User:Theodor Filion

David Joseph Taborn

David Taborn is a "creator of iconic, often painterly, palimpsests of 'the now' that resonate through myriad associations" ...Theodor Daedalus Filion - art critic and writer.

Born Valentine's day 1947. His father, Charles Taborn, was a toolmaker and his mother, Nelly Taborn, a seamstress. Taborn's early years were spent in one of the designated 'slum' areas of Birmingham. Situated equidistantly behind the three imposing walls of Winson Green Prison, Lodge Road Lunatic Asylum and Dudley Road Hospital. A happy childhood in a street full of children sporadically punctuated by what could have been life-changers  - ; Early years Radioiodine treatment ; near-drowning ;TB diagnosis (erroneous) ;.

His first school, Foundry Road Primary School , encouraged him to take the "11 plus" entrance exam. On passing ,he went on to Lordswood Boy's Technical/Grammar School, where he was awarded sport 'colours' for his rugby union prowess as a scrum forward. There he scraped together 5 'O'level GCE's.....enough to be offered a 'Commercial Apprenticeship' with Stewarts and LLoyds. Encouraged by his Austrian accountancy lecturer to abandon the Ledger Book in favour of the Sketch Book and, armed with 'O'level German, Taborn decided that moving to Germany offered a way forward. In order to qualify for an Arbeitsgenehmigung a job offer was needed and thus his short career as a 'Buchhalter' with SalamanderSchuhFabrik, Kornwestheim, West Germany began. It fast became apparent that his early portraits executed on a mechanical paper-fed adding machine were unappreciated and he was promptly demoted to 'Linkschuhoperativ' in the factory basement. By this time, his drawing and skills had come to the attention of both his landlord and the American Army. This resulted in a deal using drawings as rental payment for the former,  and a commission to paint a large 7' x 3' landscape in oils for the local American Army  Barracks ensued.

The sympathetic landlord had allowed Taborn the use of the spacious attic room as studio .To make ends meet whilst allowing for time to paint, he became a postman. What should have been a 4.30a.m. to 11a.m shift quickly degenerated into a 2p.m. finish - the Deutsche Bundespost failing to take into account that an eighteen year old Englishman delivering mail to numerous Gasthäuser would ,out of English politeness, accept the offer of " Bissle Schnapps?" During this time he applied to the Stuttgart Akademie but was told that no Stipendium was available. He decided to return to England and was offered a place at the Birmingham College of Art under William Gear ( they were to exhibit together at Gallery 202 in the '80's) During his time there he was awarded the Jackson Travel Scholarship, two Arts Council Prizes and the Stuyvesant Prize ( jointly with Sean Scully)

After graduating, he went on to the Slade School of Art, London for a 2 year  post-graduate course in Fine Art (painting), at the end of which, he was awarded the Boise Travel Scholarship and was included in 'Paolozzi's Choice of London Post-graduate Shows' exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK. From this group exhibition he was offered his first solo exhibition at the Greenwich Theatre Gallery, London.

At this time he negotiated with the L.E.B. to convert their abandoned Croombs Hill warehouse into temporary studios. A group of Hare Krishna devotees installed the power supply.

After a short period teaching art part-time at King Alfred's School for Girls, Catford, London, he was offered an Associate Senior Lectureship at Liverpool College of Art.

Shortly after the birth of his first daughter, Joanne, he 'accidentally' bought at auction a run down Mission Hall on Maund Bryan Common, Herefords., figuring that the Liverpool commute would be quicker (not!).

Five years of this was enough and after being offered the Nottingham University Fine Art Fellowship, he moved with his family ( now with second daughter Caroline) to Nottingham. During his three year residency he organised two solo exhibitions in the University of Nottingham art gallery situated at that time in the Portland Building. The second of which travelled to the Bluecoat Gallery Liverpool in 1981. "Swordtail Enclosure" a painting from this exhibition won first prize in the East Midlands Arts Exhibition