INTERVIEW WITH FINE ARTIST JOHN REDHEAD

 

Introduction from "For whom The Bells, The Bells toll; a meeting with John Redhead" by Brian Trevelyan.

To most people in the climbing world, John Redhead was best known as arguably the finest rock climber of his day. Some of his routes had to wait for up to ten years before a second ascentionist had sufficient madness or bottle (not to mention ability) to repeat them, and were characterised by lethal seriousness combined with cutting-edge technical difficulty. Many have had no third ascent and Margins of the Mind remains unrepeated, eighteen years on (“What does that say about the youth of today?”, says Redhead). However, his primary means of self expression was his painting; big canvases which mattered more to him than his climbing did, and which was a side of him hardly revealed to the often un-artistically minded climbing public.

 The Mary Station © John Redhead

 John Redhead is currently touring internationally with his multi media intervention - Remains of Languedoc. I interviewed him recently about his work.

The Cathar Forensic series - when did you create these?

Little more than a year ago I recorded some sounds at Montsegur (the last stronghold of the Cathars) - and took these raw sounds to the studio where I started to sketch - after three months I found the 'intent' needed to work the images into the sounds, evoking something of the energy needed to realise the paintings. From the start I have known that there are only about twenty works before the energy fails. It's limiting stuff! It's draining. Some artists play a style out and keep churning out, but that would make me ill - so that will be the sum lot! I will then involve myself with some other theme.

 God will recognise his own © John Redhead

How did you come to find out about the Cathars?

I have known something of the cathar situation for a while - I have a friend in the village who was the president of the Scottish Theosophical Society who is well versed in the 'Mary'/St John stuff and he introduced me to a book - The Blood of Toulouse by Maurice Magre (in French) - and I edited a section of this for an English translation - enthralling stuff and a better read than The DaVinci Code! This was only on paper though. Only recently did the landscape hit me. It's pretty obvious that something went on in the area...not just by travelling through it, walking the hills and seeing the sites - but the geometry and energy of the landscape - physical! I did a similar intervention in the slate quarries of Llanberis - again, the landscape having absorbed what went on there - Soft Explosive hard Embrace. Again, images conjoured up by the textural sounds found there.

 Detail © John Redhead

One of the pieces is entitled 'rape - a catholic tool' Why?

 The Cathars or rather 'The Pure Ones' (Cathar being a derogatory term coined by the catholics meaning heretic) believed in transcendance from the physical - they were trans-material. As such, the body, the earth, procreation were the result of the Devil. As there was no omnipotent God, they needed to free themselves (their soul) from this prison. For the Cathars, homosexual sex (non procreative sex) was preferred to marital sex. At that time the Roman Catholic church was the opposite and procreative sex (rape etc) preferred over non procreative sex.

 Cake or Death © John Redhead

Another is entitled 'God will recognise his own' - what is the religious significance of this body of work?

On the seize of Beziers a crusader asked the commander Papel Legate Arnaud- Amaury how to tell a Cathar from a catholic, the abbot replied "Kill them all, God will know his own". I keep my own feelings out of my work for the intent to work. However, if I were to take a personal approach, this saying sums up much of the problems that religion causes - and causes to this day.  Seven centuries later, what have we learned? Bullying a belief system onto others that are just 'other' still orders the world! 

 Rape - a catholic tool © John Redhead

 What are your own feelings about god?

I have a spiritual 'other' energy in all I have ever done! I am aware that a part of me is a microscopic part of the whole of creation and beyond - and connects me with everything else...this has nothing to do with god or religion. I don't have to have a belief system to understand a wrongness! The Kaballah makes sense to me - and other pre Christian gnostic stuff - the Uphanishads Hindu scriptures also, Buddism, The tao etc...Pagan ideologies! The shamanic influence is strong in my work. But I don't need any of it to make me aware of who I am and what to do - the spacecraft will appear soon enough!

 Detail © John Redhead

Is there still strong feeling in the region where you live in the south of France about the The anti-Cathar Albigensian Crusade?

I say that the Cathar forensic searches for fragments as much in the future as in the past. This area of Languedoc was the civilised, tolerant, educated part of what was to become France. The Cathars mixed with the muslims and jews to have discourse and share mutual source material. This ended with the crusade - and the fuedal lords of the north and King of france helped the Pope in disposing the Cathars of their land. French was only imposed on the region in 1700. All other tongues where expunged violently. Anyone who spoke Occitan was burned (remember that Richard the Lionheart King of England spoke Occitan as his common language). When genocide hits the land, the land does not forget..and more importantly with the soul of the people. Civility and chivalry died in this part of the world! Among the French they say this area of France is the 'arsehole of France. The French being generally intolerant and in my opinion openly racist this may have more to do with the Catalans - another race under the subterfuge of the French. The area where I live is historically and culturally Spanish (Catalunya) and now traditionally communist - from the Franco days over the border - Picasso stayed here! The Nazis were embraced here however as the mountain people adapted yet again to change. There is a strong Pagan element in the old folks here. Mary and John the Baptist are worshipped above jesus and the witches (the Bruixa) have their ceremonies. Some houses have larger facing stones on the walls to attract a witch to 'sit down'...and some have trident shaped forks on the apex to stop them (espanta bruixa). I have the exhibition showing in my village at the moment...the mountain folk are not used to art!

 Detail © John Redhead

Do you really believe that the divine message originally came from Zarathustra and was kidnapped by the church?

At the time we are talking about there were three strands of 'Christianity' - The Jew Jesus line, the Paulicians and the gnostic stuff. To me there is nothing 'divine' with Roman Catholism and the Jesus story is well dodgy! The gnostics travel way back beyond time and possibly hold the most of what was the essence of Christianity. The Cathars were certainly heretic because Catholism wasn't their Christianity! There is something to grasp with the Essenes, the Manicheans, Bogomils...ancient manuscripts for the church to die for! Religion holds no power for me... there is more power in a dog turd on the pavement! However, one must always read between the lines!

The Devil Seeks a Shoulder © John Redhead

Were you brought up a catholic and does this bear any relation to the work you're now producing?

My work is merely a response to where I find myself - I think the primary role of art is that of engagement with the community - not in a local sense but offer the potential of a wider, alternative vision...like offering a chariot to a stranger place! Having no 'axe to grind' or no picture to paint means that I am not fudged in the personal!  I am not an artist in the sense that I 'produce' paintings. It is an organic process, often slow and spasmodic, which I hope creates the potential for possibilities, dialogue and latitude. Is it a religious tenet to make the effort to understand oneself in the cosmos? In Hindu scriptures, it is one's duty to connect 'The city of Brahman' in one's heart to the cosmos. Is this religion or a way of life? I think religion can take you away from this goal...communication other than the literal is poetic - transformative. In Thailand it is considered  a duty to learn something new from a stranger every day! Anyone can make pictures to sell and the art galleries are full of style and products and concepts that are displayed like labels in the high street. Not my deal. There is no religious motive in this latest work, but being a religious subject with implication for today, religion informs it.

Ships of Bugaresh © John Redhead

Do you still climb?

The physical act of movement on rock is still important to me. Bouldering mostly on warm rock near the Med. The sangria is good for my old injuries!

The Mary Station © John Redhead

Was there any religious significance in any of your route names?

All my route names where significant! The religious aspect is in the eye of the beholder!  Religious in the sense that they were meaningful and thought out and related to the worship of a divine being? Hmm! Devotion to the superhuman? Religious in the sense of being a football supporter? Employing a certain poetic, some route names certainly had a divine quality! For instance, Margins of the Mind or Rite of Spring. Others were just pure filth! All is sacred.

Detail © John Redhead

What are your feelings about Llanberris? It seems to be a place to which you return time and again. Do you still consider it home?

Yep, Llanberis and its mountains are still home! When the evening sun reaches under the black clouds and spreads its luminous green light for all to bathe in - yes - you are home - and the sun embraces the Welsh hills every evening to die! As Augustus John said, "The changing skies reflect our temperament more so than a perpetual blue". It's also nice being in the perpetual blue on the Med, but after a little while I need to play with it and mix a little black reality in there! I'm not a tourist.

God Will Recognise His Own © John Redhead

How do you feel about living in France, up in the Pyrenees? Is it inspiring, artistically?

I'm in the process of writing a book called 'Colonists Out' - (from the political graffiti around Llanberis) exploring what exactly a 'home' is. This was inspired from moving out of Wales into the unknown and realising that we are all 'colonists'. As such our duty is to protect and nourish the land we find ourselves in. I am working in the Pyrenees much the same as I have always worked - be it living in Leeds or Liverpool or the Welsh hills. I don't portray the landscape in a romantic, wooly way - more inspired to interview that lone soul stumbling down the street or take recordings from a heroin addict in a doorway, or construct huge panels of painting and obstruct pathways in the hills! The only art this region of France recognises is that of hunting wild boar! The hunters are the artists! I came around a corner on a piste the other day and there on a stool slept a hunter with his finger on the rifle's trigger pointing my way...I stopped the van and approached him cautiously...he awoke with glee thrusting a bottle of pastis in my face! The church in my village is at an altitude of 666m - this attracts a few alternative types! 200 years ago the church steeple colapsed killing some of the congrigation...on the French side you have Ceret where Picasso lived and on the Spanish side you have Figueres where Salvador Dali lived - Franco woz ere, Pan's Labyrinth was filmed here, Naploeon fought wars here, the Nazis were welcomed here - the Jews escaped into the hills here - this is all history. This does not inspire me as an artist, but informs me - possibly creating a template to work with and reach into and draw a body of work out. I am mostly working with sound here - the area has a musical tradition. I feel my next work will be on the Spanish side (who are more tolerant and engaged with the arts at every level) for a 'bruixa' (witch) theme! Perhaps barcelona which is only one and a half hours away.

Death To Civility © John Redhead

Tell us about the soundscape 'dead room chiseller'

Dead Room Chiseller. My new project! A sonic exploration in loss and suffering.

 Five tracks taken from recordings of the homes and from the voices of those in  suffering from loss.  For some, a loss can become unbearable, and the living space a torture cell of times and moments and actions of the past. It seems a ‘sticky’ land of hauntings and negative thoughts, where one is unable to travel through to new possibilities. This land is entered and life stops.

 All buildings have a presence, and for me the hauntings are part of a sculptural sound that has dialogue with a mythological landscape. This ‘virtual’ land has its origins in the very heart of the home and through visualisation and intent its auditory aura can be meaningful. Giving ‘tongue’ to this skirmishing connects beyond the subjective and personal. I believe such a manifestation can help dissolve the torment and ablate the woeful state of loss.

 This mapping of souls is a kind of sonic mourning, a digital keening that can evoke a unique sense of perception, not only of the world but of your immediate environment and living space.

 For me these ‘songs’ have a certain musical imagery and may be familiar or suggestive. Death and the field of parting is certainly a subject for the ‘banshee’ to enter and pull out some meaning and hope and renewal.

 This canvas is not just a song, but a song sung before the mystery of time.

© John Redhead

Did you see The Culture Show special about John Lydon? In it John talks about composing music through the grief he was experiencing. Have you ever felt any kindred feeling with John Lydon or his work?

Don't see the culture show - I don't watch TV - no time and no reception!

Would you ever consider working with other musicians? Musicians like John Lydon or Jah Wobble, say? Or do you prefer to work alone as a musician?

I am not very good at working with others! Something about me. I have tried and will continue to collaborate if it suits. Certainly the soundtracks that I do have an interesting place on the musical energy spectrum but perhaps need to be brought into the wider arena - this is where working with others helps...I tend to 'tangent' my energies to work on other projects...I have five or six at any time! I lack organisational skills and have a poor memory! My big truck that moved me to the Pyrenees has gone back to Earth after having been parked up on some land belonging to a friend (Gilad Atzmon from the Blockheads!) I finished a series of huge paintings in it as part of the 'Interview with the Streets' project and finished the soundtrack (using Gilad's sax sounds), 'Hero Gone Bent' a textural city soundscape with the transcripts from girls working the streets (two have since died) - this was four years ago...and I haven't been in the truck since!

Dead Room Chiseller - A sonic exploration of loss and bereavement - five tracks of recordings from the homes and lives of those in suffering...sonic mourning...

A Cathar Forensic - Words, images & sounds from Montsegur to Rosslyn - “Kill them all, God will recognise his own.”

Exhibition Dates:

Sunday, 15 February 2009, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 at Galeria Kokopelli, Placeta Sant Antoni, Sant Lorenc de Cerdans, France 66260

LLAMFF 2010,  5th to 7th March, Llanberis, Wales

INTERVIEW WITH ME, JUDE CALVERT-TOULMIN, FOR AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDY

A friend of mine writing a dissertation for her degree has interviewed me for her coursework. The interview is below. If you would like to be interviewed on this vital subject then contact me asap and I will put you in touch with the author of the work.

More interviews, filmed and written, with documentary filmmakers and with me, coming up over the next few months...

How has your age changed the way you perceive yourself over the years?

My knowledge and wisdom have made me feel more powerful, but have also made me more aware of the injustices perpetrated upon women, and of how vulnerable I am to inequality in this patriarchal society.

How do you think other peoples perceptions have changed as you have aged?

It depends on the gender. Women aren't as viciously competitive towards one another when they get older. They tend to stick together more to help one another as we're all in the same boat, having endured a lifetime of inequality and ill treatment from men.

Older men are definitely much more threatened by me. In my teens and twenties, there was a default setting for how I was treated by men. They were condescending, abusive, violent, sneering and lecherous. So called friends, family, employers, almost every man I dealt with. Those who were respectful and admiring were in a pitiful minority. Now, younger men are more respectful because I'm the same age as their mothers, but with breasts that aren't taboo in an incestuous sense, therefore I scare them. Only the strongest younger men are able to deal with me on an equal footing; Older men are generally just scared and use condescension as their armour. I feel much more powerful now that I'm older but just as many doors are shut in my face. Men are free to be good-looking, intelligent, talented, outspoken and old without being sneered at, denigrated, labelled or vilified. Women are not.

Have you ever been or suspected you have been the subject of ageism or has somebody you know i.e; a colleague? How did this effect your/their self esteem?

I'm the subject of ageism the minute I walk into the street. It doesn't affect my self-esteem because I was treated even worse when I was younger when men abused my gullibility. Now at least I have the power of wisdom.

If so how much of this do you think is down to the media, or other factors? What factors?

Above: Moira Stuart - too graceful to say  "But you didn't sack David Frost."

The media are to blame for much of the perpetration of ageism towards women. No physically unattractive, doddery 65 year old woman would be allowed to anchor a breakfast programme on one of the main TV networks as David Frost was allowed to do on Breakfast With Frost. Newsreaders such as Angela Rippon, Anna Ford and Moira Stuart were all herded off our screens due to being too old. They were all physically attractive older women who would not have lasted as long as they did had they been as physically unattractive as David Frost.

  David Frost. Allowed to be on TV despite his age and looks.

Is there a glass ceiling that exists for women still?

Of course. Look at the key figures sitting round the table at any international convention of heads of state. They are nearly all older men, most of them balding and unattractive. A convention of ugly older women making decisions about the state of the world would never be tolerated. A woman's main currency is still beauty. A man's currency is power and money. Unless women abandon their children to child minders, which means abandoning one of their fundamental roles in life, nurturing, loving, caring for and teaching their young, then they will be years behind in any future career, which, even aside from society's prejudice, will mean they have less power than men.

In what ways do you feel the double standard between women and men as they age is perpetuated by the media? (e.g Michael Douglas marrying Catherine Zeta Jones was fine, Joan Collins marries much younger man and people raise eyebrows)

It is wrong, it is damaging to society and it is time that women rose up and put a stop to it. The Suffragette movement in England was only a hundred years ago; there is still a long way to go. And in many countries women are still enslaved and physically and mentally abused in male dominated societies.

Are women to blame in any way for the ageism that occurs?

Buying into the expectations of society and getting plastic surgery in a vain attempt to look younger is buying into it, but you can't blame women for their insecurity. It's hardly surprising we're insecure. Our power, the power to have blood pouring out of us but still continue to work, to have a creature growing inside of us and then emerging into the world, putting our life and its life at risk, is ignored and marginalised whilst men trumpet their power undergoing pursuits such as mountaineering as "fighting the elements" making them "real men" when really these are just selfish hobbies to entertain themselves.

However we need men, to fertilise our eggs, to hunt and build and fight wars. And to be big warm furry teddy bears to cuddle at night. I love men individually. It is the male domination of society I abhore.

What advantages does your femininity bring you within your line of work?

None. As a male writer and publisher I would be taken far more seriously. As a female writer of erotic fiction the fear invoked has held me back. Local radio and TV won't touch me with a barge pole at the moment because I'm not family viewing. Maybe because my erotic novel, Mother-in-Law, son-in-Law is in celebration of the sexuality of older women; a totally taboo subject.

Have you ever omitted your gender because of the ageism/sexism that exists (i.e online forums, or omitting your first name from any publications)

No. And I never will. I've always posted on forums under my own name or a recognisable pseudonym linking to me and always posted/written as a woman. I once ventured onto a completely male dominated forum full of supposedly well 'ard climbers, defending myself against vicious cyber bullying by cowardly males protecting themselves with either anonymity or the power of being a mod, whilst I posted as a woman under my real name. Who's a big strong brave boy now, eh? You can read about that in my novel My Adventures In Cyberspace.

Do you think there is a scientific basis in ageism – i.e youth and beauty will always be preferred? 

Youth is preferred as a criteria for reproduction. Women who have already produced families and grand-children should not be judged by these criteria and should be judged on their wisdom, experience and what they can give to society. The fact that the resource of women has been so wasted is one fundamental reason why our civilisation is in decline.

Beauty is preferred to sell products, including magazines and films. In terms of finding mates, if all else is equal, men and women tend, I believe, to gravitate towards those on an equal scale of attractiveness. However ugly rich powerful older men tend to seek out weaker younger poorer beautiful women.

There have many examples of ageism in the media recently, for example the Alesha Dixon / Arlene Philips story (Strictly Come Dancing), (Moira Stuart BBC Newsreader) what is your take on them?

I don't watch soaps, Strictly or X-Factor but I do watch the news. Moira Stuart was a talented and popular BBC newsreader. Dumped from the TV at a beautiful 55, whilst Frost dodders and dribbles on at an ugly 70. It is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong wrong. It is sexist, it is ageist, and we are all putting up with it. If a woman chat show host had been responsible for sexually related slurs on an elderly man's grand-daughter on the telephone as Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand were, then she would have been sacked for good and far more widely vilified than they were, not let off with a temporary ban like Ross, before walking back into her overpaid job which costs the BBC millions.

Should ageism be taken as seriously as racism or other forms of discrimination?

Yes. The BBC should be punished for sacking Moira Stuart for a start. However the BBC do have Nick Fraser as the commissioning editor for their Storyville documentary series on BBC4 so they are forgiven for that alone.

Do you think the media will continue to oppress women more or less in the future? (Do you think your daughters will face the same hurdles)

It will get worse. In the UK, girls of 7 are prancing around in mini skirts and mascara. Young, powerless, skint women are lured and ensnared by men with power and money the world over, and prostitution is the oldest profession in the history of mankind. Women are doomed.

Having said that, I adore my daughters, my son and my husband equally as human beings. It is mankind, that earth-infesting virus, which is a horrible little scourge on our planet, rather than individual human beings.

Are the government doing enough to stop ageism/censor ageism in the media?

Of course not. But the rungs of the political ladder are made from greed, corruption, lies and a voracious power-hunger; the government only care about the other boys in their tree house ie the bankers, the lawyers and politicians. On the door of that tree house is a scribbled sign saying "No girls allowed unless you've sold your soul to the devil like Thatcher."

Link: Maev Kennedy for The Guardian about  newsreader Moira Stuart. Media celebs question BBC decision to dump one of its older female newsreaders.

INTERVIEW WITH SCULPTOR GUY PORTELLI - POP ICONS

Entrepreneur James Caan and Guy Portelli with Jimi Hendrix in aluminium, bronze and mosaic.

Guy Portelli at work. Guy is a council member of the Royal Society of British Artists.

Sculptor Guy Portelli's Pop Icons exhibition at The Mall Galleries, London, opens to the public on Thursday 25th June 2009. Partly funded by Theo Paphitis, James Caan and Peter Jones, three entrepreneurs from BBC TV's popular Dragons Den, this is the largest exhibition on the theme of the Pop Icon ever staged in the UK.

Here's part of the invite to the private view (yes that's my name amongst an illustrious bunch of exhibitors - I've been asked to exhibit three limited edition photographs of the beautiful, sultry Sade) - and below is an interview I recently conducted with Guy about his work.





Above: Guy's pitch on Dragon's Den.


Jude Calvert-Toulmin: What was the most amusing thing to happen during your appearance on Dragons Den?

Guy Portelli: When I realised that I was standing in front of these wealthy and high powered/high profile people and I had to choose what to do...quite amusing!


Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Were you nervous?


Guy Portelli: Yes

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Have you seen Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield's spoof of Dragons' Den for Comic Relief? What did you think of it?

Guy Portelli: Yes we saw it - excellent takeoff of the characters and their mannerisms - good entertainment!

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Do you listen to music whilst you work?

Guy Portelli: Working alone yes - or Radio 4, otherwise if I have others with me it's usually their choice of station...

Guy Portelli's Bob Marley in bronze

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Do you keep abreast of current new music or like most of the rest of us listen to old favourites from your youth?

Guy Portelli: Both really - lots of old favourites but always on the look out for new music; I listen to a lot of Latin American - more innovation coming from abroad I feel...

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Do you have assistants in your workshop studio?

Guy Portelli: Yes - usually two - last week up to five!

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Do you prefer to work alone?

Guy Portelli: Yes for the creative side, no for the production.

Guy Portelli's Material Girl, Nickel Plated Bronze, Swarovski Crystals

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: I notice you use Swarovski crystals in several of your pieces - Material Girl & Frank Sinatra, to name a few. I am crazy about Swarovski. Have you seen the de Art crystals in this season's new Swarovski range? They're asymetrical. What do you think of them?

Swarovski de Art crystal AB

Guy Portelli: I have seen a few - their Gt Marlborough St Shop is "bling" heaven!

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: What do you think about Swarovski generally?

Guy Portelli: Expensive but good.

Guy Portelli's Sade, bronze.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: You use a lot of bronze in your work...

Guy Portelli: I have done in the past but now using cast aluminium with nickel or gold plating.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: What is your favourite material to work with and why?

Guy Portelli: Bronze remains the classic material for sculpture and a number of my Pop Icons pieces are bronze.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Have you ever used ungrouted smalti in your mosaics or have you mainly used Italian glass tessarae? Would you like to use smalti in the future if you haven't used them so far?

Guy Portelli: Yes I have used it but find it hard to grout - but it produces some interesting effects.

Dichroic glass cabochons by dichroic artist Debra Collins of Toffeeglass Dichroics

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: How do you feel about dichroic glass?

Guy Portelli: I have not used it so far...and havent researched it so can't really comment.

Dada Movement: Erotique Voilée (Veiled erotic Meret Oppenheim) by Man Ray

Dada Movement: by Meret Oppenheim, constructed with fur from a Chinese gazelle. Oppenheim is also often credited with coining the phrase " Nobody will give you freedom, you have to take it"

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: How important is the Dada movement as an influence in your work?

Guy Portelli: I dip in and out of every art"ism" to put together combinations of images and styles - no one movement is favourite - but I do like Italian sculpture of the 50s.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Me too, especially Murano glass!

Two pieces by legendary Italian glass sculptor Walter Furlan

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Do you mentally construct an entire piece before physically assembling it? How much of the creative process occurs during the actual making of the piece?

Guy Portelli: I usually have the first few stages resolved at the outset but rely on watching the work unfold to give the last few magical elements.

Above: Guy Portelli with his Eagle Gates in bronze, metal and stone. ""The gates weigh around 2 tons worth of bronze, and are possibly the largest set of gates privately owned"

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: How long did it take you to make your wondrous and magestic Eagle Gates, from mental construction to finished piece?

Guy Portelli: Approximately 18 months - 2 months were spent researching eagles' anatomy and how they moved before starting the gates.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: What material would you like to work with that so far you haven't worked with?

Guy Portelli: Gold

Deadwood and Delaware Smelter at Deadwood, Dakota Territory.
Taken by legendary Western Frontier photographer John C. H Grabill, 1890. Grabill donated 188 photographs to the Library of Congress between 1887 and 1892.


Placer mining at Rockerville, Dakota. Old timers, Spriggs, Lamb and Dillon at work.
1889. Part of the John C H Grabill Collection.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: The mosaic artist Martin Cheek is often hailed as one of the leading mosaic artists in the UK, and has been a huge influence on my own mosaic work. Are you familiar with his work and what do you think of it? He has recently been expanding his working method using fused glass as key feature pieces in smaller mosaics, I wondered what you think of this new work?

Madonna, by Martin Cheek.

Guy Portelli: Thank you for introducing me to his work - I think the Byzantine pieces are the ones I feel suits his style best - I think what he does is more difficult than what I do!

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: Is glass a material with which you'd like to experiment more in the future?

Guy Portelli: Yes, I have done a few small pieces with glass in the past but would like to do more.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: What are you most looking forward to about your upcoming show at the Mall Galleries?

Guy Portelli: Getting it all finished, dressing the gallery.

Jude Calvert-Toulmin: And what aspect is the most daunting?

Guy Portelli: Talking to lots of people!

Below, the Pop Icons exhibition as reported by the BBC.

INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID WINGE

Note to the dozens of climbers viewing this article: My live online interviews with legendary climbers Johnny Dawes, John Redhead and John Dunne, and my published articles for climbing magazines On The Edge and High can be found here.

© Bill Helm

A year ago I decided to write a novel to cater for the number of people arriving on this blog having googled the key words "mother in law son in law sex". I spent the spring writing the novel, handed it over to my editor, then pored through hundreds of photographs on deviantArt, waiting for that one photograph to jump out at me as the cover.

As soon as I set eyes on Tree Shadows, David's beautiful shot of model Nora Saenz, I knew I'd found the one.

© David Winge
Above: Tree Shadows

After my own input in Photoshop and Illlustrator, the end result was below. You can buy the novel on Amazon here in the UK or here in the USA.

So many people have commented on the stunning David Winge cover that I thought I would interview David for the blog. Here's what he had to say.

Jude: Hi David. What do you think of the final book cover result?

David: It's wonderful, and honestly it is a shot that almost didn't get posted, Nora picked it out. It was a result of Nora wanting to do some images in a more figure study style, as you know I tend to work more in landscapes where my model is part of the overall scene and not necessarily
the main subject in the photo. After the shoot we were reviewing the results and she saw this image and immediately asked me to edit and post it.

© David Winge

Jude: I understand you got into photography by restoring old family photographs. Can you tell us a little about that?

© David Winge

David: From the time I was very young I had a keen interest in old photographs, historical photos, old family photos and I would come across old family photographs but because of the age, original materials, storage and quality of these images they were often scratched, faded or damaged. I was learning to work in a darkroom and found I could actually photograph these images using my 35mm SLR camera and then using darkroom techniques, touch them up and enlarge them. I began a little restoration program and many of these redone photographs hang in the homes of my relatives today.

© David Winge

Jude: Was the first nude portrait you ever did in the desert? Or were you photographing desert landscapes first?

David: I have not been photographing nudes for very long, only about 3 years now, I was starting to photograph more and more in recent years and my candid shots of people were receiving wonderful reviews. Someone suggested I find a model to work with and try to expand on my ideas and concepts. Using landscapes for me goes back all of my life, then I discovered the desert in the early 80s and travelled out there often when I played the drums for a band whose
founding members lived in the Mojave just north of Los Angeles, CA.

© David Winge

Nudes in the desert was a natural collaboration of these two, the first several models that I met were wonderful and very creative people, I feel very fortunate to have found them and those first photographs we shot were amazing. After a couple of trips out there working with nudes in the desert I was hooked, I remember one specific instance while editing our work, I had to pause, I could hardly believe that I had helped create such beautiful images.

© David Winge

Jude: You have been quoted as saying "Putting clothes on a model is akin to putting a parking lot over a field of flowers." I love this quote, because it sums up for me one of the beauties of your work, your appreciation of the natural beauty of women's bodies. I had an article published in the final ever issue of prestigious climbing and mountaineering magazine, HIGH, entitled Tits vs. homo-Eroticism at the Crag, arguing that if men were allowed to take their tops off whilst rock climbing, so should women be. The article caused storms of controversy on the British climbing forums. Do you think women should be permitted the freedom to take their tops off in public just as men are? Why do you think that society still demands that women cover their breasts? After all they are beautiful, men love them and they nourish babies.

© David Winge

David: Thank you, that quote was born partly from frustration at attitudes and in my opinion nudity should certainly be a choice, I find it quite twisted that society equates nudity to something wrong or bad and especially something illegal except in very private locations. That said, this does not mean I would enjoy a ride in a crowded bus full of naked strangers, what I mean is I find it so ironic that we place a high value on classical paintings and statues depicting
nudes done by historical masters but deprive ourselves of this expression. Who and what are these laws and morals protecting? I don´t see that laws against nudity have done
more good than harm.

© David Winge

Another favorite quote of mine is from Peter McWilliams, "The laws against public nudity make no sense. The idea that Jerry Falwell can go topless while Cindy Crawford cannot is an absolute affront to logic, common sense and the 5000 year human struggle for aesthetic taste."

© David Winge

Jude: Another thing I love about your work is the fact that you so obviously have a lot of respect for women. By photographing naked women in stunning landscapes, are you trying to emphasise the fact that nature is beautiful, and just as no one would be ashamed of a mountain, no one should be ashamed of the bodies nature gave us? Or am I reading too much into it! At any rate, what inspires you to photograph nudes in desert landscapes?

David: This is it exactly Jude, my intention is to share the natural beauty I see, and I wouldn't mind at all if it changed a few attitudes along the way. My hope is that when people view my work they are able to see past the model and see the harmony of beauty in a natural setting, I would hope they see how we are part of it all.

© David Winge

Another factor is the desert itself because I feel we sometimes equate nudity with vulnerability, it is part of my goal to show the glory and strength of the human spirit. And I do have a great deal of respect for my models not only are they out there in remote areas of desert, in all kinds of weather and temperatures, at odd times of the day but they do all this nude and for the purpose of creating art.

© David Winge

Jude: One of the reasons I love Tree Shadows so much, which I used as the basis for the cover of my novel Mother-in-Law, Son-in-Law, is the interplay between light and shade. So how important is chiaroscuro in your work?

© David Winge

David: I try to remain aware of shadows, especially my own! Seriously, shadow plays an important role as does the lack of shadows, in photography I use shadows to add dimension and sometimes to add a level of drama. Nora has such a beautiful shape, in Tree Shadows it was Nora who chose that location, I found that using more shadow than light helped to soften the overall image and to further enhance the depth of field, to make her smooth skin appear in the image more as it does in real life.

© David Winge

Jude: How important is texture in your photographs? How important is the difference between the texture of the model's skin and the texture landscape's skin in your work?

David: This is where I just love the desert for my work, there is an abundance of textures, and shapes in the desert, I try to use both in a sort of interplay along with contrasts and light and appearance of the model.

© David Winge

Jude: I have heard top rock climbers say that they become physically aroused by their interaction with the rock, and climbers use many sexual innuendos when describing climbing, often referring to rocks as women and lovers. Do any of your models become aroused by the feel of the rock?

David: I hadn't heard this before, but honestly I would be so busy setting up to shoot I probably wouldn't even notice, though I have had a couple of models want to start a naked rock climbing club, so there may be something to this!

© David Winge

Jude:How important is the relationship between photographer and model?

David: I believe this is important, however also dependent somewhat on the type and genre of the work, the more creative and edgy the goal of the image the more important this relationship becomes I feel. I look at other photographer´s work regularly and I feel I can see a certain dynamic between certain pairs, now others may not believe this to be true and I myself didn´t believe it at first. I was under the impression that as two professionals getting remarkable images was something quite consistent regardless. But over time now I have come to realise there is something intangible going on as you move closer to the artistic side of photography, for myself it came in the way of improved images the more I work with someone and better images depending on our level of enthusiasm about the project.

© David Winge

Jude: I know from my own experience that being photographed naked is a form of making love to the camera, and that an electrical spark must happen between the photographer and model for the shoot to work at its best. Does this spark always exist between you and your models?

David: I'm afraid my answer may be disappointing to your readers, if by spark you mean a creative spark then yes, if you mean something more intimate than I have to say no. My time on location at a photo shoot is most often somewhat exhausting, I am constantly watching for the location of the sun and the type and style of terrain I want to use, the distant background as well as the models placement in setting up a shot. I'm conveying the emotional feel and at times the pose to the model and I am concentrating on my composition as well as the shadows, light and field of view.

The extremely naughty Fleur De Lys Publishing PA, "Honey Higginbotham"

Jude: Have your photo sessions ever led to further intimacy with a model?

David: Not yet unfortunately, should I have the opportunity to work with Fleur De Lys PA, the enchanting Ms. Higginbotham....however!

© David Winge

Jude: Have you ever fallen in love with any of your models?

David: No, I haven't, but this is an interesting question that I've been asked before, it seems there is a misconception about relationships when nudity is involved, people in general equate nudity with sex and this is far from the case. At least for me it is, there must be a good degree of trust in the relationship and mutual respect as artists, though I haven't fallen in love, I do love and have become good friends with several of the models I've worked with.

© David Winge

Jude: Have any of your models ever fallen in love with you?

David: Well, there was one early on and we dated briefly, I spend most of my time scheduling, planning and shooting then editing images so it fizzled out in short order, I just couldn't devote the time needed to sustain a relationship.

© David Winge

Jude: Have any of your models met one another? If so under what circumstances and how did they get on?

David: They meet all the time, many are good friends of each other, in fact one of our local photo studios has been doing a meet & greet style open house one day a month for some time, several of the local art photographers and models meet up there. At times there may be 8 to 10 of the models I've worked with all there at the same time. It's really a wonderful fellowship of artists and like-minded people.

Jude: Does your partner get jealous of your work?

David: I'm single, for me it's not that easy to date anyway, not only do I have a very busy schedule and limited time, very few women my age understand my desire to go with young women out to remote locations and photograph them nude.

© David Winge

Jude: When I asked for your permission to use your shot Tree Shadows as the basis of my book cover, how did you feel?

David: Oh I was thrilled, I doubt 5 seconds elapsed in between the time I read your message and sent a message to Nora, I knew she would be thrilled as well.

© David Winge
Above: This shot of Nora inspired Chapter 6 of Mother-in-Law, Son-in-Law, "Cleaning The Window" where Alex lays on the bed fantasising about his topless mother-in-law being outside his bedroom window, cleaning it.

Jude: Have you read Mother-in-Law, Son-in-Law yet?

David: Yes, yes I have.

Jude: What did you think of it?!

David: It's a wonderful read, I couldn't put it down! Well, a couple of times I had to. I especially love how you developed the characters and I followed right along with them and it was so easy to see the scene play out in my mind. I love how the plot developed over a period of time, everything didn't just happen at once but more methodically with a sense of things growing between the characters, no pun intended ;) What I also found very interesting was that you included some of your inspirations and influences at the back of the book, I saw that we have more than a few things in common.

Jude: I personally feel that your model Nora Saenz is one of the most stunning nude models I've ever seen. She has a vibrancy which sings with electricity. Can you tell me what it's like, working with Nora?

David: Nora is wonderful, I met Nora through another model I was with at the time, Nora had seen our work and wanted to work with me, she hadn't modeled nude prior to our first shoot. Though you wouldn't know it, we did a few shots in a field of desert wildflowers near dawn then drove further out into a low portion of the Colorado desert known as Pinto Basin, by the time we left that second stop she was a natural. She genuinely enjoyed our shoot and that must be some of the vibrancy you see in her images, photo shoots are such wonderful creative outlets and she is also a painter, so I think this was a natural extension of her creativity, almost from the beginning she was sharing ideas which made our shoots more like true collaborations.

Jude: And finally, when is your long awaited book Desert Nudes coming out?

David: I so wish I had an answer to this question, it spent 2 months with a graphic designer who has given up on the project, so now I have to start all over and find someone to help me put it together.

Most of my work can be seen on the following websites:

http://www.pbase.com/dwinge

http://dwingephotography.deviantart.com

David Winge interviewed by Chris St James on the highly regarded Univers d'Artistes

And finally: me climbing topless in protest at women not being permitted the same freedom as men to remove their tops. When it was published in the climbing press, this photograph caused nothing short of hysteria on the British climbing forums, with little boy climbers who probably hadn't shagged anything other than their hands for a very long time, publicly slagging off both me and my breasts in dozens and dozens of separate threads.

My Adventures In Cyberspace II, the second of a trilogy of novels inspired by my experiences on the net, is due for publication in September 2009...