van would have to be sold. We decided to make the
most of it while we had it.
Due to the starter motor problem, we had to try and stop on a hill wherever possible, as here.
One inconvenience was the low level of the top of the windscreen. I often had to bend down to see the traffic lights.
I also pulled a muscle in my back reaching forward for the handbrake!
The general condition was extremely good. The previous owner was a VW mechanic and had done a very good restoration job on it.
The two-tone look, the split windscreen, like a plane, and the V shape on the front are full of a period charm lost in the post-1967 models.
There were mixed opinions about the two stars on either side of the VW insignia – they were put on by the previous owner.
About mid-October, I decided it was time to sell.
I made one last attempt to have the starter motor fixed. I took the vehicle to a VW garage in Stockport. After two or three start-ups, it was no different from before.
The ad appeared in November. There were only a couple of enquiries. The second caller, from Cornwall, but living in London, was already acquainted with the vehicle and had wanted to buy it in the summer, but had missed it.
She was overjoyed that the Van was for sale again, came to Manchester for a brief inspection visit, and made us an offer on the spot.
Yes, I had feelings of regret but on balance, I was glad. Though it had been fun to own her, I found the maintenance and reliability problems too much to cope with.
Still, we’d had a good run in it, and I’d realised my ambition to own a classic vehicle.
A few days later, we were on the A34 south, delivering the Van to her new owner in northwest London. Unfortunately, she never reached here, well, not under her own power: The clutch failed north of Oxford. The latter part of her last journey with us was spent on the back of another breakdown truck, provided by Heritage Classic Insurance.
The Van now resides in London, with its proud new owner, Paula, who plans to return home to Cornwall soon, so the Van will have come full circle!
Long may she continue to run!
TO BE CONTINUED
About my ‘7 Great Libraries’ video quiz – MAN – LPL – ABZ – DUB – BER
In the AidanEyewitness blog, I reveal some of the background to my videos and other projects. I go into detail that’s not practical in a video, and reveal some interesting facts and one or two secrets. I also talk about some of the technical issues.
Manchester should be called the city of libraries.
In the city centre, there are four historic libraries, each fascinating in its own way. And yet some people are not aware of them.
I’ve written about libraries before, on my website Eyewitness in Manchester and in the photo and editorial feature I produced for the Manchester Evening News around 2016.
Each of the four Manchester libraries is from a different century, each library is a superb example of Manchester architecture: post-mediaeval, early 19th century, late 19th century and 1930s neo-classical, combined with state-of-the-art 21st century following the renovation.
One of these libraries is my favourite building in Manchester but which one and why?
I’ve also added three libraries from other parts of the world.
It’s important for me to put Manchester and my other home city, Liverpool, in the context of the world and to look to other cities for comparison and inspiration.
The three other libraries are each unique in their own way to but can you identify them?
The background to this video actually goes back to an idea I had for an audio podcast, which was intended to be a journey through many libraries and many cities.
It proved to be a bit impractical because it would be quite long, over an hour. But I did gather a lot of material and visited several libraries for this project.
I then decided to produce it as a visual project and on the spur of the moment on Wednesday 24th of June, 2021, I came up with the idea of a 10-minute video featuring seven out of the 20 odd libraries I had planned to feature, the four Manchester libraries and three from further afield.
In the past, the emphasis on my channel was video podcasts featuring still photography from my archive and Wikipedia.
Since then I’ve moved towards still and moving images captured on my iPhone, supplemented with archive photos and that’s what I did for this video
In fact, nearly all the images of the Manchester libraries were captured on one day, Friday, the 26th of June 2012.
I had already taken photos of the three non-Manchester libraries and edited them into videos on the iPhone.
I also used some older images that I had taken, for instance, a photograph I took in 1997 on film during a guided tour of the library.
All the initial editing was done on the iPhone using iMovie. Then I transferred it to the Mac Mini and completed the project using Final Cut Pro.
I selected five pieces of music from the YouTube Audio Library, which I find a fantastic resource. Two tracks are not from the YouTube Audio Library.
The one credited to Urbanstrasse, entitled ‘Northern Light’, was created by me in GarageBand.
When I was visiting one of the libraries on a day trip, just admiring the architecture gave me a strong musical idea and I actually sat down at one of the desks and recorded what was in my head, using my MacBook Air. I didn’t disturb the readers – I used the keyboard to input the melody! I eventually used this very rough snippet of music in the video.
The track accompanying the section about the futuristic library towards the end of the video was by someone recommended to me by an ex-colleague on a writing project.
In fact, it’s his son, who is highly gifted, particularly in music composition. When he sent me this track I was astonished, as it was so perfect for that particular library and expresses the busy, futuristic nature of the building very well indeed.
One of the libraries in Manchester, within its Local Studies section, contains several books that I have either co-written or been involved in.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find them on the day that I visited, apart from one. It’s called ‘On Looking Back’ and it’s an account of growing up in the Red Bank area of Manchester in the 1930s.
The cover photograph is by me and I helped with the layout and design. The author is William Kenneth Jones.
I really enjoyed making this video in my new video-based format, using the iPhone to capture most of the images. However, I need to check out the settings of the iPhone to improve my low light shots.
Still, each video is a kind of ‘work in progress’ and I accept that it’s difficult to achieve perfection every time but I’m working towards higher and higher picture quality.
I’ve been photographing and documenting Manchester since the mid-1990s. In the early days using photography and writing and nowadays using photography, video clips, writing the script, doing the voiceover, choosing the music and occasionally using my own very basic snippets of music.
So here on the AidanEyewitness blog, I hope that you found some of the background to this video interesting.
Please play the video all the way through, like it, subscribe to the channel if you haven’t done so already and hit the ‘bell’ button for an update whenever I put a new video online.
Please help me to create lots more content that showcases the amazing cities of Manchester and Liverpool and other cities further afield.
Manchester in Artists’ Eyes – Visions of Manchester in paintings and illustrations by five artists
Art defines cities. The Impressionists painted Paris and captured the Zeitgeist – the spirit of the age, the Expressionists did the same in Berlin.
Art can be big business. Paintings by LS Lowry sell for huge amounts. And yet the true value of art is in its vision.
I’ve chosen these artists because I know them personally and in fact one of them used my photo of the Hacienda as source material, with my permission of course. That’s how I got to know her.
A quick word about the text on screen. I’m a photographer and writer. I’m interested in words and images and I like to see them side by side on screen. It’s also useful for people with a disability, for language learners and also for anyone who for any reason has to have the sound down.
Okay, so let’s go to the exhibition area and take a look…
Caroline Johnson
Caroline Johnson, fine artist and printmaker studied Fine Art and lived in France for 20 years. For her illustration of the Haçienda night club, I’m glad to say she used my photo as source material. With an analytical eye, she depicts the curved façade of the now-demolished building with its salmon-coloured bricks. Magazine cuttings add to the mystery.
St Peters Square is one of many locations she has recorded. This is St Peters Square prior to the renovation, looking towards the Bridgewater Hall. There are modern buildings on the left and on the right the ornate brown-tiled Midland Hotel, with the tram stop in its former location in front of the Central Library. There are strong verticals and the people are dressed for a Manchester winter.
Using relaxed lines she draws the old Cornerhouse arts centre, filled with solid blocks of colour, photo collage and other mixed media. In 2015, HOME became Manchester’s main arts centre.
Her depiction of the Deaf Institute music venue is beautifully detailed. Parked cars and barriers are part of the composition. Empty spaces in the drawing are filled using magazine cutouts with typography.
The curved red brick façade of the Black Lion pub on Chapel Street Salford is rendered in a piercing reddish-brown hue. Outer sections of the drawing are left uncoloured.
I love to photograph the shadowy grey Castlefield railway viaducts, but Caroline has drawn them in an eerie luminous green. The lines are slightly off the vertical, giving a feeling of dizziness as we gaze in awe at these structures.
Karen McBride
And now we are looking through the eyes of Karen McBride, the celebrated Manchester music photographer. She started out as an artist, achieved fame and later returned to painting.
Now we see a different vision of Castlefield. At the top, a riot of gold paint and darker shades, and as we look more closely, the familiar shapes of the viaduct emerge, reflected in the murky water. Karen paints in an Expressionist style that’s rooted in memory and emotion.
The Old Town Hall Portico in Heaton Park is engulfed in an angry, warlike red, the paint spilling over and down the pillars, giving a sense of turmoil. Expressionism is defined as ‘using a subjective perspective and distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas’. That definition from Wikipedia fits Karen’s work perfectly.
In Karen’s painting, the tower of the former Refuge Assurance, now a hotel, stands defiant, with sections of the building arranged below it, like protagonists in a play.
Precise sections of window dissolve into a blizzard of brown and grey. The bridge over the Medlock tries to bind the elements together, but is dominated by them.
Karen was born and grew up in Harpurhey, north Manchester. From the bus on Rochdale Road, she often saw a brown, tiled building on a triangular site. Her depiction of the end façade is a curious combination of architectural precision and the chaos of graffiti.
Gary Taylor
Gary Taylor is from east Manchester. His paintings recreate the old industrial city. His style is simple and direct but the effects are sophisticated and full of atmosphere. Moonlight is reflected on a wet street. Smoke and steam emanate from the power station, as an old-style red Manchester double-decker 53 bus makes its way along Hulme Hall Lane.
According to Wikipedia, ‘Impressionism is characterised by small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, with an emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities’. That description fits Gary Taylor’s work quite well.
With simple strokes and a few dots of paint on the canvas, Gary recreates a lost world. Above the trees, we can see the art deco façade of the former Rylands, later Debenhams. Vivid green is punctuated by red flowers, with a blue sky above. The red lettering on the Arndale Tower and the windows below are rendered in just a few casual brush strokes.
In monochrome, Gary Taylor paints a street leading to a humpback bridge over a canal, with houses, warehouses and chimneys beyond. A woman in a white 1950s-style dress crosses the street and man waits on the corner. Scribbled advertising hoardings bear silent witness to this mysterious scene.
In east Manchester, there were countless, streets, factories and smoking chimney pots. Boy met girl at bus stops, rode the old red and ochre 53 bus and went to the pub. Gary’s painting could be the inspiration for a 1960s kitchen sink drama.
In shades of grey, Gary Taylor conjures up the Manchester Docks. An old sailor leans on the railing, smoking a pipe. He looks out over the dark, oily canal water at the ships, masts, funnels and smoke. What’s in his mind’s eye is what’s there in front of us. The wooden cross, like a grim signpost, adds an ominous element.
It’s easy to idealise the past, but in Gary Taylor’s cityscape of Gorton, we see a monochrome landscape with a modern white block on the left, blackened terraced houses on the right and in the distance under a smoky, grey sky, the outline of Gorton Monastery.
Len Grant
Len Grant is from south Manchester and went to the same school as me, Xaverian College, when it was a boys’ grammar school. After a career change into photography and many years of success, he turned to sketching. As we see in his sketch of the Albert Memorial, his linework is playful and confident. He uses a fountain pen filled with permanent black ink. Then he applies watercolours.
The Bridgewater Hall and its surroundings are unmistakable in a drawing that’s arranged like a triptych using sketchy linework and casually daubed watercolour.
Like Caroline Johnson, Len has depicted the Cornerhouse on Oxford Road, its familiar narrow façade framed between architectural elements that are not that close together in real life. He is able to bend reality in a way that’s impossible in photography.
Len Grant doesn’t just draw pictures. He engages in community-based projects, mingling with people, drawing them and their familiar locations. The results are published in miniature books.
Eamonn Murphy
Eamonn Murphy was born in Chester and lives in Stockport. He has worked in advertising and graphic design. His post-minimalist illustrations have the precision of architectural drawings but the homely appeal of brightly coloured railway posters. Through Eamonn Murphy’s eyes, HOME arts centre looks as shiny and pristine as on the day it opened.
Using digital illustration, he is able to reduce complex architecture down to its simplest forms, revealing its essential character. It works for modern styles of architecture and traditional ones too, like the Central Library.
He can bring out the best in modern buildings, which some people might consider as not so attractive. The Beetham tower is an abstract pattern of lines and parallelograms in pastel shades. The beam of light from above looks like a straightened, colourless rainbow.
The church-like windows of the John Rylands Library, its pinnacles, battlements and brown sandstone walls are reduced to a simple set of shapes, revealing things you might not have noticed, for instance that the windows on the front are not symmetrical.
Manchester Central, the former Central Station, is perhaps the ideal subject matter for Eamonn Murphy, an exercise in geometric forms, rectangles, triangles and curves, with the asymmetrical modern entrance at the front. The old fashioned clock has incredible detail. A combination of modern and traditional, sometimes harmonious, sometimes not, that’s Manchester.
Five artists, each one with their own vision, one city, actually two, Manchester and Salford.
To see local scenes depicted in art I recommend going to Manchester Art Gallery or the Lowry Salford Quays. You can also browse the windows of the private galleries in Manchester city centre or go to Manchester Central Library.
More details in the description below and of course, don’t forget to like this video, subscribe to the channel and click the ‘bell’ button for notifications. And tell other people about these artists.
That’s all from me so it’s auf Wiedersehen, see you soon!
Video: Around the Manchester Airport Orbital Cycleway by electric bike
Hello students, hello everyone! And welcome to my channel, the Audio Visual Zine. I am presenting a newer version of my video from 2019 with some extra airport scenes from 2020. It’s now in my AVZ channel format with text on screen and bilingual subtitles.
For my students, there’s a PDF file of the script with vocab and follow-up assignments. There are English and German versions, this is the English version. And do you know what this strange-looking thing is called in English?
Watch and find out! In the video we see chilling scenes of the airport in lockdown and we look back at airlines and aircraft that have sadly gone from our skies. So let’s go now to our starting point
* * * *
We’re going to cycle around Manchester Airport and our mode of transport will be an electric bike.
Our starting point is one mile or 1.6 kilometres east of the airport.
On the way we will stop at places where you can view, photograph or video the aircraft.
Now we are standing directly under the approach to runway 23R/05L (twenty-three right zero five left).
These houses were demolished due to safety regulations. This is what it looks like today.
The name Shadowmoss Road reminds me of the Shadowmoss plane crash of 1957, Manchester’s forgotten air disaster.
Today there are about 500 aircraft movements every day at Manchester Airport. Safety standards are very high.
Aircraft land from the north-east and take off towards the south-west. When the wind blows from the east, they take off towards the north-east.
The Airport Hotel is a pub, and there’s a garden where you can watch the planes taking off.
Here is my photo of an Aer Lingus A320, which I took in 2007.
With the iPhone we can photograph and video the planes through the fence.
This is what the scene looked like almost a year later, on Sunday the 2nd of May, 2020. No passengers. Planes parked. A silent airport.
Now back to May 2019.
At Terminal 3 Please note, there’s a charge for using the Drop Off Area.
And now again twelve months later. Terminal 3 was closed. There was an eerie silence.
Back to 2019
This block dates from 1962, when a new terminal was built.
The Air traffic controllers moved to a new tower in 2013.
I visited the airport as a child. The beautiful viewing terraces were closed in the 70s.
After university, I worked at Manchester Airport at the information desk. It was an exciting job.
Over the years the terminal has been extended.
The architecture of the Radisson Blu Hotel fits well into an airport
The Business Class Lounge has a great view over the apron. Behind the hedge is a Boeing 787 Dreamliner of Ethiopian Airlines.
This is The Station, which is used by trains, trams and buses. In the Skyline there are moving walkways that are not always working.
Parking is quite expensive at Manchester Airport. The best way to get there is by public transport or use the free drop off area.
Terminal 2 is being extended. Completion is planned for 2020. When I worked here, there were only empty fields.
Right next to the airport there is an old half-timbered house.
On the way to the cargo centre I saw this handmade road sign.
SLOW SLIPPY BEND
Slippery is “slippy” in the Manchester dialect.
We are at the World Freight Terminal. This is the new control tower.
The Romper Pub is very popular among the airport staff.
The airport was named after the neighbouring village of Ringway. It is strange that the ancient name ‘Ringway’ sounds like the modern word ‘runway’.
At Runway Viewing Park you can watch the planes. Admission is free for cyclists and pedestrians.
The biggest attraction here is Concorde. You can book a Concorde tour on the website.
Here is my photo of Concorde on the 22nd of October 2003 after her final flight.
On Sundays families come here.
Over the PA there’s is even a running commentary.
We now continue along the A538 and pass a brand new petrol station.
My first car was a Triumph Spitfire. I once ran out of petrol at exactly this point!
We are between the two tunnels. The new tunnel runs under the second runway – ‘23L/05R’ two three left zero five right.
At this roundabout, we turn left.
20 years ago, environmental activists protested in the trees and under the ground against the construction of the second runway.
At that time, this road, Altrincham Rd closed.
We can continue through the National Trust’s Styal property.
The airport is just behind the trees.
We are cycling along the gravel path by the southern perimeter of the airport.
Here we can stop and watch the planes from a small hill.
Here are some archive photos. The BMI A330. BMI ceased operations in 2019. Here an American Airlines Boeing 767 in the old livery…
…and this is the new livery. Thomas Cook Airlines went into administration in September 2019. And taxiing majestically to the runway, the ‘Queen of the Skies’
Virgin Atlantic retired the last Boeing 747s from its fleet in May 2020.
The Emirates Airbus A380 is a major attraction.
This area is not officially approved as a viewing area by the National Trust.
Here Altrincham Road continues east. On both sides are houses and farms.
And here at sunset we find a field with horses. The airport lies directly behind it.
The battery still has some power, so let’s continue. Here on the left we see the mock-up aircraft of the airport fire services.
At the end of this road, we turn left into Styal Road and soon we are back at our starting point.
We have covered a distance of 7.5 miles or 12 km.
This video was recorded and edited on the iPhone. I also used a Panasonic TZ70.
Finally a sunset over the A555, which I captured a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, my electric bike became unserviceable – kaputt in plain language – and I had to retire it. But now I have a new bike, it’s a Brompton B75! It’s fantastic.
So, what effect will the Corona crisis have on the airline industry? That’s difficult to say. Many thanks for watching the video and/or reading this article.
Die Bayreuther Festspiele und das Glyndebourne Festival ein Videopodcast
Es geht in diesem Beitrag um zwei Musik-Events in Europa: Bayreuth und Glyndebourne.
Beide Festivals sind Familienbetriebe und finden jedes Jahr statt.
Auf dem ‘Grünen Hügel’ in Bayreuth gibt es seit 1876 die Bayreuther Festspiele.
Auf dem Spielplan stehen die letzten zehn Opern von Richard Wagner. Ab und zu wird auch Beethovens Neunte Sinfonie gespielt.
Die Festspiele laufen von Ende Juli bis Ende August. Die Aufführungen beginnen generell um 16:00 Uhr und enden gegen 22:00 Uhr.
Es gibt zwei Pausen von je einer Stunde. In dieser Zeit können die Gäste die Gastronomie ausprobieren oder im schönen Garten spazieren gehen.
Zu den Premieren kommen Prominente wie der Bundespräsident, der bayerische Ministerpräsident und Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel.
Richard Wagner wurde 1813 in Leipzig geboren. Seine Werke hatten einen großen Einfluss auf die europäische Musik. Er wählte die Stadt Bayreuth für seine Vision: Ein Festspielhaus mit einmaligem Design und besonderer Akustik. Dort sollen nur seine Werke gespielt werden.
Die Finanzierung der Festspiele erfolgte durch Patronatsscheine. König Ludwig II von Bayern bot einen Kredit an.
Die ersten Festspiele begannen am 13. August 1876 mit dem kompletten Ring des Nibelungen.
Wagner starb 1883 in Venedig. Seine Witwe Cosima führte ab 1886 Regie.
Am Anfang gab es finanzielle Probleme, aber die Lage wurde im Laufe der Jahre besser.
1908 gab Cosima ihrem Sohn Siegfried Wagner die Leitung der Festspiele. Seine Frau war die in London geborene Winifred Wagner.
Prominente Gäste zu dieser Zeit waren Thomas Mann, Igor Strawinsky und William Somerset Maugham.
Nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg wurden wieder Patronatsscheine verkauft.
1930 starb Siegfried Wagner im Alter von 61 und Winifred übernahm die Leitung der Festspiele.
Sie war eine Freundin Adolf Hitlers und nach 1933 bekamen die Festspiele staatliche Finanzierung.
Später wurden sie vom NSDAP-Regime zu propagandistischen Zwecken missbraucht.
Nach dem Krieg übergab Winifred die Leitung an ihre Söhne Wieland und Wolfgang, Enkelkinder von Richard Wagner.
Seit 1950 finden die Festspiele jedes Jahr außer 2020 statt.
Katharina Wagner, Urenkelin des Komponisten, ist heute Leiterin.
Mit seiner glanzvollen Atmosphäre ist das Festival ein einmaliges Erlebnis. Besucher sagen, der Geist von Richard Wagner sei auf dem Grünen Hügel noch zu spüren.
Und jetzt gehen wir zu Glyndebourne in Südengland. Das Opernhaus entstand 1933 auf dem Grundstück von Glyndebourne House, einem Landhaus aus dem 16. Jahrhundert.
Gründer des Festivals war John Christie, ein reicher Landbesitzer und Musikfreund.
1931 heiratete er die kanadische Sopranistin Audrey Mildmay. Zusammen besuchten sie die Salzburger und Bayreuther Festspiele.
Sie planten ein eigenes Festival mit Schwerpunkt im Mozart-Repertoire.
Zu dieser Zeit kamen der Dirigent Fritz Busch aus Dresden und Carl Ebert, Intendant der Städtischen Oper Berlin, nach England.
Beide waren gegen die Vertreibung von jüdischen Musikern und mussten deshalb Deutschland verlassen. Dazu kam aus Österreich der Operndirektor Rudolf Bing, der aus einer jüdischen Familie stammte.
Zusammen mit John Christie gründeten sie 1934 die Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
Das erste Festival wurde am 28. Mai 1934 mit Mozarts Hochzeit des Figaro und Così fan tutte eröffnet.
Es war ein großer Erfolg.
In den Kriegsjahren gab es kein Festival.
Nach dem Tod von John Christie 1962 übernahm sein Sohn George und ab 2000 dessen Sohn Gus die Leitung des Festivals.
Zwischen 1992 und 1994 wurde ein neues Opernhaus mit 1200 Sitzplätzen gebaut. Architekt war Michael Hopkins.
Man sagt, Glyndebourne sei ein Musikerlebnis britischer Art. Die Opernfreunde nutzen die langen Pausen traditionell für ein Picknick im Park, wo es schöne Aussichten auf die Landschaft von Sussex gibt.
Erst im Jahre 2003 wurde zum ersten Mal eine Wagner-Oper aufgeführt, nämlich Tristan und Isolde.
Es war die ursprüngliche Idee des Gründers John Christie, ein britisches Bayreuth zu errichten.
Ob in England oder Deutschland: Die klassische Musik gehört zu Europa und der Welt.
Bayreuth und Glyndebourne sind schöne Beispiele der europäischen kulturellen Zusammenarbeit.
38 Beatles locations in Liverpool & Wirral – Slide show video & English and Japanese subtitles
With this video I wanted to create a work of art, combining my photography with a wonderful contemporary-oriental musical backdrop and subtitles in English and Japanese, paying tribute to the band whose music dominated my early childhood. I wanted to portray a side of Liverpool that’s different to the clichés, a magical side, a place of hidden corners, nostalgic views and special places, each one with connections to the Beatles. I wanted to reach out to another culture, and overlay Liverpool with an Oriental quality.
Written and produced by Aidan O’Rourke | Tuesday the 14th of July 2020
So what’s the connection between Liverpool and Japan? It’s because John Lennon married Yoko Ono of course. There are many Beatles fans in Japan who visit Liverpool to find out more about their heroes, where they grew up and the story of how they became famous. Even before the Beatles arrived, Liverpool had a connection with the Orient: It is home to the oldest Chinese community in the UK.
I’ve chosen music that mixes genres – an Oriental sound blended with Classical-style violins, set above contemporary synthesisers with a strong beat. The strings at the start of the track named ‘Shibuya’ have overtones of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and towards the conclusion of our journey, the piano has a quality of ‘Hey Jude’.
The young artist who created this music is called Bad Snacks and is she is based in Los Angeles though I understand she’s originally from Boston. Her YouTube channel is called Bad Snacks and she contributes to the YouTube Audio Library. That’s where I found the six wonderful tracks I used in this video.
All the photos are by me except two: The photo of the New Brighton Tower taken possibly around 1910 and the one of Ringo Starr’s birth house, 9 Madryn Street, taken in 2020. I hope that this video will be appreciated by people from Japan and those who are learning Japanese.
I spent many hours placing the Japanese subtitles into the video. They were translated from English into Japanese by teacher and translator Maya Shimizu, who did a fantastic job.
So here is English text of the video. You can read it as an article and you can play the video. I would
Liverpool and Japan are linked through the marriage of John and Yoko. The Beatles are very popular in Japan and many Japanese fans come to Liverpool. For this reason I wanted to make use of Japanese language. I’ve chosen music with overtones of Japan and of the violins in ‘Eleanor Rigby’.
These city tour buses will take you to the main tourist attractions in Liverpool.
The Magical Mystery Tour will show you many of the most important Beatles locations. For a personalised Beatles tour you can take one of the Fab Four taxis. There’s a transcript of the commentary in eight languages including Japanese.
Location number one: In 2002 Liverpool Airport was named Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Inside the terminal is a statue of John Lennon by the artist Tom Murphy.
Number 2. This Yellow Submarine stands outside the terminal. The film ‘Yellow Submarine’ was released in 1968.
3. Third location: The old airport terminal is not far away. Here, in 1964, thousands of fans welcomed the Beatles home after their US tour. Today it’s the Crowne Plaza hotel.
4. The 86 bus runs between south Liverpool and Liverpool city centre. It’s not a tour bus but it travels through many of the places the Beatles knew in their childhood. This advert is for the 2018 Double Fantasy exhibition which was on at the Museum of Liverpool from May 2018 to April 2019
5. The Sgt Pepper Bistro stands on a traffic island at the top of Penny Lane. Unfortunately it has been closed for a few years.
6. Penny Lane is famous for the song released in 1967 about Paul’s childhood memories of this place. This sign was new in 2006. This is how it looked in 2018.The council painted this sign on the wall to prevent people from stealing it. In June 2018 Paul returned to Penny Lane with James Corden for the Late Late Show and wrote his autograph on the sign
7. The song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ is about John’s childhood memories of a children’s home called Strawberry Field. It’s not far from the house where he lived with his Aunt Mimi. Beatles fans from all over the world write messages on the gates.
Music: Shibuya
8. Not many people know that there is a Japanese garden not far from the childhood homes of John and Paul. It’s in Calderstones Park. Calderstone Park has many associations with the Beatles in their early years.
9. In the churchyard of St Peters Church in Woolton you will find the gravestone inscribed with the name Eleanor Rigby. It is possible that this gravestone inspired the famous song.
10. John and Paul first met at St Peter’s Church in 1957. They played at a garden fete on a stage in the field behind the church.
Location number 11 is 10 Admiral Grove, the house where Ringo Starr lived until he became famous in 1963. Today it’s a private home.
12. In 1943 George Harrison was born at 12 Arnold Grove. He lived here until 1950.
13. In 1940 Ringo Starr was born in this house, 9 Madryn Street. The house has been saved from demolition.
Music: Summer in the neighborhood
14. In 1964 at the height of Beatlemania, the Beatles stood on the balcony of Liverpool town hall in front of thousands of screaming fans. Twenty years later they were awarded the Freedom of the City . Their names are written on this plaque, which you can see in the foyer of the town hall.
15. The Liverpool Institute was a boys’ grammar school. Paul McCartney went to this school. Today it’s LIPA, co-founded by Paul McCartney and opened in 1996.
16. The Blue Angel Night Club a music venue. In the 1960s, the Beatles and other famous bands played here. It’s on Seel Street in Chinatown.
17. Falkner Street is a historic street with houses from the 18th century. John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia lived for a while at 36 Falkner Street.
18. The Philharmonic is the most magnificent pub in Liverpool. John Lennon liked to come here and in June 2018, Paul gave a surprise performance herefor the Late Late Show with James Corden.
19. The Beatles often went to Ye Cracke pub on Rice Street. Inside the pub there are photos and memorabilia.
20. The John Lennon Peace Monument was unveiled in 2010. It was designed by the American artist Lauren Voiers when she was only 19 years old. It stands next to the Echo Arena.
21. The Museum of Liverpool is about the history of Liverpool and there are some exhibits about the Beatles. It’s situated on the Pier Head.
22. You can learn about British pop music including the Beatles at the British Music Experience. Here on the Pier Head you will also find the most popular photo opportunity in Liverpool…
Music: Shibuya
And now we take the train under the River Mersey to the seaside town of New Brighton.
24. This is where the Tower Ballroom used to be. It once had the tallest tower in Britain. The tower was taken down over 100 years ago. The Beatles played here from 1961 to 1963. The Tower Ballroom was destroyed by fire in 1969.
Music: Wallflowers
25. This is the Grosvenor Ballroom in Liscard, not far from New Brighton. The hall looks almost the same as it did when the Beatles played here.
Many tourists come to Port Sunlight to visit Lady Lever Art Gallery and to see the beautiful English traditional-style houses
26. At Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight on 18 August 1962, the Beatles played their first concert with Ringo Starr as drummer.
Now we return to Liverpool.
Music: A Caring Friend
27. The Eleanor Rigby statue near Mathew St was inspired by the song Eleanor Rigby and was created by the singer and artist Tommy Steele.
28. The Hard Day’s Night Hotel on North John Street is a Beatles-themed hotel. On the exterior there are statues of
of the four Beatles.
29. Mathew Street is dedicated to the Beatles and to other famous Liverpool stars.
30. The John Lennon statue depicts John as a young man before the Beatles were famous. Lots of people have their picture taken next to him.
31. The Cavern Club is the most famous club in Liverpool. The Beatles played here 292 times between 1961 and 1963. This is not the original Cavern Club but a reconstruction that is very similar to the original.
32. The Beatles often went to the Grapes Pub before playing at the Cavern.
33.Four Lads Who Shook The Worldis an artwork on Mathew Street. John Lennon was added as a baby after his death in 1980.
34. The Magical History Museum opened in 2018 and presents a huge collection of Beatles memorabilia on three floors.
Music: Honey
36. The Beatles Story is about the amazing career of the Fab Four from childhood to worldwide fame.
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Our 37th location is number 20 Forthlin Road, where Paul McCartney lived with his family from 1955 to 1963. Inside, the house looks the same as it did in the early 1960s. You can visit the house by booking on the National Trust tour.
38. Not far away is 251 Menlove Avenue, where John Lennon lived with his Aunt Mimi. You can visit the house on the National Trust tour. The house is a time capsule of the early 1960s, but I can’t show you what the interior looks like as photography is not allowed. You’ll just have to come and see it with your own eyes!
Music: Mizuki
My name’s Aidan O’Rourke. Thank you very much for watching and I’ll see you again soon in Liverpool.
The Leaving of Liverpool due to Brexit – Music video and interview with Zinney Sonnenberg
In July 2020 I made a slide show for a video by the singer Zinney Sonnenberg. The video was showcased on 04.07.2020 in the Global Liverpool Facebook Event. The song ‘Liverhearts – Where can I find me another river’ is about the songwriter’s love for his adoptive home city of Liverpool and the pain of having to leave it. For this feature I present the slide show video featuring my photos and the transcript of the interview.
Written by Aidan O’Rourke | Sunday the 12th of July 2020
ENGLISH VERSION | GERMAN VERSION .
For the music slide show video I chose around fifty of my photos of Liverpool. I wanted to find out more about Zinney Sonnenberg, so I did an Interview with him via Zoom. The Audio and the transcript appear here in English as well as German.
First I want to ask: What is your name? Where are you from and where do you live now?
My name is Gerd Zinsmeister. My artist name is Zinney Sonnenberg. I’m originally from Saarland. It’s on the border triangle of Germany, Luxembourg and France. I’ve been living in Bavaria, Dachau, for a year, known for the concentration camp in Dachau.
What is your profession?
I’m a musician by profession and work at the Dachau Music School as a music teacher and teach guitar, piano and singing. Otherwise I record and play live in Germany, England and Holland.
What kind of music do you play?
My music could be described as folk music with influences from pop and rock and world music.
How long were you in Liverpool?
I lived in Liverpool for 21 years.
When and why did you move to Liverpool?
I moved to Liverpool on the 10th of August, 1998 with my wife and three year old daughter to do a course at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
What were your early impressions of Liverpool?
I immediately fell in love with Liverpool, a fantastic city with friendly, open-minded people, a very special light, a lively nightlife and a very special accent that I had to get used to.
Where did you live?
For the first three years we lived in Toxteth on Pengwern Street, behind Saint Silas School in the Welsh Streets area. Our home was the second to last house at the end of the street, with a view of the schoolyard of Saint Silas school. Later, we lived in Aigburth for fourteen years.
Why did you stay in Liverpool?
After my course at LIPA was over, we had acclimatised ourselves well to Liverpool. I worked as a nurse in a nursing home on Mill Street in Toxteth. My wife took a course at Arts College on Myrtle Street. Our daughter Zoe had already made a lot of friends at Windsor School.
How is Liverpool different from other cities?
As a port city, Liverpool is home to people from many cultural backgrounds. In my daughter’s class at primary school, there were children from thirteen different countries.
Architecturally, the centre of Liverpool is very compact. The River Mersey, which has been the main artery of Liverpool for decades, dominates the city. But the the most striking peculiarity is the humorous, friendly and open-minded mentality of the Scousers.
What are your top 10 recommendations for visitors?
There are many interesting attractions in Liverpool and many things to do. Be sure to visit the Antony Gormley exhibition ‘Another Place’ in Waterloo. In addition, the two cathedrals, connected by Hope Street, are well worth seeing.
All the museums in Liverpool are free, and above all the Maritime Museum, with its Slavery section, is an absolute must for every visitor.
The new museum in the docks is interactive and describes the history of Liverpool. On the second floor you have a wonderful view of the Liver Building and the mouth of the Mersey.
You should definitely dive into the nightlife of Liverpool. Just go along to the various restaurants, pubs, clubs, live music venues or comedy clubs.
For those interested in art, there is the Walker Art Gallery and the Tate at the Albert Dock. You can combine a visit to the Palm House in Sefton Park with a glass of wine in Lark Lane or Penny Lane. For football fans it’s an absolute must, once in your life, to hear ‘You’ll never walk alone’ in Anfield.
The sunsets in Liverpool are unique and so I would highly recommend a walk between Aigburth and Liverpool city centre.
What is your personal favourite place?
My favourite place in Liverpool is Otterspool Park. The walk that leads through the park and ends at the Mersey is a wonderful walk and means a lot to me personally because I used to take the dog for a walk there every day.
Describe your career on the Liverpool music scene.
After studying at LIPA, I worked at first in order to buy more recording equipment. I was able to buy an analogue tape machine from The Christians and later a computer that I could use to record.
In between times, I regularly went to open mike events and played two or three songs there. In 2004 I met Jeff Davis from Probe Plus Records in Berlin at a music fair.
In 2007 we released my first album ‘Fishing In The Pool’ on the Probe Plus label with my band called Sonnenberg.
Then we released two more albums, ‘The End of the Rain’ and ‘Into The Light’.
Between 2004 and 2018 I went on tour with the band or solo in Scandinavia, the UK, Germany and Holland and as a supporting act for Half Man Half Biscuit, I played mainly in larger venues in the UK, such as the Shepherds Bush Theatre or the Liverpool Academy
Why did you decide to leave Liverpool?
The sole reason for leaving Liverpool was Brexit. We didn’t want to live outside of the EU as second class citizens in Britain without the right to vote.
When did you leave Liverpool and where did you go in Germany?
We left Liverpool on the 19th of July, 2019. We then moved to Bavaria, to Dachau.
When and why did you write the song ‘Where can I find me another river?’ ?
I wrote the song ‘Liverhearts Another River’ in 2018. It’s intended to reflect my love for Liverpool, as well as the pain and sadness of having to leave my adopted home because of social or political circumstances.
In general, as a songwriter, you try to express your feelings or create some breathing space for yourself. In this case, it was the frustration with the political change in 2016 that influenced some of my songs between 2016 and 2019
Thank you very much! I’m sorry about Brexit. I hope that you can come back to Liverpool some time.
I will do.
Der Abschied von Liverpool aufgrund des Brexits – Musikvideo und Interview mit Zinney Sonnenberg
Im Juli 2020 habe ich eine Dia-Show für ein Video des Sängers Zinney Sonnenberg gemacht. Das Video erschien am 04.07.2020 im Global-Liverpool-Facebook-Event. Der Song ‘Liverhearts – Where can I find me another river’ handelt von der Liebe des Künstlers zu seiner Wahlheimat Liverpool und den Schmerz, sie verlassen zu müssen. Hier präsentiere ich das Slide-Show-Video mit meinen Fotos sowie das Transkript des Interviews.
Geschrieben von Aidan O’Rourke | Sonntag den zwölften Juli 2020
ENGLISCHE VERSION | DEUTSCHE VERSION.
Für das Video habe ich ungefähr fünfzig meiner Fotos von Liverpool ausgewählt. Ich wollte mehr über Zinney Sonnenberg herausfinden, also habe ich mit ihm ein Interview per Zoom geführt. Das Audio und das Transkript erscheinen hier auf Deutsch sowie auf Englisch.
Guten Tag! Zuerst möchte ich fragen: Wie ist dein Name? Woher kommst du und wo wohnst du jetzt?
Mein Name ist Gerd Zinsmeister. Mein Künstlername ist Zinney Sonnenberg. Ich komme ursprünglich aus dem Saarland. Es ist an der Dreiländerecke Deutschland, Luxemburg und Frankreich. Seit einem Jahr wohne ich in Bayern, in Dachau, bekannt durch das Konzentrationslager in Dachau.
Okay, und was machst du von Beruf?
Ich bin Musiker von Beruf und arbeite in der Dachauer Musikschule als Musiklehrer und unterrichte Gitarre, Klavier und Gesang. Ansonsten nehme ich Platten auf und spiele live in Deutschland, England und Holland.
Was für Musik spielst du?
Meine Musik könnte man als Folk-Musik mit Einflüssen von Pop und Rock und Worldmusic beschreiben.
Und wie lange warst du in Liverpool?
Ich habe 21 Jahre in Liverpool gewohnt.
Wann und warum bist du nach Liverpool gezogen?
Ich bin am 10. August 1998 mit meiner Frau und meiner dreijährigen Tochter nach Liverpool gezogen, um einen Kurs an dem Liverpool Institut für Performing Arts zu machen.
Was waren deine frühen Eindrücke von Liverpool?
Ich hatte mich sofort in Liverpool verliebt, eine tolle Stadt mit netten, weltoffenen Menschen, ein ganz besonderes Licht, ein reges Nachtleben und ein ganz besonderer Dialekt, an den ich mich erst gewöhnen musste.
Wo habt ihr gewohnt?
In den ersten drei Jahren wohnten wir in Toxteth in der Pengwern Street, hinter der Saint-Silas-Schule in dem Walisischen Viertel. Unser Haus war das zweitletzte Hause am Ende der Straße mit Blick auf den Schulhof von der Saint-Silas-Schule. Später haben wir vierzehn Jahre lang in Aigburth gewohnt.
Warum bist du in Liverpool geblieben?
Nachdem mein Studium an der LIPA war beendet war, hatten wir uns gut akklimatisiert in Liverpool. Ich arbeitete als Krankenpfleger in einem Pflegeheim in der Mill Street in Toxteth.
Meine Frau machte einen Kurs am Arts College in der Myrtle Street. Unsere Tochter Zoe hatte an der Windsor School schon viele Freunde gemacht.
Wie ist Liverpool anders als andere Städte?
Als Hafenstadt beherbergt Liverpool Menschen aus vielen kulturellen Hintergründen. So waren in der Grundschulklasse meiner Tochter Kinder aus dreizehn verschiedenen Ländern.
Architektonisch ist die Innenstadt von Liverpool sehr kompakt. Der Fluss Mersey, der über Jahrzehnte die Lebensader von Liverpool war, prägt das Stadtbild.
Aber die herausragende Besonderheit ist die humorvolle, freundliche und weltoffene Mentalität der Scouser.
Was sind deine Top-10 Empfehlungen für Besucher?
Es gibt viele interessante Sehenswürdigkeiten in Liverpool und viele Dinge, die man tun kann.
Auf jeden Fall sollte man die Anthony-Gormley-Ausstellung ‘Another Place’ in Waterloo besuchen. Der Philharmonic ist der größte und prächtigste Pub in Liverpool. Außerdem sind die beiden Kathedralen, die von der Hope Street verbunden werden, sehr sehenswert.
Alle Museen in Liverpool sind kostenlos, und vor allem das Maritime Museum mit seiner Sklaverei-Abteilung, ist ein absolutes Muss für jeden Besucher. Das neue Museum an den Docks ist interaktiv und beschreibt die Geschichte von Liverpool. Im zweiten Stock hat man einen herrlichen Blick auf das Liver Building und die Flussmündung des Mersey.
Auf jeden Fall sollte man sich in das Nachtleben von Liverpool stürzen. Man sollte die verschiedenen Restaurants, Pubs, Clubs, Live-Music-Venues oder Comedy Clubs ein einfach mal besuchen.
Für Kunstinteressierte gibt es die Walker Art Gallery und die Tate am Albert Dock. Den Besuch des Palm Houses in Sefton Park kann man mit einem Glas Wein in der Lark Lane oder in der Penny Lane verbinden.
Für Fußballfans ist es ein absolutes Muss, einmal im Leben in Anfield You’ll Never Walk Alone zu hören.
Die Sonnenuntergänge in Liverpool sind einzigartig und so kann ich einen Spaziergang zwischen Aigburth und dem City Centre in Liverpool nur wärmstens empfehlen.
Was ist dein persönlicher Lieblingsort?
Mein Lieblingsort in Liverpool ist Otterspool Park. Der Spaziergang, der durch den Park führt und am Mersey endet ist ein wundervoller Spaziergang und ist deshalb sehr bedeutungsvoll für mich, weil ich da jeden Tag mit dem Hund spazieren war.
Kannst du deine Karriere auf der Musikszene in Liverpool beschreiben?
Ja, nach meinem Studium an der LIPA habe ich erst einmal gearbeitet, um mehr Aufnahmegeräte zu kaufen. So habe ich eine analoge Bandmaschine von den Christians gekauft und später einen Computer, mit dem ich aufnehmen konnte.
Zwischendurch bin ich immer wieder zu Open-Mike-Events gegangen, um dort zwei bis drei Lieder zu spielen. 2004 habe ich Jeff Davis von Probe Plus Records in Berlin auf einer Musikmesse kennengelernt.
2007 haben wir dann mit meiner Band unter dem Namen Sonnenberg mein erstes Album ‘Fishing In The Pool’ unter dem Probe-Plus-Label veröffentlicht.
Dann haben wir noch zwei weitere Alben ‘The End of the Rain’ und ‘Into The Light’ veröffentlicht.
Zwischen 2004 und 2018 war ich mit meiner Band oder auch solo in Skandinavien, Großbritannien, Deutschland und Holland auf Tour und habe als Vorgruppe von Half Man Half Biscuit in vor allem größere Venues in Großbritannien gespielt, wie zum Beispiel, das Shepherds Bush Theatre in London oder auch die Liverpool Academy.
Warum hast du dich entschieden, Liverpool zu verlassen?
Der Grund, Liverpool zu verlassen, war eindeutig der Brexit. Wir wollten nicht außerhalb der EU leben und in Großbritannien Bürger zweiter Klasse ohne Wahlrecht sein.
Wann hast du Liverpool verlassen und wohin in Deutschland bist du gegangen?
Wir haben Liverpool am 19. Juli, 2019 verlassen. Dann sind wir nach Bayern, nach Dachau gezogen.
Wann und warum hast du den Song ‘Where can I find me another river?’ geschrieben?
Das Lied ‘Liverhearts Another River’ habe ich 2018 geschrieben. Er soll meine Liebe zu Liverpool reflektieren, sowie den Schmerz und die Trauer, seine Wahlheimat verlassen zu müssen, weil es gesellschaftliche oder politische Umstände erforderlich machen.
Generell versucht man als Liedermacher oder Musiker seine Gefühle auszudrücken oder sich Luft zu verschaffen. In diesem Fall war es die Frustration über die politische Wende 2016, die einige meiner Lieder zwischen 2016 und 2019 beeinflussten
Vielen Dank! Es tut mir leid wegen dem Brexit, aber ich hoffe, du kannst irgendwann zurück nach Liverpool kommen.
Das hoffe ich auch!
Interview with Brother Cyril former headmaster of Xaverian College Manchester
I went to Xaverian College, Manchester, UK, when it was a boys’ grammar school.
It was a direct grant grammar school. It received funding from central government and the local authority and so it was possible to go there without having to pay fees, but you had to pass an entrance exam called the 11+. Later it became a sixth form college. I explain more at the end of this piece.
Xaverian College, Manchester has a long tradition going back to the 19th century. The Xaverian Brothers have origins in the north eastern United States. The Xaverian Brothers’ residence is located in Danvers, Massachusetts, north of Boston. They run 13 schools in five states.
We often forget that in the past, many schools were grim places, more like prisons than places of education. Just watch the film ‘Kes’ to see what many schools were like. But Xaverian was different.
Brother Cyril was a man of few words but had huge presence and authority. He commanded deep respect amongst students, parents and staff.
Teachers I remember included music teachers Mr Sellers, and his successor, Mr Challinger, Mr Lackey, who suggested I should learn German, Mr Halstead, the French and German teacher, Mr Underwood, who taught me A level English, Mr MacEvoy the French teacher and Mr Connolly, the English teacher. They all had a big effect on me and set high standards that, at times, I felt I couldn’t live up to. Their influence is still with me today.
For me the most interesting thing about Xaverian College is the number of people who became successful as creative artists or were creatively talented in some way.
- Martin Hannett producer of Buzzcocks, Joy Division, New Order, Durutti Column, the Stone Roses and others, went to Xaverian College.
- Tim Willocks, who was in the same year as me, is an internationally successful novelist and famously was a companion of pop singer Madonna.
- Len Grant, who as in the year above me, is a well known photographer of Manchester who has also developed a successful career in sketching.
- Jan Chlebik, who was in the same class as me, has achieved success and recognition as a leading photographer in Manchester.
- Chris Ofili, who won the Turner Prize in 1998 for his paintings which included elephant dung, is a graduate of Xaverian Sixth Form College.
- Andrew Newton, the controversial stage hypnotist, was a contemporary of mine, and was in the same A Level music class as me with teacher Mr Challinger.
- Julian Evans the concert pianist was born in Romiley, attended Xaverian College and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music.
- Anthony Burgess, author of ‘A Clockwork Orange’, was a student at Xaverian College during the 1930s.
- Bernard Hill actor famous for role of Yosser Hughes in ‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ went to Xaverian in the mid-50s.
- Gary Mounfield (b.1962) of the Stone Roses and Primal Scream is an ex-Xaverian grammar school boy.
- Mark Collins of the Charlatans was a student at Xaverian College.
- Andy Quinn, musician who helped to produce Thin Lizzy co-founder Eric Bell’s, solo albums and autobigraphy, was in the same class as me.
- Rick Turner, musician, producer and entrepreneur was in the year below me at Xavs.
- Liam Grundy has built a successful career as a musician, playing Rocking Country and Americana with a Rockabilly Edge. I studied French in the same class as him with Mr MacEvoy.
- Most Rev Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham since 2009, was three years above me at Xaverian College and was a talented singer. I once saw him performing Fauré’s Requiem at the Friend’s Meeting House in Manchester.
Adele O’Rourke, my daughter, who is highly creative in music and art, went to Xaverian sixth form college until the Corona lockdown shut down the college midway through her second and final year.
I met Brother Cyril on the 18th of July 2007, while he was on his annual visit to Manchester to visit his sister and some of ex-colleagues from Xaverian.
Click ‘Play’ to listen to the recording of the interview I did with him. The transcript is below.
I am brother Cyril, a Xaverian brother. I was born in June 1925 and I ended my career as headmaster of Xaverian College from 1962 to 1989. Now I am living in retirement.
What was the date on which you were born?
Third of June, 1925.
Can you tell us a little bit about the background to Xaverian College from when it started up to the present day?
Well, it was founded in 1862. It would be a small school. It was charging fees of about 2d a week I think, and it was quite close to Saint Bede’s. Saint Bede’s was founded in the same area. And then the school moved to Victoria Park site in 1907 and became known as Xaverian College at that point and it’s still there.
And the original location was at All Saints, next to the present Saint Augustine’s church?
That’s right, well it was in All Saints in the building which later became, when we moved out, it later became the Ear Nose and Throat Hospital.
What was the main reason for moving to Victoria Park?
Well, in order to expand and there were problems arising in that area, and it was better for the school to move out a little way, and in Victoria Park there were properties becoming available, probably through impoverishment of the owners. They had gone there, bought a house there, a property there in more splendid times for themselves and then found a need to sell, and we bought the property, as I say, in 1907.
So how did the school develop than from 1907 and up to the present day?
Well, I suppose it would be classed as a private school, but some places were given to the local authority, but it was a small school and I think that at the time the War came, it had it had probably something like 350 students.
And then the big development came after the War, when it became a direct grant grammar school, and that meant that the students who came didn’t have to pay any fees at all. There were fees, but they were paid by the local authority. And also because we got a grant from the central government for each student and that gave us sufficient income on which to live, and provide, as well as we could anyway, for the education of the boys who came to us.
And of course I came in 1969 and I was there until 1976.
Yes.
And then after that then came the big change.
The big change came of course. The school had grown to about 700 by 1977 and then the Catholic schools developed a system for going comprehensive. It was rather later than the authority schools had gone, and that involved Loreto and Xaverian becoming six form colleges and others becoming high schools. And there were to be no academic requirements required for entry. But of course to develop that, all the courses required to cater for people who were not looking for Advanced level subjects, it. took time to develop those but they are now fully developed. And they are now 1500 students in the college.
Where did you do your training and how did you become a teacher and then headmaster of Xaverian?
Well, I went to Xaverian College as a boy and I joined the brothers, and in order to join the brothers, you had to do what was called six months postulancy and two years of novitiate. And in that time you studied Theology and Philosophy and you led a disciplined life involving regular community prayer.
And you found out whether you liked the life or whether you didn’t and then after two and a half years you could take temporary vows for a period of three years. And after that if you still wanted to go on, you could take final vows.
After I’d completed the novitiate, I went to Manchester University and I came out qualified to teach English. But I never did teach English, as things turned out, and I taught Maths, because there was a great shortage of Mathematics teachers in those days and to satisfy that need… I always liked Maths and I always did well at it and in school. It was not part of my degree course, but I enjoyed it, and I hope the kids did not suffer because of my lack of qualification in that subject.
So you taught at Xaverian College?
So I taught at Xaverian College. I have never taught anywhere else.
What part of Manchester did you grow up in?
I started off, I was born on the Anson estate and then we moved into Levenshulme and then I joined the brothers while we were still in Levenshulme. And then, no I’m sorry we, we moved out to Marple just before I joined the brothers, and then, since that time of course I have lived with the brothers
And so when did you become headmaster and until when did you…?
I became head in 1962 and I finished at the end of 1989, so I’m not sure how many years that is.
So you were trying to achieve a certain ethos in the school. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Well I can tell you what I was trying to do and what the staff were helping me to do.
We wanted it above all to be a place where people could come and feel wanted and respected and cared for, and we wanted staff to feel that and students, and to follow the command of Jesus Christ that we should love God and love our neighbour, and of course loving our neighbour means everybody and being concerned and caring about them. And so that everybody who comes, who is involved in the school, will feel wanted and will feel happy and will not have to worry about maltreatment or anything like that. And if you get that right, if you get all that right, examinations will look after themselves, you don’t need to make examination success a major criterion in what your objectives are.
But I think that the ethos, whatever effect it had, it brought forth quite a few creative people, creatively successful people like Tim Willocks the author and Len Grant the photographer, Jan Chlebik and others and I’ve also done my particular thing and was quite inspired by some of the teachers at Xaverian, so perhaps that ethos had a positive effect and before i went to Xaverian, my teacher at my primary school, Our Lady’s, Sister Esther, recommended that I only put Xaverian on the application. This was after I passed my 11-plus that she said Xaverian was the only school that I should go to, and I got the place.
Well, I’m glad to hear that. But I can’t measure the success. It’s not measurable, what we were really trying to do, and I am not the one to comment on it, but other people, people who went through the school can speak best about its influence upon them. I just hope that it had a good influence and did help creative people to develop themselves, and if it did that, then I’m very happy.
Yes, well I’d like to place on record that certainly, people like Mr Sellars, the Music teacher and then Mr Challinger, and Mr Lackey, who recommended I do German, Mr Halstead, the French and German teacher, they all had a big effect on me, I’m certainly grateful to them.
So how have you been enjoying your retirement?
Very much, very quietly. I haven’t undertaken any kind of part-time work. I remained on the Board of Governors at Xaverian College until 2002 and that was when the brothers gave the school to the diocese and it now runs under the auspices of the diocese, but it keeps the name Xaverian College.
And finally do you have any special message to any ex-Xaverian College boys or girls, who are, maybe, listening to this?
Well, only to say that, I hope the school was influential in helping you to become responsible people, people who realised, that they not only have rights, but they also have responsibilities and in that way I hope you’ve developed it that way so you are now in a position to make your own decisions about your life and those decisions will be such that they will make you very acceptable to your neighbour and to God.
Brother Cyril died on the eighth on the 17th of April 2014 at the age of 88. His final resting place is the Xaverian Brothers’ Cemetery, close their residence in Danvers, Massachussets.
At Xaverian College, people still speak in reverential terms about brother Cyril and his presence can still be felt on the campus.
If you go into the building which bears his family name – Birtles – just to the left of the main entrance, there is a marvellous portrait painting of him sitting in his office. It perfectly captures his quiet, pensive manner, just as I remember him.
During the Corona lockdown in 2020, I was riding past Xaverian and went to the front of the Birtles building. It was locked and deserted, but I could see the painting through the glass window and I photographed it using my iPhone. I’m sure all will agree, the spirit of Brother Cyril magically shines through.
For those people who are not familiar with the UK’s educational system, present and past, here are a few explanations:
- A sixth form college is a type of educational institution found in the UK. It’s for young people aged 16 to 19 who study for exams such as A-levels. Most continue to university.
- A grammar school is a school for pupils aged 11-18, where studies are academically orientated. Entry to a grammar school is by selection, either by an entrance exam or an exam such as the 11 Plus
- The 11 plus is an exam which is used to test young people in order to select which ones will go to a grammar school. The exam has been mostly phased out in the UK.
- A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in England and Wales. A quarter of the places were funded by central government, the rest were funded through fees. Some fees were paid by the Local Education Authority, some by the parents of pupils.
- St Bede’s College is an independent Roman Catholic school for children from 3-18 years. It used to be a direct grant grammar school for boys.
- Xaverian College Manchester is a sixth form college and used to be a direct grant grammar school for boys.
38 Beatles ビートルズ locations Liverpool & Wirral 英語と日本語の字幕 English + Japanese subtitles
The History of Fashion Photography – Essay by Aidan O’Rourke (long read)
Written by Aidan O’Rourke | 28.06.2020
THERE IS A CONTRADICTION in fashion photography. In theory, its purpose the same as that of a catalogue: to depict the clothes and help to sell them. In practice however, fashion photography has been used as a vehicle for self-expression by some of the world’s greatest photographers. Often, the creative desires of the photographers are at odds with the intentions of the editor, as Anna Wintour, fashion editor at Vogue, illustrates:
“Our needs are simple. We want a photographer to take a dress, make the girl look pretty, give us lots of images to choose from, and not give us any attitude. Photographers – if they are any good – want to create art.”
Through this tension have come about some of the most memorable images in the history of photography, transcending the time in which they were made, and encapsulating it for us today.
I became actively interested in fashion photography when, in 1991, I saw an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, detailing the development of the genre in the post war years. I found many of the images extremely captivating and interesting. Though I had enjoyed the fashion photography of contemporary magazines such as Harpers and Queen and Vogue, I had never before seen so many original prints from earlier decades and I responded to them with enthusiasm, hoping to introduce elements of their technique and atmosphere into my own photography.
In this article I intend to analyse, by the use of many of my favourite images, what it is that underlies their timeless appeal, and the techniques the photographers used to achieve their desired effects.
The precursors of fashion photography go back to the eighteenth century, when images of fashionable clothes were printed in magazines and often hand-coloured. Paris was at that time a centre for the production of such magazines, many of which were imported into England. Figure 1a (above) shows a typical example of such an image.
Photography was invented around the 1830s, but it wasn’t until much later that the metier of fashion photography came into existence. The earliest popular photographic technique, the daguerreotype, could not be used for mass printing. A later technique enabled the production of the ‘Carte de Visite’ which were made for individuals and which also depicted famous theatre and music hall personalities of the age. It wasn’t until advances in halftone printing techniques that fashion photographs came to be featured in magazines. This happened in about the first decade of the 20th century.
Baron de Meyer (1868 – 1946) called ‘The Debussy of the Camera’, had wealthy, though not aristocratic origins. He was born Demeyer Watson, of a French father and a Scottish mother, and grew up in Saxony. He came to London and married into nobility. He was given the title Baron de Meyer and set out on a life of extravagant entertaining
His main characteristic was a wonderful use of backlighting and the soft-focus lens. In Fig. 2, (upper right, above) we see many of the characteristics of his style. Though static, the pose is natural, and the picture is arranged using a strong pattern of vertical elements, giving a sense of authority and formality. We can see a clear use of the ‘rule of thirds’ in the placement of the curtains and chair.
What strikes us as being special to Baron de Meyer, however, are the glinting reflections from the background material and the jewels. The overall key is a light grey, the only dark areas being around the sitter’s face, arms and lap. It’s interesting to note that the chair is hardly a suitably aristocratic-looking piece of furniture, but perhaps he chose mainly for its colour.
Edward Jean Steichen (1879-1973) was born in Luxembourg, but his family moved to the USA in 1881. With Alfred Stieglitz, he founded the Photo-Secession Galleries in New York. He first photographed fashion models in 1911 for the magazine ‘Art and Decoration’, and worked with Conde Nast during the twenties. This photo (fig. 3 above, lower left) was made for American Vogue in 1920, and shows Marian Moorehouse, wife of the poet E.E. Cummings, wearing a Chanel gown.
The arrangement of rectangular shapes shows the influence of constructivist art, which was influential at the time. The vertically placed white rectangular card has been carefully positioned to show the shape of the falling drapery, which shows signs of considerable retouching. A piece of horizontally placed black card provides further contrast.
The head and shoulders stand out from the mid grey of the wall, and the toe of the shoe, pointing elegantly downwards, protrudes into the area of white on the floor. A white and black vertical band just to the left of the model, divides the upper part of the picture, and completes the background. The lighting is a combination of general light plus side lighting, on both sides, giving the flesh tones a mid to high key, contrasting with the solid blacks.
This image skilfully uses very simple props to create an elegant arrangement of forms, modernist in flavour, but classical in order and arrangement.
George Hoyningen-Huene (1900 – 1968) was another of the aristocratic practitioners of early fashion photography, and did most of his most memorable work between the mid-twenties and the end of the Second World War. He was born in St Petersburg, but moved to Paris in 1920, where he first did fashion illustration and then photography. He moved to New York in 1935, and worked mainly for Harper’s Bazaar. He spent the latter part of his life in California.
This image (Fig. 4 above, lower right) was used in the 1990s for perfume adverts. It displays a combination of chic and classicism typical of the age. The image shows a meticulous attitude to detail and arrangement. The models are placed very carefully, with close attention to the effect of light and shadow. The combined outline forms a pleasing U shape, similar to a Greek vase. By illusion, the scene appears to be outdoors, but on closer inspection, we can see that, like most fashion shots of the day, it was taken in a studio, and the ‘sea’ is an area of light grey, with the ‘sky’ and faintly painted clouds above it. A very realistic effect of daylight is achieved by a strong, single light, placed to the above left of the subjects.
If you went to the sea and took a photo of it around midday, it would almost certainly appear much darker. The effect of this unnaturally light background is twofold: it makes the models stand out, but more interestingly, it actually simulates how we would see the background in harsh sunlight without sunglasses – very light and slightly fuzzy, due to the smarting of the eyes. The visually inaccurate, but psychologically correct portrayal of the background gives this image its mysterious appeal. The enigmatic quality is heightened by the fact that the models stare away from us, so that we can’t see their faces, and appear to be looking at something out on the ‘sea’, to the right, and beyond the frame of the picture. What are they looking at? What are their faces like? And where exactly is this seaside location?
Fashion Photography Essay – Page 2 – Horst P Horst, Cecil Beaton
Horst P Horst (born 1906-1999) was a friend of Hoyningen-Huene, and also had a fascination for classical imagery, indeed he made a detailed study of classical poses, using Greek sculpture and classical paintings, paying special attention to the positioning of hands. In his studio, he used all manner of props, such as plaster statues, mirrors, crumpled paper, exploiting them to both neoclassical and surrealist effect.
This photo (Fig. 5 above) of Helen Bennet is a good example of an image with a strongly classical mood. A single spotlight shines down on the model from the top right. The edges of the spot place shadows on the edges of the pleated cloak, which is exhibited, peacock-fashion in a wonderful display of light and shadow. The model is standing in front of a column, and we can see the shadow of the spotlight forming an arc just to the right of the model’s head. The light falls on the face to form a perfect jaw line, with just the right amount of shadow on the cheekbone (although this might have been retouched).
The pose is statuesque and painterly, reminiscent of the paintings of Alfred Moore. The background is a graduated dark to lighter grey, made apparently by a diffused light placed behind the base. Around the base, there are three pieces of Greek-style plaster sculpture, though these are partly cropped out of the picture. One criticism might be that this arrangement looks botched and amateurish, and that the photographer couldn’t make up his mind whether or not to leave out the base altogether, but decided to crop it half way! In my opinion this doesn’t matter, as the main focus of the image is the model, and her outfit. In his use of props, he was only trying to create an effect of the antique, not, as perhaps in a painting, a detailed and accurate recreation of the real thing.
Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) was a contemporary of Horst P Horst and Hoyningen-Huene, and was based in London. His exhibition in 1927 at the Cooling Galleries, London established him as a major photographic figure. Like Horst, he also used elaborate studio props and experimented with surrealism. In the picture of Miss Mary Taylor (Fig. 6), the image is dominated by two large and highly ornate oval-shaped hanging decorations, with flowers and patterns similar to peacock tails. The left hand one is closer to the camera, and is to the model’s right. The right hand one is hanging behind the model, and the edge intersects her face at eye level.
According to traditional rules of composition, the model is too low in the frame, but, like other pictures by Beaton, it is not intended to be a portrait, but an arrangement of forms, patterns, textures and tones, in which the model is included. The decorations, which were probably made up specially for the shot, and don’t resemble anything I’ve ever seen elsewhere, dominate the image, and almost have a life and character of their own, overshadowing the model. There is a light source coming from the right, illuminating the rear wall, and the model’s face. A less intense, more diffuse light on the left fills in dark to mid grey shadows on the model’s face and lights the front of her garment. The placement of the fingers adds an extra element of theatricality to the image.
An interesting development during the 1930s was a change in Beaton’s attitude towards the romanticism and indulgence in his earlier work. This quotation from ‘The Best of Beaton’ written in 1968, gives us the photographer’s insight into the changing mood:
“The posed, static hands with the pointed index finger and arched wrist acquired an overnight vulgarity; the celestial expression in the eyes suddenly became a joke shared by everyone except the sitter. The earlier pictures appeared over retouched and altogether too artificial with ladies with forced rosebud simpers and impossibly golden curls.”
In the meantime, Beaton had developed a more realistic style:
“The results of my experiments in this genre of photography were considered to prove that I had at last grown up, and had acquired a new sense of reality. ‘Reality’ was taken up by editors as the ‘new thing’.”
A result of this change of direction was a contributory factor in the termination of his contract with Vogue in 1938. In the ensuing years he took many war photographs, and a famous example of the then, still prevalent idea of ‘reality’ was this study (Fig. 7 above) of a model standing in a Paris courtyard. The look of the model and the clothes could almost be contemporary. She couldn’t be further removed from the high fashion models of earlier years. The photograph is almost of snapshot character, with very little attention wasted on artful arrangement of forms. The face appears exactly central in the frame, which doesn’t conform to traditional conventions. There is however, subtle evidence of the photographer’s eye – the natural light coming from above is at just the right angle to sculpt the model’s face.
Personally, I feel that the photographer wasn’t being honest with himself. A deliberate urge to throw out former principles and techniques, and go to another extreme, is perhaps a way of trying to prove his versatility or an attempt not to be typecast. Maybe the picture is a product of its time – after six years of gruelling war, people were weary, more concerned with making the best of meagre rations, whether food or cloth, than indulging in opulent fantasies.
By 1948, however, the elegance was back, revived by Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ collection of 1947. This image (Fig. 8), epitomises the return to grand style, but in a plainer, more direct way than in earlier decades. Eight models are posed in a neoclassical salon, talking and drinking cups of tea from dainty teacups.
There are three light sources, two shining in from the sides, and one very bright one placed behind the two models to the centre left. An additional, low key diffused light shines in from the left of the camera, illuminating very nicely the patterns of silken drapery. The lighting ensures a full range of tones from very bright to near black. Reproductions of this image in two different books turn out, on closer inspection to be not quite the same. The poses are almost identical, except for a couple of small differences.
This must indicate that considerable effort must have gone into placing the models in definite and highly stylised poses, artificial some would say. As we will see, there was a reaction against this which would leave behind the famous prewar photographers, and usher in a new, post war era of spontaneity.
In the meantime, Beaton had developed a more realistic style:
“The results of my experiments in this genre of photography were considered to prove that I had at last grown up, and had acquired a new sense of reality. ‘Reality’ was taken up by editors as the ‘new thing’ ”.
A result of this change of direction was a contributory factor in the termination of his contract with Vogue in 1938. In the ensuing years he took many war photographs, and a famous example of the then, still prevalent idea of ‘reality’ was this study (Fig. 7) of a model standing in a Paris courtyard. The look of the model and the clothes could almost be contemporary. She couldn’t be further removed from the high fashion models of earlier years. The photograph is almost of snapshot character, with very little attention wasted on artful arrangement of forms. The face appears exactly central in the frame, which doesn’t conform to traditional conventions. There are however, subtle evidences of the photographer’s eye – the natural light coming from above is at just the right angle to scupt the model’s face.
Personally, I feel that the photographer wasn’t being honest with himself. A deliberate urge to throw out former principles and techniques, and go to another extreme, is perhaps a way of trying to prove his versatility or an attempt not to be typecast. Maybe the picture is a product of its time – after six years of gruelling war, people were weary, more concerned with making the best of meagre rations, whether food or cloth, than indulging in opulent fantasies.
By 1948, however, the elegance was back, revived by Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ collection of 1947. This image (Fig. 8), epitomises the return to grand style, but in a plainer, more direct way than in earlier decades. Eight models are posed in a neo-classical salon, talking and drinking cups of tea from dainty teacups.
There are three sources, two shining in from the sides, and one very bright one placed behind the two models to the centre left. An additional, low key diffused light shines in from the left of the camera, illuminating very nicely the patterns of silken drapery. The lighting ensures a full range of tones from very bright to near black. Reproductions of this image in two different books turn out, on closer inspection to be slightly different. The poses are almost exactly the same, except for a couple of small differences.
This must indicate that considerable effort must have gone into placing the models in definite and highly stylised poses, artificial some would say. As we will see, there was a reaction against this which would leave behind the famous pre-war photographers, and usher in a new, post war era of spontaneity.
History of Fashion Photography – Page 3 – Norman Parkinson, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Erwin Blumenfeld, Richard Avedon
Norman Parkinson, (born in 1913) a contemporary of Beaton, also photographed the beau monde during the twenties and thirties, but, as he explains, with certain differences:
“I was hardly aware of other photographers’ work until I went to Harper’s, when I learnt about Steichen, Hoyningen-Huene, Durst and Beaton. But the women in their photographs were a rarefied few, an elitist handful. My women behaved quite differently – they drove cars, went shopping, had children and kicked the dog. I wanted to capture that side of women. I wanted them out in the fields jumping over the haycocks – I did not think they needed their knees bolted together. There was always room in a magazine for the scent-laden marble-floored studios with lilies falling out of great bowls of flowers. but there was also room for my sort of photography.”
(Norman Parkinson Lifework, page 35).
A good example of this type of portrayal are the next two pictures, both taken by Norman Parkinson in 1937. The first one (Fig. 9) has an irresistible quality of exuberance, 1930s style and femininity about it, but why is the image so successful? It would have been difficult to pose the models carefully, though the photographer might have asked them to ‘act out’ seeing someone on another boat, and waving.
In any case, the three poses are complementary, the left hand model is holding her left arm vertically, the middle one holding her left arm horizontally, index finger pointing upwards, the right hand model has a relaxed, leaning pose. The outstretched leg of the left hand model reaches over to the far side, close to the leaning model. The effect of the wind, the sense of movement and shifting balance, gives the image great dynamism, added to by the swathe of foam stretching from the bottom right to near the top left. But by what means was the photographer able to attain this pleasing arrangement in such unpredictable circumstances? Perhaps the gift of the photographer is to click the shutter exactly the right time:
“I was using, on location, my by-now faithful Graflex quarter plate camera, and was trying to make moving pictures with a still camera. many photographers who attempt this technique have come to realize that if you see on the ground glass the image you are striving for, and it is a moving or air-borne image, you are too late. The secret is to direct the shot and to have the luck to anticipate it. It was discovering that I had the exceptional good fortune to be able to do so that convinced me and I was hooked for all time on photography.”
(Norman Parkinson Life Work page 28)
Interestingly, the eyes of the middle model are exactly level with the horizon, and this is also a characteristic of the second picture by Norman Parkinson, showing a woman walking along a country track. The eyes are level with the horizon, adding an extra element of horizontality to the image. Again, the converging diagonals of the lane, going out of focus as they stretch into the distance give a sense of movement, added to by the brisk walk of the model. The pose is full of confidence. She looks directly to her right, along the line of the horizon, striding forward towards the camera.
The movement of the body and the texture of the material act together to dynamically portray the clothes.
A familiar and recurring issue in fashion photography, and perhaps photography in general, is the dichotomy between ‘realism’ and ‘artificiality’. At any one time, both have been in currency. The outdoor shots of Norman Parkinson were being made at about the same time as the posed and stylised studio works of Hoyningen-Huene. One photographer whose work was more at the romantic and impressionistic end of the spectrum was Lillian Bassman, a protégee of the legendary Alexei Brodovitch at Harpers, New York.
This image, (above, lower left) dating from 1949, and entitled ‘New York’, is timeless, almost contemporary in its look. With the depiction of a corset, we can see a return to more traditional, romantic vision of femininity. The image looks as if it was exposed sharp in the camera, but given a soft-focus effect at printing. There is slight double exposure, with probable use of a diffusing filter, or possibly an additional exposure was made out of focus. The pose has a sweeping sense of movement, the face and upper body are tipping forwards, the arms are pulling the strings backwards and upwards. The waist is tightly, painfully drawn in, to the extent that it looks unnaturally narrow. The tightness is contrasted with the looseness of the four hanging straps.
A moment is caught in time by the camera, a fleeting glimpse echoed by the reflection in the mirror.
At first the image looks primarily decorative, but in addition to beauty of form, a powerful feeling of constriction is expressed. Perhaps the fact that the photographer is female made her better able to empathise with how it feels to wear a corset.
Like Lillian Bassman, Louise Dahl-Wolfe also worked for Harpers Bazaar, and not long after her arrival at the magazine in 1935, was one of the first to use one-shot Kodachrome, which had just been brought onto the market. Many of her pictures feature swimwear fashion, and have a relaxed and luxurious feel, with tall, slim models in elegant, outstretched poses.
This shot by Louise Dahl-Wolfe (Fig. 12, above, lower right), made in 1950, has an attractive period feel due to the combined effect of the early fifties swimsuit style, and the yellowness of the colour balance, typical of early colour film. A familiar hallmark of this photographer is the reclining female model, the repeated curves of her body, and of the swimsuit material, set against the screen.
A rough division into vertical and horizontal thirds is visible. The bowl of fruit with tumbling exotic flowers recalls a still life. As if to contrast with the image by Hoyningen-Huene of the chic couple in swimsuits in an imaginary and unspecified location, this one is taken in a real-life place, as indicated by the map of Tunisia. The point of the star appears to indicate the exact place, a nice, cryptic touch.
The one photographer who more than any other came to symbolise the new direction which fashion photography took after the Second World War is Richard Avedon, who was born in 1923. He has been a leading figure in the world of photography since 1945, and is still active. He gained his first professional photographic experience in the Merchant Marine, taking ID photos. It was the innovative, ‘in-and-out-of-focus’ style of his shots of merchant seamen twins that caught the eye of Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexei Brodovitch, and persuaded him to try some fashion photos for the magazine. Soon, Avedon came to be regarded as the number one young photographer, creator of the ‘NewVision’.
Junior Bazaar, a separate edition, aimed at young people, ran for 3 years up till 1948, and featured a new brand of fresh and innovative photography, much of it contributed by Avedon. In its use of movement, the ‘in-and-out-of-focus’ effect, motion blur, cropping and the plain white background, we can see in this picture, (Fig.13 above top left) shot using Kodachrome, a startling break with many of the basic principles of photographers like Hoynignen-Huene, who by the time this photo was published, had given up fashion photography altogether.
Despite the apparently casual nature of the arrangement of the figures, the effect is very pleasing, and has a strong sense of circular, dance-like motion, a theme alluded to in the text. The profile of the model on the left forms a dark, chevron-like shape, pointing to the right – (the line of the back and rear of the dress forms a perfect arrow shape). The model is leaning back, looking up and laughing, whilst standing still, meanwhile the model further away is leaning forward, looking down whilst moving. The background model is looking down at the same angle as the foreground model is looking up. To balance the composition on the page, two leaf-shaped areas of dark colour have been added, again fitting in with the text. All in all, it is an attractive, vibrant image, which, at least in the case of the foreground model, shows off the clothes very well.
His style is described succinctly by Cecil Beaton and Gail Buckland:
“His pictures showed young ladies enjoying life to the full as they preened and jumped with joy in their Paris confections. Avedon’s photographs did not perhaps have technical perfection, and they were all the better for this, for they created the statement that he wished to make-of movement caught forever by his lens.”
The Magic Image, page 252
Dovima with Elephants (Fig. 14 above right) is one of his most celebrated pictures. The image is well-crafted, but its main appeal seems to be that it was the first time anyone had taken a high fashion model together with elephants. It had a certain shock value. Richard Avedon’s modernism, had sweeping effect on photography, and there was a consequent rejection of the earlier, more ‘classical’ style:
“By 1945, Hoynignen-Huene’s stiff, formal poses, perfectly attuned to the Neo-classicism of the 1930’s, suddenly seemed anachronistic…The most devastating critique of Hoyningen-Huene’s photography was delivered in 1944 by Dr Agha (formerly Hoyningen-Huene’s art director at Vogue) who described it as ‘a cross between stagecraft, interior decoration, ballet and society portrait painting done by camera.’ ”
Perhaps there is a parallel with the Post War Modernism in other areas of creativity, such as architecture, where older styles were thrown out, to be replaced by bold, but in hindsight unsuccessful creations. I personally have a very high regard for the ‘classical style’ of the 1930’s but I also like the exuberance of the post war period. Each style has its place. No successful artist or photographer should be rejected because of the dictates of fashion. In a Post Modern age, all styles of the past are available in the present to be drawn on.
Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969) was an experimenter in photography, who made creative use of colour and lighting. This picture (Fig. 15 above lower left) shows a remarkable use of texture and colour. A finished print appears to have been rephotographed with a series of coloured transparent bars placed on top of it. The effect is to play tricks on the eye, forcing us to look more closely in order to try and make sense of what we are seeing.
As if to confuse matters further, curled strips of cellophane have been added. The incorrect, but very attractive colour balance, typical of early Kodachrome, adds to the image’s appeal. Though the model’s face is cut into a series of distorted vertical strips, she still manages to look beautiful, at least, our eyes are able to reconstruct her beauty by applying our innate knowledge – maybe if this image was presented to a computer facial recognition system, it mightn’t be able to recognise a face there at all!
The combination of a familiar subject viewed in a jarring and unfamiliar way is, for me, like being a child again, discovering new textures and lighting effects for the first time – I remember being especially fascinated with coloured transparent materials, as well as metallic reflective surfaces.
Fashion Photography Essay – Page 4 – David Bailey, Jean-Loup Sieff, Javier Vallhonrat
Some images on this page were lost during the transfer to this new web page. I hope to place them in the text again.
By the time the ‘Swinging Sixties’ came along, the fashionable (and pretentious) photographer figure became a familiar stereotype. Even now, when an aspiring amateur reaches for his camera and puts on photographer’s airs, people say “Huh, who do you think you are, David Bailey?” Born in 1938, he is one of the few photographers that most people have heard of, and he is still active now.
(Fig. 16 above, lower right) is a casual, almost snapshot-like image, showing a model standing on the side of a New York street at a pedestrian crossing. We see the run-down, and fashionably grimy chic of Manhattan at street level, with lots of signs and lettering. A passer-by has been caught awkwardly on the right hand side of the lamp post. The model, of course, is Jean Shrimpton, in her celebrated ‘A-line’ pose, to match the shape of the outfit. This must be one of the most famous poses a model has ever struck, and came to symbolise a look of the early sixties.In this picture (above left) taken in January 1965 by David Bailey, another quintessential face of that decade is portrayed.. What it doesn’t say about the clothes, it makes up for in the tantalising glimpse we get of Swinging London. The camera is at a ‘swinging’ angle, and fashionable Hampstead Hill is seen silhouetted late in the day, with a tiny figure on a bench just visible.
Marianne Faithfull, looks into the camera with a distant expression, the stray wisp of hair and billowing dress, along with the clouds, alluding to a windy day. The diagonals make for a dynamic image, but it’s also dark and brooding, a deliberate effect done, I think, at darkroom stage. From the look of the clouds, the sun would appear to be fairly high in the sky.
Perhaps our pre-conceived notions about ‘The Sixties’ influence the way we interpret a photograph such as this – the photographer himself was annoyed at being labelled as the photographer of ‘Swinging London’:
“I always hated the King’s Road, really the whole thing was the creation of Time magazine” (quoted in Appearances, page 218)
I can’t help feeling though that this photograph is a window into a place and time I was too young to fully experience, and I wish I could climb through into it!
Quite a different vision from David Bailey, much more planned and controlled, is that of the Japanese photographer Hiro, who came to New York in 1954.
In this image (Fig. 18 lower centre left) we can seen an effect of disorientation caused by the raised viewpoint. The shapes of the clothes are like abstract patterns, or perhaps the flowing drapery of Japanese woodblock print. It reminds us of traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e art. Only the false eyelashes of the right model allow us to date this picture, which is otherwise timeless.
The lower left picture (Fig. 17 above) is also by Hiro. The striking thing about it is the oval shaped area of projected light shining onto on the model’s face from the side, and the areas of fluorescent colour in other parts of the image. The pose is initially confusing, and has the effect of an abstract pattern. Hiro uses very sophisticated design principles in his photographs of fashion models.
One of the more controversial photographers of recent times is Helmut Newton, born in Berlin, Germany, in 1920. He received his training in Berlin, but spent time in Australia and Singapore. He held an Australian passport and lived in Monaco and Los Angeles where he was recently killed in a car accident.
“Few photographers have managed to polarise the art scene on such a regular basis as Helmut Newton. It is split into those who are his fans, and admire his photographs, and his embittered opponents, who denigrate him as a fashionable passing craze, or as a woman-hater.”
Quoted in ‘Photographie des 20. Jahrhunderts’
His pictures, mostly set in expensive hotels, or on the streets of the chic capitals of Europe, feature tall, long-limbed women, often nude, some androgynous. Each picture features an action or situation, inviting viewers to imagine the before and after for themselves. This picture (Fig. 20 below, right) features a woman standing pensively in a man’s suit. There is a feeling of sexual ambiguity, with the slicked back hair, reminiscent of Berlin in the 1920s.
Like most of his images, this is in black and white, and the film is quite grainy, giving a slightly harsh, unromanticised effect. The Parisian back street is full of empty atmospheric eeriness. Perhaps the person has stepped out of the rear entrance of a hotel, or some other establishment, to have a cigarette and take a break, from what? What is she thinking about? And why is she dressed like a man?
The famous image by Helmut Newton of he chauffeur kissing his lady employer is tastefully scandalous in nature. The two have them have descended to a lower level, both figuratively and literally, and the photographer as voyeur catches them as if he were just passing.
The text forms a visual and linguistic pun too: The chauffeur is providing a different ‘service’ from the one on his job contract. ‘Servicios’ in Spanish means ‘toilets’ and this shot might have been made in Spain.
The controversial nature of the type of subject matter – sophisticated women, fashionable upper class milieu, raises questions concerning sexual identity, class, wealth, respectability, female beauty, and notions of good taste.
This photograph by Jean-Loup Sieff (born 1933) is similar to the style of Helmut Newton, but was taken in 1960. The model, Denise Sarrault, looks every bit the rich aristocratic lady or film star – as the photographer remarks, she is like Greta Garbo.
The image is full of symbols of class and power – the shiny Rolls Royce, the pearls and expensive clothes, and the chauffeur, standing to attention. The composition is simple, but brilliantly captures a moment of European hauteur and elegance.
In another Jean Loup Sieff shot, we return to a subject touched on in an earlier picture.
“It was the beautiful Anka, with her desperately tiny waist, who posed in this 1900 corset. In spite of her slim figure, she found it difficult to breathe.”
(Quoted in Jean-Loup Sieff Monograph, page 131)
Evidently so, as we can see in the pose and the position of the hands, the left hand one touching her hip awkwardly. The outline is uneven, and the material squeezes the waist and digs into the skin at the legs. We are left in no doubt of the discomfort involved in wearing it. An uncomfortable image, perhaps, but sexually arousing for some, and symbolic of an ideal of fin-de-siècle femininity which seems to live on as a symbol of Paris and French couture to this day.
The poignancy of the image is enhanced by the simple lighting, coming from a softbox to the left, with a plain grey background. The frame is tightly cropped, cutting out part of the arms, but focusing the attention directly onto the model’s hips and waist. The legs are slightly crossed to enhance the hourglass shape of the body.
As we near the end of this assignment, we approach closer to more contemporary times. One photographer who has featured prominently in the last ten years or so is the American, Matthew Rolston. In ‘Aly, Long Neck, Los Angeles’ (image currently unavailable) we can see what may be one of the first examples of the use of digital imaging in fashion photography. It’s typical of the playful, experimental and eclectic nature of fashion photography in the last decade or so.
A conventional head and upper torso shot of a model is transformed by extreme elongation of the neck, a hat covering the head, with an eye in the middle, which has a keyhole in it. Visually arresting it may be, but I can’t help thinking of a one-eyed ostrich! The transformational possibilities of image manipulation (digital or otherwise), are not put to use here in a way I like.
Despite an unprecedented range of technical possibilities at the disposal of today’s photographers, I can’t help preferring the more classic images of the earlier part of the century to the ‘anything goes’ style of photography one often sees in magazines today, though certain other examples of Matthew Rolston’s extremely varied work I like a lot, but unfortunately not the next one!
This composite (Fig. 25 below left) of Keanu Reeves demonstrates the arrival to the fashion photography of the eighties of a more sexual and physical approach to the depiction of the male, as seen here. Four closely cropped studies of different parts of the actors body are rendered in a sepia brown. Symbols of street culture – denim, a knife, a leather waistcoat, feature prominently. Just like Baron Demeyer, George Hoyningen-Huene, Richard Avedon and David Bailey, it captures an impression of the age, and personally I don’t like it!
I’ll conclude with the image by Javier Vallhonrat (below right) which appears on the cover of ‘The Idealising Vision’, showing a nude female model in a levitating pose, surrounded by a floating length of material, emanating a ghostly luminescence.
I liked this image initially for its use of light, but it has a puzzling fascination which is somehow a reflection of our times – the model could almost be a sculpture in a neon-based art gallery installation.
The glowing light, and the almost otherworldly, ectoplasmic nature of the material, may be evidence of current paranormal obsessions as exemplified in programmes such as The X-Files. The visual effects may well have been achieved by use of digital imaging, though they could also have been achieved by traditional techniques.
The italic f shape formed by the material also looks like some strange kind of other-worldly creature, which the model is riding like a horse. A suitably cryptic and futuristic image to conclude this assignment.
Footnote:
I would love to know the name of the photographer, the date they were taken and the name of the model. If you can help, please get in touch.