John Ruskin Matters Exhibition

  'Joy For Ever' 
by Brian Bamford

YESTERDAY, I visited an exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester:   'This exhibition responds to the 200th birthday of artist, art critic and social reformer John Ruskin with a joyful look at how to use art for social change.'

Part of this exhibition draws on the work of Goya and Hogarth to illustrate a point about their work as 'outsiders to critique and reflect on dysfunctional European society of their time:  'the nationalism, warfare, poverty, homelessness, abuse, corruption,,, all subjects that come under their forensic scrutiny.'

This work is labelled according to the descriptive note 'as conceived as Britain propels towards exit from the European Union' and, it says, that 'this  timely exhibition activates the work of Goya and Hogarth to raise questions of a tortured mind-set of Britain on the eve of Brexit'.

One of the engravings by Hogarth shows his satirical critique of the South Sea Bubble.  This is relevant because the subtitle to the exhibition is 'How to use art to change the World and its Price in the Market'.  

*************

Francisco De Goya Artsy Link

Hi - my name is Alonzo, and I work at Artsy. While researching Francisco De Goya, I found your page: http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html.
I am reaching out to certain website and blog owners that publish content in line with our mission to make all the world’s art accessible to anyone. We hope to continue promoting arts education and accessibility with your help.
Our Francisco De Goya page provides visitors with De Goya's bio, over 235 of his works, exclusive articles, and up-to-date De Goya exhibition listings. The page also includes related artists and categories, allowing viewers to discover art beyond our De Goya page. We would love to be included as an additional resource for your visitors via a link on your page.
If you are able to add a link to our De Goya page, please let me know, and thanks in advance for your consideration.
Best,
Alonzo
"Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of source of their wonders."
-Francisco De Goya