NM on the Hockney Volunteers Group on 'Mr Hockney In Hull' blog (July 2011)
3 months ago at the Warhol Preview at Ferens Art Gallery, I spoke to NM about how back last Summer when we shared our enthusiasm for Celia Birtwell, Ossie Clark and 60s fashion in general, I would never have imagined that enthusiasm would lead to me sharing that enthusiasm with the public through 'The Times They Were A Changin'' exhibition (40,000 visitors and counting). Although Birtwell & Clark are not mentioned in the exhibition (my text about them was sadly cut from the fashion text panel due to space restrictions), anyone visiting the exhibition may be interested in discovering how their relationships with Hockney influenced his art and life. I certainly credit NM's encouragement to write about them for the Mr Hockney In Hull blog and sharing our enthusiasm with giving me the confidence to keep writing and start my own blog. I've re-printed my original Mr Hockney Birtwell posts below, and hope our friendship lasts as long as theirs has...
When Celia Met David
b
Celia Birtwell was interviewed in 'Lula' Magazine by Celestine Cooney and was asked:
How did you meet David Hockney? Why do you think you ended up being the subject of many of his paintings?
"I met David in 1968 through a friend Peter Schlesinger. David was a Yorkshire lad, I was a Lancashire lady and we just clicked. I think we had similar family backgrounds, they were both quite eccentric. I find him very intelligent and very funny, I think he finds me funny too, so there is a mutual understanding."
"Uuh nuuh luvvie..."
There is a great interview with Celia Birtwell on the Telegraph website. As well as describing her hilarious impression of David Hockney (that's where the title's from!), it reveals that she introduced him to technology in the first place, so we have her to thank, indirectly, for all the art he's produced via his iPhone/iPad (including the initial plans for 'Bigger Trees Near Warter')! The fabric to Celia's left (and our right) in the photo accompanying the interview was designed by Hockney for Birtwell's new fabric collection. There is a great picture on the Decorex website of curtains made from the fabric, as well as the other fabrics in the collection. How fantastic would the curtains draped across the entrance and exit to ''Bigger Trees Near Warter' at the Ferens have looked in Hockney's 'Grand Punchinellas' fabric?!
NM commented: Oh CM, it would indeed have been great to have the fabric for the Ferens! The above cushion (Punchinellas & Milson Ticking Square Cushion) in Mr. Hockney's fabric can be purchased here http://www.celiabirtwell.com/products-page/?product_search=david+hockney
Still In Vogue after 26 years
After subscribing for 13 years, it's still exciting to hear a new issue of 'Vogue' thud through the letterbox. And even more exciting still to see an article in the contents on this blog's inspiration, and the woman who has been written about most on this blog too, the equally inspirational Celia Birtwell. I've loved digging out my old issues to re-read articles for the purposes of this blog, as well as discovering NM is a fellow Vogue hoarder and discussing them with her. And, for the first time, be right in sync with' Vogue'! And while we curse ourselves for not buying that iconic Celia cover 1985 Paris Vogue (I'd only recently stopped reading 'Twinkle' magazine back then, and it did become a collectors' item after only 3 months.' Vogue', not Twinkle), the fact that both Hockney and Birtwell are still in 'Vogue' and the closest of friends after all these years speaks volumes about them both as artists and friends.
While I'll try not to spoil it for you, and would encourage you to go out and buy Christopher Simon Sykes' book (which the article was about) yourself, I will say that I was delighted to discover new insights about Hockney and Birtwell's enduring relationship. Not least that they were friends with the other's partner (Birtwell was friends with Peter Schlesinger and Hockney with Ossie Clark), rather than each other initially and yet it is their subsequent friendship which has survived. Christopher Simon Sykes quotes Hockney saying that "(Celia) is very, very sympathetic and she knows how to make me laugh. She plays with words, which I like, and she has a sense of the absurd. We got very close and I suppose I was in love with her". Simon Sykes observes that "Her gentle feminine side strongly appealed to Hockney...As they comforted each other, he began to transfer the feelings he had for Peter on to her." Of Hockney, Birtwell says "I think he found we spoke the same language about his unhappiness and broken heart, so he used me as his confidante...He's been very supportive, encouraging me to be brave and show my talent. We have a really good friendship..I like my relationship with him. He makes me laugh and he thinks I'm quite funny. So that's good." While the article never makes clear the exact nature of their relationship when Hockney was imortalising her in his art most prolifically (and it's none of our business anyway), it is fascinating and deeply inspiring to observe how two visionary, iconic working class northerners who dreamed of bigger things went on to influence the worlds of art and fashion and each other, continuing to this day.
(NM commented: I have one question, Twinkle Magazine? Its a new one on me, it was all Bunty and The Four Maries when I was a kid!)
No comments:
Post a Comment