Newcastle? Well, yes. That’s where I am. It’s a slightly strange experience, and I am reminded somewhat of Sting’s song, An Englishman in New York. We are here for a couple of days (in my wife’s phrase) “to see what there is”. Apart from anything else, we’ll go to the theatre and tour the sites with an old friend.
After lunch I set out to (what else?) inspect the local art gallery …. The Laing. Walking about the place, I felt rather as if I were in the capital of some minor European state. It’s not quite English. It is a grand city that has certainly looked after its nineteenth century heritage better than either Leeds or Bradford. The first thing we noticed almost was that the Cathedral looks more like the one in Edinburgh than an English church. The station has definitely got a metropolitan appearance.
The sense of unfamiliarity was confirmed for me by The Laing. It made a point about the regional relevance and interest of its art. It featured the artists’ colony at Cullercoats (a nineteenth century northern answer to St. Ives, or perhaps more accurately, an English Kirkcudbright.) A large part of the material on display had regional relevance, either in its subject-matter, or the provenance of the artist.
I learned something because of that. I had certainly never associated Victor Pasmore or Richard Hamilton with Newcastle. The gallery also has a fine selection of work by the nineteenth century visionary painter, John Martin …. also a local man.
The experience did remind me rather of visits to city galleries in Zagreb or Skopje, which make a point of documenting the idea that Croatia or Macedonia have their own artistic traditions.this is interesting, because you don’t see that so much in Bradford, Leeds or Manchester. Even our hotel reminds me slightly of one we stayed in in Italy.
I look forward to the rest of the stay. It’s bound to be interesting.