Tod Hanson
The artist Tod Hanson was commissioned to create a new piece of public art to enliven the entranceway and staircase of The Storey. He produced brightly coloured decorative paintings on the walls and ceilings which both echo the historic architecture and bring it up to date.
"I have come up with a design that uses the existing structures and junctions of the space from which to create shapes that imbue the building's fabric with a life force. My work explores ideas around interior design, the decorative arts, and the romantic sublime. The design echoes in a fun way the decorative forms already at large in the building."
Tod talked about the development of the piece, and how it relates to his previous work. He described and illustrated his influences including comics, punk, space-travel, roccoco architecture, skate-board parks, Gilray, Cruickshank, fairgrounds, and his parents' house.
Tod Hanson lives and works in London, exhibiting nationally and internationally, working across the fields of public art, street art, and gallery installation. In the 1990s he produced large-scale graphics for Greenpeace campaigns, Glastonbury and Big Chill, and decorated night-club interiors. These experiences are now combined with his interest in the history of mapping, architecture, and the decorative arts. He recently created a tile mural for a new station at Haggerston in east London.
This project was funded by:
Arts Council England, North West; Lancaster City Council; and Lancashire County Council.
Venue:
The Lecture Theatre at The Storey
Dates:
30th November 2010