9:19am Monday 12th October 2009
By Jim Greenhalf
Two new exhibitions open at the National Media Museum this month.
Flora is the title of Neeta Madahar’s latest photography project: ten new photographs evoking the style of Hollywood glamour photography from the 1930s-1950s period, drawing inspiration from the society portraits of Cecil Beaton and Madame Yevonde.
Then there’s Drawings That Move: The Art of Joanna Quinn, which looks back over 25 years of the career of one of Britain’s foremost independent animators, whose films and commercial work have earned her an international reputation.
The new photographs by London-born Neeta will be exhibited alongside a selection from earlier works from 2003 to 2008. The show marks the end of her 12-month tenure as the 14th Bradford Fellow in Photography.
The show’s curator, Greg Hobson, says: “Neeta’s practice is consistent in its creativity. We have been especially excited to see how she has drawn inspiration from our collection for this engaging new work.”
Neeta, whose degree in fine arts was gained in the United States nine years ago, came to public attention when the British photographer Martin Parr chose some of her pictures for a 2004 festival of photography in France.
She says the ten pictures that comprise Flora show a clear progression of ideas.
“Elements of the real world appear unreal and vice-versa, and viewers are transported into an imaginary fantasy, realm,” she says.
Joanna Quinn’s love of drawing and movement has resulted in a distinctive body of animation.
Wife Of Bath, part of her 1998 Canterbury Tales sequence, won both a Bafta and an Emmy. It was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Short category, as was Famous Fred (1996), her film for children based on Posy Simmonds’ picture book.
The forthcoming show will be the first-ever gallery retrospective of Joanna’s work at the National Media Museum.
Visitors will be taken on a journey, starting with the artist’s early drawings and animations, through to some of her very latest. Complementing her work will be examples of work ranging from James Gillray, Toulouse-Lautrec and Edgar Degas, to Steve Bell and Posy Simmonds.
Exhibition curator Michael Harvey, who set up the National Media Museum’s animation gallery ten years ago, says: “Joanna’s career, like that of her contemporaries such as Nick Park, was initially fostered through commissions from the BBC and Channel 4. In the Eighties and Nineties, they pushed British animators to the forefront of a whole new genre of animation for adults.
“It is a testament to Joanna’s talent that she has continued to build on this success, and we are delighted to be the first-ever venue to display a comprehensive exhibition of her work.”
Joanna will introduce a selection of her favourite animated films at the Bradford Animation Festival, from November 11 to 14.
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