16th October Interaction

After getting 80 fantastic contributions to my first interaction, we managed to go slightly better this weekend, with a further 85. So many people said how much they enjoyed the opportunity to participate in an exhibition, something they had not experienced before, noting that events like this are usually geared towards children rather than adults. Contributions ranged between the surreal, the humorous, the poetic and the poignant.
I had some very enjoyable conversations about aesthetics, social documentation, voyeurism and the state of the nation (both UK and USA) with groups of visitors, many of whom stayed in the exhibition for a long time. There was even a group of local photographers from my first interaction who came back again to really get to grips with work and contributed to the spirited atmosphere of the afternoon.Thanks for coming back folks - you were great fun.
The exhibition seems to be hitting the mark with everyone: from the photo-purists who are delighted to get close to original prints of work that has hardly been seen in the UK (if at all), to the less initiated visitors who are being introduced to photographers who have influenced the types of images we take for granted now.

Talk that puts the psychological landscape of the American South "in context"

Richard Gray will be talking about what makes the American South different, special and even strange. He will be placing the photographs on display in the exhibition in the contexts of Southern history and mythology and, in particular, in the context of Southern literature - how writers from the region have created a place that seems to exist somewhere between the actual and the imagined.

Richard Gray is a Professor of Literature at the University of Essex, and the first specialist in American literature to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy.

Tickets just £5

To buy your ticket for this enlightening talk call the Box Office on 01424 229 111 or click here to book online

Photo: Susan Lipper, Untitled from the Grapevine Series, 1998-1992, Courtesy the Artist

Curator's Conversation

Photo: Alec Soth, Bonnie (with a photograph of an angel), Port Gibson, Mississippi, 2000, Courtesy the Artist/Magnum

Saturday 30th October, 2pm
Curator's Conversation

For a unique insight into the exhibition join a Walk & Talk with curators Celia Davies from Photoworks and the De La Warr’s Jane Won.

Tickets only £5

To book and for more information call the Box Office on 01424 229 111 or book online

Films this week at DLWP

Autumn Film Season
Free Documentaries and Feature Films
1 October 2010 – 3 January 2011

To accompany the exhibition Myth, Manners and Memory - Photographers of the American South, we present a film programme comprising documentaries and feature films that explore broad aspects of the American South.

Documentaries are Free, however the Feature Films carry a £3 charge. To Book a ticket please call the Box Office on 01424 229 111.

MORNING DOCUMENTARIES
11am, free

10 - 16 October
William Eggleston in the Real World
2005 Dir. Michael Almereyda
An award-winning documentary revealing the deep connection between the photographer's personality, his groundbreaking work and passions as musician, draftsman and videographer.

AFTERNOON FEATURES
3pm, tickets: £3

11,13,15 October
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1958 Dir. Richard Brookes 103min (15)
Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl IvesBased on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tennessee Williams.

10,12,14 October
O Brother Where Art Thou?
2000 Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen 108min (12)
Starring George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson
Hilarious comedy in which three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure.

16 October
God and Generals
2003 Dir. Ronald F. Maxwell 231min (12A)
Starring Robert Duvall, Stephen Lang and Jeff DanielsAn unforgettable story of the Civil War following the rise and fall of legendary war hero "Stonewall Jackson".

Season tickets can be purchased for only £35 for the whole autumn film season. Click here to buy Season Ticket

Click here to see the Autumn Film Season

For information and bookings call the Box Office on 01424 229 111

Saturday 9th October 2-5pm Gallery Interaction

What a glorious weekend. Thanks to everyone who took part in the interaction afternoon on Saturday. The gallery was very busy and as usual there was a diverse audience all engaging at different levels to a fascinating show. This was my first session on a Saturday for the De La Warr and I hugely enjoyed meeting everyone. The brief I set for this week was for participants to pick out objects within the images that they noticed as being relevant for either, how much they had changed, or how little they had changed, to the equivalent object that we might see today. I have included in this blog drawings that some of the exhibition visitors drew. For example Susan Lipper's photograph with the TV was a big hit in opening a dialogue with all age groups and all levels of visual understanding. This interaction session was hoping to instigate a deeper understanding of the images and develop the process of looking. Everyone was keen to discuss with me their choices and the relevance of the objects in both political, symbolic and historical terms. I had many engaging conversations with a number of gallery visitors who were interested in a very diverse range of topics; from camera types to film choices, printing techniques, cultural and identity politics, history, politics, advertising and so much more. The exhibition seems to be raising many questions about our relationship with photography and its reliance as a record of a place and its political history. Cant wait for my next session which will be on the 30th December where I shall be instigating some gallery discussions focused on the political implications of the photographs and their success or failure at representing history. Sorry if your image is not included I am limited by space.

Lift The Lid, Sunday 3rd October

The first Lift The Lid family drop in session working with Myth, Manners and Memory was brisk and brimming with ideas and energy. This exhibition certainly lives up to its title in what it evokes in visitors to The Pavilion.

This was my first Lift The Lid session. I was working with Natalie from the De La Warr and Corin Smith, who's doing a Duke of Edinburgh award. Their enthusiasm and enjoyment was perfect for the afternoon.

I asked people to look for details in the photographs and use them to create a collage, story, drawing or poem. Loads of interesting work was made in just 3 hours. I copied 42 of them! Here's a small sample of what we made (choosing what to put on this blog was very hard!).

Myth, Manner and Memory

Myth, Manners and Memory
Photographers of the American South

This exhibition brings together a number of prominent American artists who have, in various ways, engaged with the physical and psychological landscape of the southern states of the USA.

Combining historical and contemporary works, it is a collection of memorable images of this distinctive region, its people and their lives as seen by artists including Walker Evans, William Eggleston, William Christenberry, Susan Lipper, Alec Soth and Carrie Mae Weems. Some of the artists make images from being Southerners themselves, some from experiences of spending a considerable length of time in the South as an outsider, and some informed by the region's history and social issues.

This exhibition does not set out to define the American South but explores what is perhaps indefinable - the cultural complexities and tensions, the constant but unresolved dialogues between past and present, and the varying patterns of everyday life in the South that might, however elusively, constitute its sense of identity.