|
ben
constance
maurice
stuff we like |
|
elke pollard 1942 - 2019
| |
"my life is like a movie" |
|
| |
|
|
In our twenty years together Spikedrivers have encountered some astonishing people along the way. Artists in all forms continue to fascinate and inspire us as occasionally we do them. One such case is the amazing and unique, force of nature that was Elke Pollard.
We first encountered this amazing woman in 2010 at the Maltshovel in Northampton. She was sitting in the first row with an entourage of very interesting companions, dressed entirely in black leather and taking up more space in the room that the entire stage put together. She proceeded to do a show all her own, making an explosive series of sketches, all the time waving her left hand high in the air and getting more and more excited with every song. At the end, she was so happy she gave us these pieces of art, on the condition we come to her house and let her do more. It was the beginning of a very special friendship.
The artwork for our album Front Porch Swing came from these two sessions.
  
There could only be one bigger than life Elke Pollard and the world is a little less bright without her energy and light.
Thank you so much for letting us know you...
Constance, Ben and Maurice
Elke passed away on 6th February 2019. Our sincere best wishes go out to her two sons, William and George and two granddaughters, Kitty and Beau.
Elke at home in East Park Parade
Tribute to Northampton's much-loved, eccentric artist Elke Pollard
By Nick Spoors
Northampton Chronicle & Echo 08-02-19
Elke Pollard, who worked with many of Northampton's best-known artists, has died.
Mrs Pollard came to the UK as a child from Germany, and loved to tell people how she was born during the Dambusters raids.
That kinetic energy must somehow have transferred itself to her huge, flamboyant personality that delighted the vast majority of people she came into contact with.
She worked with her late husband, the respected sculptor Malcolm Pollard, Henry Bird, and the architect Will Alsop.
But she will be remembered just as much for her incomparable company.
Former Northampton mayor John Dickie, a close friend, said: "Elke was an engaging companion, laughter and optimism embraced her.
"Much of her life she had engaged in dress design and fashion, and it showed. Going out with Elke Pollard was a bit like travelling with our own Frieda Kahlo, she was interested in everything and everybody.
"She always had a sketchpad ready. "We went with her to Paris and once during a meal she got out her sketchpad and immediately the waiters gathered around and watched her create.
Mrs Pollard was born in Germany and spent her early childhood in Berlin.
She told the Chronicle & Echo in 2009 how she recalled passing into the east of the divided city through Checkpoint Charlie and being struck by the great contrast between the grandeur of the surroundings and the suffering of its inhabitants: "People were starving, it was horrible and derelict and yet there was this avenue of big Russian sculptures. It was very scary and very moving."
After the war, aged about three, she lived for a time as a refugee in the German part of the famous wine-producing region of Alsace.
Her father, who was a sergeant in the British Army, later brought the family to the UK and she eventually settled in Northampton.
Here she met the love of her life, Malcolm Pollard, at Northampton School of Art and the couple went on to have two sons. Together, they made their home overlooking The Racecourse a true artistic hub of the town.
She also made her lasting mark in several prominent places in Northampton. Her murals include a restored listed building in The Racecourse Pavilion. And with Malcolm, she designed and executed the decorated panelled ceiling for extension to the Mayor’s Parlour, at the Guildhall.
Most prolifically a portrait painter - although she was talented in numerous genres - her peers agreed Mrs Pollard's greatest skill was to capture a surprising wistfulness in her subjects, more often than not while sitting for in her East Park Parade home. A famous painting of Northampton graphic novelist Alan Moore, for example, transforms his fierce glower into a bloodhound-like inner sadness.
Mr Dickie said his friend was particularly good with younger subjects.
He said: "When she painted young people she always managed to capture the vivacity and exuberance of youth, whether painting a young person on the cusp of adulthood with all the promise and hope for the future or portraits of her adorable grandchildren with their whole lives ahead of them."
Renowned as 'great copy' by the local media, she was interviewed several times by Chron reporters down the years yet details such as her exact age continually eluded her questioners.
But she often left the journalist with a lively impression of her artistic, eccentric sensibility.
What made her happy: “Even if I have no food, if I have a bloom in the house I’m happy. "
What was the last movie she saw: "I can’t remember... my life is like a movie."
Her salary: "Never had one."
Who would you take to a desert island: "Discretion darling, discretion."
Her favourite chat-up line: "Would you pose for me in the nude?"
And asked once to write her own epitaph for a profile interview, she responded: "She was an exuberant artist who loved life."
Many will agree she more than fulfilled her own description.
Video Clips
Experience a bit of Elke talking about her passion for life and art!
Elke Pollard Artist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW3wFi4mt7U
Artist Elke Pollard talks about her work. Featured artwork includes Alan Moore, Saskia Tomkins, Jo Collis, Fabrizio Accettulli, Samurai, The Jetty, Pagan Stones. Filmed by Kevin Stoney (Sole Studios)
Elke Pollard - A Parallel Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE1KRX2aIGU
This documentary is about portrait artist Elke Pollard (N.D.D., F.R.S.A.). She talks about her art and Prussian background. Filmed by Kevin Stoney (Sole Studios).
Artist and sculptor Malcolm Pollard
https://www.rushdenheritage.co.uk/people/obituaries/pollardMalcolm2002.html
Ode To Elke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0M59r0VTfM&feature=youtu.be
Art Gallery
|
|
|
'Across The Water'
our latest cd is on sale now
click on the cover
Distributed in the UK by:
Available from CD Baby in
the US and Canada:
|
|
