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Melinda Camber Porter
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Full Name
Melinda Camber
Role
Artist
Nationality
British
Education
University of Oxford
Movement
Modernism
Period
Modernism
Name
Melinda Porter
Born
18 September 1953 (
1953-09-18
)
London, England, UK
Known for
Painting, Journalism, novelist, poet
Died
October 9, 2008, Sag Harbor, New York, United States
Books
The Art of Love: Love Poems and Paintings, Badlands
Melinda camber porter on sexuality as her main theme
Melinda Camber Porter (18 September 1953 – 9 October 2008) was a British artist, author, poet, journalist and filmmaker. Porter was a modernist who worked in oils, watercolor and ink. She was known for combining the mediums of film, painting and writing.
Her works have been shown at The School of Visual Arts in New York, Oxford University, the Embassy of France, La Maison Francaise and Lincoln Center's Clark Theatre. Her paintings, poetry and films have been critically well received. As a journalist, Porter interviewed renowned writers, artists and filmmakers of the past several decades for The Times.
Stephen flarhety speaking at melinda camber porter s memorial
Early Life and education
Melinda Camber was born on 18 September 1953 in London and grew up on Wimpole Street. Her father was a psychoanalyst who kept his offices in the family home in the center of London's medical district. From early on, she was exposed to the arts, frequenting the National Gallery, and immersing herself in drawing and painting. At age 6, she was given William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience which would later influence her visual style of writing.
Her elementary education was at the City of London School for Girls. In her junior year, she was awarded scholarships to both Oxford and Cambridge. In honour of this, the school granted the students a day off, a privilege normally reserved only for the death of royalty. She chose Oxford and earned a First Class Honours degree in Modern Languages (French and Latin), graduating from Lady Margaret Hall in 1974. After graduation, she met John Robert Porter, the son of Sir Leslie Porter and Dame Shirley Porter; the couple wed in Paris and lived on the Quai Voltaire overlooking the Louvre. The marriage ended after five years and Camber Porter relocated to New York in 1982.
Family life
Porter married her second husband, Joseph Flicek, on 2 July 1985 in his native South Dakota and honeymooned in China. She based a series of paintings and the novel Floating Boundary on the trip to China. Frequent visits with Flicek's family in South Dakota inspired her novel, Badlands. The couple divided their time between Manhattan and Sag Harbor. Porter and Flicek had two sons. After Porter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the family took up permanent residence in Sag Harbor for her convalescence. Porter died on 9 October 2008 at the age of 55.
Early career
While in Paris, Porter was a French cultural correspondent for The Times. She interviewed many notable figures including François Truffaut and Louis Malle. She profiled directors Mike Nichols and Ingmar Bergman. A number of these interviews became part of her book, Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture.
Fine Art
Fashion in the Time of Queen Elizabeth I (Blake Press, 2015)
Luminous Bodies: Circles of Celebration (Blake Press, 2015)
Luminous Bodies: Circles of Mourning (Blake Press, 2015)
Non-Fiction
Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Eugenio Montale (Blake Press, 2015)
Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Wim Wenders (Blake Press, 2015)
Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Roy Lichtenstein (Blake Press, 2015)
Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture (1986)
Art of Love: Love Poems and Paintings (Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., 1993)
The Arousal of Nature (2004)
Visions on Film: Portraits of Leading Contemporary Film Directors (2009)
William Blake Illuminates the Works of Melinda Camber Porter (2006)
Novels
Frank – forward by Saul Bellow
Boat Child: A Comedy (pub. 1994)
Badlands (Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., 1996) Book of the Month Club selection
Imogen
Floating Boundary – Book One: Hong Kong
Floating Boundary – Book Two: China Arrives
Floating Boundary – Book Three: Freedom or Tyranny
Child of the Western World
Stageplays
Journey to Benares’ A Rock Opera (perf. Asia Society Museum, NY)
Night Angel (perf. Lincoln Center’s Clark Theater)
Boat Child (perf. Denver Center for the Performing Arts)
Documentary Films
Vision on Film: Michael Apted (shorts I and II)
Luminous Journey (short)
The Art of Love: Paintings and Writings of Melinda Camber Porter (public television program 1994–1998)
Sacred Journey (television – Vision Television and APTN Canada 2001–2004)
Joyce Beroneo on Photography
The Kitchen (Paris in the 1970s)
Unfinished Works
Martin Scorsese – Visions on Film (documentary feature)
Michael Apted – Visions on Film (documentary feature)
Wim Wenders – Visions on Film (documentary feature)
Recuperation Series – watercolors, oils, poetry
A New Cosmology in Modern Art: Melinda Camber Porter (biography on the artist)
Following Porter's death in 2008, her husband Joe Flicek organised an informal advisory committee, to help organise and publish her work.
Public Exhibitions
British Consulate New York – A Retrospective of Ms. Porter's Art and Literature – 2006
School of Visual Arts New York – Because of William Blake a New Art −2006
Paul Labrecque Salons New York – The Art of Horses and Lovers – 2005
Walter Wickiser Gallery New York – The Arousal of Nature – 2005
Art for Healing Gallery New York – The Art of Healing – 2005
Oxford University UK – William Blake Illuminates Ms. Porter's Works (lecture by Robin Hamlyn, Senior curator of prints and drawings for Tate Museum) – 2004
Asia Society and Museum New York – Journey to Benares, a Rock Opera – 2003
Southampton College Southampton, NY – Native America Spirituality – 1999
The Nicolaysen Art Museum Casper WY – Art of Horses and Lovers – 1997
The Sioux Falls Civic Fine Arts Center SD – Badlands, Horses and Lovers – 1996
The Salon Des Artistes New York – The Film Censor's Step-Daughter – 1996
The Foothills Art Center Golden, CO – Badlands, Horses and Lovers – 1996
Lincoln Center New York – Night Angel, a One-Woman Musical – 1996
The West Hartford Art League – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1995
L'Alliance Française de New Orleans – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1995
The Embassy of France Washington DC – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
L'Alliance Française de Miami – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
L'Alliance Française de San Francisco – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
L'Alliance Française de Houston – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
L'Alliance Française de Chicago – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
The French Library in Boston – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature −1994
National Theatre Conservatory of Denver – Boat Child, a Comedy – 1993
The French Cultural Embassy New York – Ms. Porter's French Art, Film & Literature – 1993
Journalism
Melinda Camber Porter reported on French cultural life for The Times in the 70s and 80s. Many of these pieces were later included in the book Through Parisian Eyes.
Marcel Carné Paris, 1978.
Marguerite Duras Paris, 1975.
Eugène Ionesco Oxford, 1974.
Roy Lichtenstein
Louis Malle Paris, 1975.
Andre Malraux Paris, 1975.
Eugenio Montale Milan, 1976.
Marcel Ophuls Paris, 1977.
Octavio Paz Mexico, 1982.
Alain Resnais Paris, 1985.
Alain Robbe-Grillet Paris, 1974.
Eric Rohmer Paris, 1975.
Francoise Sagan Paris, 1978.
Jean-Paul Sartre Paris, 1977.
Bertrand Tavernier Paris, 1985.
François Truffaut Paris, 1975.
Roger Vadim Paris, 1975.
Wim Wenders Paris, Texas, 1983.
Critical Praise
The New York Times – "The subject of the sensual—what a human being can experience through the physical self and the senses, and the profound effect of that experience is at the heart of Ms. Camber Porter's output as both an artist and writer. . . This painter-novelist draws a line between erotic and obscene."
The New York Times – "Sensuality is at the heart of Porter's work. Badlands is a narrative with a weighty sensuality."
San Francisco Chronicle – "For those passionate about French arts and culture, Melinda Camber Porter's Through Parisian Eyes is like a daylong trip to the candy store. Porter's eclectic gathering provides an area of interest for almost every palate. A well-rounded, intelligent look at the contemporary Parisian spirit."
Boston Sunday Globe – "Through Parisian Eyes is a particularly readable and brilliantly compiled collection. The voices of French intellectuals mingle in this uniquely constructed volume of interviews and commentary."
Philadelphia Inquirer – "Through Parisian Eyes is an inviting opportunity to tap into Paris' thinking... thanks to Porter's willingness to listen well and challenge when necessary."
