Barbara Hepworth: Pioneering modern sculpture
About this video
This short film looks at Barbara Hepworth, a leading British sculptor of the mid 20th century, who moved to St Ives in Cornwall in 1939 and stayed for the rest of her life. It shows how she bought a larger studio for space and light, developed a garden for her sculpture, and wanted people to move around her work as it changes in different light.
You'll be able to
- explain why Hepworth is important in British modern art.
- describe why her St Ives studio and garden mattered to her work.
- explain why Hepworth wanted viewers to move around her sculptures.
Key words
- sculptor
- An artist who makes three-dimensional works, for example by carving stone or wood.
- modernist
- An artist who broke from traditional styles to find new forms for modern life.
- commission
- A work an artist is paid to make for a particular person or place.
- studio
- The room or building where an artist works.
Transcript
you I was born with the ideas of certain shapes in my mind was far back seven the whole time one's been working trying to simplify and make mom to get the right scale and develop it according to the development of society Hepworth was a leading British sculpture of the mid 20th century and her work was extraordinary important in forging new ground in British art in 1939 she came to some Ives with her young family she had triplets with Ben Nicholson again an emerging British modernist and stayed here for the rest of her life Junaid Englander has usually been very literary country and a bit stuck if it doesn't have a story well I like the story to be included in the work and you make your intent
by 1949 such was her practice that it was evolving and she had some major Commission's she really needed a new studio space a good friend of hers Marcus Brummell saw that the summer houses and studios from the large twin house up the hill were for sale she acquired it much to our horror it was far more than she'd anticipated but it gave her the space and light to work and develop her sculpture she worked with a composer pre Iranian and they decided that they were going to develop this garden it was evolved very carefully it is a sanctuary it has an incredible peaceful feel about it it's lovely to pick up stone and it's lovely to live with the sculpture because it changes in every possible light all through the day
one light artificial light any light it's always changing she died in a small fire in 1975 in the true in studios he had remained here since 1939 when she moved down with the family and Ben Nicholson right up until her death Peppa's son-in-law who became the director of Tate Allen bonus they worked to place the garden with a flavor of its original planning it has stayed very much the same as it was in the late 70s you know when it opened to the public everything I make and people usually do which pleases me and it's very important to start to not just guess or plant up and look because it changes all the time so the real thing for people is to move with their bodies if I'd make them do that then I'm very happy
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