Page 40 - Phonebox Magazine July 2016

Olney Camera Club
AIs it Art?
n exhibition “Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age” at the Tate Britain explores the relationship between photography and painting before 1914. The two images are from the
exhibition, courtesy of the Tate Britain.
“From today, painting is dead!” It is said these are the words of the French painter Paul Delaroche when he rst saw a daguerreotype in 1839. The exhibition that opened recently at the Tate Britain examines how painters and photographers interacted in the rst 75 years of photography.
Fortunately photography did not kill painting, but the rst photographers found it hard to establish themselves as artists, possibly as their art form was quite limited by the technology available. There was no colour until the autochrome process became widely available in 1907.
Thomas Frederick Goodall (1856-1944) The Bow Net 1886 Oil paint on canvas 838 x 1270 mm National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery
Olney Riverfest 2016
The Olney Group
he Olney raft and duck race is back, this time bigger than before and bringing you a day of fun lled activities to keep the family entertained! So join us on 3rd July for the rst Olney Riverfest!
The event kicks off at midday in the festival eld north of the Swimming Steps on the Olney Recreation Ground, with activities including Shetland pony rides, crazy golf, laser battle eld, reptile handling plus various craft stalls showcasing our local groups and businesses. The duck race gets waddling from the Emberton Park weir at 1pm where they will hopefully be safely out of the way by 1.45pm when we launch the raft race, the rafts making their way down river to nish at the Swimming Steps.
In the festival eld the festivities continue, with a range of music acts performing throughout the day on our main stage, as well as a dancing troupe or two! There will be a fully licensed bar and lots of food stalls to keep you fuelled for the many activities going on at the grounds.
Thomas Frederick Goodall 1856-1944 and Peter Henry Emerson 1856-1936 Setting the Bow-Net, in Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads 1885, published 1887 Book – open at ‘The Bow Net’ Photograph, platinum print on paper 300 x 420 mm (book closed) Private collection
Many painters recognised that photography offered a chance to collect studies easily, although this could easily lead to the accusation of copyism. In the case of Atkinson Grimshaw he used photographs as a shortcut to speed up production, and painted straight onto the photographs. However at this time night photography was not possible, so Grimshaw translated daytime photographs into night time scenes. The exhibition at the Tate Britain is a cornucopia of beautiful photographs and lovely paintings of the period it covers. The interaction of photographers and painters is fully explored and the exhibition explains the images in an interesting and thought-provoking way.
“Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age”, is at the Tate Britain, London, SW1, until September 25th.
Towcester Competition
The annual competition between Olney and Towcester Camera Clubs took place recently. It was a closely fought result but Towcester beat Olney 328 to 322 points.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is on 27 July at 8pm in The Olney Centre. It is a talk by Frank Ash about Henri Cartier-Bresson. All welcome.
And remember to keep an eye out for the colourful bunting and art installations dotted around the grounds that have been created by various members of our local community!
For further information contact the Olney Group on our website www.theolneygroup.org or our Facebook page: “Olney Riverfest”. See you there!
40 Phonebox Magazine | July 2016