Visual imagination | Director Mark Cousins in Plymouth with his doc
Mark Cousins, the director of a new documentary re-appraising the life and work of a painter who had a home in the South West for more than 60 years, is visiting Plymouth Arts Cinema for a Q&A and film screening.
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, written and directed by Mark Cousins, tells the story of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912 -2004), who was part of the St Ives School of artists from the 1940s on, working alongside such art world notables as Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Patrick Heron.
South West tour
After gaining awards and praise at international festivals, the film is being released in cinemas UK-wide on October 18, with Mark Cousins immediately starting a South West tour, introducing screenings in Bath, Exeter, Plymouth, Falmouth, St Ives and Bristol and taking audience questions.
Luminosity
He says: “In her long life, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham travelled to many countries, but always returned to England’s South West. You can see the region’s curved beaches, geology, luminosity and palette in her inspiring art. For decades, the South West was the centre of her life and visual imagination. We’re delighted to bring the film into her world.”
Style-transforming
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The documentary’s title is a quote from the private papers of Barns-Graham – voiced in the film by the Oscar-winning actor Tilda Swinton. It refers to a style-transforming trip the artist, known to friends as Willie, made in 1949 to a Swiss glacier.
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things with an intro by Mark Cousins is at Plymouth Arts Cinema on Monday 21 October at 7pm. Get your tickets
There is a further screening on Wednesday 23 October
Several galleries, institutions and arts collectors in the South West hold examples of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s works, including Tate St Ives and Arts University Plymouth and her work will feature in an exhibition opening at Arnolfini, Bristol, on November 23.
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