It's not a Book Club...it's a Look Club!
It's not a Book Club...it's a Look Club!
It's not a Book Club...it's a Look Club!
It's not a Book Club...it's a Look Club!
We are often told that we live in a ”visual culture” and it’s true. Home and away, we are surrounded by imagery, from TV and internet screens to advertising posters. We are also told it makes us more “visually literate” than previous generations. Perhaps!
Albert Irvin and J.M.W. Turner - experimenting in art, a Look Club discussion!
Then we go to Art Galleries where we often, if we’re honest, find ourselves strolling past, or, in some case, being swept past by the crowds, whatever’s on display. So the Friends of the Whitworth set up a Look Club, meeting in the Gallery once a month to stop, look and talk about a piece of art. It’s a free event for Friends, part of what we offer in return for the very modest subscription that enables us to support the Gallery**. Someone starts off the conversation. All opinions are listened to and considered. Then we head off to the Cafe to share a large table and continue the conversation.
The Look Club in the Time of Covid19
Covid19 was not going to stop us. Our Look Club has been taking place on Zoom - no trips to the Gallery’s lovely Cafe, sadly, but still plenty of great conversation. One of our recent "Looks" was at work in the Whitworth Collection by young Afghan artist, Arshi Irshad Ahmadzai (see cover image). On. another occasion, artist Juliet Jones, took her camera, and us to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, for a virtual tour of the exhibition of Portuguese artist, Joana Vasconcelos.
Marilyn(2009/2011); Joana Vasconcelos, Stainless Steel
We are now looking forward to returning to the Gallery. If you want to know more about our Look Club, listen to our members. We asked some of them why they liked it and this is what they told us:
“I like the invitation to look at something I didn't know or thought I didn't like with some guidance helping me to give it an hour's informed attention. That goes on for a lot longer than an hour and often wins me a new treasure.
Unless you are still a student, you don't often concentrate on one picture or one artist for that long in a gallery and then test tentative new opinions with equally interested friends. Nobody disapproves or shows off ..... it's lovely.
Hard to tell you how much I value it!”
“I like to take time to look at a piece of art with friends to simply talk about it .We see so much we would not otherwise have seen and it is wonderful to have tapas and a chat afterwards in the cafe. “
“It gives me insights into a range of artists that are often new to me. There is richness in the diversity of the art forms it covers and I always learn something. I also like the fact that there are references provided if I have the time or interest to explore an artist further. The zoom calls work well, everyone's thoughts are respected and if you have nothing to add at the time that's also fine. It certainly offers a connection to the gallery that we have all been missing.”
I like it because I get to discuss what I feel about the art being looked at with other like-minded people, it's more interactive than a lecture.
“Why do I like the Look Club? Stimulation, awakening, conversing and socializing (Zoom can't replace the gallery, but pretty marvellous), exposure to something one might not choose to look at and explore, challenging, fun. To discover the wealth of information on the web and the knowledge that people around us have is a privilege.”
I am a beginner at art and art history, so the Look Club is a great learning experience for me. My art horizons have been expanded by listening to members views and experiences. I am inspired to think about artists and works which I would not have spent time with otherwise. ‘Back in the day’ it was lovely to meet in the Gallery: now, through technology and thanks to the Zoom sessions, one can still feel connections.
I learn more about the painting, the sculpture or whatever we are looking at than I could possibly learn on my own. It is great to hear the opinions, comments, knowledge, teaching from others - and I like to be given the references before a meeting so that I can also learn on my own about the artist.
And I have got to know other Friends much better and had the opportunity to continue a discussion in the Café. Zoom is different from meeting in the gallery - but also makes for an interesting hour.
If you would like to know more about the Friends of the Whitworth Look Club and be added to our mailing list, write to us at [email protected].
** If you would like to join the Friends of the Whitworth, to take part in our activities and to support the Gallery, its collections and its work, you can do so on this website. Membership starts at £27 a year or £45 for 2 people at the same address. We are an organisation run entirely by volunteers so all our proceeds go to support the Gallery.
We are often told that we live in a ”visual culture” and it’s true. Home and away, we are surrounded by imagery, from TV and internet screens to advertising posters. We are also told it makes us more “visually literate” than previous generations. Perhaps!
Albert Irvin and J.M.W. Turner - experimenting in art, a Look Club discussion!
Then we go to Art Galleries where we often, if we’re honest, find ourselves strolling past, or, in some case, being swept past by the crowds, whatever’s on display. So the Friends of the Whitworth set up a Look Club, meeting in the Gallery once a month to stop, look and talk about a piece of art. It’s a free event for Friends, part of what we offer in return for the very modest subscription that enables us to support the Gallery**. Someone starts off the conversation. All opinions are listened to and considered. Then we head off to the Cafe to share a large table and continue the conversation.
The Look Club in the Time of Covid19
Covid19 was not going to stop us. Our Look Club has been taking place on Zoom - no trips to the Gallery’s lovely Cafe, sadly, but still plenty of great conversation. One of our recent "Looks" was at work in the Whitworth Collection by young Afghan artist, Arshi Irshad Ahmadzai (see cover image). On. another occasion, artist Juliet Jones, took her camera, and us to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, for a virtual tour of the exhibition of Portuguese artist, Joana Vasconcelos.
Marilyn(2009/2011); Joana Vasconcelos, Stainless Steel
We are now looking forward to returning to the Gallery. If you want to know more about our Look Club, listen to our members. We asked some of them why they liked it and this is what they told us:
“I like the invitation to look at something I didn't know or thought I didn't like with some guidance helping me to give it an hour's informed attention. That goes on for a lot longer than an hour and often wins me a new treasure.
Unless you are still a student, you don't often concentrate on one picture or one artist for that long in a gallery and then test tentative new opinions with equally interested friends. Nobody disapproves or shows off ..... it's lovely.
Hard to tell you how much I value it!”
“I like to take time to look at a piece of art with friends to simply talk about it .We see so much we would not otherwise have seen and it is wonderful to have tapas and a chat afterwards in the cafe. “
“It gives me insights into a range of artists that are often new to me. There is richness in the diversity of the art forms it covers and I always learn something. I also like the fact that there are references provided if I have the time or interest to explore an artist further. The zoom calls work well, everyone's thoughts are respected and if you have nothing to add at the time that's also fine. It certainly offers a connection to the gallery that we have all been missing.”
I like it because I get to discuss what I feel about the art being looked at with other like-minded people, it's more interactive than a lecture.
“Why do I like the Look Club? Stimulation, awakening, conversing and socializing (Zoom can't replace the gallery, but pretty marvellous), exposure to something one might not choose to look at and explore, challenging, fun. To discover the wealth of information on the web and the knowledge that people around us have is a privilege.”
I am a beginner at art and art history, so the Look Club is a great learning experience for me. My art horizons have been expanded by listening to members views and experiences. I am inspired to think about artists and works which I would not have spent time with otherwise. ‘Back in the day’ it was lovely to meet in the Gallery: now, through technology and thanks to the Zoom sessions, one can still feel connections.
I learn more about the painting, the sculpture or whatever we are looking at than I could possibly learn on my own. It is great to hear the opinions, comments, knowledge, teaching from others - and I like to be given the references before a meeting so that I can also learn on my own about the artist.
And I have got to know other Friends much better and had the opportunity to continue a discussion in the Café. Zoom is different from meeting in the gallery - but also makes for an interesting hour.
If you would like to know more about the Friends of the Whitworth Look Club and be added to our mailing list, write to us at [email protected].
** If you would like to join the Friends of the Whitworth, to take part in our activities and to support the Gallery, its collections and its work, you can do so on this website. Membership starts at £27 a year or £45 for 2 people at the same address. We are an organisation run entirely by volunteers so all our proceeds go to support the Gallery.
Comments & Discussion
No comments to display