Filmmaker and academic Dr Frederick Baker’s virtual reality experience based on the work of artist Gustav Klimt has proved immensely popular with experts and the public alike.
The experience, entitled Klimt’s Magic Garden, firstly won Fred a Silver Medal for Cinematic Virtual Reality at the European Virtual Reality Halo Awards in Amsterdam.
It was then such a hit in Klimt’s Austrian homeland that its run was extended by nearly six months, eventually being shown from February until early October in Vienna’s MAK (Museum of Applied Arts). And now it is now being staged at a leading arts centre in Brussels.
Timed to coincide with the centenary of the artist’s death this year, Klimt’s Magic Garden was inspired by the series of three mosaics that the Art Nouveau doyen created for the Stoclet Palace, also in Brussels. To produce the experience, Fred (OE 1976–1983) used high-resolution digital photographic material to create a rich virtual paradise, shimmering with the gold which Klimt was famous for using. He created the work in dialogue with art historians at the MAK.
In Klimt’s Magic Garden, which is experienced using virtual reality headsets, everything the viewer sees originally comes from Klimt, yet it has all been given depth, movement, and natural-style lighting. The experience features a digital spatial narrative structure that reflects the themes of expectation and fulfilment Klimt explored in his work for the Stoclet Palace.
Born in Salzburg but brought up in London, Fred studied Anthropology and Archaeology at St John’s College, Cambridge, Tübingen and Sheffield universities and went on to gain a PhD from Cambridge in 2009. He now lives in Vienna and London.
He was a Producer Director for the BBC, working for the corporation from 1994 to 2006. He is the owner of the Austrian film company, Filmbäckerei, and a College Research Association at the Centre for Film and Screen Media, Wolfson College, Cambridge.
He returned to St John’s in 2014 to create a hugely atmospheric screening of the film classic, The Third Man, which became the first film ever to be mapped on to the college’s Bridge of Sighs.
A specialist in Austrian cinema, he has published extensively on The Third Man – the Carol Reed-directed film starring Orson Welles, which was set in Vienna and used a screenplay by Graham Greene, who had also written it as a novella. As well as examining the film for his doctorate, Fred made a 90-minute documentary about its making, entitled Shadowing The Third Man.
He is also the founder of Cambridge’s annual international research symposium, Picturing Austrian Cinema, and has lectured at universities in Weimar and Berlin as well as at Middlesex University. The winner of numerous awards at film festivals from Cannes to Hollywood, Fred has made acclaimed documentaries on subjects including Stalin and Rebuilding the Reichstag (about the reconstruction of the German parliament building overseen by the architect, Norman Foster).
• Klimt’s Magic Garden runs at the Palais des Beaux-Arts (also known as BOZAR) in Brussels until 20th January 2019. A sample of the experience is available on YouTube.
duates, all ‘black and mixed-race guys’, looking at life, diversity and the challenges faced after graduation. One recent episode of the podcast featured an interview with Stormzy, following the artist’s decision to sponsor scholarships at the university for black students.
When used in the UK, the term ‘mixed-race’ is generally presumed to mean a combination of white and ‘something else’, he said, yet that did not describe him or many other people. “Perhaps we need to change the definition to include people like myself, like my mum,” he said.
identity and you. His own passion, Bilal told the boys, was for “social equality and change, youth empowerment, equal opportunity”.
Volunteers gathered early for a reception and the chance to network in Café 1573. Later, there was a tremendous buzz on the convention floor as alumni shared their experiences and answered questions from Year 11 boys and their parents.
range of opportunities. It is always incredibly useful for the boys to be able to seek advice from those who have been at the School and who have had the experience of establishing themselves in their chosen fields.
In addition to representatives of the major professions, those present at the convention included a good number who have forged a path in more unusual careers, such as:
The evening featured the customary speeches and time-honoured toasts, but there was also opportunity aplenty for alumni to chat with old classmates and strike up new friendships in a relaxed and convivial environment.
n, a senior software developer with electronic trading company Nex Group, attended with his fiancée, Ana Maria Soler Castells, whom he was marrying on the following day. He had, therefore, been very busy in the run-up to the dinner, he said, but added that the resilience one learns as a QE boy had stood him in good stead as he strove to cope with these competing demands!
ciation which is driving so many to volunteer to help current boys and give something back.”
in front of the Queen on Commonwealth Day and who performed a specially commissioned poem as part of the international TV coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.
association, with the response given by the association’s Chairman, Martyn Bradish (OE 1962–1969). This was followed by the toast to the School proposed by guest speaker Alan Ingham, with the Headmaster giving the response.
hish hopes to study Neuroscience at university and has already prepared for this by undertaking work experience in local hospitals and by examining neurological ways of treating depression in his Extended Project Qualification dissertation.
“It is about undying and everlasting love; something which is quite rare today. Igniting love is often the simple part. However, building that sustainability and strength in a relationship is extremely difficult and many people press the ‘quit’ button too soon. The Spanish lines within the chorus – ‘nunca digas adios’ (never say goodbye)’ and ‘nunca digas nunca’ (never say never) – describe never giving up on someone during a difficult period, when you know they are a diamond and worth fighting for!
“I opted for the former because that would allow me to have a level of stability upon which the second could hopefully flourish one day.” After obtaining a first in Biomaterials Science at King’s College London and completing his MBBS and foundation training, he obtained the Registrar post at the Northern School of Radiology in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he now lives.
Ken Cooper (OE 1942–1950), David Farrer (1954–1961) and John Todd (1958–1964), pictured, were introduced by Head of History Helen MacGregor. They reminded the Year 7 boys working on a project about the history of the School that QE had been much smaller in the 1940s and 1950s, with a roll of only about 400-450 boys, split into four Houses, not the current six.
older pupil was within his rights – prefects of the time were authorised to dole out such punishments and boys were supposed to wear their caps even when not at school – the visiting alumni recalled that he was considered by his classmates to have gone too far, even by the strict standards of the day.
part of School life and was very popular: the best memories of many Old Elizabethans from that era are from sports on Stapylton Field, the visitors stated. The rugby and cricket were both good, and QE established a very strong reputation in athletics. Fixtures against the top public schools had been established by Mr Jenkins (pictured above), who modelled the School on such institutions during his long headmastership, which extended from 1930–1961.
The OEs chose to bat first in the annual Stanley Busby Memorial Cricket Match, which is played on the Third Field at the rear of the School between a team of past pupils and the current School XI.
For example, I was pleased to welcome Major Charles Russell as guest speaker on Founder’s Day and in this last week of term we are being joined by Daniel Isenberg, fulfilling a similar role at our Junior Awards Ceremony.
Another essential for true career satisfaction is that a job should be a good match for one’s ability. At QE, much of what we do to support boys in planning their futures focuses on helping them become aware of their own strengths. We provide extensive opportunities for boys to test their nascent career plans, whether that is: through our work experience programme; through contact with old boys in our fast-growing alumni network; through events such as this month’s Year 9 Careers Circus, or through extra-curricular activities such as the new Coding Club, the Bar Mock Trial competition and the Combined Cadet Force. Our success at the VEX IQ World Robotics Championships is a terrific example: while pupils got involved for the fun and intellectual challenge, there is clear scope for it to lead to career opportunities later in life.
referee – and working as a volunteer for the Samaritans. On Founder’s Day, Charlie (OE 1997–2004) spoke about his own successful career as a British Army officer, which was punctuated by an attack in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010, that caused him very serious injuries. In his speech, Charlie not only explored the centrality of service to the military profession, but highlighted the role of the concept at QE. As the sad story of our 1916 School Captain in the final article of this newsletter shows, traditions of service have long been associated with the School. Moreover, they remain at the heart of what we do today, enshrined in our commitment to “developing boys’ awareness that they achieve genuine fulfilment and greater benefit by seeking to make a contribution to society rather than pursuing only personal gain”.
“More recently I’ve been working closely with the UN World Food Programme and other DFID partners to test how drones can be used to address humanitarian challenges, for instance by delivering critical medical aid following sudden-onset emergencies.”
