Gledhill, David Charles (2019) Reconsidering History Painting. Doctoral the- sis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University. Downloaded from: https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/626137/ Usage rights: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Deriva- tive Works 4.0 Please cite the published version https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk Reconsidering History Painting D C GLEDHILL PhD 2019 Reconsidering History Painting DAVID CHARLES GLEDHILL A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Manchester Metropolitan University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Postgraduate Arts and Humanities Centre Manchester Metropolitan University 2019 Abstract This thesis accompanies a body of practical worK as the submission for a practice-based investigation of history painting. It proposes that a contemporary form of history painting can be developed by drawing upon micro-historical source material including photographs, documents and letters. It addresses research questions related to the nature of such a practice and its relevance to the present day, and represents a contribution to Knowledge by setting out a range of models for a form of contemporary painting capable of reflexively engaging with historical subjects and themes. The thesis sets out the art historical precedents and theoretical contexts of the practical worK, and documents the methodologies and evolution of the three major projects. The theoretical research, drawn from art history (Bann, 1984; Green and Seddon 2000), historiography (White, 1973; 1978; 1987), photography (Green and Lowry, 2003; Berger, 2013), archaeology (Schofield, 2005; 2006), and geography (Relph, 1976; Soja, 1989), contributed consistently and critically to the development of the worK, and as a result, each chapter contains an embedded literature review. The Appendix contains supplementary written material, together with visual documentation of all the practical worK and the exhibitions in which it has featured. During the course of study, the aims of the research shifted considerably. What began as an attempt to devise a form of photo-derived painting capable of contributing to public discourse about current political conflicts, became problematic as a result of issues relating to the provenance and nature of the source material. These difficulties led to an exploration of the potential for a form of history painting based on the acquisition of accredited second-hand amateur snapshots, seen as both iconic records and traces of social activity. This, in turn, opened up a greater range of historical source material and subject matter for treatment, and led to a diversification of media to include film, i printmaking, and assemblage. The research aims were reframed in terms of the production of series of worKs intended to embody the past as a spatial, temporal, and social phenomenon that both promotes and resists interpretation. The need to integrate a sense of contemporary relevance into the practice and to acKnowledge my own agency in the research, resulted in an expanded conception of history painting, in which paintings feature as key elements amongst worKs in a range of media, all of which are of equal significance for the conception of each project. ii Acknowledgments I would liKe to thanK my Director of Studies Professor Jim Aulich, and my supervisory team Dr. Danielle Child and Dr. Simon FaulKner, for their unfailing support and invaluable critical insights. Their uncanny ability to grasp the trajectory of the research at every stage of its development, has opened exciting new prospects that have refreshed and reinvigorated my practice. I would also liKe to thanK my partner Eve and daughter Faye for their incredible patience during the long hours I spent at the studio, or hidden away in my study. Nothing would have been possible without them. iii Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. i AcKnowledgments ................................................................................................iii Illustrations..........................................................................................................vii Note on titles.....................................................................................................xvii Films ..................................................................................................................xvii Introduction.......................................................................................................... 1 1. Overview of the research ............................................................................. 2 2. Why now? Painting history today................................................................. 9 3. Practical methodology: the acquisition of source material........................ 16 3.1 Flea marKets ......................................................................................... 16 3.2 Auction websites .................................................................................. 19 3.3 Collecting .............................................................................................. 23 4. Art historical precedents and formal parameters of the practice .............. 27 4.1 Group figure composition and history painting.................................... 29 4.2 Denis Diderot and Jacques-Louis David ................................................ 33 4.3 The tableau and photography .............................................................. 35 4.4 The series form..................................................................................... 38 4.5 Historical and contemporary precedents ............................................. 40 5. Ethical implications of the practice............................................................. 42 6. Structure of the thesis ................................................................................ 45 Chapter One: Painting, politics and history........................................................ 50 Introduction.................................................................................................... 51 1. Painting and politics.................................................................................... 52 1.1 Contemporary subject matter .............................................................. 53 1.2 Photo-derived painting and meaning ................................................... 58 1.3 Painting and conflict ............................................................................. 63 1.4 Changes to the aims of the research .................................................... 71 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 74 Chapter Two: Poland 1940 – 1941 ..................................................................... 76 Introduction.................................................................................................... 77 1. Poland 1940-1941 as historical representation.......................................... 82 1.1 A Small Town near Auschwitz............................................................... 83 1.2 Historical narrative ............................................................................... 91 1.3 Poland 1940-1941 and narrative .......................................................... 93 2. Production of the paintings ........................................................................ 96 2.1 Painting and photography as performative processes ......................... 97 2.2 The processing of the photographs .................................................... 100 2.3 The subtractive painting technique.................................................... 105 2.4 The materiality of painting ................................................................. 108 iv 2.5 The intentional similarities between the paintings and the source photographs ............................................................................................. 111 2.6 The intentional distinctions between the paintings and the source photographs ............................................................................................. 116 2.7 Size and scale...................................................................................... 121 2.8 The display of the worK ...................................................................... 123 3. Abordnung................................................................................................ 129 4. Poland 1940-1941, Maus and witnessing history..................................... 133 5. WorKing with history: three examples ..................................................... 143 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 154 Chapter Three: The Berlin Olympic Village Project .......................................... 158 Introduction.................................................................................................. 160 1. The Berlin Olympic Village Project and methodology .............................. 162 1.1 Space and place .................................................................................. 163 1.2 Research questions and approach to the project............................... 166 2. The site visit to Elstal, WustermarK near Berlin........................................ 171 3. The location and acquisition of a range of visual and written archive material