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03.01.12
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Reigate Archive
22.11.11
Digging through the Attenborough family archives I found some old photographs of the Reigate house my grandfather John Attenborough FRIBA built in the early 1960s.
The design of the house was based on three intersecting triangles; the kitchen area, living area and sleeping area. Serving as our family HQ, "The Carel" was our base for nearly fifty years until my grandparents downsized. Below are some photographs of Reigate as it used to look (left) and how it looked when I photographed it (right) shortly before it was sold a few years ago.
In Pictures: The Carel, Reigate
1. John and Pam Attenborough on the drive
2. James and Emily Chua's wedding reception
3. James and Emily Chua's wedding reception
4. Pam reading
5. View of the house from the garden
6. Henry the dog
7 & 8. Original architectural models for The Carel
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Situated Urban Research: Detroit
16.10.11
Above: Installation photographs of Situated Urban Research at Cave Gallery, Detroit October 2nd - 21st.
Below: SURE's guest editorship for Wallpaper* see the full project here.
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MESH {composition}
14.09.11
Music Was Free... my collaborative piece with jazz drummer Sean Carpio
is featuring in an exhibition in association with Dublin Contemporary.
See the show from 17.09.11 at BLOCK T gallery:
1-6 Haymarket, Smithfield Square, Dublin, Ireland.
Installation shot Music Was Free... as part of MESH {composition}
Curated by Ben Readman and Grace Mc Evoy, In_flux art fair Limerick
Artists exhibiting :
MARK GARRY / BRIAN CROSS (B+) / GILLIAN LAWLER / STEPHEN MAYBURY / HENDERSON 12 / NEIL CARROLL / SINEAD CURRAN / SEAN CARPIO / LUCINDA CHUA /_________________________________________________________________
FELIX: Oh Holy Molar
12.08.11
I made my first ever record with Chris Summerlin and Elv Beetham called
You Are the one I Pick that kranky released in November 2009.
This is me, opening the box of CDs on my 24th birthday; the day the record came out...
Two years on, we thought it time to make another one. Joined by a new drummer, Neil Turpin, (Bilge Pump, Yann Tiersen) we united in Nottingham at Paper Stone Studios under the supervision of Pete Fletcher (First Love) and it went a bit like this...
We were delighted and disturbed to find that the studio itself, a converted 1940s cinema, was situated above a former dental practise. This seemed apt for a record consisting of songs considering the significance of dreams where your teeth fall out.
We hope that this record will be available to purchase some time in the Spring of 2012.
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Stanley Kubrick's Director's Chair
01.07.11
A brilliant find from the archive...
A silver gelatin print of Stanley Kubrick's Director's chair by actor and star of
Full Metal Jacket Matthew Modine who it would appear is also a talented photographer.
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S.U.RE (Situated Urban Research)
03.06.11
I am joining forces with John Bingham-Hall for S.U.RE, a new collaborative project acting as with a platform to document and understand, both artistically and critically, emerging urban and architectural forms by creating in situ a body of text and audiovisual documentation.
We are please to announce our first field outing:
John is a researcher in urbanism who is currently being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to complete a Master's degree in Advanced Architectural Studies at the Bartlett, UCL.
Recently commissioned by Fox & Squirrell to curate a series of Archi-Food Walks he is also helping to deliver an experimental project with The Architecture Foundation (in collaboration with South Kilburn Neighbourhood Trust, Brent Council and Practice Architecture) which has converted a disused building in Kilburn, London, to provide free studio space for emerging businesses in return for traineeships for local young people._________________________________________________________________
Good Luck
30.05.11
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New Song: CIRCUS
11.05.11
Here is a new song I made today, constructed entirely from cello and singing:
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Personal Effects
07.04.11
Edward Vince of Vince & Son has a project called Personal Effects that explores the sentiment and value we attach to our treasured possessions.
Take a look at my contribution to the archive amongst the other great objects that make up the online museum on the Vince & Son website
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Fifty Years Ago Today
02.04.11
I discovered this treasure, an original clipping from the 1961 Observer newspaper, in the Attenborough Family Archive where it had been filed next to a photograph of my grandfather John Attenborough as a young architect.
This redevelopment was John's first job, he worked as part of London County Council Architects in this instance under group leader Norman Engleback.
I hope to some day make a film about the build of the new South Bank and to learn further of John's involvement in the Brutalist Architecture movement.
"London county council architects (act. c.1940–1965) were a group of young, highly talented, and enterprising practitioners who looked back to, and drew inspiration from, the first generation of architects—the ‘band of brothers’—to work for the London county council (LCC) in the decade after its creation in 1889. Then, under its first Progressive (Liberal) administrations, the council’s architecture department had been noted for the first housing schemes, such as those at Boundary Road and Millbank, that were both attractive and sanitary.
After the Second World War those working in the four divisions of the LCC’s architects’ department—schools, housing, planning, and general—were likewise responsible for a remarkable and extensive programme of planning, rebuilding, and modernization of the capital’s municipal buildings, open spaces, schools, and above all, housing, which had been severely depleted by the war (of the 98,000 dwellings owned by the LCC 11,000 had been damaged or destroyed)."
- Elain Harwood of the C20th Society
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Happy Birthday John
10.03.11
Happy Birthday Grandpa John, here are some classic birthday cards from the Attenborough Family Archive...
The photograph featured left became a running joke as the light bulb in the background was said to resemble a hearing-aid. The birthday card featured right was made by my Great Uncle and Typographer Stuart Fox in 1979.
A 40th birthday card made by Stuart from my great Aunt Susan.
A birthday message from my Great Grandmother on the back of a photograph.
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Dear Paul II (Dirk Bogarde)
07.03.11
A letter from Dirk Bogarde following an interview conducted by Paul.
As you know I can't spell! Sorry. - DB
So there is hope for the rest of us yet...
*Dirk Bogarde slide copyright Paul Joyce
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Dear Paul I (David Hockney)
03.03.11
Today's findings mark another David Hockney gem; a letter from David to Paul dug out from the vaults of the archive. Circa 1991ish
Below right is a photograph of Paul holding a picture he took of David.
And of course, David himself, pictured left.
*Photographs copyright Paul Joyce
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Bon Iver's Roslyn
28.02.11
Someone put the original version of this song on the gallery playlist at work. I'm so fond of it I recorded my own version with vocals, piano and cello.
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Making Bjork's Dress
16.02.11
There are some moments in life where you stop and think you are losing your mind. Like spending 48 hours fashioning a swan costume out of old bed sheets in time for the "Music" theme birthday party of an old school friend back in the town where you grew up.
I think this was one of them.
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AQA Photography Examination A level paper 2011
06.02.11
Dear Photography A level students,
I hope you all ace your exams and get A grades.
To book me for a visiting lecture, seminar or technical workshop get in touch.
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With Love for my Grandfather, the Architect
31.01.11
I studied at the same university as my grandfather, except in his day it was called Nottingham Trent Polytechnic. When he graduated, he left Nottingham (the city he had been born in) and found work in London where he was involved in some extraordinary projects.
In the past I have spoken with him about some of these projects, he brushes them off lightly in favour of more jovial anecdotes - like the time he bought a purple pork pie hat and accidentally left it in the theatre but was too embarrassed to phone up or call in to ask for it back.
My sister currently studies architecture at Sheffiled and my cousin works in design and over the last few years we have learnt about our grandfather in a different way - through his work - which really is something quite special...
Above: Baby John from the Attenborough family Archive
Top Right: Hand drawn design for the South Bank development
Right: Photographs of models of the building
Visit the Archigram website for more info on the South Bank Development
Above: Model of Building (colour), Completed Building (black and white)
All South Bank images taken from Archigram Archive
Photographs by LCC Photographic Unit
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British Library
29.01.11
Today I visited the British Library. I enjoy the permanent collection and among other discoveries* I was spellbound by Patrick Hughes' Paradoxymoron 1996. I filmed it on my phone but the video does not compare to the real life witchcraft of his optical illusion. It reminded me of the Library of Babel - Borges' never-ending honeycomb of infinite libraries.
"One of the trivia I found, in my initial research, was that the above tuning fork (reputedly Beethoven's) was to have been left to Finzi when Ralph Vaughan Williams departed this life (which he eventually did, in August 1958). Finzi however had already departed before RVW, as you may know, in circumstances of almost Hardyesque tragi-comedy, in the early autumn of 1956. RVW and Ursula didn't believe that anyone around in British music deserved the tuning fork, and it is now in the British Museum."
- Thank you to Gordon Thompson from Addiscombe for writing to me with the above information.
I imagine the more you hit a tuning fork over generations, the more it deviates from the pitch it was made at?
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Box of Hockney
26.01.11
I spend one day a week assisting the film maker/photographer in his studio/house.
He has a huge estate of negatives and photographs which I have dedicated the past year to scanning, archiving and storing in his converted garage. I have no idea when this task will be complete and so far have just about managed to make sense of half of the boxes upon boxes filled with odds and ends; the odd thousand negatives, hundreds of contact sheets and prints.
This week I discovered a box of prints of the artist David Hockney. I say discovered as I expect these pictures have been sitting in a box waiting to be uncovered for perhaps more years than I have been alive.
There are pictures of David with his dogs, swimming in his pool, taking a nap on the sofa and my favourite of all - a hand drawn map he made which illustrates how to get from his LA house to Mount Wilson by way of Pearblossom Highway; the subject of his iconic "joiners" photomontage.
Left: David Hockney's daschunds
Right: Caption reads "1966 my home. Pico + Crenshaw L.A" signed by David
Below: David's hand drawn map
