Categories: durham
Date: 15 April 2010 05:38:17
I think it was Philip Yancey who talked about recognising the grace moments, that is seeing what is around you in a moment and thanking God for it. I am sure that various saints down the ages have also said similar things, just in different ways. Yesterday afternoon this was easy to do.
It was transition day, i.e. the day Third Party returned home early evening and so I took the afternoon off in order to take full advantage of a last few hours without the teenager/parent dynamic going on. I decided to drag TOH off on a v. cheap adventure. Taking a detour via the Cathedral Restraunt to pick up a little tub of ice-cream each we headed for the river bank. Sitting on a bench eating the ice-cream, by the river, watching the rowing boats and walkers pass the daffodil trumpets and trees which are budding was beautiful. Wandering back along the river path, without looking at a watch worrying about having to be doing this or that, it was possible to notice the poetry carved into the bridge and the inscription on a bench that I normally missed.
This approach of just wandering also led us down by the Old Fulling Mill, now a museum linked to the Archeology department. The sign outside advertised an exhibition by The Pitmen Painters who included Norman Cornish and Tom McGuiness. Knowing, with a Durham Student Card entry is free, (and not too expensive if you don't), we headed in. The downstairs which TOH had never seen before is an interesting "old skool museum" with various bits of County Durham and Northumberland's heritage on display. Bits of Roman Stone and Tudor Coinage give a flavour.
Anyway, we headed on upstairs and discovered the most delightful exhibition. This Journal Live article tells you a bit about the Pitman Painters, but basically they were miners who became artists, mainly painting the communities and mining life they were familiar with. There were two main groups: The Ashington Group and The Spennymore Settlement. The groups, that grew and flourished in the mid-twentieth century were based on the idea that access to art and culture helped and should be accessed by working class communities. The paintings on display at the museum showed some of the fruit of these projects and some amazing, beautiful paintings. It was strange though, these are almost ghost paintings. Whilst quite contemporary they are paintings of mines and mining which over the last 30 years have been lost and covered over, to be replaced by retail and windfarms.
I think this is an exhibition, if you are able you should visit. Firstly, it contains some thought provoking and beautiful art. Secondly, though it shows the value of accessible, adult education and evening classes - something being lost in our current climate. The Workers Educational Association played a key role in these movements, and much of the art wouldn't have been there without their work. They were giving people a second chance and opportunities to nurture talent they may not have been able to as youngsters. These pictures, and this art came out of life experience. These artists developed their talents, largely, as adults. Our current squeezing of the education system means many of these types of classes are being lost or being made inaccessible, through price, to the working class man and woman who is employed on a low wage. People do need to be able to develop IT and literacy skills, but they also need to be able to develop passions and artistic interests. In our attempts to measure "value for money" let us not forget that.