- published: 07 Nov 2008
- views: 3429
Beryl Cook, OBE (10 September 1926 – 28 May 2008) was an English artist best known for comical paintings of people she encountered in her home city. She had no formal training and did not take up painting until middle age.
Cook was a shy and private person, often depicting the flamboyant and extrovert characters she would like to be. She had an almost photographic memory.
She found new material for her work while travelling. Early local scenes expanded those depicting Buenos Aires, New York, Cuba, Paris and Barcelona.
Cook admired the work of the English visionary artist Stanley Spencer, his influence evident in her compositions and bold bulky figures. Another influence was Edward Burra, who painted sleazy cafes, nightclubs, gay bars, sailors and prostitutes, although, unlike Burra, she did not paint the sinister aspects of scenes. She was described by Victoria Wood as "Rubens with jokes".
Director Richard Jones's 1990s ROH production of Der Ring des Nibelungen featured Rhinemaidens who wore padded naked latex body suits (designed by Nigel Lowry) that reminded audiences and critics of Cook's buxom figures.
Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing (vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics).
Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over," whose skin-color was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided. It allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a black man. While he rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, he was privately a strong supporter of the Civil Rights movement in America.[citation needed]
Video tour of late Plymouth artist Beryl Cook's exhibition
THE BLUES BROTHERS : MINNI THE MOOCHER - BERYL COOK
The disappearance of Billy the Barman - Beryl Cook's Bosom Pals - BBC animation comedy
Beryl Cook O-B-E 1926 - 2008
The Beryl Cook Project
Beryl Cook
BERYL COOK 1
Joan's Present: Spirit World Visitation - Beryl Cook's Bosom Pals - BBC animation comedy
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - "Can't We Be Friends" - [Beryl Cook Paintings]
Wright Stuff - Artist Beryl Cook dies (29.05.08)