Until I embarked on this project, I didn’t know what a Venetian window was. Venetian blinds, aye. They’re a nightmare to fit, I’ll tell you that for nowt (though, going off on a complete tangent – this little gadget was a godsend when I had to cut down eight sets last year).
I’d seen them all over of course. But it never occurred to me that they had a name and history.
Seaton Delaval Hall has loads. Vanbrugh was very keen on them, as he was a big fan of Palladio who created his own version.
Much of my time researching the hall has been spent walking around it, looking at themes, forms, and shapes – and trying to work out how these things can be interpreted in my style, or how they might exist (or co-exist) in the constant state. My work leans very, very heavily on brutalist architecture, but does Vanbrugh’s English baroque have anything in common with brutalism?
I started playing around with the basic shapes of the Venetian window – an arch flanked by two smaller, narrower rectangles. I love arches, but as you may have noticed – curves scare me. If I can’t use a ruler for it I run a mile. But, needs must.
I tried drawing structures formed from those shapes – normally found as part of a wall – and making them their own entities. And, ultimately, started joining them up, flipping them and so on. Playing, I guess.
Though I made dozens of sketches, I’m quite interested in the two below. Sculptures again, but I think they are quite pretty. Perhaps they could work as small sculptures; plinth-based – or even larger pieces which could be walked through and interacted with. I think something larger might look very nice in the gardens somewhere.
Again though, I’m not sure if these are completely me, and I’m not sure I’ve found anything I’m really taken with just yet.
I’m really fortunate to have dozens of rough ideas that I can draw up and explore.
Onto the next…