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Thursday, March 07, 2024

Review: Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 - The £10,000 Sustainable Orkney Commission

This review of the £10,000 commission won by the winner of Landscape Artist of the Year is always a really odd review to write.  This post is about why - and includes:

  • the £10,000 Commission
  • the challenge of the Landscape Artist of the Year commission
  • the Commission Programme
  • the Commission Painting produced by the winner of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023.
  • how you can see it at the Science Museum.

There are two main aspects to the review

  • the programme
  • the commission artwork
I know all I'm doing is looking to see whether, to me, it looks like an artwork worth £10,000 - and hence the client has not been diddled.

In this instance Monica very clearly demonstrated in her commission painting produced for the Final - of her neighbourhood where she lives - that she's clearly capable of a lot more than the small paintings she was producing in just 4 hours (for the heat, semi-finals and final).

The £10,000 Commission


First - a quick preliminary - about the Commission

The £10,000 Commission is, of course, the Prize for winning Landscape Artist of the Year 2024.  (See my blog post for my review of the Final - Monica Popham wins Landscape Artist of the Year 2024)

The Client for the Commission is the Science Museum.

The Science Museum in Exhibition Road in South Kensington.
The 2024 Landscape Artist of the Year prize was a commission by the Science Museum Group to capture the story of Orkney's central role in the UK's transition to low-carbon, renewable energy.

Does the client get the artwork irrespective of what sort of artwork the winning artist turns out? I thought there must be something in the rules somewhere which indicates "best efforts" etc. But instead I found this

If the Winner rejects the Winner’s Prize or otherwise fails to carry out the creation of the Winner’s Prize Artwork on such dates and times and locations required by the Producer, then the Producer reserves the right to take the Winner’s Prize away from the Winner and the Producer shall be entitled to select another Winner.  

The Challenge of the Commission


I've always thought that the commission is typically a prestigious view for a prestigious client. In other words it:
  • brings a very worthwhile prize pot 
  • alongside something which is a difficult challenge to confront and address. 
Plus you might get to go to an interesting place.

Orkney is an archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland. The islands encompass Neolithic sites, tall sandstone cliffs and seal colonies.
 
There again, if you look at it from another perspective, the artist has to work for their prize. It's not actually a prize per se. It's a fee for another piece of work - and it's taxable to boot. (See my blog post about Do artists have to pay tax on art prizes?) and my web page Tax on art awards and prize money.). 

Hence - bottom line - the prize value is actually £8,000 after 20% tax is deducted (assuming the winner makes more than the personal allowance and not enough for higher rate tax to be applicable).

This is actually spelt out in the Terms and Conditions - for anybody who read that far! - which specify
The winner will receive a taxable fee of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) (“the Winner’s Prize Fee”) for creation, completion, and delivery of an artwork (“the Winner’s Prize Artwork”) of a landscape (“Winner’s Prize Location”) on dates and times and locations to be determined by the Producer at its absolute discretion.
I'm saying this in part, because Monica might not realise this. Indeed I think a number of artists are not aware of this!

The Commission Programme 


I actually really enjoyed the Commission Programme. It was genuinely educational.  I came away knowing a lot more about the efforts that Orkney has made in terms of tidal and wind energy to create a sustainable economy. I had absolutely no idea how much they'd done and how far they'd got!

To which I can only say "Well done Orkney!".

Indeed, for this particular commission, the artist got to dress up in various bits of gear to go to different sites via a boat and inspect various bits of gear which govern how the energy production works in practice.

Monica in a boat - ready to inspect how tidal energy works

However as I watched Monica progress around on the island, I genuinely felt for her.

"As soon as we arrived in Orkney I was shocked at how panoramic it was"

"It's more brainwork than painting a building for me" 
and then she began to see how it works...

Orkney is just acres and acres of fields and then these huge magnificant clouds" 
This from an artist who rarely ever paints skies because of her almost ubiquitous cropping in close!! It's a big ask....

Orkney is so much flatter and bleaker (in terms of no trees or other vegetation) than you might expect - unless you know the reasons why i.e. 

  • the latitude and 
  • the driving strength of the winds which have travelled across the Atlantic - or down from the North Pole.
Or as my father used to say, when we holidayed in the far north of Scotland when I was a child, it's on the same latitude at the Gulf of Alaska, the Gulf of Riga and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the far eastern edge of Asia i.e. cold. It's only the Gulf Stream which makes it tolerable - but those winds have a huge impact on vegetation - but, of course, they can also drive turbines and wind farms. 

The quality of the light is also different - in part because of the quantity of water surrounding the Islands. 

Delivery of the Commission

In this section I'm going to look at:

  • the unveiling
  • what the Judges' faces said
  • what I thought

The unveiling of the Commission

We went from this nervewracking stage - of being watched by boyfriend and family.....

Boyfriend on the right, plus parents, grandparents and siblings

to being lined up ready to go - with the size of the painting being self-evident beneath the cloth which covers it....

Before the unveiling

to this..... after it has been unveiled

The commission unveiled

What the Judges thought

I found the Judges Faces at the unveiling to be very interesting. At a rough guess:
  • Kate looks bemused
  • Kathleen looks as if she's just had a sharp intake of breath and 
  • Tai looks really pleased
Right after the unveiling

I often wonder what they really feel. I always think that you have to remember the fact that as well as Judges they are also "performers" for a television programme where you have to say what you think - but in an acceptable fashion. It would be my expectation that what they say to camera and what they might say behind the scenes may be very different - especially at the Heat Stage. But faces betray a lot....

I'm pleased that the one artist among them has something to smile about! :)

Kate commented before the unveiling.....

I think she may have made a work which will change her painting moving forward. It might be a major transformation for her.

It was a good thought and I think she's right. Once you've painted this big, you can do it again. After all, painting big is what a lot of professional artists can do too...........

One thing about Kate that I've always liked is the fact she does champion young painters and looks for ways in which the whole of the competition process can elevate their artwork in the future. It was a very nice thing to say.


The Commission Painting


Monica made a very astute comment while painting wind turbines in Orkney.
The canvas doesn't feel long enough. Rather than going up I need to go across.

"My biggest concern is to show the changing weather"

"Orkney and the Energy Within" by Monica Popham
Commission for the Science Museum
£10,000 Prize for winning Landscape Artist of the Year 2024

I was very pleased when I saw this painting.  It's very strong and confident and tells a story.

It was indeed panoramic - and I do think that was an extremely wise choice. What I particularly like is she has described the general profile of the land - along with the location which makes the tides very important. Plus the nature of the weather the islands get - which includes lots of wind and rain - when the sun is not shining! Plus I loved the view of other land in the far distance.

Bottom line - I think Monica really caught the nature of the Orkneys. She also developed a very clear focus on energy - making reference to and harnessing both wind and tides in the final painting.

An excellent title too - I wonder who came up with that...

I don't know she whether went climbing to high spots while on the Island - which we didn't see in the programme. Or whether she has been able to use reference images from drone footage for the programme. Or maybe a mix of the two. 

The Science Museum article says the following - and contains an image of the view which inspired Monica.

To capture the view, Popham stood on Hammars Hill Wind Farm next to the three turbines in the foreground, looking across the vista towards the island of Eynhallow. If you want to visit the same location, you’ll want to wrap up warm – Orkney has high winds all year round, but the turbines to the right, and speckled through the landscape, have played a key role in enabling residents to harness this renewable energy. They are prominent throughout the islands. 

See https://hammarshillenergy.co.uk/

Popham’s choice of viewpoint also captures a second source of renewable energy a little less visible. Eynhallow Island is renowned for its turbulent tides, a source of energy also well harnessed by Orcadians. The islands are a perfect testing site for new technologies to harness tidal and ocean power, including tidal stream turbines.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eynhallow

Whichever approach she used it really doesn't matter because the chances are that such images may have provided a reference - but they cannot deliver the artwork!

Today, I visited the Science Museum where the painting now hangs - having been added to their Art about the Environment Collection.  It's not in what I understand will be a new Gallery - but at present is opposite the lifts on the second floor.

On display at the Science Museum
Orkney and the Energy Within by Monica Popham can now be seen on display in the Science Museum on Level 2 between Mathematics: The Winton Gallery and the Information Age gallery.

The narrative at the side features the commission painting for the final and an image of Monica Popham and some details about her, Note that the painting the Science Museum chose to highlight is the commission for the final and not the painting from that dreadful Final with zero consideration for practical aspects.

About Monica Popham and the painting

It says about the painting

In this view of the Scottish Islands of Orkney, painter and illustrator Monica Popham evokes the powerful tidal flows and strong winds that help the UK to generate about 30% of its electricity from wind and marine energy. In total, the UK generatesd 41% of its electrcitiy from renwable sources in 2023, with Orkney playing a vitl role from in the country's energy transition.

By way of contrast, this is the way it's displayed in the article on the Science Museum website about Sky Arts' Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 - Setting the Winning Commission. 


This is the painting framed - as shown in the Science Museum article. I have to say I think the black framing is a HUGE mistake. It absolutely kills the colours seen in the painting. It looks much better (above) without any frame.

However, it made more sense when I saw how it was presented in the Museum - set into a black rectangle. It also comes across as lighter than in the article image.

However I'm not a fan of glazing which reflects (see below - and this despite I'd dressed in my best be neutral in the reflections garb!). It NEEDS museum glass (i.e. non reflective).

The LAOTY Commission on display at the Science Museum

The land is well described in terms of flatness and subdivision into fields with houses and other structures dotted about. Plus the shade from the cloud connects the top to the middle of the painting and helps to unify such a wide painting.

What's interesting is there isn't s single bit of white paint on the wind turbines. the lighter side is a yellow white and the shadowed side is a blue white! Somebody has a very good understanding of how to ground structures in the local land and lighting!

Close crop of the Orkney Sustainable Energy Commission Painting

The cloud is also rather "rubble and mountain like" for my liking, rather than atmospheric and ethereal. I think it's an object within the landscape which might have benefited from the use of oils and glazing.

This is a video of the Commission - which Monica posted on her Instagram.

She has recently won Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 and has completed a commission for the Science Museum on the renewable energy and innovation happening in Orkney. Monica's website

I was so excited but absolutely terrified to do this because I have never done anything like this. The pressure was crazy!! Lots to tell you from process to composition to actually painting the thing and I promise I’ll share it all but for nooooow enjoy all these lovely vibrant colours Monica Popham

How you can see the Commission Painting

Orkney and the Energy Within by Monica Popham can now be seen on display in the Science Museum on Level 2 between Mathematics: The Winton Gallery and the Information Age gallery.

 

Monica Popham

You can read more about Monica Popham on her website - which you can see below.
Plus her Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/popham.studio is sharing stories about the process and the commission.


Monica Popham has recently moved to live in Guildford from Gibraltar where she grew up. She also works full time as a Social Media Manager.


REFERENCE

For all those interested in entering the series which will be filmed this summer (during June/July) - see my blog post about Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year Series Ten.

The deadline for submission is NOON on Friday 3rd May 2024 - and entries are ONLY accepted online. 

Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 (Series 9) 


This series was filmed in Summer 2023 and was broadcast in early 2024.

This Series to date


Blog posts of heats to date:

Past Series - Reviews


You can also read past reviews of the Landscape Series of the Year which very many previous pod artists - and wildcards - have said they have found helpful.

See my Art on Television Page which:
  • lists all reviews I've published for series episodes broadcast between 2018 and 2023
  • together with the topics / themes /TIPS I identified in each episode.
The programme is broadcast by Sky Arts ( available on Sky, Now TV and Channel 36 on Freeview) and the films are made by Storyvault Films.

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