Of Angels and Dirt
“Paintings brought vividly to life”
- The Guardian
“As a child, Stanley Spencer was always rummaging in dustbins – a broken tea pot, jam tin and cabbage stalk seemed to him a wondrous holy trinity. In this short film, made for the opening of the Hepworth Wakefield’s major new exhibition of his art, Spencer’s paintings are brought vividly to life with words from the artist’s notebooks.”
Stanley Spencer is one of the most distinctive British painters, fusing together religion and sexuality, work and leisure, nature and industry, in richly detailed paintings of everyday life. As Spencer himself put it: "I am on the side of angels and dirt". We animate his painting The Lovers (The Dustmen) for The Hepworth Wakefield’s major survey of his work.
The film was produced by Celia Atkin, directed and animated by Leo Crane, with sound by Andrew Hayes and the voice of Sam Crane.
The Lovers (The Dustmen) is from the collection of the Laing Art Gallery, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. Image (c) The Estate of Stanley Spencer / Bridgeman Images.
The Exhibition
JUNE - OCTOBER 2016
THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD
The first major survey in 15 years of the work of one of Britain’s best loved painters, Stanley Spencer. Presented during the 125th anniversary of Spencer’s birth, the exhibition brought together over 70 works spanning his entire career, including rarely-seen self-portraits and extracts from his diaries and writings offering a unique insight into his life and work.
AUDIOGUIDE
We were also engaged to produce The Hepworth Wakefield's first ever Exhibition Audioguide giving visitors an opportunity to listen to Stanley Spencer’s thoughts while viewing the work he was writing about. This gave visitors unprecedented access to one of the most unique minds of the modern era. Over £6000 of revenue was raised from this audioguide.