BBC history of art in three colours

[rod]

Dr James Fox was under the age of 30 when he made this recent three part TV series for the BBC. Such a great lecturer in the history of art at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, his students secretly put forward his name to the BBC to be considered the next presenter of the BBC world renowned documentaries in art. He got the job. A marvelous story teller, Dr Fox takes an hour with each of three colours, gold, blue, and white. For those of us who work in gold, you will not want to miss the first programme. It delves deep into history, and he takes you around the world with a story that should not be missed.

So just Google the title here, and you will find the three videos on YouTube. Here is the first:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DtymYxADpnE

My college was just a few feet down the lane from his, but I would have to have waited there another 20 years for him just to be born, let along become a professor there.

Strangely, I get the feeling he is very much my senior, he is so good with his material, and has such an engaging and straightforward style.

Rod

 

[rod]

Footnote:

Part of me wanted James Fox to include in his programme the marvelous and true story of how the element Gold is actually forged from lighter elements of hydrogen and some helium. He did not.

So I add this paragraph of how it is done, taken for an earlier post I wrote in 2010:

Years ago, I was working on some engraving of solid gold rings and keys for a blackwood piccolo I had just finished. As the chips peeled off, I got to thinking, where did this gold come from? Sure, it came from the precious metal supplier, and before that, perhaps it was refined/panned/ or in some way extracted from ore, etc. Could even have be re-melted from some ancient art work earlier than the pyramids, as no one throws gold on the scrap heap, it is almost always recycled. Then I got to asking myself a more fundamental question: where did this element, gold, originally come from, before it ended up dispersed in our small rocky planet? This started me down a re-examination of my basic understanding of the distinction between chemistry and nuclear physics, and I will endeavour to distill this into a few sentences. I am no expert in chemistry, but it delves into what happens when electrons tease various atoms into joining up into molecules of enormous variety, some of which can be most beneficial to our existence... or the reverse. Molecules, we can change from one kind into another in the kitchen sink, or laboratory, but how about changing one element, say, lead, into gold? Not so easy, in fact pretty darn difficult. So how are elements made? It takes a pretty big anvil to hammer one element into a heavier one, in fact, the only effective squeeze that will do it, is to have a really big blob of matter, allowing gravity in the center to generate such a crushing pressure that, say, hydrogen atoms are finally crushed together into the next heaviest element, helium. A side effect of this releases a very tiny amount of energy per atom, which combined many times over generates the heat that makes our sun shine, and gives us life. Stars like our sun, and bigger ones, are the main anvils that make heavier elements, and the resultant heat in this process is the by-product that makes them shine. Our Sun is good for making elements up to about carbon, after that it is game over, so where did this gold come from that I am engraving? In fact, where did the iron flowing in my veins, or forming part of the steel graver come from? Short answer, much bigger stars from an earlier era can crunch elements up to and including iron, due to their huge core gravity, but after iron, no heat is produced, gravity cannot be resisted by hot cores, the whole darn thing collapses in on itself, to solid neutrons, with no space between, a mother of all shock waves rebounds, and a supernova explodes out into space with a brightness matching the whole galaxy. That shock wave slams into surrounding lighter elements with the strongest hammer blow in the Universe, forging all the heavier elements denser than iron ... silver/mercury/gold/platinum/uranium/etc. That is why we know that we and our whole Solar System are made from the debris, or dying belch of a long gone massive star that blew up way earlier than our 4.6 billion year recent history.

My apologies to the 40 % of Americans who believe the world began on October 23, 4004 BC, no offense intended.

So these days I look down at the gold on my bench with a new reverence, and not only because the economy collapse has raised its monetary value today to about $1,400 an ounce. I now see that I am looking at a substance that is much older than our Solar System, and it still behaves like it is garden fresh, with all its protons, neutrons, and electrons doing their thing without getting bored or complaining.

Life is a pretty big canvas, and it was engraving that got me to appreciate the adventure.

" ... we are star dust, we are golden..." from Joni Mitchell's song 'Woodstock'

Rod

 

[tundratrekers@mtaonline.n]

phooey.........

 

[Marrinan]

Excellent thoughts on how the elements came to rest on lowly work bench's of insignificant tradesmen who seek to make life more pleasant for others and put a little meat on the table.

We, deep thinkers excluded, know that the gold of old was created from the likes of goddesses' hair to be used as an ornament for her warrior gods. The Valkyrie not only furnished the raw elements for gold, silver. and the like but at the same time they freely provide the creativity to honcho gods who had the good sense to leave a little about after their battles. most of us a not gods, just men who found the a little on those battle fields and now we try to use the gift of Odin's warrior lovers. There will come a time in the future when the element of gold and all the other gifts will be reclaimed to fill the halls of Valhalla to honor the death of the gods and the end of man kind. It has been written in the book of time and it is so, Rancor is near at hand as the number of not believers grow. The gods grow angry and will reclaim the gifts they shared freely for the love of the humans that gather in their name dwindles to nothing. and nothing is what they will leave behind. be warned non believers be warned so it is written

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hey Rod, thanks for that..........Kind of makes you wonder doesn't it.

All I can say is thank goodness that happened a few billion years ago. If it happens again in the near future it could really ruin a good day

And I like your version as well, Fred. Never let fact get in the way of a really good story I say

Cheers
Andrew

 

[rod]

And I like that version too, Fred!

The Greeks had no problem in living contentedly with both their new harnessing of human reason, in what they called logos, and the enjoyment of their myths, and within mythology some grasp of human behavior. No shortage of folks chewing on all of this over the eons, comedians often having the best insights! Not to derail good ol' engraving being our main interest, and that topic does allow the history of art, here is another great three part BBC documentary on the history and influence of "Art Nouveau". Yet another engaging presenter, it ranges all the way from my own town of Glasgow, Scotland, through England, Paris, and Vienna, but not quite getting to Prague and Barcelona, and surely the USA:

Google YouTube:

"The Allure of Art Nouveau" three episodes Lots of great design and jewelry, etc.

best

Rod

 

[Roger Bleile]

Excellent thoughts on how the elements came to rest on lowly work bench's of insignificant tradesmen who seek to make life more pleasant for others and put a little meat on the table.

We, deep thinkers excluded, know that the gold of old was created from the likes of goddesses' hair to be used as an ornament for her warrior gods. The Valkyrie not only furnished the raw elements for gold, silver. and the like but at the same time they freely provide the creativity to honcho gods who had the good sense to leave a little about after their battles. most of us a not gods, just men who found the a little on those battle fields and now we try to use the gift of Odin's warrior lovers. There will come a time in the future when the element of gold and all the other gifts will be reclaimed to fill the halls of Valhalla to honor the death of the gods and the end of man kind. It has been written in the book of time and it is so, Rancor is near at hand as the number of not believers grow. The gods grow angry and will reclaim the gifts they shared freely for the love of the humans that gather in their name dwindles to nothing. and nothing is what they will leave behind. be warned non believers be warned so it is written

Götterdämmerung

 

[Marrinan]

Absolutely Roger. Also the twilight of man.

 

[Jörmungandr]

Götterdämmerung

Ragnarök.

//DQ

 

[Jörmungandr]

Dr James Fox was under the age of 30 when he made this recent three part TV series for the BBC. Such a great lecturer in the history of art at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, his students secretly put forward his name to the BBC to be considered the next presenter of the BBC world renowned documentaries in art. He got the job. A marvelous story teller, Dr Fox takes an hour with each of three colours, gold, blue, and white. For those of us who work in gold, you will not want to miss the first programme. It delves deep into history, and he takes you around the world with a story that should not be missed.

So just Google the title here, and you will find the three videos on YouTube. Here is the first:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DtymYxADpnE

My college was just a few feet down the lane from his, but I would have to have waited there another 20 years for him just to be born, let along become a professor there.

Strangely, I get the feeling he is very much my senior, he is so good with his material, and has such an engaging and straightforward style.

Rod

Interesting documentary, thank you for the tip!

//DQ

 

[Roger Bleile]

After viewing Rod's suggested videos, I found a series called Metalworks! that begins with silversmithing then to "The Knight's Tale" about making plate armor, then to the third one about blacksmithing. I think lots of forum members will find these three very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKG9JYHgFto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGi2GjzOBds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db5EU02TQWU

RB

 

[silverchip]

Thank you Rod and Roger, I wouldn't have gotten to see this other wise, loved it!!!!

 

[rod]

Thank you, Dave,

Roger, I look forward to enjoying your above three references to the series. Youtube is now quite the treasure trove of many different topics of interest to engravers, and BBC does a great job in preparing these costly documentaries.

Here is what the BBC Radio times has to say about your find:

Prepare for a dazzling display of Georgian silver as Dan Cruickshank examines how English silversmiths created glorious arrays on aristocrats’ dining tables. Of course there’s art history from the start but there’s much more, including trips to modern silversmiths.

Cruickshank is at his enthusiastic best investigating the conditions that created silvery status symbols. Huguenot craftsmen arrived in London, silversmiths doubled as bankers, changing dining styles led to decorative displays and technology brought silverplate to the masses. From Chatsworth’s shimmering table tops to a disused Birmingham factory, there’s lots to catch the eye, whether you’re a silver surfer or a TV magpie.

ABOUT THIS PROGRAMME
1/3. In the first of three films exploring the importance of metals in British history, Dan Cruickshank charts the popularity of silver during the 18th and 19th centuries. He explains how it became regarded as a symbol of taste, wealth and status in Georgian and Victorian society, and visits locations around the UK to inspect some of the most notable examples of silverwork from the period.

Rod