The art of ageing Finding beauty in wrinkles

OLD age tends to get overlooked in art. Whistler’s portrait of his mother, or Lucian Freud’s depictions of his parents, demonstrate how to paint in wrinkles and folds with affection. But for every painting or photograph of someone elderly, there are dozens more of their more youthful peers. Well before technological innovation smoothed over the faces of celebrities in the media, artists clearly preferred subjects with younger, fresher skin.

Which makes “Coming of Age: the art and science of ageing”, an exhibition now on at the private Marylebone gallery GV Art in London, particularly intriguing. Originally organised for Newcastle University, where the Institute of Ageing is based, this show is “the first artistic response" to the aging process in collaboration with ageing researchers, says Lucy Jenkins, the curator. A blend of art and science, this multimedia show (photography, pencil drawing, video installations and poetry) finds the beauty in ageing.

The exhibition opens with Melanie Manchot’s photographs of her naked mother, flanked by some understated mountains, who appears unselfconscious and striking. Andrew Carnie’s layered images projected on gauze screens capture the ageing process in a way that is both innovative and quietly beautiful.

The poetry of Valerie Laws, presented through a video installation, considers her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Ms Laws manages to be heartfelt without seeming overly sentimental, and is witty without being irreverent. Her poem “The Incredible Shrinking Brain” is presented particularly elegantly: the words of the poem are seen fading from the screen until it is consumed by blankness, conveying the effect of dementia. The exhibition also includes video installations by Martin A. Smith and Stelarc, and prints by Jennie Pedley.

Most of the artists here push at the limits of their chosen medium. Yet the finest works are the most conventional ones. Susie Rea, a photographer, has taken a series of portraits of individuals and siblings over the age of 90. Sitting in their homes—on sofas, in the kitchen, by their bed—the photos recall Whistler’s portrait, or the older studied poses of Holbein’s “Ambassadors” (1533). Hands folded in their laps, and dressed in their smartest clothes, these figures are quietly dignified. In rooms the shades of green, blue, and dark brown, they stare out at the camera, suggesting that getting older may not be so bad, after all.

“Coming of Age: the art and science of ageing” is on view at the GV Art Gallery in London until August 18th
【变老的艺术】老年似乎被艺术忽略了。惠斯勒对他母亲的画像、 卢西安·佛洛伊德对其双亲的描画，展示了如何饱含情感去绘画皱纹。每一幅描绘上了年纪的人的绘画背后，会有许多描画更年轻人的绘画。艺术家偏爱年轻，这就使在伦敦举办的“成熟：变老的艺术与科学”展显得引人入胜。