Idea Generation » Idea Generation Gallery

Nat Finkelstein: From One Extreme to the Other

Idea Generation — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:35:44 +0000

A celebration of the life and work of Nat Finkelstein – photojournalist, political activist, fugitive and veteran of the 1960s New York scene

Idea Generation Gallery
20th Jan – 14th Feb
Private View: 19th Jan 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Nat Finkelstein was one of the most respected photojournalists of modern times. Renowned for his iconic and intimate documentation of Andy Warhol’s infamous Factory, and later for his political activism including an allegiance with The Black Panthers that forced him to live abroad for 15 years, Finkelstein remained at the heart of the cultural zeitgeist up until his death aged 76, 2nd October 2009.

This retrospective brings together Finkelstein’s diverse portfolio of work achieved across five decades: from the Factory scenes, to the civil rights and anti-war protests of mid-60s America, to his continuing exploration of the subcultures of 80s and 90s New York; Nat’s photographs not only depict their subjects and scenes, but also provide a visual record of the life and times of the photographer himself.

“When all is said and done, when everything is gone, the photograph is what’s going to remain. The photographer is the producer of history.” Nat Finkelstein

After his expulsion from Brooklyn College where he first studied photography, for his fervent protest at the censorship of a college publication, Finkelstein trained under the legendary art director of Harper’s Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch. It was after meeting Warhol and his band of freaks and followers at a Factory party in 1964 that Finkelstein was to take the most iconic images of his career; chronicling the scenes, names and faces of this underground world.

“I stayed at the factory for close to two years. I watched pop die, I saw punk being born. I participated in a cultural revolution that shook the superstructure of our society.” Nat Finkelstein

Finkelstein captured all the Factory’s faithful inhabitants including Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground and of course Warhol himself, as well as the luminaries whose cultural factions merely collided with the Factory set – Salvador Dali, Allen Ginsberg, Marcel Duchamp, Bob Dylan and more. His images presented one of the most comprehensive and intimate insights into this exclusive world ever seen: from some of the most intimate and unguarded photographs of Warhol, to hauntingly soul-capturing photographs of Sedgwick and the moment where Warhol met Dylan.

Alongside his work at the Factory, Finkelstein became increasingly involved in the civil rights and anti-war protests of mid-sixties America. A staunch political activist himself, Finkelstein took pictures from beyond the barriers, depicting the spirit of a generation desperate to make a change – a stark contrast to his self-obsessed, fame-hungry Factory subjects.

“I was getting ready to go back into what I considered to be the real world, marching with, fighting for and reporting on the folk who were out there in the streets trying to build a better world for all and not newspaper space for themselves.” Nat Finkelstein

Following a near-fifteen year break from photography, living as a fugitive in the Middle East after fleeing a federal warrant for his arrest resulting from his associations with the Black Panthers, Finkelstein returned to his native New York in 1982 after the charges had been dropped. Ever the intrepid cultural explorer, Finkelstein remained at the cutting edge of the social extremes, managing the post-punk band Khmer Rouge, and documenting the deviance and debauchery of the club kids of Manhattan’s Limelight club for his 1993 book Merry Monsters.

A photographer whose work now hangs in the permanent collections of some of the world’s leading institutions and museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the V&A in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne and the Smithsonian Institute, National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, and has featured in such publications as Life, Time, Vogue, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, The Times, The Observer and Harper’s & Queen, Finkelstein’s archive is brought together for this first ever major retrospective.

Eloise Rowley, Idea Generation Gallery Manager, commented: “Idea Generation Gallery is privileged to be hosting this celebration of Nat’s life and work, a man who always lived at the cultural vanguard, and whose work always managed to be iconic yet genuine. From his unrivalled documentation of the inner-workings of the Factory scene, to his lesser known archives of political, erotica and club scenes, whist straddling various subjects and contexts, his photographs all remain testament to his continued exploration and infiltration of the subcultures of Western society.”

Co-curator and widow of Nat, Elizabeth Finkelstein said: “Nat was thrilled about his upcoming retrospective in London, a city which he loved. A man with a singular vision, From One Extreme to the Other is a poignant tribute to my late husband’s life and work.”

Idea Generation
Idea Generation was founded in 2001 around a simple proposition: find something you enjoy doing – and then try to do it better than anyone else.

Eight years on, Idea Generation now stands as one of the UK’s leading arts, entertainment and cultural PR agencies – having worked with, for, and in support of some of the most exciting projects, people, institutions, fairs, festivals, tours, exhibitions, books, magazines, films, gigs, auctions, launches, parties and premieres across the UK and the world.

In 2008, Idea Generation embarked on its biggest and most ambitious project to date: by opening its own gallery space in the heart of Shoreditch. With a soaring 50 foot wall and over 200 square feet of gallery space, the Idea Generation Gallery is one of Shoreditch’s biggest exhibition spaces.

Nat Finkelstein
Born in Brooklyn in 1933, Finkelstein studied photography under Alexey Brodovitch, the legendary art director of Harper’s Bazaar, and worked as a photojournalist for the Black Star and PIX photo agencies. Finkelstein entered Andy Warhol’s Factory as a photojournalist and remained there until mid-1967; his photographs from this period are now regarded as some of the most iconic of the time.

Since then, Finkelstein has exhibited his work worldwide in over seventy-five solo and group shows at museums and galleries including the International Centre of Photography, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, the Photographer’s Gallery, the Saatchi Gallery, London; and the Ludwig Museum, Cologne, among many others. Finkelstein’s photographs are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, and The Andy Warhol Foundation, New York; the Smithsonian Institute, National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC; the V&A, London; The Stedlijk Museum, Amsterdam; Hedendaagste Kunst Museum, Ghent; Ludwig Museum, Cologne; and the Pompidou Centre, Paris, among many other public and private collections.

The author of The Andy Warhol Index (with Warhol, 1968), Andy Warhol: A Portfolio (1990), Girlfriends (1991), Merry Monsters (1993), and Andy Warhol: The Factory Years (1999), Finkelstein’s photographs have appeared in top publications including Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, Harper’s & Queen, Vogue, The New York Times Magazine, The Times, The Observer, Rolling Stone and many more.

Finkelstein died at his home in New York on 2nd October 2009 aged 76. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth and brother, Howard. At his death, he was close to completing a memoir, The Fourteen-Ounce Pound.

Contacts
For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Emily Airton: emily@ideageneration.co.uk
Natalie Tacq: natalie@ideageneration.co.uk
Nat Finkelstein website

Big Screen Big Laughs

Idea Generation — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:41:08 +0000

Pappy’s Fun Club introduce a special screening of

The Three Amigos

UK’s first film night to combine the best in stand-up comedy with classic ‘guilty pleasures’ films
Date: Wednesday November 18th

A new comedy film night, Big Screen Big Laughs, hits London at the beautiful boutique Shortwave Cinema on Wednesday November 18th.

The night features stand-up stars Pappy’s Fun Club who will introduce a screening of their ‘guilty pleasure’ film The Three Amigos (the 1986 comedy western classic starring Steve Martin and Chevy Chase) and then do a question and answer session. The whole evening will be compered by top film-fanatic comedian Richard Sandling.

Big Screen Big Laughs is a co-production between Idea Generation Events and The Fix, the UK’s comedy bible. It brings film and comedy together in a unique way in one of London’s leading independent cinemas.

The night is compered by movie-fanatic comic Richard Sandling and features Pappy’s Fun Club (known for being named best sketch, variety or character act in the 2008 Chortle awards.)

Pappy’s Fun Club said: “We chose The Three Amigos as it’s fun, it’s silly, it’s about idiots working together to save the day. It’s everything we aspire to be.”

Richard Sandling, compere, said: “I’m really looking forward to being the compere for the Big Screen Big Laughs and working with the legendary Pappy’s Fun Club! It’s a golden opportunity to bring together my two main loves of stand-up and films. The Shortwave is such a great venue to have an event such as this one; it’s going to be an awesome night’s entertainment combining brilliant comedy with some brilliant ‘guilty pleasures’ films.”

Rob Wray, Director of Shortwave Cinema said: “I’m so pleased that this comedy concept is coming to the Cinema. Everyone is really excited about bringing something new to Shortwave and London cinemas more widely – and, of course, who doesn’t enjoy these guilty pleasure films. There’s some real treats lined up for the next few months!”

- Tickets, £10, available from Shortwave Box Office on 0207 3576845, or on the door. Also available from:http://bigscreenbiglaughsshortwave.eventbrite.com

The Vauxhall Collective 2009

Idea Generation — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:39:29 +0000

A new wave of Vauxhall Collective commissions are announced

Katie Paterson, Duncan Speakman, Seba Kurtis and Studio Glithero are this year’s brightest creative talent to be commissioned by Vauxhall Motors

Four of the most hotly anticipated artists, designers, theatre practitioners and photographers in the UK have been commissioned by the car company Vauxhall to create art works around the theme of re-inventing British classics. The result of the commissions is four stunningly imaginative and exciting works that throw open the concept of what is a British classic and highlight Vauxhall’s commitment to supporting style and design in the UK.

Chosen by a Style Council of industry experts and previous Vauxhall Collective members including Gideon Reeling and the photographer Gayle Chong Kwan this year’s members are the latest in an impressive line-up of up and coming artists that the initiative has supported, enabling them to take their work in new directions with complete artist freedom.

For 2009’s commissions, Scottish artist Katie Paterson has taken the British seaside town as her inspiration and will create an entrancing installation named Streetlight Storm, where a series of lights along a pier will flicker in sync with storm patterns around the world. The location of the installation will be announced later in the autumn. Paterson was chosen for her innovative approach to reinventing the British classic. The combination of this exciting work, bound up in the relationship between connectivity and the landscape through technology is eagerly awaited.

Theatre practitioner Duncan Speakman, using his unique form of “subtle mobs”, will take to the streets of three major cities in the UK. Combining cinematic style soundtracks and narrative on downloadable MP3 tracks, Speakman invites you to join him on a street near you and re-examine the everyday classic British city scene.
The Style Council chose Speakman for his pioneering approach to interactive theatre experiences and was excited to see how he would frame the UK’s urban landscape, turning the performances into a unique experience for each of the individual audience members.

Photographer Seba Kurtis will examine what it is to be British; combining images of Kurtis’ stereotypical idea of the classic British resident, from the English rose to the country gent, right through to his own modern interpretation of multicultural Britain. His proposition to capture the UK’s residents won the Style Council over and will be at once a compelling and a beautiful representation of Britain today.

Design partnership Studio Glithero will create a selection of ceramic objects entitled A Brief Moment of Happiness using an innovative technique that involves impregnating the surface of the ceramics with light sensitive chemicals to create ethereal and fleeting images of flowers. Taking inspiration from the blue and white china of the 18th century and detailed scientific drawings by British botanists, the Style Council was impressed by Studio Glithero’s ability to take inspiration from antiquated objects and bring them up to date with new technologies.

Last year’s commissions were based on the theme of The Great British Road Trip and saw photographs of the Scottish landscape inspired by Daguerre’s dioramas, a film that visits the self-declared King of the British Eccentrics, an art exhibition inspired by Funhouses, a 1950s tea party followed by a 1980s wedding reception, a glamorous, metallic leather driving set and a collection of design objects based on lost British craft techniques. With such strong commissions from the last year, the work of the Vauxhall Collective 2009 promises not to disappoint.

Each of the creatives will have the use of a Vauxhall car and will travel around the UK seeking out inspiration for their individual commissions. The commissions will be completed between October and December 2009 and will see a range of art works being produced by this exciting and varied group of artists.

The theme of re-inventing British classics was chosen as it chimes well with Vauxhall’s own work re-inventing the car as we know it in the form of the Ampera, its first electric car.

The Vauxhall Collective 2009 members’ biographies:

Fine Art: Katie Paterson

Katie Paterson’s artistic practice is multi-disciplinary, cross-medium, and conceptually driven, often exploring landscape by means of technology, and connectivity by way of moonlight, melting glaciers, and dead stars. Recent works include Earth–Moon–Earth (Moonlight Sonata Reflected from the Surface of the Moon), which involved the transmission of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to the moon and back; Vatnajökull (the sound of), a live phone line to an Icelandic glacier; and All the Dead Stars, a large map documenting the locations of the 27,000 dead starts known to humanity.

Paterson graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2007, where her final exhibition gained much attention and recognition among art critics, academics and the media, and was restaged a year later at Modern Art Oxford, where she was the youngest artist to be granted a solo-show. She has recently exhibited at Altermodern: Tate Triennial 2009, Tate Britain, Universal Code, Powerplant, Toronto, and Lifeforms, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm. Upcoming shows include PERFORMA 09, New York.

Theatre: Duncan Speakman

Duncan Speakman is an artist based in Bristol, UK. Originally trained as a sound engineer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, his work now examines how we use sound to locate ourselves in personal and political environments. Seeking out the poetics of the everyday, he creates socially relevant experiences that engage audiences emotionally and physically in public spaces. Alongside his art practice he is a senior lecturer in Media Practice at the University of the West of England and is currently developing site-responsive soundwalks, street games and pervasive theatre works.

He has been exhibited internationally and in 2001 was awarded the Clark Trust Bursary for digital arts and has received critical acclaim for his videoblog, 29 fragile days. In 2007 he was peer advisor on the Almost Perfect locative media residency at Banff New Media Institute and since 2008 has been an artist in residence at the Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol.

Photography: Seba Kurtis

Seba Kurtis is an artist and photographer who grew up in Buenos Aires. He studied journalism and was a political activist. With the political difficulties in Argentina, he left for Europe and remained in Spain as an illegal immigrant for over 5 years. This experience became the main inspiration for his work, an exploration of the dynamics behind irregular migration and the subsequent impact on culture, society and the individual. His recent work 700 miles, a series of portraits of illegal hispanic immigrants living on the US border, explores the identity of these often nameless people and celebrates the story behind the sitter. In Drowned, Kurtis highlighted the plight of tens of thousands of Africans who head for the Canary Islands every year. Many are suspected to have drowned off the coast of Spain, Kurtis recorded scenes around the Canary Islands and dropped the negatives into the ocean. The images that washed up on the shore are the images that survived.

Craft & Design: Studio Glithero

Studio Glithero is a London based Anglo-Dutch design alliance. Founded by Tim Simpson and Sarah van Gameren, who met at the Royal College of Art, the studio creates miraculous time-based installations, and processes which give birth to unique and wonderful products. With their own concoction of design performance, they aim to bridge creative disciplines and reach a universal audience. Recent projects include Pique & Double Pique, a pair of self-supporting candles, a series of vases impregnated with light sensitive chemicals and Big Dipper where an audience can witness the complete life of a product, from the moment the chandeliers are conceived until the moment they burn and perish.

Editor’s Notes:

Vauxhall Motors

With an ongoing commitment to championing style and design in the UK, British car marque Vauxhall is a keen supporter of creativity through initiatives such as the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair 2009, the Vauxhall Fashion Scout and the Vauxhall Collective.

Latest models include Insignia, the 2009 European Car of the Year and New Astra, a car that shares the same design language as Insignia and that will be built in Ellesmere Port, Liverpool.

Vauxhall is reinventing the car as we know it with Ampera. Vauxhall’s first electric car. The wheels are turned electronically at all times and all speeds and can be plugged into any household 240v outlet for charging.

Vauxhall Collective

The Vauxhall Collective is one of the most ambitious commercially-funded creative support schemes in the UK.

Members of the Vauxhall Collective are supported financially to carry out projects, consequently raising their profile in the industry and in the media, and giving them the resources to fulfil their creative potential.

In previous years Vauxhall successfully ran the VX Collective based on collaboration between members. Previous members have included Giles Deacon, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Kelsey, Simon Hasan, Ben Rivers, Gayle Chong Kwan, Matthew Darbyshire and Gideon Reeling.

Contacts:
For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Ellen Harrison: ellen@ideageneration.co.uk
Marta Bogna: marta@ideageneration.co.uk
Vauxhall Collection website
Vauxhall website

Hammer Festival

Idea Generation — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:54:02 +0000

Enter at your peril…
Hammer Festival:
27th October –15th November 2009
Idea Generation Gallery

This Halloween Idea Generation opens the crypt doors to launch London’s most frightening festival – the Hammer Festival.

“More terrifying than ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’, this is one Hammer production that will leave you shivering” “’Dracula’ is Christopher Lees and Hammer’s breakthrough movie. It’s terrifyingly good, you’ll want to get your teeth stuck into it” “Gripping science fiction masterpiece from British horror masters Hammer ”

The Hammer Festival brings together a terrifying programme of film screenings, ghost tours, readings, and an exhibition featuring never-seen-before artwork from their classic and upcoming films, rare and original posters and behind the scenes photos from Britain’s most successful film company Hammer.

The Hammer Festival will be an event you’ll want to get your teeth stuck into as the exhibition, forming the back bone of the festival, unearths images from Hammer’s classic subjects and genres including Hammer Horror, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Living Dead, Thrillers, Science Fiction and Hammer Glamour.

Images and posters dug up from the archives of the most famous and successful independent British film company, Hammer will be displayed at the Idea Generation Gallery celebrating the horror, drama, suspense and glamour of the seminal films which propelled Hammer to cult status.

The exhibition will offer an exclusive look at previously unseen photos, prints and artworks from an array of classic Hammer, behind the scenes photos of stars including Christopher Lee, Ursula Andress, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Peter Cushing & Bette Davis and an exclusive look at artwork from upcoming Hammer releases.

The exhibition will give an insight into Hammer’s incredible legacy with posters and prints from The Brides of Dracula (1960), The Phantom of the Opera (1961) and Hammer House of Horror (1980) displayed alongside terrifying images from The Curse of Frankenstein (1956) and original posters from The Horror of Frankenstein (1970).

Fans will be invited to look if they dare at the spine tingling images from classic pictures The Mummy (1959), Dracula (1957) and The Abominable Snowman (1957). The exhibition will also provide an exclusive look at Hammer’s renowned erotic period, featuring artwork from films such as Lust for a Vampire (1970), The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Slave Girls (1966).

Titan Books will also be launching their latest release, Hammer Glamour, at the exhibition. The book features rare and previously unpublished photographs from Hammer’s archive and private collections worldwide. Featuring new interviews, Hammer Glamour celebrates Hammer’s female stars including Ingrid Pitt, Martine Beswick, Caroline Munro, Barbara Shelley, Joanna Lumley, Nastassja Kinski, and Raquel Welch.

Katy Wild, Editorial Director of Titan Books said: “Hammer is an enduring brand, much beloved for the classic movies that everyone knows, but also now associated with brand new exciting quality film-making.

”We are proud to be associated with this exhibition which celebrates the Hammer heritage and ties in with the publication of our book Hammer Glamour, a fabulous tribute to the beautiful women who featured in Hammer movies over the years, written by Hammer authority, Marcus Hearn.”

Marcus Hearn, Hammer historian said of the exhibition: “The Hammer Horror genre has not long been fifty years old and what better way to show off its rich heritage than with an exhibition during Halloween. Most of the items on the show either haven’t been seen since the respected films were released, if ever, so it will be great to be able to finally share them with the public.”

The Sale of a Lifetime

Idea Generation — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:55:58 +0000

The artist Jasper Joffe will be selling everything he owns in a sale with a difference.

Idea Generation Gallery
29 July – 2 August
PV July 28, 18.30-20.30

Having left his gallery and been left by his girlfriend, Joffe wants to start again from nothing. At 33, the age at which Jesus died and was born again, Joffe’s Renaissance begins at The Sale of a Lifetime

Idea Generation Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition and performance by renowned artist Jasper Joffe, whose eclectic creativity ranges from a fine art remit to performance and social commentary.

In the exhibition The Sale of a lifetime the artist will be selling all his possessions, including his collections of paintings, drawings, teddy bears, and rare books. He will only keep the clothes he is wearing.
The number 33 will be a recurrent theme throughout the exhibition, which will be installed in 33 different lots, all for sale for £ 3,333, as Biblical reference to death and rebirth.

The public will have the rare opportunity to browse through the artist’s entire oeuvre, and will be invited to voyeuristically investigate parts of his private and more intimate life: from the books he reads, to the things he uses in his daily life, including his personal keepsakes and collections.

Letters, family memories, pictures and personal objects belonging to friends and relatives are all going to be included, as part of a cathartic process of separation from the past.

Having gained a reputation for his alternative art performances, extravagant initiatives and controversial paintings, Jasper Joffe came to media attention with his famous performance at the Chisenale gallery “24 paintings in 24 hours” in 1999, in which he questioned the relation between time and artistic integrity.
He founded the wildly popular Free Art Fair in 2007, which takes place during Frieze Week and sensationally sold a candy-coloured portrait of the Nazi Heinrich Himmler to Charles Saatchi in 2008.

“There’s no artist on earth other than Jasper Joffe who would have painted Himmler this way, using these brush strokes and candy colours. When Joffe hits it right he is really pretty good.” Charles Saatchi

Inventory Highlights

100 Paintings
50 large paintings (more than 7ft in any dimension), mainly from 1999 to 2009
50 smaller paintings dating from 1985 to 2009
Portfolios of over 200 drawings and numerous Sketchbooks

Includes:
A portrait of Himmler from “The Beauty Show”, a version of the same one included in The Saatchi Collection.
The only painting left from 24 paintings in 24 hours at The Chisenhale Gallery
New paintings made in the last months.
Hundreds of paintbrushes which he was assembled over the years and washed lovingly many times.

Suits and Clothes
Lacoste polo shirts in a variety of colours
10 suits including a Richard James white linen suit worn by the artist for his Royal College graduation
A blue suede jacket given to the artist by his mother
A long black leather Armani coat bought in Rome when the artist sold a painting to a dentist
A pair of handmade Ducker and Son shoes bought in the artist first year at Oxford

Art by other people
A photo of Harry Pye by Wolfgang Tillmans and a photo of Wolfgang Tillmans by Harry Pye
A Tracey Emin monoprint which the artist queued up overnight in the freezing cold to buy at the Absolut postcard sale at The Royal College of Art
A collaged portrait of Peter Doig by the artist’s sister Chantal Joffe used as the image on the front cover of The Rebel Magazine

Books
Over 800 books including the artist’s collection of modern first editions, art books, and other rare editions
A signed copy of Henry Kissinger’s Diplomacy
The artist’s books read, collected, and treasured as a child

Home Equipment
Stainless steel Kitchenaid Mixer bought at the Barkers of Kensington closing down sale
A large flat screen TV
A newish webbook.
An Arcam stereo given to the artist for his 21st birthday by his sister
Nikon digital camera given to the artist by girlfriend Rose
A wooden bed he made by the artist

Teddy Bears, Stuffed Toys
Over 50 modern, old, and antique stuffed animals including Teddy Edward given to the artist when he was born
A number of antique bears purchased in central Europe
Jocko the Steiff Monkey, the artist’s friend for the last 25 years

Keepsakes
A piece of South African amethyst given to the artist by his mother as a child
The silver charms from the artist mother’s charm bracelet which she used to put in the Christmas pudding
The artist photo albums
The artist’s letters
Many boxes of slides which document the artist’s work

Dates:
July 29 – August 2

Address:
Idea Generation Gallery
11 Chance Street
London E2 7JB

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 12pm – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm – 5pm

Private View:
28 July: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Tube:
Liverpool Street or Old Street

Prices:
Free

First Thursdays:
Open to 8pm

Editor’s Notes

Idea Generation
Idea Generation was founded in 2001 around a simple proposition: find something you enjoy doing – and then try to do it better than anyone else.

Seven years on, Idea Generation now stands as one of the UK’s leading arts, entertainment and cultural PR agencies – having worked with, for, and in support of some of the most exciting projects, people, institutions, fairs, festivals, tours, exhibitions, books, magazines, films, gigs, auctions, launches, parties and premieres across the UK and the world.

Contacts

For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews

Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Marta Bogna: marta@ideageneration.co.uk
Rachel Wood: rachel@ideageneration.co.uk

www.ideageneration.co.uk
For:
• Online Press Office
• Client list
• Company contact detail

www.jasperjoffe.com
For:
• Information
• Artist’s contact detail

The Vauxhall Collective

Idea Generation — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:54:24 +0000

The UK’s most talented and exciting creatives exhibit their commissions

Idea Generation Gallery
22nd – 25th July 2009
Private View 22nd July
6.30 – 8.30pm

Vauxhall Collective members showcase Great British Road Trip commissions

Photographs of the Scottish landscape inspired by Daguerre’s dioramas , a film that visits the self-declared King of the British Eccentrics, an art exhibition inspired by Funhouses, a 1950s tea party followed by a 1980s wedding reception, a glamorous, metallic leather driving set and a collection of design objects based on lost British craft techniques; these are the results of the six commissions from the Vauxhall Collective, and arts initiative from Vauxhall Motors, based on the theme of the Great British Road Trip.

The Vauxhall Collective members who have created these commissions, and now show them together for the first time, are; the innovative product designer Simon Hasan for craft & design, the much-admired shoe designer Jonathan Kelsey for fashion, artist and independent film maker Ben Rivers for film, hotly anticipated artist Matthew Darbyshire for fine art, experimental photographer and artist Gayle Chong Kwan for photography and Gideon Reeling, purveyor of bespoke interactive experiences, enlisted for the theatre category.

As part of its ongoing commitment to style and design, car company Vauxhall identified six of the brightest creative stars and gave them a commission, to help them take their careers to the next level. This was done in conjunction with a Style Council made up of arts industry experts from organisations such as the Photographers’ Gallery, BFI, Hayward Gallery, Soho Theatre and the London College of Fashion. The result is six varied and exciting commissions from the hottest artistic talent around, all celebrating the Great British Road Trip.

Film

• Ben Rivers

Film maker Ben Rivers has produced a short film called I know where I’m going. Travelling the length and breadth of the UK for two months, Ben battled the snow storms the UK suffered earlier this year in his Zafira to bring us snapshots of some of the most eccentric, and intriguing, individuals in Britain. The film will be shown throughout the exhibition and was debuted at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this June.

Fine Art

• Matthew Darbyshire

Matthew Darbyshire, who exhibited at the Tate Triennial this year, created Funhouse with the commission Vauxhall gave him, after going on a research road trip of his own in an Astra. Shown at the Hayward Gallery Project Space this summer, the show is a comment on the gaudy pop culture we face today, from New Labour regenerative architecture to reproductions of design classics ever present in mobile phone shops. Several pieces from the show Funhouse will be on display in the gallery.

Photography

• Gayle Chong Kwan

Gayle Chong Kwan explores her Scottish heritage with Senscape Scotland, a panoramic sensory journey around Scotland, creating a series of photographs inspired by Daguerre’s dioramas. Chong Kwan visited the places Daguerre depicted, such as the Roslyn Chapel just outside Edinburgh and Skara Brae in Orkney, in a Corsa ecoFLEX and collected food stuffs from the bed and breakfasts she stayed in, such as coffee granules, and used them to create scenes back at her studio. All six photographs in the series can be seen at the exhibition.

Theatre

• Gideon Reeling

The wonderfully eccentric Gideon Reeling invited audiences to have tea with the 1950s family “The Skinners”, with a resplendent 1950s Cresta pride of place outside their house, and then fast forwarded through time to the 1980s to hold a wedding reception, with a classic Cavalier ready to whisk the happy couple away. The performances, based on the major family occasions that so often inspire road trips, took the viewer deep into the heart of the action as audiences became part of the show, as guests of the hospitable Skinner family. A video of the wedding reception will be shown on loop throughout the exhibition, along with photographs of the performances.

Craft and Design

• Simon Hasan

The craft and design category saw Simon Hasan taking a road trip across the UK to rediscover ancient and lost craft techniques unique to the British Isles. His discoveries in a Corsa, lead him to applying these techniques to a series of modern design items, including a stool featuring embroidery, tweed and a vase made from cast iron. The pieces will be shown as a set at the exhibition, and are also available to buy through the Vauxhall Collective website.

Fashion

• Jonathan Kelsey

Jonathan Kelsey loved the idea of glamour associated with road trips and so produced a limited run of luxury driving sets including key fob, driving gloves and steering wheel cover in his trademark chestnut and gold leather , finished with heavy black stitching. The pieces will be shown as a set at the exhibition and are also available to buy through the Vauxhall Collective website.

Dates:
22nd – 25th July 2009

Private View:
22nd July: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Address:
Idea Generation Gallery
11 Chance Street
London E2 7JB

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 12pm – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm – 5pm

Tube:
Liverpool Street or Old Street

Prices:
Free

Editor’s Notes

Vauxhall Collective

The Vauxhall Collective is one of the most ambitious commercially-funded creative support schemes in the UK.

Members of the Vauxhall Collective are supported financially to carry out projects, consequently raising their profile in the industry and in the media, and giving them the resources to fulfil their creative potential.

A host of leading industry opinion formers from arts institutions including the Photographers’ Gallery, BFI, Film London, Crafts Council, Donmar Warehouse, The Hayward, ICA, London College of Fashion and Central St Martins formed a “Style Council” to make the decision on the commissions.

The Vauxhall Collective for 2008/09 is: Simon Hasan for craft & design, Jonathan Kelsey for fashion, Ben Rivers for film, Gayle Chong Kwan for photography, Gideon Reeling for theatre and Matthew Darbyshire for fine art.

Vauxhall

Vauxhall has been involved with the curators of the Art Car Boot Fair since 2003 when it supplied a host of cars for a boot fair with a difference at the Brighton Photo Biennial. Since then Vauxhall’s commitment has gone from strength-to-strength, through supporting the four previous ACBF events in Brick Lane via artist commissions and supplying boots galore for artists to sell their wares.

With an ongoing commitment to championing style and design in the UK, British car marque Vauxhall is a keen supporter of creativity through initiatives such as The Vauxhall Pretty Taxing Fashion Collection, Art Car Boot Fair 2009, the Vauxhall Fashion Scout, the Vauxhall Collective and the 6th London Short Film Festival.

Contacts

For further information/Use of pictures /Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Marta Bogna: marta@ideageneration.co.uk
Ellen Harrison: ellen@ideageneration.co.uk

Websites

www.ideageneration.co.uk
• Online Press Office
• Company contact detail

www.vauxhallcollective.co.uk
• Vauxhall Collective information

Hoppy

Idea Generation — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:13:19 +0000

Against Tyranny: Talking about a Revolutionary

19th June –19th July 2009
Idea Generation Gallery

Counter-cultural incendiary of the 1960s and roving photojournalist John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins charts Britain’s emergence from the age of austerity into an era of pop, protest and psychedelia.

Idea Generation Gallery presents a new exhibition of paraphernalia and photographs by veteran activist and revolutionary John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, many of which are being shown for the first time. Encompassing both the grand scale of mass rallies and the squalid intimacy of bedsit and backrooms of freaks, tearaways and bohemians, these electrifying images act as a record of 1960s London on the cusp of a new era, as the city shaped up for the struggle to redefine itself as a modern metropolis.

It was an exhilarating time and Hoppy was both protagonist and observer in the story, at the vanguard of a generation which broke radically with a conservative past. Founder of legendary psychedelic night club, UFO; co-founder of radical underground newspaper, The International Times; and photographer for Melody Maker, The Times and Peace News, he was well placed to record the revolution as it unfolded. This exhibition will uniquely feature rare copies of the International Times, and stunning psychedelic posters designed by Nigel Weymouth for the UFO.

Spanning a period of intense photographic activity, Hoppy’s images pull no punches and show an empire in decline, under attack from an unprecedented and rampant sub-cultural revolution that came roaring in from the shadows. Charged shots of Anti-Nuclear Rallies, Beat Poetry performances, LSD sessions and East End slums are born of an uncompromising belief in the transformative power of political activism, counter-culture and photography.

From raw revolution and clenched fists of protesters in Trafalgar Square, to posturing leather clad bikers and their chicks at the Ace Café, the power of his images derive from his proximity to the eye of the coming cultural storm.

Hoppy’s path to photography was not a direct one. In 1959 he set off as part of the Cheltenham Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and drove a funeral hearse to Moscow to protest against ‘the bomb’. He became separated from the group in Moscow and was eventually deported by the Russians to Finland, to the acute embarrassment of his employers, Harwell Atomic Research labs, where he worked as a reactor scientist.

Arriving in London on January 1st 1961, a portentous date for a man who was to become a driving force in this turbulent decade, he settled in West London where he rented out rooms to struggling artists. Hoppy worked as a news photographer for the Sunday Times, Melody Maker and Peace News and became a regular face at Ronnie Scott’s, and captured taking beautiful shots of great jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington performing across London as well as Beat Poetry readings, Happenings, peace marches, and portraits of leading figures like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Allen Ginsberg.

Ever the inventor and alchemist of the ‘scene’ he also co-founded the world famous International Times, a radical underground newspaper which featured Germaine Greer and William Burroughs as contributors. The legacy of this publication is long lasting, and the exhibition features rare front covers from the magazine’s history.

Hoppy also famously worked with Joe Boyd to create The UFO club. The Tottenham Court Road venue was to become the lynch pin of psychedelic London and opened with performances from Pink Floyd and later played host to legendary bands like Procol Harum, Soft Machine and Jeff Beck.

‘Asleep for 30-odd years then rediscovered by accident, certain of the images from this brief 6-year period have now become iconic (recognised).’ Hoppy continues ‘Many more of them have not been seen before and are therefore perhaps more free from the historical accumulation of meaning than the iconics – at least for a little while. Then, word falling / image falling / lost in a dusty street half-covered in sand / the skein unravels / dust to dust.’

Dates: 19th June –19th July 2009

Address:
Idea Generation Gallery
11 Chance Street
London E2 7JB

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 12pm – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm – 5pm

Private View:
18rd June: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Tube:
Liverpool Street or Old Street

Prices:
Free

First Thursdays:
Open to 8pm

Editor’s Notes

Idea Generation

Idea Generation was founded in 2001 around a simple proposition: find something you enjoy doing – and then try to do it better than anyone else.

Seven years on, Idea Generation now stands as one of the UK’s leading arts, entertainment and cultural PR agencies – having worked with, for, and in support of some of the most exciting projects, people, institutions, fairs, festivals, tours, exhibitions, books, magazines, films, gigs, auctions, launches, parties and premieres across the UK and the world.

Contacts

For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews

Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Natasha Hoare: natasha@ideageneration.co.uk

Websites

www.ideageneration.co.uk
For:
• Online Press Office
• Client list
• Company contact detail

www.hoppy.be
For:
• Additional information

www.internationaltimes.it
For:
• Background information

www.damianieditore.com
For:
• Information and purchase of the Hoppy book, ‘From the Hip’