Here’s a selection of anecdotes from our secretary about some of the great moments we experienced*.
Evening 1:
Opening of the Ian Scott exhibition. The big unknown: how many people would turn up? As we had to provide a buffet, we had counted on around fifty people, a forecast we considered optimistic.
Before 6pm, however, the public began to pour in, and we began to worry about the wave of visitors who were happily discovering Ian Scott’s pastels and his inimitable palette of blues… In the end, there were at least seventy of them, some familiar faces and some new ones, all of whom were astonished by the quality of the exhibition and even wanted to buy reproductions, which was unexpected!
Day 2:
Peter Trowles‘ lecture on Mackintosh-design: “Modern designs for modern times”. The long-awaited lecture on Mackintosh by this authoritative art historian would take place in English, but we had promised a French translation.
Except that… two hours beforehand, we translators still didn’t have the technical support to help us. There was a lot of stage fright in front of the forty or so listeners present, most of whom were French speakers. In the end, we managed to do this piece of interpreting, in our own way and without the help of Chat GPT!
Day 3:
Catherine Blin and Mackintosh furniture in films.
Based on an original idea by Matis Leggiadro (who has been a brilliant supporter of our association since he was sixteen), Catherine had agreed to clear the ground, no doubt unaware, like us, of all the nuggets she was going to find. With her usual enthusiasm, she shared with us the fruits of her research through extracts from the six films or video clips she presented to us. Surprisingly, the set designers in these films chose to highlight only the Argyle and ladderback chairs, leaving out all the beautiful tables, writing desks and sideboards that can be seen in the houses Mackintosh designed. Even more surprising is the fact that they can be found in the atmosphere of all these science-fiction or thriller films, which are always gloomy and oppressive. There are scenes filmed in the dark, behind closed doors, in dreamlike worlds or in any case always a little offbeat. An atmosphere that contrasts with the light and airy interiors of Hill House or Windy Hill.
Day 4 – the end:
James Trollope talked about Rudolph Ihlee and Edgar Hereford. The thirty or so people in the audience enjoyed this richly documented presentation of paintings by Rudolph Ihlee and Edgar Hereford.
They were both friends of the Mackintosh couple and stayed in Collioure when the Mackintoshes were staying at the Hôtel du Commerce. Although their works are less highly rated than Charles’, they are interesting because they evoke, often on the same dates, the same villages on the Côte Vermeille: Collioure and Port-Vendres. And yet the motifs chosen were very different: whereas Mackintosh was exclusively interested in Port-Vendres by the sea, for example, Hereford and Ihlee painted the church of Port-Vendres or the Fer à Cheval barracks… The gathering of long-standing Port-Vendrais were also interested in the question of whether a painting by Ihlee, ‘The Terrace -1926’, referred to the terrace of the Poisson Rouge or (more likely in our opinion) that of the Tamarins.
Of particular note
An unexpected reunion occurred at several events during this anniversary week: it was with a former president, himself an architect, Robert Loeillet. He accepted our invitation and was very pleased with the lectures and the Ian Scott exhibition. He congratulated us on keeping the association going in such a dynamic way. It was a moment of emotion and pleasure for our current president, with whom R. Loeillet had shared so many periods of intense work.
