EXHIBITION - Yorkshire Sculpture Park - ALICE PATTULLO

CONTEXT

Alice Pattullo has had a show on at YSP recently, 'Of House and Home', a charming celebration of heritage and tradition through print and illustrative objects. The main concerns running through Pattullo's exhibition are superstition and folklore, using illustration to reveal narratives of the past in a historical education told through image.

IMAGE

The line quality in Pattullo's work creates a sensitivity to her subject matter, delicate marks describing the pattern detail on fragile objects. Consistent throughout the exhibition was the application of a muted colour palette. Soft tones seem to compliment the traditional imagery and aged feel of the illustrations. 

Text and typography is also pivotal as Pattullo relies on narrative to carry the meaning and tone of voice of her images, particularly within the kitchen folklore prints. Hand writing sustains the naivety captured in line quality whilst also achieving a traditional aesthetic. In other images, Pattullo employs more structured typography, reminiscent of circus or fairground signs, only enhancing the playful nature of her work and the charming nostalgia it evokes. 

Pattullo's dense images capture every inch of the message she chooses to portray, often through very display orientated scenes and through typologies. The density of visual clues drives the narrative strength of the illustrations, particularly in the folklore illustrations. It seems that this almost diagrammatic approach to composition, often considering symmetry, channels Pattullo's concerns with the learning of the audience. She seems very keen to celebrate tradition and bring value to everyday objects through teaching her audience new values.

IDEA

Something that resonates with me most is the nostalgic tone of voice that Pattullo employs. She has an unchallenged commitment to heritage and her practice always demonstrates an awareness of stories and history. Knowledge seems to underpin all her work and I think it is this solid research that makes her illustrations all the more evocative and engaging to her audience. 

EXHIBITION - Chester Visual Arts Centre - POP ART

I stumbled across a gem in Chester; there was a V&A curated exhibition of Pop Art on at a small arts centre. It hosted a wealth of conventional Pop Art such as Peter Blake, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol but in a cabinet were some sketches and illustrations that Warhol had done for a recipe book; 'Wild Raspberries'. These illustrations seem so far removed from his common graphic, block colour iconographies. In sensitive ink and water colour, they explore a line quality unseen in Warhol's pop-art work. For a recipe book, these drawings seem to operate within the most immediate definition of illustration, to visualise written words, and for this purpose, they are so simplistic and beautiful.

The illustration above was my favourite on display as I found the charm of the slightly wonky line quality and painterly shapes so sensitive and perfectly balanced. The interpretive qualities of drawing here allow Warhol to create an impression rather than representative image which seems so sophisticated in its level of visual information.

This simplistic approach to drawing is carried across the book in a vibrant, yet muted colour palette, only enhancing the sensitive aesthetic of the wet media. I was similarly inspired by Blake's diagrammatic collages but this secret side to Andy Warhol was so surprising and made a very rewarding visit.