Poverty in the North
S L Lowey was an artist whose work I was brought up looking at. His work was something I never really thought twice about when I was younger. My Nan uses to go to a Saturday morning art class in Salford where he would be painting. I was told as a little boy he was a lovely man but she always thought of his paintings where awful. Which makes me laugh now thinking about it. God rest her soul. That was a lady who had real strength and resilience, like feel most Northerns who have experienced some form of poverty have those qualities.
I feel poverty in the North links to why my grandmother never liked Lowey’s work. It was a depiction on reality she knew. Why bring that into art? why not a beautiful watercolour of nature? or a beautiful portrait like the lady in pearl earrings which I remember looking up at on living room wall by the door. I think for my Grandmother there was no escapism in his art for her so that’s what formed her opinion. The north of England as a history of poverty. A great photographic depiction of this is Don Mullins work. It really illustrates the conditions of these communities.
The way this is going to influence my practice is by embracing the community and background I come from use this within my work. Just as S L Lowey did with his artistic practice.