While most of Ireland’s most celebrated artists are authors and playwrights there are many others whose chosen medium isn’t the written word. One of the most famous of these is the stained glass artist and book illustrator Harry Clarke. In 1979 Nicola Gordon Bowe wrote the definitive biography of Harry Clarke. 2012 saw a new edition of this work released, which quickly shot to critical acclaim.
Harry Clarke: the Life & Work is as much an artistic textbook as it is the biography of a man. This isn’t surprising, however, when you consider how completely inseparable the man was from his work. Born in Dublin in 1889 Clarke was surrounded by art from a young age. His father, Joshua, had been a craftsman and as the young Clarke grew older he followed his father’s path more and more.
After finishing his schooling in Belvedere College, Clarke went on to study stained glass at the Dublin Art School. It was here that he made his first award-winning piece, The Consecration of Saint Mel, the Bishop of Longford, by Saint Patrick, he was 21 years old. Following his graduation Clarke didn’t go to work with his father, instead deciding to move to London in search of other work.
It was in London that Clarke added the second notch to his artistic belt after he secured a job as an illustrator for the publishing house Harrap. Over the next 3 decades Clarke would secure his place as one of the most renown book illustrators as his distinctive style was used to bring the work of Hans Christian Andersen, Edgar Allen Poe, Goethe, and others to life. His penchant for the mysterious and surreal easily lent itself to these fairytales and gothic worlds.
Though his illustrations were highly celebrated Clarke’s true legacy and talent was in his stained glass work. In 1921 Clarke’s father died and Clarke and his brother Walter inherited his studio. As much a business as an artistic calling the studio employed a number of people to help the brothers receive and complete a large number of commissions.
The main driving force and talent behind the whole endeavour, Harry Clarke was understandably a busy man. What’s amazing, however, is that he had always suffered from poor health. On the 6th of January 1931 Harry Clarke died from tuberculosis, his brother had passed away the year before. The brothers left behind one of the greatest collections of stained glass in history.
Today Harry Clarke is not only celebrated as one of Ireland’s greatest artists but one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Listen back as Susan speaks with Nicola Gordon Bowe about Harry Clarke: the Life & Work.
The second part of the show sticks with wonderful and fantastical worlds as we take a look back at the celebrated author Angela Carter and the magical surrealism that suffused her work. Irish Times Arts and Features writer Sara Keating joins Susan as she tells us about Angela Carter’s fantastical feminist reimagining of traditional fairytales and what makes them so special for her and so important today.
Born in Eastbourne on the south-eastern coast of England in 1940, Carter grew up in a world awash with fantastical literature. The works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis were creating whole new worlds and genres and even political satirists were turning to children’s tales as a mode of storytelling. Carter, however, did something entirely different.
Instead of simply forming her own fictitious worlds, however, Carter often took the blueprints of the ones already alive in our heads and turned them upside-down with her own vision of them. A mainly feminist writer Carter re-imagined popular fairytales from the perspective of the heroines. Focusing on the sexual awakening of young women and the expectations placed on them Carter’s work forced her readers to rethink and re-evaluate the moral tales from their youth.
Today Carter’s legacy of re-imagining is alive and well across all genres; from the graphic novel series Fables to TV shows like Once Upon a Time to books like Nursery Crime Series. Her work wasn’t, however, limited to reimagining fairytales. Join Susan and Sara as ‘Talking Books’ delves into the plays, books, and other writings of Angela Carter.
Finishing off the show Susan speaks with New York Times bestselling author Sir Ken Robinson about how people can best find their element. Sir Ken Robinson is known around the world not only for his ability as a writer but also for his public speaking and views on education.
In his latest book, 'Finding Your Element', Sir Robinson takes us through how we can best balance the important aspects of our lives and how we can steer ourselves towards the best life for us. Listen back as Susan gets to speak with one of the most highly regarded minds today about how we can make ourselves the best we can be.
