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Στασίνος Παράσχος.
Γεννήθηκε στην Αναφωτία Λάρνακας το 1933 και σπούδασε
ζωγραφική στο
Leeds College of
Art.
Διετέλεσε λέκτορας στο
Canterbury College of Art,
και επισκέπτης λέκτορας στο πανεπιστήμιο του
Leeds
και σε άλλα
βρετανικά κολλέγια και ινστιτούτα τέχνης.
Ίδρυσε την Καλοκαιρινή Σχολή Τέχνης πρώτα στη Κάτω Πάφο
και αργότερα στη Λέμπα,
όπου και μετεξελίχθηκε στο Κολλέγιο Τέχνης Κύπρου. Ασχολήθηκε επίσης με τη γλυπτική και την
εικονογράφηση βιβλίων. Πρόσφατα το πανεπιστήμιο του
Bolton
του απένειμε το τιμητικό τίτλο του Δόκτορος για τις
υπηρεσίες του στη τέχνη. Έργα του βρίσκονται στη
Tate Gallery του
Λονδίνου. |
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Paraskos was born in Anaphotia, on the Mediterranean
island of Cyprus in 1933, the son of a shepherd farmer.
He went to England in 1953 and became a cook in his
brother's restaurant in the city of Leeds. This was a
popular haunt of the local art students who encouraged
Paraskos to enroll for classes at Leeds College of Art.
Despite not having the usual entry qualifications,
Paraskos was spotted by the college's inspirational Head
of Fine Art, Harry Thubron, who made certain Paraskos
was accepted.
In 1966 Paraskos was involved in a notorious court case
in which it was alleged he displayed paintings that were
'lewd and obscene', in contravention of the Vagrancy Act
of 1823. The court case was one of a number of important
legal challenges to the freedom of the arts in the 1960s
and 70s, starting with the Lady Chatterley trial in
1960, and ending with the OZ magazine trial in 1971.
Despite luminaries of the art world speaking in Paraskos'
defense, including Sir Herbert Read and Norbert Lynton,
and messages of support from Britain's Home Secretary
Roy Jenkins, Paraskos lost the trial and was fined five
pounds.
After this Paraskos started teaching at Leeds College of
Art, and later at Leicester polytechnic, before becoming
a Lecturer in Fine Art at Canterbury College of Art.
When Canterbury College of Art became Kent Institute of
Art & Design, he was appointed a Senior Lecturer in Fine
Art and then Head of Painting, before returning to
Cyprus to run the Cyprus College of Art on a full-time
basis.
Paraskos has exhibited widely, including in Cyprus,
Britain, Greece, the United States, Brazil, India,
Denmark and elsewhere, and in 2003 was the subject of a
book by the distinguished art historian Norbert Lynton,
published by the Orange Press. |