This book considers and translates the paintings and etchings of John Crome (1768–1821), founder of the Norwich School of Artists, through and into other 'languages' or media, verbal and pictorial.
The word 'translation' is not used lightly. This is not an anthology of creative pieces by a variety of artists from different media 'inspired by' or 'expressing a kinship with' Crome’s paintings. Instead, these are translations in the sense of transformations into new languages designed both to incorporate the perceptual and existential responses of the 'translator' to examples of Crome’s work and to project those works into possible cross-medial futures. The book is as much about 'looking' across media, as about John Crome.
What kinds of transformation do the landscapes and plant studies of John Crome, once considered the equal of J.M.W. Turner, undergo when translated into other 'languages' or media? The twenty contributors to this volume, from fields as diverse as travel-writing, poetry, painting, photography and ceramics, provide a range of answers, and, in so doing, uncover new futures for Crome’s work.
Contributions and extracts from:
Georg Simmel | John Berger | Richard Mabey | Gerry Barnes | Tom Williamson | Virginia Woolf | Oliver Rackham | Neil MacMaster | Jacques Rancière | Malcolm Andrews | Elizabeth Helsinger | Edmund Bartell | Frances Milton Trollope | Rose Miller | Nick Stone | John Craske | Richard Long | Tacita Dean | Tor Falcon | Anya Gallaccio | Chloe Steele | Katie Spragg | Daniel & Clara | Tim Dee | Esther Morgan | George Szirtes | Anna Reckin | Edward Parnell | Kit Young | Mark Edwards | Lawrence Sail | Jacques Nimki | Simon Carter
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Andrew Moore, Ph.D., FSA, has enjoyed a long association with the work of John Crome through his former position as Keeper of Art, based at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, home to the national collection of works by Crome and the Norwich School of Painters.
Clive Scott is Professor Emeritus of European Literature at the University of East Anglia and an Emeritus Fellow of the British Academy. He specializes in the theory and practice of literary translation.