Conflict of Interest

How do we begin to understand how civilians felt in a time of war? We often look to diaries and poetry - but today we look to the surrealist artists that sought to make sense of the most extreme times imaginable. Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar is taken on a specially curated tour of the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Gallery by Iris Vasey - to discover  history's most private thoughts as their society descends into war.  Joining them both is  an expert in the psychological impact of warfare; from the First World War right up to today's drone wars, Dr Beryl Pong.   Objects discussed: Beatrice Viola Fergusson, 'Snapshots' sketchbook, 1938 Keith Vaughan, Echo of the Bombardment, 1942 Julien Trevelyan, Premonitions of the Blitz, 1940 Edward Burra, Blue Baby: Blitz Over Britain, 1941 Chisty, By the Moonlight, 2013 Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums

How do modern conflicts change the way artists respond to warfare?  In this bonus episode, Edmund Clark discusses his experiences of depicting life for those who are living in controlled environments.  In this wide-ranging conversation with Rebecca Newell, Head of Art at Imperial War Museums, we touch on many of the themes explored over series three, as well as how Clark tries to capture the invisible; how relationships form an integral part of his process, and the stories and artwork that can be created from the seemingly mundane. Narrator:  James Taylor Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums.   Podcast artwork photo © Oliver Abraham.

What did it take to capture 20th Century warfare on film - and how were they used in the war effort? Geoff Norcott joins curator James Taylor for a personalised tour of the artworks on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.   From reconnaissance missions by air to the cameramen risking their lives on the ground, images from this time have endured in our consciousness and shaped the way we have recorded war since. Expert Toby Haggith explains how the increasing sophistication of filmmakers impacted our view of the world.   Objects discussed: FWW reconnaisance 'AVIATION AS A RECONNOITRING POWER © IWM (IWM 1132) Eric Ravilious, De-icing Aircraft, 1942  'AIR RAID DAMAGE, LONDON, INDIAN AMPC © IWM Fire Over Hamburg, Royal Airforce Bomber Command, 1942-45 Film still: IWM (IWM 1132) Film still: IWM (AYY 57) Film still © The rights holder (HOY 26)   Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums  

Is there anything new in modern propaganda? Comedian Rachel Parris discovers how governments and protesters have always pulled on the public's emotional heartstrings across the 20th and 21st centuries. From shock tactics to satire, art curator Sarah Holdaway guides Rachel on a personalised tour of the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Gallery - accompanied by Dr Mark Sealy, Director of Autograph London and Professor of Photography at University of the Arts London. Content Warning: description of a dead child, with the image visible on certain podcast apps. Objects discussed: H.R.Hopps, Destroy This Mad Brute – Enlist 1917 Don't Falter - Go and Meet the Hun Menace (Australia), 1917 Madrid. The 'Military' Practice of the Rebels. If you tolerate this your children will be next. (c. 1937)  F H K Henrion, Stop Nuclear Suicide, 1963  Charles A Ridley, Germany Calling/Lambeth Walk, 1941  Kennardphillipps (Peter Kennard and Cat Picton-Phillipps), Photo Op (2007) Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums

What did artists and photographers choose to show us of the horrors of the front line? And how did Governments seek to curb what its citizens could see? Carl Miller (The Kill List) travels from the trenches of France to modern day Iraq, via the paintings and photography on display at the Blavtnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at Imperial War Museum, London. Guiding Carl's journey is Claire Brennard, Art Curator at IWM London, and Professor Ana Carden-Coyne, Director of the Centre for the Cultural History of War in Manchester -  encountering artistic works that have rarely been seen by the public. Objects Discussed: John Singer Sargent, Gassed, 1919  Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson, The Doctor, 1916  Stanley Spencer, Travoys Arriving with Wounded at a dressing-station at Smol, Macedonia, September 1916, 1919  Francis Dodd, An Operation at the Military Hospital, Endell Street, Dr Louisa Garrett Anderson, Dr Flora Murray, Dr Winifred Buckley, 1920  Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson, Paths of Glory, 1917  William Orpen, Dead Germans in a Trench, 1918  Steve McQueen, Queen and Country, 2008 Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums