Profiles of the Past - exhibition details
Profiles of the Past - 250 years of British Portrait Silhouette History
Venue:
The Regency Town House, 13 Brunswick Square, Hove, BN3 1EH
Public access, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11.00 - 17.00 hrs, 1 August to 14 September 2014
Associated lectures, workshops, etc.
PAID
Exhibition preview and costume study day - reserved for members of the South Coast Costume Society
29 July, all day.
To book contact: http://www.sccostumesociety.org.uk/contact_us_15.html
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FREE: Pre-booking required
Children's Workshops - Discovering the Silhouette Machine
8, 15, 22, 29 August and 5, 12 September, 15.00 - 16.00
Parents, bring your kids along, make a portrait with them and take it home.
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FREE: Pre-booking required
Adult's Workshops - The History of the Silhouette Machine
10, 24 August and 13, 14 September, 15.00 - 16.00
Learn about the history and use of these devices, have a go and take home a portrait.
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PAID: Pre-booking and pre-payment required for a portrait sitting
FREE: To attend and watch the cutting demonstrations
10 August, 11.00 - 17.00
World-class silhouette artist, expert and author, Charles Burns will be cutting silhouette portraits with us on 10 August. Visitors who want their portrait cut are advised to book into the 30 minute time slot of their choice, reserving as many tickets in that slot as they have members in their group requiring a silhouette E.G., if there are two of you and you want a portrait at approvimately 12.45, choose the 1230-1300 slot and purchase two tickets.
All are invited to come and watch Charles at work, there is no charge for this.
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FREE: Pre-booking required
Lecture - Finding Fashion in the Shadows: Silhouettes 1760-1860
22 August, 14.00 - 15.00
Suzanne Rowland, of the University of Brighton presents a talk that demonstrates how silhouettes –also known as shadows, shades, or profiles in miniature – offer a unique perspective on the wearing of fashionable dress. Unlike the stylised fashion plates of contemporary publications they offer a more characterful and individual representation of contemporary fashions. From the heyday of silhouette production in the late 18th to mid-19th centuries we will see that physical imperfections were not overlooked, and neither age nor social stranding were barriers to a person having their likeness captured on paper, card, ceramic, or on the reverse of convex glass.
FREE: Pre-booking required
Lecture - The Shadow that Will Not Fade: The Silhouette's Decline and Revival 1860-2014
22 August, 15.00 - 16.00
Dr Annebella Pollen, of the University of Brighton explores how, with the arrival of affordable studio photography from the 1860s, silhouettes declined in popularity as a form of cheap portraiture. As a stylistic motif, however, the silhouette endured. In the second half of the 19th century, it found a new home among caricaturists, illustrators and avant-garde painters, and it bloomed again in a nostalgic Edwardian revival. This talk documents the silhouette's changing meanings and purposes after the birth of photography, and assesses its current revival at the cutting edge of arts practice in the 21st century.
An interval for questions and a tea break are scheduled into this two-part event.
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FREE: Pre-booking required
23 August, 14.00 - 16.00 hrs
Bring along your silhouettes and get advice from our guest consultants from the Silhouette Collector's Club.
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FREE: Pre-booking required
Lecture - Approaches to the Study of Dress History
30 August, 14.00 - 15.00 hrs
Lou Taylor , Professor of Dress and Textile History at the University of Brighton, will present a general introduction to the study of dress and fashion history today, drawing on many sources, from silhouettes to surviving garments, photographs, diaries, film, cartoons, manufacturing and retailing history. She will offer case study examples, including analysis of garments from the Messel family once worn at Nymans, Sussex.
FREE: Pre-booking required
Lecture - Meet the Costume Collector
30 August, 15.00 - 16.00 hrs
The costumes and accessories in the 'Profiles of the Past' exhibition are drawn from the Marion May Collection. In this session, Marion will talk about some of the exhibits and recount stories about her collecting activities.
An interval for questions and a tea break are scheduled into this two-part event.
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FREE: Pre-booking required
Lecture - Silhouettes of War and Peace: The work of Captain HL Oakley
31 August, 14.00 - 15.00
A presentation by historian and author, Jerry Rendell
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FREE: Pre-booking required
Lecture - Trench Life in Silhouette: Profiles of the First World War
13 September, 14.00 - 15.00
A presentation by historian and author, Jerry Rendell
(Note, this talk contains some references to the material presented on 31 August.)
For bookings and further information, tel. 01273 206306 or use the relevant link to make a booking online.