Derek Jarman's Garden - Hardcover

Jarman, Derek

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500016569 ISBN 13: 9780500016565

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1995

Synopsis

Derek Jarman created his own garden in the flat, bleak expanse of shingle that faces the nuclear power station in Dungeness, Kent. A passionate gardener from childhood, he combined his painter's eye, his horticultural expertise and his ecological convictions to produce a landscape which mixed the flint, shells and driftwood of Dungeness; sculptures made from stones; the area's indigenous plants; and shrubs and flowers introduced by Jarman himself. This book, the last he ever wrote, is his own record of how this garden evolved, from its beginnings in 1985 to the day of his death in 1994.

About this title

Review

Derek Jarman's Garden is a personal account of how Jarman's garden evolved, from its earliest beginnings in 1986 through to his death in February 1994. Jarman, against all odds, produced a breathtakingly beautiful garden in the most inhospitable of places. A passionate gardener since childhood, Jarman combined his painter's eye, his horticultural expertise and his ecological convictions to produce a landscape which combined the flints, shells and driftwood of Dungeness; sculptures made from stones, old tools and found objects; the area's indigenous plants; and shrubs and flowers introduced to the area by Jarman himself. Howard Sooley's photographs capture the garden during all its different stages and in every season of the year. Photographs from various angles reveal the garden's complex geometric plan, its magical stone circles, and its beautiful and bizarre sculptures. Derek Jarman's Garden will appeal to all those who are themselves practicing gardeners, as well as any who would aspire to become gardeners -- not matter where they live, or under what conditions, or with whatever resource limitations they may be faced with. -- Midwest Book Review

From Library Journal

Jarman, who died of AIDS in 1994, was a leading independent filmmaker best known for Caravaggio (1986) and Blue (1993). He was also a gardener. This book is his record of how he cultivated his garden from 1986 until his death. He created the garden outside a fisherman's cottage on the shingle at Dungeness, in southeastern England, beside a nuclear power plant. Jarman fashioned stone circles, sculpture out of driftwood and old tools, and a garden based on indigenous plants plus introduced shrubs and flowers that could survive in the area's inhospitable environment. Although his book is a tribute to a highly individual artist and to his struggle to create in the face of AIDS, both text and photographs are repetitive. Jarman says, "If a garden isn't shaggy, forget it." If you are not interested in highly individual and shaggy gardens, forget this book. Recommended only for specialized collections.?Daniel Starr, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0500016569
• ISBN 13: 9780500016565
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144