Wakelin Award Talk
Robert Harding and Ingrid Murphy in Conversation
Saturday 15th June 3pm at the Glynn Vivian Gallery
Images:
(Left) Going Round in Circles, Robert Harding
(Right) Hold, Ingrid Murphy
Robert Harding’s thoughts on the Wakelin Award
Relationship to Swansea:
I moved to Swansea in 1981. Almost immediately I became a member of AADW (Association of Artists and Designers of Wales) and thus met Richard (Dick) and Rosemary Wakelin, and probably most of the artists based in Swansea at the time. In 1986 I succeeded Dick as Treasurer of the Swansea Branch of AADW and held this post until I left Swansea in 1989. During my eight years in Swansea, I exhibited in many different places in Wales and England, including regularly at the Swansea Arts Workshop (now Mission Gallery) and in two major exhibitions at the Glynn Vivian (Seven Sculptors Working in Wales, 1986, and The Art of Lego, 1988-89).
Although I left Swansea at the end of the 1980s, I kept in touch and was involved in a number of exhibitions in the city. At the Glynn Vivian this included Insight (an exhibition for the visually impaired) in 1991 and On and Off the Level (2 artist exhibition) in 1994. At Mission Gallery I exhibited in Word Overall in 1995. I also organised and curated Meltdown in 2009 plus the related performance iron pour entitled Melt on 15 October at the National Waterfront Museum. Indeed, at the end of last year I brought the touring 56 Group Wales At Cross Purposes exhibition to Elysium.
Notes on the pieces bought through the Wakelin Award:
Rocking Bowl was one of the first metal sculptural vessels that I made. It was exhibited at the National Eisteddfod in Anglesey in 1999 and in the same year at an exhibition entitled Ironwill at the Crescent Arts Workshop in Scarborough. Another of my metal vessels in that latter exhibition elicited a memorable comment in the visitors book: ‘why should I pay £500 for a glorified wok’!
The vessels I made were a by-product of my sculptural practice and frequently exhibited symmetrical properties that were not a feature of my sculpture. I found the process of making vessels both relaxing and a way of enabling initial conversations with others about the nature of objects. They also made me question the whole sense of division between craft and fine art. This led me to write some articles on the subject and curate an exhibition for Llantarnam Grange in 2003 entitled Fine to Functional, a celebration of work by 14 artists who also made ‘functional’ objects.
I still make metal sculptural vessels.
Soft Option, a small sculpture, is typical of a lot of my work. It is made of contrasting elements – plastic (flexible domestic vacuum hose) & steel (rigid industrial/constructional section); it is wall-mounted with hidden fixings and avoids a vertical or horizontal axis of symmetry. There are two factors that influenced its title:
- The ends of the angle iron are the ‘soft ends’ that occur as the lengths are rolled in the steelworks – these are usually cut off before the lengths are transported to the stockholders.
- I made the sculpture not long after my father died and he, being a typical engineer, thought a career in sculpture was a ‘soft option’!
What the Wakelin Award means to me:
Besides the fact that all artists like to be recognised for their work, the financial reward is always useful. It is also good to have work in public collections which in turn encourages sales to individuals.
The Wakelin Award cemented my long-term relationship with Swansea and I have fond memories of the party that the Friends of the Glynn Vivian organised for me at the time of the Award.
Robert Harding ac Ingrid Murphy yn trafod
Sadwrn 15 Mehefin 3yp yn Oriel Glynn Vivian
Delweddau:
(Chwith) Going Round in Circles, Robert Harding
(De) Hold, Ingrid Murphy
Syniadau Robert Harding ar Wobr Wakelin
Perthynas ag Abertawe:
Symudais i Abertawe ym 1981. Bron yn syth des yn aelod o AADW (Cymdeithas Artistiaid a Dylunwyr Cymru) a chwrddais â Richard (Dick) a Rosemary Wakelin, ac mae’n debyg y rhan fwyaf o’r artistiaid oedd wedi’u lleoli yn Abertawe ar y pryd. Ym 1986 dilynais Dick fel Trysorydd Cangen Abertawe o AADW nes i mi adael Abertawe ym 1989. Yn ystod fy wyth mlynedd yn Abertawe, bûm yn arddangos mewn llawer o lefydd gwahanol yng Nghymru a Lloegr, gan gynnwys yn rheolaidd yng Ngweithdy Celfyddydau Abertawe (nawr Oriel Mission) ac mewn dwy arddangosfa fawr yn y Glynn Vivian (Saith Cerflunydd yn Gweithio yng Nghymru, 1986, a The Art of Lego, 1988-89).
Er i mi adael Abertawe ar ddiwedd y 1980au, fe wnes gadw mewn cysylltiad â chymryd rhan mewn nifer o arddangosfeydd yn y ddinas. Yn y Glynn Vivian roedd hyn yn cynnwys yn 1991 Insight (arddangosfa ar gyfer y rhai â nam ar eu golwg) ac yn 1994 On and Off the Level (arddangosfa 2 artist). Yn Oriel Mission bûm yn arddangos yn Word Overall yn 1995 ac yn 2009 trefnais a churadais Meltdow ynghyd â’r perfformiad tywalltiad haearn cysylltiedig o’r enw Melt ar 15 Hydref yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol y Glannau. Ac ar ddiwedd y llynedd des ag arddangosfa deithiol Grŵp 56 Cymru At Cross Purposes i’r Elysium.
Nodiadau ar y darnau a brynwyd trwy Wobr Wakelin:
Roedd Rocking Bowl yn un o’r llestri cerfluniol metel cyntaf i mi ei wneud. Cafodd ei arddangos yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Ynys Môn yn 1999 ac yn yr un flwyddyn mewn arddangosfa o’r enw Ironwill yng Ngweithdy Celf Crescent yn Scarborough. Fe wnaeth un arall o’m llestri metel o’r arddangosfa Ironwill cael sylw cofiadwy yn y llyfr ymwelwyr: ‘pam ddylwn i dalu £500 am wok gogoneddus’!
Roedd y llestri gwnes yn sgil-gynnyrch o’m harfer cerfluniol ac yn aml yn dangos priodweddau cymesurol nad oeddent yn nodwedd o’m cerfluniau. Roedd y broses o wneud llestri yn ymlaciol ac yn fodd o alluogi sgyrsiau cychwynnol ag eraill am natur gwrthrychau. Gwnaethant hefyd i mi gwestiynu’r holl ymdeimlad o raniad rhwng crefft a chelf gain. Arweiniodd hyn fi i ysgrifennu rhai erthyglau ar y pwnc a churadu arddangosfa ar gyfer Llantarnam Grange yn 2003 o’r enw Fine to Functional, dathliad o waith gan 14 o artistiaid oedd hefyd yn gwneud gwrthrychau sydd â ‘swyddogaeth’.
Rwy’n dal i wneud llestri cerfluniol metel.
Mae Soft Option, cerflun bach, yn nodweddiadol o lawer o fy ngwaith. Mae wedi’i wneud o elfennau cyferbyniol – plastig (pibell ddomestig hyblyg sugnlanhäwr) a dur (darn diwydiannol/adeiladu anhyblyg); mae wedi’i osod ar wal gyda gosodiadau cudd ac mae’n osgoi echelin fertigol neu lorweddol cymesuredd. Mae dau ffactor a ddylanwadodd ar ei deitl:
- Pennau’r haearn ongl yw’r ‘pen meddal’ sy’n digwydd wrth i’r darnau hir cael eu rholio yn y gwaith dur – mae’r rhain fel arfer yn cael eu torri i ffwrdd cyn i’r darnau gael eu cludo i’r dalwyr stoc.
- Fe wnes i’r cerflun yn fuan ar ôl i fy nhad farw ac roedd yntau, fel peiriannydd nodweddiadol, yn meddwl bod gyrfa mewn cerflunwaith yn ‘soft option’!
Beth mae Gwobr Wakelin yn ei olygu i mi:
Heblaw am y ffaith bod pob artist yn hoffi cael ei gydnabod am ei waith, mae’r wobr ariannol bob amser yn ddefnyddiol. Mae hefyd yn dda cael gwaith mewn casgliadau cyhoeddus sydd yn ei dro yn annog gwerthiant i unigolion.
Cadarnhaodd Y Wobr Wakelin fy mherthynas hirdymor ag Abertawe ac mae gennyf atgofion melys o’r parti a drefnodd Cyfeillion y Glynn Vivian i mi ar adeg y Wobr.
