Art
Give me Liberty's (or...)
Evan Anthony
_ Frankly, I am not awfully fond of shopping, but I once did buy a suit at Liberty's, Regent Street, and, wore it for three summers (it was a lightweight, Scandinavian-designed garment), and it was only after the colour of the trousers no longer matched the coat — a result of washing the trousers but dry cleaning the jacket — and an inch or two was added to the waistline that I foolishly deleted it from my
wardrobe. Would that I had kept it for another ninety-seven years and perhaps my heirs would have something to thank me for — an objet d'art.
The amount of time it takes to change the status of your common or garden suit, or anything else, from that of useful contemporary article to an objet d'art may well be ,a philosophical question to take up 'pages in the Sunday supplements, inspired by the ever-enterprising Roy Strong's celebration of the centenary of that tenacious department store, Liberty's, an exhibition that urges the Victoria and Albert Museum to take notice of the accomplishments, if that they be, of the twentieth century.
Walking behind one of the more discriminating visitors, I learned that some of the exhibits were pretentious, others ostentatious. Would such authoritative._ judgement have accompanied a wandering through the treasures of China and Egypt seen some months back at the Royal Academy and the British Museum? Is the absence of a price-tag alone sufficient to transform the products of commerce into another category entirely? Sears and Roebuck it isn't, but art nouveau sound S better in French.
For those with a tendency to eulogise the past there is enough nostalgia to prompt the observation "they don't make them like that anymore," but actually, they do. The fabric patterns, for which Liberty's is particularly famous, serve well as the unifying theme of the exhibition; neatly organised, they offer testimony to the commercial and aesthetic widsom of Arthur Lasenby Liberty and his successors. You may be old or young enough to remember seeing the bric-a-brac that your grandparents and great grandparents adored, but which you chucked aside, considering it rather ugly. Distance and age lend enchantment to many things, and -Biba may one day see itself canonised.
While at the V&A, have a look at the Gilbert Collection — this being the pictures, tables, boxes, jewellery etc belonging to Arthur S. Gilbert of Los Angeles. It is really a rather remarkable show, so much the more if you thrive on the appreciation of the patience of those who use tweezers to assemble 'micro-mosaics' with tesserae embedded into a layer of cement, and forming the most 'refined of images, with the barest outline ' visible of the minute pieces that make up the picture.
The Ben Nicholson Graphic Art exhibition is another good reason to visit the V&A at this particular time. The etchings and drypoints are more interesting than the ■ linocuts, but the entire collection offers much to enjoy in the field of what art critics impotently describe shorthandedly as 'line and form:.
In a lighter vein, the Camden Arts Centre is featuring an exhibition of work by The London Grouv. It has the look of an outdoor exhibition housed indoors, a potpourri of work and styles by a number of artists exhibiting one or two pieces, including drawings, paintings and sculpture. Eclectic and enjoyable.
Previous page
