Art in Dean Clough

At Dean Clough, I particularly wanted to see an exhibition of photographs of Haworth and other places linked to the Brontës: A Brontë Reader, by Helen Burrow. They're black and white images, taken with a Holga camera, so they have a characteristic blurriness and grittiness which rather suits the subject matter. The exhibition is partnered by a book of the photos paired with quotes from the Brontës' books, letters and other reflections.

Whilst I was there, I explored the other galleries, and these were some of the artworks I enjoyed:

Exquisitely coloured and complex bas-reliefs, made of folded and crimped paper - by Pierrette Vergne (lovely name too!)

A series of life drawings made by Doug Binder, painter in residence at Dean Clough.

Playful ceramics by Ian Stewart, including Gorilla with kitten (above).

An oddly compelling sculptural installation by Connie Lo Ho Yee: In the Absence Of... that involves illusion (how is it held up?), sound and 3D printing. One of my friends remarked that it looked like 'toothpaste in space' - well, yes...

My favourite exhibit, possibly, was a photo of Dean Clough taken in the 1930s by the famous photographer Bill Brandt: Catchpoint - Hail, Hell and Halifax.

Dean Clough in Lego

The Dean Clough Lego project came about as the result of a discussion amongst staff about the difficulties of depicting the huge site (see yesterday).  The individual mills are so close together, in a deep valley, that it is difficult to photograph them or convey their size. An aerial view would show the whole site but lose the historical details. Someone - perhaps jokingly - suggested building it in Lego. Thus it was that in 2009, Michael Le Count (a primary school teacher) and Tony Priestman (a computer data specialist) began to construct a model, in their spare time, using only commercially available Lego pieces. They are still at it! It's a huge model and astonishingly detailed, well worth seeing.

Dean Clough

Once the world's largest carpet factory, Dean Clough in Halifax is, like Salts Mill in Saltaire, a triumph not only of the Industrial Revolution but also of the entrepreneurial vision of men in more recent times. As with Salts Mill, one of those men was the late Jonathan Silver.

The carpet factory, Crossley's, opened in the mid-1800s and closed in 1983. It was then bought by Sir Ernest Hall, along with the young Jonathan Silver, who began to develop it as a business and cultural complex. The partnership between the two men did not last long as they had very different ways of working. Jonathan left and in 1987 he bought and began to develop Salts Mill with a similar vision.

(There's another connection too. In 1866 Titus Salt Jnr married Catherine Crossley, daughter of the Halifax carpet magnate, Joseph Crossley, joining the two great textile dynasties.)

Nowadays the complex of mills holds over 150 different businesses with over 4000 employees. There is a hotel, a theatre and several gallery spaces, restaurants, a gym and retail premises. It is a busy working environment and a tourist attraction, with over 60,000 visitors a year.

It has certain similarities to Salts Mill on the exterior but is not as ornate. Though larger in total area, it was in fact several different mills in its heyday. Inside it has a rough industrial vibe in parts but it is divided into much smaller spaces and feels more contemporary. It has lost the sense of a Victorian mill, which Salts Mill still proudly capitalises on.

Guess what I was going to call this one....

before I thought better of it.... (Three windows, of course!)

This is in the open piazza area in front of Dean Clough Mills, Halifax.  I found the stone spheres just begged to be photographed, though the lighting was rather dull and flat on the day I visited.  You wouldn't want strong sunshine for this subject but it could have done with a bit more light.

Blue mood

 

Part of Dean Clough Mills in Halifax.... Not much more to say about this one.  I just liked the shapes and angles.  Dean Clough is such a huge site that it's a difficult place to sum up in one or two photos.  It isn't as obviously attractive as Salts Mill... someone once said the sprawling complex 'could easily be mistaken for an engineering works in what used to be the German Democratic Republic'. (Probably an insult to the ex-GDR, I think!) It sits in a narrow valley near the centre of the town and lacks the ornate architecture and attractive setting of Salts Mill.  But nonetheless it is an imposing building and a massive success story for Halifax.

Dean Clough Mills

It's not only Bradford that has a legacy of huge old mill buildings. The complex known as Dean Clough Mills is in Halifax but it has two interesting associations with Salts Mill in Saltaire.

Formerly the world's largest carpet factory, it was owned by the Crossley family - and Titus Salt Jnr married Catherine Crossley in 1866, thus linking the two textile dynasties.

The second link is through Jonathan Silver, who bought Saltaire's empty and degenerating Salts Mill in 1987.  Early in his entrepreneurial career, Jonathan built up a chain of men's clothing boutiques.  He sold it in the late 1970s, having by then opened another shop selling pictures and furniture.  Through buying cloth, he had met and become friendly with Ernest Hall, a textile manufacturer.  They went into partnership, buying property and in 1983 they bought the empty Dean Clough Mills in Halifax. They initially opened a bar in the mill and sold and let parts of the buildings to other companies. Whilst they both had vision, they were very different characters and it was soon apparent that the business partnership was not working, so Ernest Hall bought Jonathan Silver out in 1984.  The Silver family, seeking change, then set off on a three-year round-the-world adventure.  It was on their return from this trip that Jonathan bought Salts Mill, no doubt encouraged by his experience of the regeneration of Dean Clough.

Dean Clough is another success story.  It now houses many different businesses, has nine exhibition galleries, a shop, a theatre, a cookery school, restaurant, hotel, conference facilities and a café-bar.  It's a renowned jazz venue and hosts a rolling programme of concerts, plays and exhibitions.  It doesn't have the same personality as Salts Mill, being a much more utilitarian building, and there is no surrounding village (though the Crossleys were enlightened employers and built some almshouses for former employees).  But nevertheless it's an interesting place to visit - though it proved difficult to photograph!