Cornwall Impressions

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The Barbara Hepworth museum was an eye-opener to ignorant me. (A friend in Calgary urged me to go.) Hepworth worked a lot in St. Ives. She led what seems like an independent life as one of the few major female sculptors, plus she had two husbands, a son and triplets. Her sculpture is all form and some texture – mostly highly polished stone contrasted with rough – still marked by the chisel. She was a great friend of Henry Moore and the similarities in some of their work are obvious. The museumis a house with photos and history on the main floor, a gallery of small items on the second floor and a garden with large items. The garden is unusual as the plants grow up around the pieces.

The St. Ives Museum is charming – full of a wide range of donated items and collections. In the basement are many kinds of things related to fishing and processing pilchards. Also, there is a small room for watching a video, which oddly was done by and about a Canadian, Normal Levine, who wrote in Cornwall. On the main floor are collections of 17 and 18 century clothes, paintings of ships, military memorabilia and honours, photos of residents (formal and informal), christening clothes, kitchen items, and many other things. £1.50 entry – a great bargain!

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Photos

Cornwall at dawn
Every morning a different sunrise

St ives beach
A cold and windy day at the beach

Barbara Hepworth sculptures
What can one see through the holes in artwork?

Barbara Hepworth sculptures
Polished and rough contrasts

Barbara Hepworth sculptures
Writhing?

Barbara Hepworth at the library
Such beautiful work so close to view

St ives Library
An imposing presence!

St Ives
Beautiful old town

St Ives Beach
Wind roiled waves

Comments

[Isabel Gibson]

Presentation
Interesting that they would set the sculptures among plants that obscure their edges a little bit - presumably intentional. This is why I am not an artist . . . On another note, the beach looks a bit chilly. Did you see/find any interesting shells?

[beentouring]

Presentation
I think the sculptures are in the garden in part to make them seem organic, since they are made of a natural material. No shells found - cold and blustery, thus too wet for wandering.