8 July 2008: Cautionary Tales - William Hogarth
An exhibition of satirical prints by the renowned British artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) opens at the National Library Gallery on Friday 8 August.
Hogarth headed an English tradition of satire that flourished through the first half of the 18th century. He mercilessly satirised the follies of his age in widely disseminated and popular engravings such as 'Gin Lane' and the series 'The Harlot’s Progress' and 'Marriage à-la-mode'. These prints are filled with scenes of drunken debauchery, indiscreet infidelities, and wanton acts of crime and violence. Most of the action takes place on the streets of London, under the shadow of the Tyburn gallows.
The exhibition brings together more than 50 of these witty, subversive and often riotously humorous prints, all drawn from the collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library. It focuses on Hogarth's use of the print series – where a narrative or moral runs over consecutive images in a way that foreshadows the comic strip.
Hogarth's key themes remain pressing and relevant to contemporary culture. London is still often described as being 'Hogarthian'. The exhibition teases out Hogarth's contemporary relevance by connecting his prints to related New Zealand material from the Alexander Turnbull Library and the New Zealand Cartoon Archive.
Hogarth's etchings are supplemented by the work of New Zealand cartoonists to bring his work into a local, and more contemporary, context. David Low is showcased as a New Zealand cartoonist who consciously worked in the tradition of Hogarth. He acknowledged him as the father of the political cartoon and even produced a modern version of 'A Rake's Progress'. Trace Hodgson's series of 'Underbelly' cartoons are offered as a contemporary take on the Hogarthian mode of satire. Hodgson's heavily-tattooed, chain-smoking bogans with their vegan girlfriends replace Hogarth's cast of fashionable rakes and harlots.
Cautionary Tales: the satirical engravings of William Hogarth will be accompanied by the exhibition Grimm Stuff: folktales and fairy stories, a book-based exhibition drawn from the Dorothy Neal White and National Children's Collections of the National Library of New Zealand.
Both exhibitions continue until 8 November 2008.
High resolution images for reproduction by the media are available for download on this site.
Download William Hogarth images
For more information
Susan Bartel, Public Relations Manager, National Library Gallery
Phone: (04) 474 3119 or 027 223 5159
Email: susan.bartel@natlib.govt.nz
For interviews
Aaron Lister, Exhibition Curator
Phone: (04) 474 3000 ext 8908
Email: aaron.lister@natlib.govt.nz
