HELLO FROM THE EDITOR / SUMMER 2024

COVER IMAGE: Artist Rebecca Salter, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, London by Alun Callender

Welcome

A new little arts book has landed on my desk. Called The World According to David Hockney (out this July, published by Thames & Hudson), it’s rammed with pertinent quotes from the artist on everything from nature to making art. Among them is this: ‘Art history, like all history, is going to be rewritten.’ And how. Who can tell which big name artists of today will really be those of the future? Or which rising stars are soon to make a definitive mark on our arts landscape? Or even what art form will be championed? These are questions we explore within this issue. Certainly those who tutored a young Rebecca Salter did not forecast how, as an artist, she would one day rewrite a part of British art history. Delve into Chloë Ashby’s interview with her inside to discover more. Another game changer in the arts was Caspar David Friedrich, born 250 years ago in the Baltic town of Greifswald. Friedrich shifted the art world’s approach to landscape painting in radical fashion. In a quick-fire Q&A we ask Arts Society Lecturer Caroline Levisse to explore his extraordinary story.

We look, too, at another medium that has been subjected to more than a little revision. Still life was once considered by critics to be lowly, requiring little skill and less imagination. How things change. Today, in a complete rewrite, it is hailed as an art form of true authenticity. Arts Society Lecturer Dan Evans investigates its enduring lure. And, while touching on allure, who knew that coastal algae – yes, we’re talking seaweed – could earn space in a magazine that celebrates the arts? Yet evidence leads us to ask why artists, poets, folklorists and more are fascinated by its weedy wonders. The names alone, among them Beautiful Eyelash and Oyster Thief, indicate a certain mythic charm. Our feature from page 28 is sure to make any stroll along a beach this summer all the more illuminating.  

Sue Herdman, Editor

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