Rachel Owen
Rachel Owen | |
---|---|
Born | Rachel Mary Owen 30 November 1968 Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
Died | 18 December 2016 (aged 48) |
Spouse | Thom Yorke |
Children | 2 |
Website | rachel-owen.co.uk |
Rachel Mary Owen (30 November 1968 – 18 December 2016) was a Welsh photographer, printmaker and lecturer on medieval Italian literature. She was married to Radiohead singer Thom Yorke.
Life and career
Owen was born in Cardiff, Wales.[1] She received a B.A. (Hons) in Italian and Fine Art (Painting) specialising in Printmaking, from the University of Exeter.[2] In the 1990s she lived in Florence with two students and studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence, where she fell in love with Dante's work.[3] In 2001, Owen received a PhD from the University of London, where her research was on the illustrations in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.[4]
Owen was a lecturer in Italian with a focus on medieval Italian literature, where she examined illustration and its reception in Dante's Divine Comedy.[5] She taught art history and Dante studies for visiting students at University of Oxford.[6] She was also a fine-art printmaker,[7] and a member of the Oxford Printmakers Co-operative.[8][9] She mixed photography with printmaking[10] and her work explored ideas of transformation using photographic screenprints.[9] Her artwork was used on the cover of the 1993 Radiohead single "Pop Is Dead," included in the rerelease of their debut album Pablo Honey.[11][failed verification]
Personal life
For 23 years Owen was in a relationship with Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, whom she met while they were students at the University of Exeter.[12][13][14] She and Yorke had a son, Noah, born in 2001, and a daughter, Agnes, born in 2004.[15] According to The Times, Owen and Yorke married in May 2003 in Oxfordshire in a secret ceremony which was not reported to the media.[16] In August 2015, the couple announced they had separated amicably "after 23 highly creative and happy years".[17] Several critics believed the separation influenced the lyrics of Radiohead's 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool.[18][19][20]
Death
Owen died of cancer on 18 December 2016 at the age of 48.[14] She continued to teach Italian into her final months.[21] Radiohead dedicated the 2017 OKNOTOK reissue of their 1997 album OK Computer to her memory.[22]
Works
Exhibition
Papers
- Owen, Rachel Mary (2001). Illuminated Manuscripts of Dante's Commedia (1330–1490) in Their Cultural and Artistic Context (PhD). Royal Holloway, University of London. OCLC 556889838.
- Owen, Rachel; Calè, Luisa (2007). "The Image of Dante, Poet and Pilgrim". In Braida, Antonella (ed.). Dante on View: The Reception of Dante in the Visual and Performing Arts. London: Ashgate. pp. 83–94. ISBN 978-0-7546-5896-2. OCLC 83609616.
- Owen, Rachel (2001). Honess, Claire E. (ed.). "Dante's Reception by 14th- and 15th-century Illustrators of the Commedia" (PDF). Reading Medieval Studies. XXVII. Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Reading: 163–225. ISBN 978-0-704-91215-1. ISSN 0950-3129. OCLC 50612171.
References
- ^ Gurpreet Narwan, Fariha Karim (24 December 2016). "Marriage secret of Radiohead star and the woman he lost to cancer". The Times. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "Art Exhibition 'Rachel Owen: The Inferno Illustrations'". www.pmb.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ Paloscia, Fulvio (23 September 2012). "Rachel, l'altra artista di casa Yorke "A Firenze mi innamorai di Dante"". la Repubblica (in Italian). Firenze.
- ^ Owen, Rachel Mary (2001). Illuminated Manuscripts of Dante's Commedia (1330–1490) in Their Cultural and Artistic Context (PhD). Royal Holloway, University of London. OCLC 556889838.
- ^ "Dr Rachel Owen (1968–2016)". Pembroke College, Oxford. 19 December 2016.
- ^ Owen, Rachel; Calè, Luisa (2007). "The Image of Dante, Poet and Pilgrim". In Braida, Antonella (ed.). Dante on View: The Reception of Dante in the Visual and Performing Arts. London: Ashgate. pp. 83–94. ISBN 978-0-7546-5896-2. OCLC 83609616.
- ^ "Rachel Owen: Biography". RachelOwen.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008.
- ^ Ray, Emily (20 December 2016). "Dr. Rachel Owen: 1968–2016. Partner of Radiohead's Thom Yorke Was Accomplished Printmaker". Paste.
- ^ a b Owen, Rachel. "Rachel Owen: Artist Statement". Oxford Printmakers Co-operative.
- ^ Slawson, Nicola (20 December 2016). "Thom Yorke's ex-partner Rachel Owen dies at 48". The Guardian.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (15 January 2009). "Radiohead's First Three Albums Reissued with Extras". Spin.
- ^ Randall, Mac (2012). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story (Updated 4th ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-458-47147-5. OCLC 946707168.
- ^ Binelli, Mark (7 February 2008). "The Future According to Radiohead: How they ditched the record business and still topped the charts". Rolling Stone.
- ^ a b Vincent, Alice (20 December 2016). "Thom Yorke's ex-partner, Rachel Owen, dies aged 48". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ McLean, Craig (17 June 2006). "Thom Yorke: 'It's not my job to do business with politicians'". The Guardian.
- ^ Narwan, Gurpreet; Karim, Fariha (24 December 2016). "Marriage secret of Radiohead star and the woman he lost to cancer". The Times. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ NME News Desk (15 August 2015). "Thom Yorke and Rachel Owen announce separation". NME.
- ^ Hughes, Tim (20 December 2016). "Tribute paid to Dr Rachel Owen, artist, academic and former partner of Radiohead's Thom Yorke, who has died". Oxford Mail.
- ^ Leight, Elias (20 December 2016). "Dr. Rachel Owen, Former Partner of Thom Yorke, Dead at Age 48". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Larson, Jeremy D. (9 May 2016). "Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: The 5 Most Important Things To Know". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ Mohdin, Aamna (22 September 2019). "Thom Yorke: how I coped with ex-partner's death". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ Cook-Wilson, Winston (22 June 2017). "Radiohead's OKNOTOK Dedicated to Thom Yorke's Late Partner Rachel Owen". Spin. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Thom Yorke's Ex-Partner Rachel Owen Loses Her Battle With Cancer". viveremilano.biz. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017.
- 1968 births
- 2016 deaths
- Artists from Cardiff
- British photographers
- British printmakers
- Alumni of the University of Exeter
- Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London
- 20th-century British women artists
- 21st-century British women artists
- 20th-century British artists
- 21st-century British artists
- Women printmakers
- Welsh women artists
- Deaths from cancer in England