From polkadot psychedelia to early 20th century juggling acrobats, discover our Marketing Executive's favourite images and clips in the archive
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1. What is your role at Bridgeman?
I work within the marketing department at Bridgeman's head office in London, overseeing the UK and international marketing communications. My role is pretty creative and varied; each week could see me writing numerous articles and website content, designing e-newsletters, co-ordinating events and tradeshows, identifying new business opportunities, managing our database and creating reports, researching cultural or industry trends and raising our profile on all our social media platforms.
2. What do you love most about the job?
I studied both English Literature and Art History at university and this job is the perfect combination of the two! Each day at the office expands my global art knowledge and I love being able to write on a diverse range of cultural subjects. Bridgeman are very invested in your development and there is always great scope to try new things; recently I learnt how to make some collages and quirky GIFS and am now excited to have a go at the next challenge of creating videos and podcasts. 3. What misconceptions do clients most commonly have about the archive?
Many clients associate Bridgeman with art historical images and don't realise that we have some rare and incredible archive footage as well - some over a century old! It's also easy to forget that there's a lot more that can be done in the creative use or manipulation of some of our pictures. For example, a small section of a painting could be blown up to evoke a whole different mood or setting, or the colours and shapes of an object could be modified to fit more with the design brief. I have seen some stunning book covers which have used this method and become completely new and original works of art. |
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Katrina's favourite images and clips in the archive are...
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Hieronymus Bosch
I first came across Bosch whilst studying fine art in school. I was immediately struck by his breathtaking and unusual imagination; his works are brimming with the most bizarre concepts and fantastical creatures art history has ever seen - such as this human-devouring bird ruler - and all at a time when it was especially rare for such creativity to be unleashed onto a canvas. Bosch was centuries before Surrealism came about (one of my favourite art movements) and few other artists have since matched his particular talent or phenomenal attention to detail. The Garden of Earthly Delights and Hell are both a feast for the eyes and an endless source of art history memes… which are also a guilty pleasure. |
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Art Nouveau
I am a big fan of this decorative style of art, especially the works of Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha and Antoni Gaudi. I absolutely adore Klimt’s gold-infused images and I was transfixed by the paintings when I visited them at their home in Vienna. His aptitude for costume is apparent in the beautiful patterns and detailing of the clothing and I love the closeness portrayed in the way in which the figures embrace each other and interlock to create one large shape of shimmering colour. |
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Edward Hopper
Watching films is one of my favourite past times and Hopper's style of painting is very reminscent of cinema. The vivid colours, use of light, perspective and the focus on interiors often brings to mind one of my top visual film directors, Wes Anderson. The geometric shapes in his Chop Suey also suggests a flirtation with abstraction, akin to the blocks of blue, yellow and red in Piet Mondrian's works.
This image is intriguing as it looks as though the female figure is facing her doppelganger at the table, albeit in different clothing. It's also somewhat unsettling as it is unclear whether her dark eyes are looking at the opposite figure or are gazing at the viewer. The main event - the conversation or meal - has already or is about to happen, but it is again surrounded in ambiguity. It's a film-like 'still' that could portray endless stories, something that Hopper had a knack for.
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Yayoi Kusama
Kusama is an inspiration in that her art was the precursor of the pop art, minimalist and feminist art movements. In a society seriously lacking in leading female artists, it’s so important that Kusama is considered as one of the top ten artists alive today. Her personal life is fascinating; since 1977 she has been living in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo but leaves for a few hours each day to create a world of psychedelia in her studio. I find her spotted patterns infinitely mesmerising and compelling. For her however it is more than art, it is an essential therapy that helps her cope with a severe depersonalisation disorder. |
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Edison Films
Most people associate Thomas Edison with his ground-breaking invention of the light bulb, but he had a huge impact on cinema as well with his development of the motion picture camera. The archive holds a significant collection of his early experiments with film, from dramatic dancing to humorous skits and precious insights into daily life over a century ago.
This clip shows Japanese acrobats performing a remarkable juggling act with each other in 1904. It's a good metaphor for when life kicks you around - spin and flip back up again!
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Mark Adlington I have a mild obsession with dogs (my first Bridgeman blog post was about reasons why we love dogs) but really I find all animals to be either heart-warming or fascinating. Recently I've been watching David Attenborough's Planet Earth 2 and you can't help but be astounded by all of the creatures in the wild, both large and small. Bridgeman Studio artist Mark Adlington is great at capturing the spirit of the animals he depicts, such as this cute and inquisitive otter. I've grown fond of sea otters since discovering that they hold hands while they sleep so that they don't drift apart in the water. So sweet! |
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Halas & Batchelor I stumbled upon this British animation studio when I first started working at Bridgeman, as I came across their rendition of Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. I have since watched most of their clips in the archive and am a fan of their quirky style and imaginative ideas. This joyful and catchy video was created for the single Love is All in the 1974 album The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, by Richard Glover. |