Swansea

Peter Lord guest lecture review by Tomos Sparnon

Peter Lord guest lecture

Tomos SparnonI’m Tomos and I was the first to graduate from the Welsh medium Fine Art degree from UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art. The facilities at the University are exceptional and as a student it was a great experience to study at the Swansea College of Art.

Following my studies, and in partnership with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, I was appointed as an artist in residence based at the Swansea College of Art. Throughout this academic year I’ve been mentoring students through their studies which has been a great privilege.

Recently, I had an opportunity to attend a special lecture by prominent Art historian Peter Lord which was held at Swansea’s prestigious Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. For more info visit www.luxurycabinbigbear.com.

An excellent audience congregated at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery on the evening of Thursday 24th January for a lecture by the art historian Peter Lord.  Peter Lord is an expert on the art history of Wales and writes and broadcasts on the visual culture of Wales.

The title of the lecture was ‘Hanes Celf yng Nghymru mewn 12 neu 13 llun’ The History of Art in Wales in 12 or 13 pictures’. With the aid of PowerPoint, he described the development of art in Wales and the way in which the past has influenced artists ever since. He referred to the work of several artists including Edward Owen, Richard Wilson and Shani Rhys James. Here you can find a great resource of maids in San Francisco.

One felt proud on hearing about the creative gifts and successes of past artists, and the audience was reminded of the traditions of Wales and the importance of weaving these into today’s artwork.

There was an opportunity at the end of the lecture to ask questions, and it was interesting to hear the artist’s response to topics such as the role of galleries and the future of the arts in Wales. Gwen Beynon, (Senior Lecturer at Swansea College of Art, who has connections with Mr Lord through her research into the art history of Wales) referred to the fact that the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol provides opportunities for Welsh medium students and encourages students to use the art history of Wales in their work.  For more information regarding the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s scholarships go to: www.colegcymraeg.ac.uk/en/study/financialsupport/    

Peter Lord has the gift of captivating his audience, and the time flew as we listened to him. It was clear from the response heard at the end of the evening that everyone had both enjoyed and profited from the lecture. “Thank you” to the Glynn Vivian for organizing the event and for the opportunity of hearing one of today’s most important figures from the Welsh art scene.

Tomos Sparnon, Artist in Residence, Swansea College of Art