Wednesday 29 August 2012

Art, the 60's



This Sunday I’m reminiscing about the 60’s, I think it must be the weather, lovely hot sunny days make me think of long ago. This is not my usual ‘Art Sunday’ post, its more like a trip down memory lane and a look at the iconic fashion, music and art from the 60’s.
The picture above is Carnaby Street in the 1960’s
First a couple of iconic paintings by David Hockney; ‘The bigger Splash’ painted in 1960, and ‘Peter getting out of Nicks Pool;, painted  1966.

Bernard Safran
Study of John F. Kennedy
pencil on onionskin paper

From 1957 to 1966 Safran was a member of the influential group of Time magazine cover artists known internally as "the stable", which included Boris Artzybasheff, Boris Chaliapin, and Robert Vickrey.

During this period he painted over seventy-three cover portraits of leading celebrities and newsmakers. Thirty-six of the original paintings are now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution's The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Many of the remaining cover portraits were presented to the famous individuals depicted.
Safran painted members of the Kennedy family on several occasions during the 1960s. This was probably a preparatory drawing for  his July 11th 1960 TIME portrait of the Kennedy family.

Francoise Hardy, French singer songwriter  grew up in Paris with her younger sister Michèle. Her father bought her a guitar for her birthday as a reward for passing her baccalauréat. After a year at the Sorbonne she answered a newspaper advertisement looking for young singers. Hardy signed her first contract with the record label Vogue in November 1961. In April 1962, shortly after she left university, her first record "Oh Oh Chéri" appeared, written by Johnny Hallyday's writing duo. Her own flip side of the record, "Tous les garçons et les filles" became a success, riding the wave of Yé-yé music in France. It sold over a million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The track peaked at 36 in the UK Singles Chart in 1964. She first appeared on television in 1962 during an interlude in a programme reporting the results of a presidential referendum.
Hardy sings in French, English, Italian, Spanish and German, and has one interpretation in Portuguese. In 1963 she came fifth for Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest with "L'amour s'en va". In 1963, she was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie Charles Cros.

Vidal Sassoon,
CBE (17 January 1928 – 9 May 2012) was a British hairdresser, credited with creating a simple geometric, "Bauhaus-inspired" hair style, also called the wedge bob. Due to the popularity of his styles, he was described as "a rock star, an artist, a craftsman who 'changed the world with a pair of scissors. Sassoon trained under Raymond Bessone, in his salon in Mayfair. Sassoon stated that "he really taught me how to cut hair...I'd never have achieved what I have without him."Sassoon opened his first salon in 1954 in London. Sassoon stated his intentions in designing new, more efficient, hair styles: "If I was going to be in hairdressing, I wanted to change things. I wanted to eliminate the superfluous and get down to the basic angles of cut and shape.Sassoon's works include the geometric perm and the "Nancy Kwan" hairstyles. They were all modern and low-maintenance. The hairstyles created by Sassoon relied on dark, straight, and shiny hair cut into geometric yet organic shapes. In 1963, Sassoon created a short, angular hairstyle cut on a horizontal plane that was the recreation of the classic "bob cut." His geometric haircuts seemed to be severely cut, but were entirely lacquer-free, relying on the natural shine of the hair for effect.

Lesley  Hornby widely known by the nickname Twiggy,
is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early 1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree.
Twiggy was initially known for her androgynous looks, large eyes, long eyelashes, thin build and short hair. In 1966, she was named "The Face of 1966" by the Daily Express and voted British Woman of the Year. By 1967, Twiggy had modelled in France, Japan, and the U.S., and landed on the covers of Vogue and The Tatler. Her fame had spread worldwide.
After modelling, Twiggy went on to enjoy a successful career as a screen, stage and television actress. She has hosted her own series, Twiggy's People, in which she interviewed celebrities, and also appeared as a judge on the reality show America's Next Top Model.

Mary Quant, OBE, FCSD (born 11 February 1934) is a Welsh fashion designer and British fashion icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement.
She was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born in Blackheath, London, to Welsh parents, Quant brought fun and fantasy to fashion in the 1960s. As creator of the mini skirt and hot pants, she showed a generation how to dress to please themselves. Her instant success made traditionally cautious designers change their attitudes and make their designs appeal to the newly important youth market.
 The 1960s were the right time for Quant. The decade was characterized by the rise of youth culture in Britain. Young people of all classes had independence, employment and disposable incomes. Style and image were everything, visible on television, purchasable in shops, available to all. 1960s' role models were pop singers, models, sporting figures, television stars. If the 1960s was the right time, "Swinging London" was the right place. Pop culture influenced what people wore as well as what they listened to.

Jean Shrimpton was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and brought up on a farm, She was educated at St Bernard's Convent, Slough and then enrolled at Langham Secretarial College in London when she was 17. In 1960, aged 17, she began modelling, appearing on the covers of popular magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Vanity Fair. During her career, Shrimpton was widely reported to be the "world's highest paid model", the "most famous model", and the "most photographed in the world". She was also described as having the "world's most beautiful face". She was dubbed "The It Girl", "The Face", "The Face of the Moment", and "The Face of the '60s". Glamour named her "Model of The Year" in June 1963. She contrasted with the aristocratic-looking models of the 1950s by representing the coltish, gamine look of the youthquake movement in 1960s Swinging London, and she was reported as "the symbol of Swinging London." By breaking the popular mould of voluptuous figures with her long legs and slim figure, she was nicknamed "The Shrimp". Shrimpton was also known for her long hair with a fringe, wide doe-eyes, long wispy eyelashes, arched brows, and pouty lips.
Shrimpton also helped launch the miniskirt. In 1965, Shrimpton caused a sensation in Melbourne, Australia, when she arrived for the Victoria Derby wearing a white shift dress designed by Colin Rolfe which ended 10 cm (3.9 in) above her knees. She wore no hat, stockings or gloves and wore a man's watch, which was unusual at the time. Shrimpton was unaware she would cause such reaction in the Melbourne community and media.

Sharon Marie Tate (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Valley of the Dolls (1967). She also appeared regularly in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl.

Married to film director Roman Polanski in 1968, Tate was eight and a half months pregnant when she was murdered in her home, along with four others, by followers of Charles Manson.
Patricia Anne "Pattie" Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model, photographer and author. She began her fashion career in 1962, and worked in London, New York, and Paris, modelling in London, New York, and Paris (for Mary Quant and others), and was photographed by David Bailey, and Terence Donovan. She appeared on the cover of Vogue and wrote for 16 Magazine.

She is the former wife of musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and claims that she was the inspiration for songs written by both musicians: Harrison's "Something", "I Need You", "For You Blue" and "Isn't It a Pity", and Clapton's "Layla", "Wonderful Tonight" and "Bell Bottom Blues".

These two album covers are forever linked in my mind with the 1960’s.


It’s a beautiful day’, and Love forever Changes’.

Love forever changes. The full album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1L11Y0I5E0

Hot summers day from it’s a beautiful day
   

rabbitfriendhere wrote on May 31
This has taken me down memory lane as well Loretta. I remember go-go boots, Raquel Welsh, Tom Jones, and the album Hair the most.
catherinearmant wrote on May 29, edited on May 29
I love this Tribute to the 1960s, dear Loretta.
artprevails wrote on May 28
You did a really nice job with this post. Love all of it! TY!
Comment deleted at the request of the thread owner.
brendainmad wrote on May 27
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
veryfrank wrote on May 27, edited on May 27
I never realized you lived in La Rochelle...............
I lived in La Rochelle for the 18 months that they made the film "The Longest Day". La Rochelle's island, Isle de Re, was the setting to recreate Normandy. I was part of the military coordination team.

Even after I moved to Paris, I still went back to La Rochelle often.
nemo4sun wrote on May 27
lol... these girls these days with their hair straighteners.......................don't appreciate what they have :-)0
when my mom was young she wanted that glossy look of the 20's, 30's glamour

she put vasiline in her hair not knowing it would not wash out

lol

:)
forgetmenot525 wrote on May 27
nemo4sun said
lol ~ my sister did that

:)
lol... these girls these days with their hair straighteners.......................don't appreciate what they have :-)0
nemo4sun wrote on May 27
girls with long hair used to spend hours ironing it under brown paper on their mothers ironing boards.
lol ~ my sister did that

:)
forgetmenot525 wrote on May 27
veryfrank said
wonderfully I lived in La Rochelle and Paris during that time.
I never realized you lived in La Rochelle...............that town is about 1 1/2 hr drive from my sisters house and I so want to go there. I'm seriously thinking of flying down there rather than flying to Poitiers next time and just booking into a cheap hotel for a few days before going on to see my sister. Apparently its only two stops on the train from where she lives.........It looks such a lovely town, from what I've seen it reminds me of Rhodes, being a Mediterranean, walled medieval town........I have been to Rhodes, but its very expensive and much further to travel from where I am so I thought maybe la Rochell would be just as good, only closer and less expensive.
greenwytch wrote on May 27
strange looking back and remembering how long ago it all was isn't it??
i only caught the tail end of it.........but heck yeah! things sure have changed since then.
veryfrank wrote on May 27
I agree with Mitch, lots of nostalgia. I am 10 years older than he is, so the 1960's for me were my time for the rite of passage and wonderfully I lived in La Rochelle and Paris during that time.

I do blogs on phraseology and slang by a full decade at a time. My most recent one was of the 1960's so it is still fresh in my mind but brought back wonderful memories. Now I have to get out my music CD's from the 60's.
forgetmenot525 wrote on May 27
those are really beautiful images from that era. thanks, Loretta. ; )
strange looking back and remembering how long ago it all was isn't it??
forgetmenot525 wrote on May 27
nemo4sun said
p.s. ~ we should all thank vidal for killing the beehive hairdo
oh yes...............but, I remember just starting senior school and 'the big girls' all had the backcombed beehive hair, plus the full skirts and tight little tops that showed off their tiny waists.............oh how I wanted to be one of those 'big girls'...........by the time I was that age the fashion had changed and every one wanted to look like Twiggy with Sassoon hair. This was pre hair straightener days when girls with long hair used to spend hours ironing it under brown paper on their mothers ironing boards.
forgetmenot525 wrote on May 27
mitchylr said
The 70's were 'my' decade, my teen years, where my greatest influence lay.
ahhhh so maybe next time I'll do the 70's :-)
mitchylr wrote on May 27
Some great nostalia there, Loretta. As I was born late 58, the sixties for me were my childhood days, so much of this passed me by at the time. I was an outdoors child and spend a large part of the 60's playing football. climbing trees and generally getting into trouble. The 70's were 'my' decade, my teen years, where my greatest influence lay. I actually retro-discovered the 60's during the 70's.
greenwytch wrote on May 27
i love the music, too. ♥
greenwytch wrote on May 27
those are really beautiful images from that era. thanks, Loretta. ; )
nemo4sun wrote on May 27
thanks for the trip down memory lane

some of the art of the 60's i love and carry the influence with me to this day
the architecture to me was horrible and and some of those horrors are still there

but like any time period ~ there is the good and bad

:)

p.s. ~ we should all thank vidal for killing the beehive hairdo

lol

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