Visualising a Sacred City

London, Art and Religion

Ben Quash, Aaron Rosen, Chloe Reddaway, Ben Quash, Aaron Rosen, Chloe Reddaway

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781786720856
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

William Blake famously imagined 'Jerusalem builded here' in London. But Blake was not the first or the last to visualise a shimmering new metropolis on the banks of the River Thames. For example, the Romans erected a temple to Mithras in their ancient city of Londinium; medieval Londoners created Temple Church in memory of the Holy Sepulchre in which Jesus was buried; and Christopher Wren reshaped the skyline of the entire city with his visionary dome and spires after the Great Fire of London in 1666. In the modern period, the fabric of London has been rewoven in the image of its many immigrants from the Caribbean, South Asia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. While previous books have examined literary depictions of the city, this is the first examination of the religious imaginary of the metropolis through the prism of the visual arts. Adopting a broad multicultural and multi-faith perspective, and making space for practitioners as well as scholars, its topics range from ancient archaeological remains and Victorian murals and cemeteries to contemporary documentaries and political cartoons.

PART V

CONTEMPORARY ART AND EXHIBITIONS

CHAPTER 16

Recent Commissions at St Paul's Cathedral

Mark Oakley

Whilst Henry Moore was recovering from a serious illness the idea was put to him of creating a work for installation in St Paul's Cathedral. The commission renewed his energy: ‘I can't get this Madonna and Child out of my mind’, he said. ‘It may be my last work, and I want to give it the feel of having a religious connotation.’¹ Mother and Child: Hood was made out of travertine marble, a suitable material for the chosen site in the north choir aisle of the cathedral, close to the High Altar. Carved in the Henraux stoneyard in Querceta in the Carrara mountains of north Italy, and on loan from the Henry Moore Foundation, it stands seven feet high (183 cm) and today commands naturally reflective attention from the hundreds of thousands of visitors and worshippers St Paul's welcomes each year.

What the feel of a ‘religious connotation’ might be over 30 years later is an intriguing and somewhat beguiling question. The Chapter of St Paul's decided in 2007 to let this question hover rather than bring it into land by agreeing to engage with work by contemporary artists in two ways. The first was to continue the tradition of artistic production that has complemented the work of cathedrals since their earliest foundation. As a physical expression of faith and devotion the construction, decoration and use of such sacred spaces provides abundant opportunity for the thoughtful combination of form and function. St Paul's is no exception and has a history of over 1,400 years of artistry and craftsmanship furthering the mission of the cathedral. It was agreed to continue this by occasionally commissioning works that would form part of the liturgical and permanent life of the cathedral. However, it was also agreed that a Visual Arts Policy would be created with the intent of bringing into the cathedral, for time-limited installations, the work of contemporary artists.

LITURGICAL AND PERMANENT COMMISSIONS

The most significant items recently commissioned by the Cathedral are those which are used for the celebration of the Eucharist: the ceremonial plate, vestments and altar dressing which augment this central act of worship. An audacious theft in 1810 denuded the Cathedral of much of its historic silverware, but many notable pieces have been acquired by commission and donation since then. Most recently, a hanging pyx, for housing the consecrated host, was commissioned by the Cathedral Chapter to celebrate the new Millennium. The artist chosen was Rod Kelly, one of the United Kingdom's leading silversmiths, who specialises in low-relief chasing, often inlaying the chased details in fine gold. He produced an oxidised silver and gold pyx which was dedicated by the Chapter on 26 September 2000 in the artist's presence. It hangs in St Dunstan's Chapel.

As the 2010 tercentenary of the Wren building approached, the officiating ministers at St Paul's were still using vestments which dated from the 1930s or before. It was decided that a new set of vestments would be an appropriate acquisition to mark the anniversary and rest the historic garments. Central St Martin's Woven Textiles students were invited to enter a competition for the commission to design the new set. The contenders were given an understanding of the life and work of the Cathedral, viewed the existing textiles and embroideries in the Cathedral Collections and were briefed on sizes, shapes and the colours associated with the ecclesiastical calendar. Three entries were shortlisted from which the judges selected one collection to proceed. Marie Brisou won the competition with a design which drew on the history and decoration of St Paul's. Inspired by the ironwork and the phoenix emblem in the quire, Brisou produced an arresting design which now adorns a full set of cathedral copes.

While the original design for the vestments was by Marie Brisou, the project became a collaboration with a group of volunteers who helped to make up the garments and continue to maintain them today. Many of the art works in St Paul's are the vision of a single artist but the culmination of the work of different people and creative processes. One such piece was added to the crypt in 2011: a memorial commissioned by the British Arctic Memorials Trust to commemorate Britons who lost their lives in the service of science in Antarctica. Between 1948 and 2011 a total of 29 people died in the British Antarctic Territory, one of the most extreme, inhospitable and uncharted places on Earth; the bodies of those who lost their lives were never recovered and they have no known grave. The memorial plaque was installed in the crypt on 12 April 2011 and was dedicated following a special Evensong on 10 May 2011 which was attended by the friends and family of the deceased. It is cut from a piece of slate excavated from the Berwyn Slate quarry in Llangollen and the memorial was transported to a specialist stone-cutting company Cerrig in Pwllheli where advanced water-jet techniques were used to cut out the profile of the Antarctic and other land masses. The lettering and the relief of six Emperor penguins were marked out and finished by the sculptor Fergus Wessel.

Even items as every-day as a set of gates need to be appropriate to their context and this challenge can give rise to inspiration and creativity. A range of procedures and committees are in place to manage the successful design, execution and installation of almost anything added to, or used in, the public spaces. The Treasury of the Diocese of London was established in the crypt of St Paul's in 1981 – an exhibition which presented the church plate and vestments owned by the Cathedral and the parishes in the Diocese of London. Sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and curated by Charles Oman, the display required gates that needed to be both secure and aesthetically appropriate. The Cathedral commissioned the English artist and blacksmith Alan Evans to design and manufacture the gates. The finished work was made up of elegant, intersecting arcs of milled steel inspired by the vaulted ceilings of the crypt in which the gates still stand.

Following the success of Alan Evans' intervention, gates were considered as a means of commemorating Winston Churchill, whose state funeral had been hosted by St Paul's in 1965. Unveiled in 2004, the eight-metre long Churchill Memorial Screen is a solid but elaborate set of gates forged in steel and bronze, made to commemorate the indefatigable prime minister. It delineates the public space in the Crypt and is placed with a visual connection to the tombs of Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, the only other two non-royal Britons to be honoured with a state funeral. A design submitted by James Horrobin, a master blacksmith, was approved by the Cathedral Chapter and his three-tonne construction of spears of steel sweeping upward were crafted at his forge in Porlock, Somerset. It took 7,000 hours over 12 months and he was assisted by ten people. He strove to evoke the pageantry associated with Churchill, incorporating the heraldic devices of the Churchill Lion, the roundels of the Order of Merit, the Order of the Garter and Warden of the Cinque Ports. He hoped to impart ‘a sense of endeavour and an uplifting sense of celebration’. He added: ‘My hope is that the screen is perceived as a celebration of peace brought about by Churchill's efforts’.²

Given space restrictions and Cathedral priorities, non-functional decorative art works are less frequently commissioned by the Cathedral. However, St Paul's hosted Regan O'Callaghan as artist-in-residence as part of the visual arts programme in 2007. The artist had moved to the United Kingdom from New Zealand to study theology and art, including the technique of icon painting. In 2001 he was ordained into the Church of England and combined his religious ministry with his art, leading many art projects and workshops as well as painting a number of important commissions including an icon for St Paul's in 2008. In his icon, St Paul is seen holding his letters, upon which St Paul's Cathedral is carried. Above him is his tent and on his shoulder the Huia, an indigenous bird of New Zealand. The artist writes: ‘The Huia, above all other species in the forest, was sacred to Maori. It was believed a gatekeeper to the seventh heaven and was also closely associated with the great chiefs of the land and only chiefs of distinction could properly wear its tail. When it became rare, Maori declared it “tapu” (sacred) but sadly this was not enough to save it as its tail feathers became sought after in Europe as well. The Huia became extinct in the early part of the twentieth century. As well as its plumage, the Huia's call was very beautiful. The Huia that sits on St Paul's shoulder reminds us that even though its song has been silenced, we are all still called to listen for the inspired beauty of God's song found in creation and Holy Scripture.’³

The earliest portrait of a dean in the Cathedral Collection is that of Alexander Knowle, Dean of St Paul's 1560–1602. The Cathedral collected portraits of deans and canons sporadically until the mid nineteenth century and since then every dean has been captured on canvas. Two of the most recent were painted by the artists Jane Bond and Margaret Foreman. Continuing this tradition, two portraits have recently been commissioned to hang in the renovated Chapter House: Lucy Winkett, the Cathedral's first female canon 1997–2010 and Graham Knowles, Dean of St Paul's 2007–11...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Introduction
• I. Foundations: Ancient and Medieval
• II. Visions of a Holy City
• III. Material Culture
• IV. Modern Worship Spaces
• V. Contemporary Art and Exhibitions
• Back Cover