The North East Emerging Artist Award (NEEAA) process works in a few stages. Shortlisted artists prepare design proposals, which will be shown at Seaton Delaval Hall over the summer, where the visiting public can vote on their favourites. A judging panel then chooses three winners of the award, who then proceed to make the work they proposed as part of their design proposal.
I'm one of eight shortlisted artists.
The only real limitations to the design proposals are that they must respond to Seaton Delaval Hall in some way. This could be the building itself, its past inhabitants and its history in general.
So from now until May, I'll be coming up with concepts for a final design proposal.
My comfort zone is Architecture. Well, maybe comfort zone isn't the right phrase - but it's certainly where my mind went first. I love architecture, I worked in architecture for a chunk of my life, my work references architecture pretty much 100% of the time, and I generally enjoy looking at architecture (amongst other things). So that's where I've started, for the most part.
History
Seaton Delaval Hall has an interesting history and has quite the who's-who of names attached to it. A wealthy Admiral by the name of George Delaval bought the estate in the 1700s and enlisted Sir John Vanbrugh - probably the most famous architect in Britain at the time - to see what he could do with the house which stood there. Vanbrugh's suggestion? Tear it down and start fresh. So that's what they did.
I like Vanbrugh's story; apparently, he had no formal architectural training and has 'businessman' playwright, soldier and herald on his CV. Vanbrugh took the Baroque style which was popular and prevalent in Europe at the time and gave it his own spin; to my mind, he added theatre, scale and more than a touch of military fortification. What emerged was 'English Baroque' - which Seaton Delaval Hall is cited as one of the finest examples.
Work started on the hall in 1718 and it was completed in 1728. Neither Admiral Delaval nor Vanbrugh lived to see the hall's completion.
Upon the Admirals passing, the Hall was handed over to Captain Francis Blake Delaval and his wife Rhoda. They moved into the Hall as soon as it was completed, and proceeded to build a family. They had twelve children, and the family earned the nickname of the 'Gay Delaval's' due to their theatrics, debauchery and flamboyance. My kind of people.
Fast forward to 1822, and a huge fire gutted the main hall. Apparently sailors at Whitley bay thought the sunset was unusually bright, but alas - it was the hall, aglow with flames. The central block was reduced to stone, with the contents, fixtures, fittings and the roof all taken by the fire. The hall then stood dormant until around 1860 when John Dobson was hired to take on restoration work. A new roof was added and structural work undertaken to make the building safe, but little else.
So despite the neighbouring wings undergoing some restoration later, the central hall remains cold and empty. I quite like it that way, it has a eerie, liminal quality to it. Brutal, perhaps? We'll see. Certainly one thread of an idea I plan to tug at is the similarities between Vanbrugh's work and Brutalist Architecture.
There are a few features and themes jumping out at me after my initial visit. These may or may not bear artistic fruit...
Stairs
One of the more unique features of Vanbrugh's design are the two cantilevered spiral staircases which flank the central wing of the hall. At the time the hall was built, these staircases were a feat of engineering; their oval layout was rarely seen and the floating effect of the cantilever design equaled a real showstopper.
Of course stairs are something of a recurring theme in my work (in case you hadn't noticed) so these staircases piqued my interest immediately. They were damaged in the fire but have been partly restored; you can only go up as far as the second (of three) floors for the time being.
They really are spectacular. You can stand at the bottom of the stairs and look up and the view is spectacular (if you're into stairs). I'd love to be able to go up to the top and look down at some point. I like the fact that the two staircases sit either side of the almost barren central hall. There is a balcony which runs through the central hall at the first floor level, i like the idea of travelling in a loop from ground to first and back via the two staircases.
Muses
The central hall is a very grand double-height space, with a beautiful checker-board marble floor. At either side of the hall, high up on the walls, are six statues nestled in alcoves. These statues represent six muses; sculpture, painting, architecture, astronomy, geography and music.
I love the idea that these six statues represented themes which were important to the family, and stood watch over guest congregating in the central hall. Setting the tone.
I'm unsure how these statues could influence or inform my work, but it's certainly something I want to explore.
The Bransby Cabinet
The restored west wing of the Hall holds a wealth of amazing artefacts from the halls various inhabitants. A huge collection of paintings, furniture, ornaments and a few oddities (a small collection of "man traps" deserves some further research) - but the Bransby cabinet caught my eye and imagination.
From being very young i've had a thing about desks, and particularly bureaus. My sister had one for a while and i loved nothing more than sneaking into her room, folding it open and opening the many drawers and cubby holes. I longed for my own.
Those feelings came rushing back when I saw the Bransby cabinet. I've no idea how old it is, where its from or what it once held - but i'd love to find out (and hopefully will). It has over 100 compartments and drawers, with many of them hidden. SECRET COMPARTMENTS! Again, I have no idea if or how this could influence my proposal - but i love it.
I think my main concern, or probably mental-hurdle I need to overcome, is that I have this sort of unspoken rule that everything I do exists within the Constant State world. I cant immediately see how any of this stuff would fit into the wider story, and it makes me feel uncomfortable making work that sits outside of the Constant State (don't ask me why, it just makes me feel weird).
But for now, I'm poring over books - and making as many visits to the Hall as possible, camera and sketchbook at the ready.