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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0325.PDF
FLIGHT, 5 February 1954 Pilots under training—a page from the artist's sketchbook. Wootton at work, Burma, 194S. Colour notes from a Comet at 40,000ft. Aeronautical Artist SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE WORK OF FRANK WOOTTON By ROBERT J. BLACKBURN SINCE the world of flight is one of great visual beauty, it is in some ways surprising that so few modern artists have chosen aviation as their subject. It is fortunate, particularly from the historical viewpoint, that cameras have recorded a major part of aviation's first half-century. But although photography has taken over a great deal of the traditional work of the artist, it cannot do so completely. Admittedly, the cameraman can do far more than record the outward semblance of machines and men. An air-to-air photo graph of, say, an aeroplane performing an aerobatic manoeuvre can give a great deal of satisfaction, particularly if the beholder has some conception of the sensations which accompany the evolution. Nevertheless, the camera recalls a scene dispassion ately at one instant in time, whereas the artist preserves an atmosphere in an essentially human way. He can appeal to the emotions with an exaggeration of line, form or colour; and into one canvas he can concentrate all the relevant experience of a minute or a lifetime. Although the lens is quicker and usually more accurate than the brush, there are still times when the human eye and hand can produce far more rewarding results. For example, some of the most dramatic aeronautical scenes are found at night or in bad weather, when all the photographer can offer is a clash of chalky white and sooty black or a flat impression of uniform greyness. It is unquestionable that the majority of artists have little love of things mechanical; and that many are allergic to aviation, which they regard as an overwhelmingly new and rather repellent compound of smells, noises and mechanical slickness. But a few, who have responded to the compelling appeal of the airman's world and of the machines he uses, have found an artistic home in this new world. Among them, I believe, the one who most completely personi fies the qualities required of the aeronautical artist is Frank Wootton. His ability to draw aeroplanes accurately is not unique, but there is a great deal more besides. Wootton's pictures are aesthetically pleasing not only as portraits of well-designed
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