The Trial Of The Well Of Loneliness
Saturday 25 January, 2.30pm BBC Radio 4
In 1928, Radclyffe Hall’s account of the love between two women lay at the centre of an obscenity trial. Shelley Silas’ drama in the Riot Girls strand explores legal efforts to ban the novel.
Mary Beard On The Nude
February
BBC Two
The nude, says Mary Beard in this new two-part series, has been the subject of controversy since ancient times. So how should we think about nudes in art? Should we see the nude as exploitative or, conversely, should we be more worried about censorship and puritanism in our reactions?
The answers to these kinds of questions prove to be surprisingly complex as the Cambridge classicist turns her gaze on such world-famous artworks as the Venus de’ Medici and Michelangelo’s David, who we learn has had his modesty protected for much of his history. Beard also considers the impact of Marc Quinn’s nude statue of fellow artist Alison Lapper, who was born with shortened legs and no arms, when it was put on display on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Secrets Of The Museum
February
BBC Two
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (better known as the V&A) describes itself as “the world’s leading museum of art and design”. The objects in its collections include original manuscripts written by Charles Dickens, spectacular Dior dresses and artist Grayson Perry’s Brexit vases. As this new fly-on-the-wall series explores, looking after these artefacts is a mammoth undertaking that involves the work of hundreds of curators, conservators and technicians.
As we learn in the first of six episodes, the experts don’t just look after spectacular objects. Many of the items in the collections have far more humble backstories. One example is Pumpie the Elephant, a handmade toy who is 100 years old. So it’s no wonder that he’s had several encounters with clothes moths in the course of his very long life, and is now in urgent need of restoration.
The third episode follows the work of curators Steph and Jenny as they plan a new exhibition celebrating the work of British fashion designer Mary Quant, whose innovative creations embodied the spirit of the Swinging Sixties. While the V&A has plenty of examples of Quant’s clothes, there are gaps in its collection and the curators put out an appeal to the public.
Step forward Jenny, who was 17 years old when she bought her mustard-coloured Mary Quant mini-dress from Topshop in Sheffield. The dress is perfect for showing how Quant’s designs raised hemlines. However, getting the dress fit for display will require skill and patience, because it’s seen more than the odd night out over the years.