1980s-90s Cruise Ship Art Installations
An interesting opportunity to produce art installations for a luxury cruise ship came through a connection with Robert Renack, an associate of the Graffiti Gallery. The first project for P&O was a huge liner to be named by Princess Diana in November 1984, the Royal Princess. The brief given to Benjamin by Norwegian architect Njal Eide for the main International Lounge was a flexible concept; they wanted imagery that conveyed elegance and airiness, but they left the imagery up to the selected artist.
For the main International Lounge, Benjamin proposed a mural on gold leaf/gesso panels that continued around the walls and across a wide engraved plate glass section, with the suggestion of rolling hills under a golden skyscape inhabited by birds, kites, flags and a bright red hot air balloon. Working on gold leaf was challenging because, although it is a fragile surface, it is also resistant to many kinds of paint, so they had to do some of the sections using silkscreen stencils with help from screenprint technician Richard Luppi.
The other Benjamin area to be decorated with framed art was the Card Room, a gambling venue. Carrying this out was pure pleasure for him as he had been involved in the Andrew Jones, Deck of Cards project in 1979, when 56 living artists were commissioned to each design one card in the deck to be produced in quantity. He was dealt the four of spades. By using similar frottage techniques to those in the Amsterdam Diary, he produced a spatially active image that worked well as part of the deck, but it also inspired him to dive in deeper into the strange world of the King, the Queen, the Jack and the Joker in a series of delightful drawings and etchings.
Benjamin and Richard Luppi working in the Clarendon Graphics Studio, 1987. Photo: Nancy Patterson
Invitation to an exhibition of related Benjamin artworks in Oslo, Norway.
Derek Greaves, Eric Smee, and Benjamin working on Chorus Line, along with their job sheet, 1987.
Success with the Royal Princess project led to the offer of more commissions from Royal Caribbean Line. Benjamin and Nancy worked in his new Norfolk studio at Lowes Farm with the able assistance of painter and old friend Derrick Greaves and photographer Eric Smee, a new neighbour in Kelling. However, these projects were more complicated, with more restrictive themes that were linked to well-known musicals: The Music Man and Chorus Line. The exact design of each section had to be presented and approved before work could begin, causing long delays, followed by unrealistically short completion times that required working through the night.
After finishing Chorus Line, they decided to end all other cruise liner installations, leaving Benjamin time to return to his own work.
Benjamin and glass etching technician in London specialist glass-etching studio, 1989. Photo: Jessica Strang
Mirrors with floating shapes in the International Lounge of P&O Royal Princess
Norwegian marine architect and designer Njal R. Eide, in charge of Royal Princess design and fittings. Photographer unknown.
Benjamin working in the glass studio, 1987. Photo: Jessica Strang.
