Tarot Art by Michael Gray

 Our June talk was by a well known speaker, Michael Gray who has delighted us with his knowledge of heritage architecture in the past, and even reimagining where the Tabernacle Stones could be relocated one year. Michael has immersed himself in tarot and become extremely knowledgeable about how it is thought to work, its benefits and the changing art of the cards. After the talk, Michael gave readings in Rudi's Bar.

'Tarot Art' by Michael Gray

 7.30pm Thursday 26 June 2025

The design of tarot cards has evolved over five centuries, mirroring the artistic and cultural trends of each period. First used as playing cards, their widespread popularity across Europe led to their use for divination and fortune telling. In this talk Tarot Reader Michael Gray will discuss popular tarot decks, review their artwork and iconography, and explain how they provide profound insight and knowledge during a Tarot reading.

Photographs taken on the night include these:

Above are photographs of two people closely associated with Tarot

A photograph taken during a reading when the cards were laid out and interpretations made of their significance.

May Talk by Mark Golder on Stephen Russ

 We were very pleased to welcome back Mark Golder who has given many excellent talks to the Friends in the past and supported us in many ways. This was a fascinating talk shining a light on Stephen Russ and the importance of book cover art. Here's the illustration used for the talk:

'The Illustrator, Stephen Russ'

by Mark Golder

Stephen Russ lived at Shaw Hill near Melksham and taught fabric design and then printmaking for thirty years at Bath Academy of Art (Corsham); but he is better known in the world of illustration as the designer of dust jackets for over eighty books between 1945 and 1975, and as the designer of covers for the Penguin Poetry series in the 1950s and 1960s. He also produced a generic cover for Penguin's D. H. Lawrence novels, and it was his design of a phoenix rising from the flames on the front cover of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' when Penguin was taken to court for obscenity. This illustrated talk will concentrate on the dust jackets and cover illustrations, considering how they reveal the artist and the major concerns of the times in which he lived.

Here are some photos taken at the talk:

It's difficult to take good photos in the Council Chamber at the Civic Offices but I think you get a good feeling of the atmosphere by not cropping the photos.

April Talk about the 'Seriously...' Exhibition

 

Our April talk was about the exhibition in the small gallery curated by three members of the Friends. This is what the Chair, Andrew Cross said about it at the time via email to members:

Seriously... The Friends Exhibition by the Friends

The Friends' exhibition "Seriously…" has now been on display for a few weeks. It was good to see many of you at the Private View, but what do you think of the choices? Our show draws its name from the old Sir Kenneth Clarke quote but one of its aims is to show that Swindon is as serious about new and challenging work as it is proud of its "big hitters". That's why amongst Alfred Wallis and Michael Ayrton we selected some less well known artworks and some striking work by living artists which MAS has acquired more recently. 

We want to challenge preconceptions of what the Swindon collection is. It isn't preserved in aspic, it's a living breathing thing. In this hopefully entertaining and lively talk the three living breathing things who put "Seriously…" together (Miles Franklin, Claire Parsons and former chair of the Friends Linda Kasmaty) will talk you through three works and how we challenged each other on their merit for inclusion in the show, and we'll invite Friends to have their say. 
Katie Ackrill, the MAS curator who helped us put the show together will also be available to answer your questions.