Derek jarman was a stage designer, English director, author and artist . His work was shown through his artworks/paintings before he died. Derek jarman has designed so many artworks for people. For example, he designed Fredrick Ashton’s(was a ballet dancer and choreographer) jazz calender at the royal ballet . Following this success, John Gielgud ( an english actor) approached him to design his production of Mozari’s Don Giovanni at the National Opera.
His themes are expressed through various of his artworks, Jarman engages with both art and society, also concerning with his political protest and personal freedom arising from the AIDS crisis. He uses his artworks as a means of communication to his audience. some themes includes;
Black paintings:
Jarman often worked in series that expressed his current interests. while researching the film caravaggio ( a British drama film directerd by Derek Jarman), he began to utilise some of the Renaissance artist’s techniques. He created a new body of work that he broadly described as ‘ Black paintings’. These were made by placing gold leaf on the canvas surface. over painting with black oil paint, and scraping through to reveal the gold leaf below. Many of the images are explicitly sexual, a radical political gesture at a time of increasing conservatism. A group of these paintings were shown at his 1982 solo exhibition at the Edward Totah gallery in London.
Below are examples of his black paintigs:
Another of his painting he designed was DIZZY BITCH.
By the time he made these paintings, jarman’s health and sight had deteriorated to such an extent that he needed the help of studio assistants to undertake the heavy work. He pasted photocopies of the homophobic front pages of tabloid newspapers onto his canvases, covered them in heavily layered paint, and scraped his own messages into the paint.
below is a picture:
He painted this piece below:
This work is based on a postcard from 1910 addressed to ‘Dear Ethel’. The figures are Edwardian women in large picture hats. In the background a Ferris Wheel and boats. In this painting we see jarman begin to combine figuration with geometry. His uses cheap materials. seascapes and a flattened perspective in somewhat naïve style is reminiscent of the work of St Ives artist and fisherman alfred wallis. Jarman was increasingly interested in artists working outside the academy who still explored past and mythical worlds. This paintings demonstrates his artistic maturity at a young age as he had already absorbed many principles of modern painting.
Another theme is his Mental health:
Derek jarman was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and this really affected him and it was shown through his artworks. He has a prospect cottage which represents his legacy. Jarman bought prospect cottage, an old fisherman’s hut in 1987, shortly after his HIV positive was diagnosed. He had been a gardner all his life. He combines local plants with sculptures made from flotsam and jetsam, pebbles and stones.
some of his sculptures are shown below:
A picture below shows a struggle of his mental health/illness:
Another theme is sexual identity and religion:
God and religion were never far from Jarman’s mind after 1987. A devout atheist , his fixation on religion derived from his conservation education where his early sexuality was severely punished. He combined religious icons purchased in junk shops with paraphernalia of war and sex. Used condoms, spent bullets, rosary beads, and wedding rings all found their way onto his canvases. These unexpected juxtaposition create images that immediately jar and confront social and religious norms.
Here is a picture below:
Some of Derek jarman’s themes are shown through his artworks. His paintings/artworks are his legacy and has a meaning to every one of his pieces.
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