With close family connections in the area, memories of childhood seaside holidays down on the beach and an affinity for the work of local luminaries Augustus and Gwen John, painter Paul Butler appears to be a perfect fit for a residency at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery in Pembrokeshire.
But his stay in south Wales is in complete contrast with previous residencies he’s fulfilled for the London Borough of Hounslow and the two months he spent underground sketching men and machinery at the former Maltby Colliery in Yorkshire.
“The agreement with the Arts Council England specifically saw me providing an insight into what it meant to work down a mine but the work here in Tenby is all about my own personal history,” says Butler, who’s aiming to produce work that shows a non-traditional view of a seaside resort.
“Most work associated with towns like this tends to concentrate on the aesthetic of landscape and sea, the picturesque. If you Google images of Tenby, the results tend to show the same view over and over again. I wanted to show the contrasts, the elements and rocks, the driving drizzle and the breakers on the south beach, not the usual postcard stuff.”
Butler is spending some of his residency in the museum’s stone outhouse, which offers just enough room to swing a pencil.
“I’m at the top of Castle Hill with Tenby spread out below," he says. "It’s perfect; I go out and take photos and ideas start to emerge. It’s like a laboratory, really.”
Interested art lovers, amateur painters, students and passers-by are invited to watch him at work for two hours some afternoons. As the former head of painting at an art college, Butler is used to such scrutiny although he feels that his chopping-and-changing techniques might be an eye-opener for some.
“People tend to think of painting as a craft, which helps you realise an image and the idea a process may be more exploratory than that can be quite new to them," Butler says. "Working like this can be a bit inhibiting as you’re aware you have to have something to show them so you can feel obliged to make sure there’s always something visible and accessible.”
Residencies have proved to be very positive experiences for the museum, says its collections manager Mark Lewis.
“The interaction adds an additional dimension to both the visitor experience and the educational side of our work," he says. "Advertising an artist’s presence also makes people aware of interesting projects going on here.”
Lewis is careful to ensure the artist’s creative juices are able to flow unhindered.
“We also ascertain before agreeing anything that a residency would not cost the museum financially – a major factor in this economic climate - and that the work produced would be suitable for audiences of all levels and ages,” he says.
Vicky Clarke and David Birchall, collectively known as Noise Orchestra, are artists-in-residence at the National Media Museum in Bradford for the Light Fantastic (18 July – 1 November), a project inspired by the 1920s Russian avant-garde.
They have been making paper stencils based on shapes found in objects from the museum’s photography, TV and cinematography collections, including photosniper cameras (a mix of camera and rifle) and the crystal skull from Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World.
Beams of light are run through the figures to create sounds using photosensitive Theremins, while special cameras hooked up to their drawing tools enable visitors to watch them at work on a giant screen.
A short film showing the pair in their studio in Manchester also helps audiences gain a greater understanding of what they do, says the National Media Museum’s exhibitions manager Amanda Chinneck.
“Noise Orchestra are not film-makers so it was not something that would have come naturally to them but we felt really strongly that this kind of interpretation was really useful,” she says.
“The film shows them working, talking about their practice and what inspires them. If you come in ‘cold’, drawing with light might appear to be a difficult concept but if you can see it right in front of you on a screen it all makes sense.”
Visitors can work with the artists in workshops to make stencils. The culmination of Noise Orchestra’s residency will be a concert performance at the museum on 31 October made up of the sounds produced with the objects.
But his stay in south Wales is in complete contrast with previous residencies he’s fulfilled for the London Borough of Hounslow and the two months he spent underground sketching men and machinery at the former Maltby Colliery in Yorkshire.
“The agreement with the Arts Council England specifically saw me providing an insight into what it meant to work down a mine but the work here in Tenby is all about my own personal history,” says Butler, who’s aiming to produce work that shows a non-traditional view of a seaside resort.
“Most work associated with towns like this tends to concentrate on the aesthetic of landscape and sea, the picturesque. If you Google images of Tenby, the results tend to show the same view over and over again. I wanted to show the contrasts, the elements and rocks, the driving drizzle and the breakers on the south beach, not the usual postcard stuff.”
Butler is spending some of his residency in the museum’s stone outhouse, which offers just enough room to swing a pencil.
“I’m at the top of Castle Hill with Tenby spread out below," he says. "It’s perfect; I go out and take photos and ideas start to emerge. It’s like a laboratory, really.”
Interested art lovers, amateur painters, students and passers-by are invited to watch him at work for two hours some afternoons. As the former head of painting at an art college, Butler is used to such scrutiny although he feels that his chopping-and-changing techniques might be an eye-opener for some.
“People tend to think of painting as a craft, which helps you realise an image and the idea a process may be more exploratory than that can be quite new to them," Butler says. "Working like this can be a bit inhibiting as you’re aware you have to have something to show them so you can feel obliged to make sure there’s always something visible and accessible.”
Residencies have proved to be very positive experiences for the museum, says its collections manager Mark Lewis.
“The interaction adds an additional dimension to both the visitor experience and the educational side of our work," he says. "Advertising an artist’s presence also makes people aware of interesting projects going on here.”
Lewis is careful to ensure the artist’s creative juices are able to flow unhindered.
“We also ascertain before agreeing anything that a residency would not cost the museum financially – a major factor in this economic climate - and that the work produced would be suitable for audiences of all levels and ages,” he says.
Vicky Clarke and David Birchall, collectively known as Noise Orchestra, are artists-in-residence at the National Media Museum in Bradford for the Light Fantastic (18 July – 1 November), a project inspired by the 1920s Russian avant-garde.
They have been making paper stencils based on shapes found in objects from the museum’s photography, TV and cinematography collections, including photosniper cameras (a mix of camera and rifle) and the crystal skull from Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World.
Beams of light are run through the figures to create sounds using photosensitive Theremins, while special cameras hooked up to their drawing tools enable visitors to watch them at work on a giant screen.
A short film showing the pair in their studio in Manchester also helps audiences gain a greater understanding of what they do, says the National Media Museum’s exhibitions manager Amanda Chinneck.
“Noise Orchestra are not film-makers so it was not something that would have come naturally to them but we felt really strongly that this kind of interpretation was really useful,” she says.
“The film shows them working, talking about their practice and what inspires them. If you come in ‘cold’, drawing with light might appear to be a difficult concept but if you can see it right in front of you on a screen it all makes sense.”
Visitors can work with the artists in workshops to make stencils. The culmination of Noise Orchestra’s residency will be a concert performance at the museum on 31 October made up of the sounds produced with the objects.