Tea For Two

This cute couple were in the window of the Art Gallery and Museum, also promoting Affordable Art. They look quite happy at the picnic waiting to tuck into their knitted cupcakes. I want the little rabbit! Sad, I know.

Affordable Art

These bright glass sculptures are in the window of Cheltenham Art Gallery And Museum. They are part of a display advertising Affordable Art in the Museum shop. The Everlasting Flowers are handmade by Gooey Glass, based in Lechlade-on-Thames in the Cotswolds, and are yours for £150 for the large one and £120 for the small one. I need art to be a bit more affordable than that!

Check out Steve Callender's work at Gooey Glass.

Banksy Statues

Today is the final day of my Bansky series and we are ending with some photos of his statues. If you want to see his art work and animatronics then scroll down to my past couple of days posts. The exhibit at Bristol Museum runs until the end of this month so if you are in the area, and don't mind queuing, then it is well worth a visit. Otherwise if it comes to a town near you make the effort to visit, you won't be disappointed.

"If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town."

Banksy

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Banksy Artwork

Today's little offering from the Banksy exhibit at Bristol Museum shows just a small selection of his artwork and stencil drawings. I have loads of photos that I could have shown you but these are a few of my favourites. Hope you like them too. If you want to see some of the animatronics check yesterdays post and come back tomorrow to see some statues with a difference.

"When you go to an art gallery you are simply a tourist

looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires."
Banksy

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Banksy Animatronics

As I mentioned yesterday, we went to Bristol for my birthday to see something very cool - the Banksy Exhibition! The exhibit of over 100 pieces of the mystery artist's work is taking place at the Bristol Museum until the end of the month. The event is free and the museum, unsurprisingly, has seen record numbers of visitors. We joined the queue at 10 am and three and a half hours later we were finally through the door! But it was well worth the wait.

Little is known about the elusive artist known only as Banksy. It is believed he was born in 1974 in the Bristol area, where his notoriety began to grow due to his skillful graffiti and stencil work that started to appear around the city in the late 1980's. Since these early days he has gone on to become an internationally renowned artist, with his creations springing up in London, New York and New Orleans to name but a few locations.

His exhibit brings together his art work, sculptures, installations and animatronics, all of which are very cleverly conceived and thought provoking through their humorous nature. Today I'll show you some of his animatronics. Below are some of my favourites, though there were many more that I could have shared.

"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."
Banksy

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Shoeshine

Here is another installation from the windows of the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, making up part of The Open West contemporary art competition. This piece is the creation of Henny Burnett and is entitled The Shoemaker's Shrine.

Burnett says "This installation is a response to Northamptonshire's shoe industry both past and present. The central piece consists of hanging cast latex shoes suspended in a cluster, each lit by its own pool of light. Entrapped within the translucent casts are various pressed flowers, field grasses and butterflies which make reference to the Victorian "secret Language of Flowers." A memorial to the shoe industry's Victorian heyday."

I liked this piece for its simplicity, though I'm sure it was far from simple to create.

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On The Edge

Its amazing what you find on your way to the library. All these little white plastic men were lined up in the window of the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum. The background was black so the window perfectly reflected St Matthews Church, opposite the museum. I've added to the art!

The installation is entitled On The Edge and was created by Swedish born artist Charlotte Jonerheim. She is one of 40 artists selected to exhibit in The Open West, a competition for contemporary arts. Submissions include film, painting, drawing and sculpture. Just seven of the entrants were selected to show their work at the Art Gallery & Museum, with all exhibiting at the Pitville Campus of the University of Gloucestershire. Over 2300 works were submitted by 380 UK and international artists. The exhibition runs until the end of the month.

Jonerheim says "Exploring detail is what often begins the process. I am not interested in an object per se, my fascination lies in its multiplication - in tens, hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands! An important aspect of my practice is the way I assemble my work. Grids, patterns and structure play an important role in transforming apparently insignificant objects into an entity in their own right which then attains its own object sense.My work is obsessive and time consuming, however I find a great sense of calm in repetition. My concerns also lie in the surface of my work. This can be manipulated by placing a small object in a specific order thereby creating an unexpected result."
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A Branch Of The Museum

I've managed to get one of my photos displayed in a museum! What do you think?

OK, its not real but it looks good, and that couple seem to be enjoying the my snow covered branches! I wasn't feeling very inspired for a post today, then I checked out Bibi's blog and my problem was solved. She had posted a similar photo, created with the help of Dumpr, the other day and I did the very original thing - I copied her! (I'm feeling lazy today, let me off.) Anyway, that's it really apart from the branches belong to the cherry tree, in front of my flat, covered in snow last week.

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The Planets Birthplace

"Welcome to Cheltenham's musical gem - the Regency terrace house where Gustav Holst, composer of The Planets was born in 1874. The story of the man and his music is told alongside a fascinating display of personal belongings including his piano. The museum is also a fine period house showing the upstairs downstairs way of life in times past, including a working Victorian kitchen and laundry, elegant Regency drawing room and charming Edwardian nursery."

This unassuming, rather unimpressive house is the birthplace of Cheltenham's most famous son. His statue was unveiled in town a few weeks ago and I promised to show you the museum dedicated to him. The opening paragraph of todays post is taken from the Holst Museum website. Click on the link below for more on the museum and some photos of the inside of this town centre terrace - http://www.holstmuseum.org.uk/

Art Gallery & Museum

Here it is then, Cheltenham's Art Gallery & Museum. Not very large, or even impressive to look at, but inside its very interesting. The Art Gallery was built in 1899, adjoining the Library on the left, after former Cheltenham Member of Parliament Baron de Ferrieres gave his collection of 43 old master paintings to the town. In 1907 a Museum was opened on the top floor. Although the building is the original I think the front must have been remodelled as it seems a bit too modern for 1907! (I've just checked - it was replaced with an extension in 1989.) Its free to visit the Gallery and inside there are numerous exhibitions and displays including an excellent history of Cheltenham, Dutch artwork, Jewellery and Costumes, and the award winning Arts and Crafts exhibit. The Museum links into the Library, giving more space for display, although a lot of the artifacts are in storage and can be viewed by appointment. Last year the Gallery ran a competition to design a new extension to the building, to be built to the right of the photo, replacing an area used as a meeting room. See the winning design at http://www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk/buildingforanewfuture/winner.html. Through its 100 year history the Art Gallery & Museum has had its successes and its failings but the future looks bright. I can't wait to see inside the new look building once construction is completed!

Arty Entrance

The sign above the entrance to the Art Gallery & Museum is quite funky for Cheltenham. I like the lettering (I think it lights up neon blue at night) and the metal work above the door is a sculpture in itself. The gallery isn't the biggest in the world but you'll have to check back tomorrow to see it in all its glory and find out more about the place. I'm short on time today!