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Art and architecture masterclass
12 September 2006Getting the people in the Panorama: Artist Ben Johnson on painting a new Liverpool cityscape
Internationally renowned artist Ben Johnson has been commissioned by National Museums Liverpool to produce a huge portrait of Liverpool, commemorating the city becoming European Capital of Culture. The finished work will be exhibited in the Walker Art Gallery in 2008.
Now staff, students and members of the public will have an opportunity to hear more about this ambitious work as Ben Johnson will deliver a masterclass at LJMU's School of Art and Design on Friday 29 September.
The discussion will take place at 10am in the main lecture theatre (68 Hope Street). All are welcome as Ben is keen to get as many people as possible involved in the project through open discussion and creative debate.
Ben Johnson has produced other cityscapes including Jerusalem, Zurich (pictured opposite) and Hong Kong but this will be his largest work to date, standing at 8ft x 16ft. It's also the first time the artist has worked directly with a public gallery to produce a commission on this scale.
Johnson’s cityscapes take years of painstaking work. First the subject must be closely explored by taking photographs, considering alternative viewpoints and absorbing the atmosphere of the city. Then detailed drawings are produced, often numbered in their thousands. Johnson is incredibly precise and his paintings are executed in minute detail. This will be the most detailed painting ever made of Liverpool in its history.
Johnson has already undertaken much of the groundwork relating to the Liverpool Cityscape’s composition. Despite looking at the city from a number of viewpoints, he has chosen to immortalise Liverpool’s famous skyline from a vantage point high above the River Mersey, looking almost due east towards the Three Graces.
The project has been co-commissioned with the Liverpool Culture Company and LJMU Honorary Fellows Phil and Alexis Redmond.
