Following on the opening of his retrospective exhibition at the South Square Centre, this afternoon Doug Binder gave a talk about his work, and took us on a tour of the exhibition, during which he was able to comment on several of the pictures and the way in which they can be taken as representative of the way in which he works. It is really a privilege to be allowed to listen to that kind of personal reflection by an artist.
I suppose that the most interesting thing from my point of view was the way in which he talked about his long-term commitment to painting the human figure. That kind of sustained engagement with a highly specific project is something which I find very thought-provoking. On the one hand I can appreciate the way in which that kind of engagement makes for a complete familiarity with and mastery of your subject-matter. On the other hand I am still finding a sense of adventure in the discovery of new ways of working. My recent discovery of egg tempera as a medium is a case in point. Do I really want to go on painting Almscliff Crag?
Another aspect of this sense of commitment was the way in which Doug has managed to find new ways of tapping into his chosen vein of ore during the pandemic restrictions. For some time not only was the holding of a life-drawing class ill-advised, it was also illegal. He took to using photographs and reproductions of classic works as stimuli to his own painting. Two cases of this mode of working struck me as remarkable in their own (contrasting) ways. There is a small sketch by Rembrandt of two women teaching a very small child to walk. Under the title of “First steps” Doug has explored this image in a variety of moods and emphases. I thought these were quite delightful. On the other had, he has completed several studies based on Rembrandt’s Susanna and the Elders. I commented in a recent post on the use of this theme by Artemesia Gentilleschi. I was really struck by the obvious inferiority of the Rembrandt study, which to my mind completely failed to enter into the psychological “climate” of the incident. It is a long way from being one of his better works.* Sadly, I believe that Doug would have made a better fist of treating the theme had he chosen to respond to Gentilleschi rather than Rembrandt. It has been instructive, nevertheless, to be able to make these comparisons.
- I would actually go so far as to say it would be better forgotten!