Social Realism & the Art of Colin Moss ARCA
Social Realism & the Art of Colin Moss ARCA Colin Moss was a social realist [who] applied firm draughtsmanship and the forceful vision of European expressionism to the docks and terraces of his native Ipswich. There he drew and painted scenes of ordinary life -...
Ipswich Art Society – Ken Cuthbert at 90
Ipswich Art School Gallery, High Street, Ipswich, running till the 30th June. An engaging mini-retrospective exhibition of the work of Suffolk artist Ken Cuthbert features as part of this year’s Ipswich Art Society annual exhibition (now in its 142nd year). Back...
Shout it from the rooftops; drawing is back!
Having been out of fashion and overlooked for several decades, perhaps not by artists but certainly by art schools and art dealers, drawing is once more being celebrated for its role at the heart of artistic practice. Drawing is what makes art “tick”. It “includes...
Kiss & Tell about Plaster Casts
When Colin Moss was training at the Royal College of Art in the 1920s, drawing was an integral part of his education - and intensively taught. His Board of Education Drawing Examination was, in his words, ‘very difficult indeed’. One test involved drawing a figure in...
Concealment & Deception – the Darkest Hour
At the start of the war, the Germans already knew where many of Britain’s important industrial targets were situated. Recruited exclusively from the most talented artists of their generation, the aim of the Leamington-based camouflage officers (“camoufleurs”) was the...
Ipswich cinema through the lens of an artist
Cinema in Ipswich Post war Ipswich had five main cinema buildings, some of which were purpose built, plus several halls and theatres which regularly showed films. Few people owned a television and so The Gaumont in St Helen’s Street (now known as The Regent Theatre)...
The Camoufleurs and their work
In 1939 Colin found secure employment with the Air Ministry before being transferred to the Ministry of Home Security. Looking back on that period in 1990, Colin commented “they knew the war was going to happen and they knew that they were going to need to camouflage...
Ipswich – A Town of Bicycles
“Ipswich was a town of bicycles. In the 1950s it was supposed to have more bicycles and motorcycles per head of population than any other town in the country. There was a wonderful wave of workers coming out of the factories …. They had the Bull, the steam whistle...
Ipswich Cattle Market: Then and Now
For many years, Tuesday was market day in Ipswich. The thriving livestock market saw cattle, sheep and pigs being auctioned. The streets surrounding the market area thronged with people and the numerous pubs in the area (now all closed) did a roaring trade on market...
How do you Camouflage a Power Station?
Design and deception in World War Two At the start of the war, the Germans already knew where many of Britain’s important industrial targets were situated. The aim of the camoufleurs was to “confuse a pilot at a minimum of 5 miles distant and 5,000 feet up during...