| SPRING 2008 |
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On the Easel with Andy Burnham 
There's something mesmerising about a cityscape - you can look at it for hours, from the broad sweep to the tiny detail. Ben Johnson's sharp, clean and sunny Liverpool cityscape captures a moment of brightness and optimism in this great city's history. But what makes it more remarkable still is the manner in which it is being created - in public. I first saw it, with my family, as part of a group of 50 or more as the artist worked. We were all fascinated by the artistry and sheer craftsmanship of this stunning piece.The way in which this painting is memorialising a pivotal moment in Liverpool's history is something very special. Liverpool is a city that has seen a lot since its creation in 1207, and it wears its history in its buildings - from the World Heritage Site of the famous Three Graces and the Mersey Waterfront, to 'Paddy's Wigwam' - The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Capturing that history in this most contemporary of paintings will quite rightly enable Liverpool's Cityscape to be admired - and revered - by many generations to come. It will capture forever a moment in Liverpool's history when it held the title Capital of Culture throughout the whole of Europe. Ben Johnson is a world-renowned cityscape artist, who has also painted panoramas of Jerusalem, Zurich and Hong Kong. When he has completed his Liverpool cityscape, these other works will be placed alongside it and displayed together for the first time, at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. So it's fitting that this display of unity in art is taking place in 2008, Liverpool's 'year'. It's also appropriate that the painting will remain in Liverpool, at the Museum of Liverpool, on its completion. But what of the picture itself? Well, it must be one of the most detailed landscape vista ever to have been painted. Having seen it in its state of near-completion, I can just about begin to imagine how impressive it will be when it's finished. The fact that the canvas is 8ft by 16ft begins to give you an idea of just how vast it is. But the detail packed onto that canvas is incredible. Taking in Liverpool's famous maritime skyline from a vantage point 1,500ft above the River Mersey, it incorporates several thousand buildings contained in five square miles and has been painted in acrylics, as well as using plastic stencils to ensure absolute accuracy of detail. It has taken Ben and his assistants over 24,000 hours work to get this far - and he's not finished yet. Add to this the fact that he's completing the painting in-situ, as Artist-in-Residence at the Walker Art Gallery, and you can see just what an undertaking this three-year project has been. But I think it's only fair to point out that a little artistic licence has been taken in order to fit in all the most salient buildings in Liverpool. Anfield and Goodison Park, the homes of Liverpool and Everton football clubs, for example, have been moved closer together in order to allow them both to appear in the painting. I'm sure that Scousers in decades to come will forgive this heresy. Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport  back |
