That programme on Five last night was remarkable. Whereas the BBC1 programme last week went out to Madrid and filmed in the city, at the royal hunting lodge, at the riding school, at the palace, at the Prado and possibly even in Rome (I lost track) with huge amounts of Ken Morse rostrum work, this […]
Entries Tagged as 'Art'
Art for art’s sake
October 30th, 2006 · 2 Comments · Life
Channel 5 seems to have moved on a bit from its early days of low-brow smut and now has a very watchable arts strand presented by Tim Marlow. Last week he presented a programme about the Carsten Holler slides at the Tate Modern which included lots of access to the artist and regular visits during […]
Carsten Holler
October 9th, 2006 · Comments Off on Carsten Holler · Life
If it is not pouring with rain on Tuesday, I know where I am going to go at lunch time! The new installation at the Tate Modern opens on Tuesday and appears to be a series of slides, offering the chance to be highbrow and infantile simultaneously.
Tags: Art·London·Tate Modern
Pretentious? Moi?
September 1st, 2006 · Comments Off on Pretentious? Moi? · Life
The death of artist Vladimir Tretchikoff has kicked off another round of discussions/arguments about whether his work was ‘real’ art or just kitsch commercial product. I do know that we had a copy of the green lady (real name Chinese Girl) on the wall when I was a kid in the 60s, so I have […]
Dangers of leisure
July 23rd, 2006 · Comments Off on Dangers of leisure · Life
Having a day out is turning into a dangerous activity just recently, apart from the default dangers related to excessive heat and sunshine. First of all there was the runaway mine train at Alton Towers, which ran away and hospitalised four people. Today there was an inflatable art installation which got loose from its moorings […]
Tags: Art
Ian Wright Wright Wright
July 5th, 2006 · 3 Comments · Life
I saw something truly amazing on TV tonight. After the highlights of the Germany/Italy semi-final there was a small piece of film of Ian Wright looking round the art exhibits in the building where the BBC have their temporary studio. I have a lot of time for Ian Wright, and did even before he moved […]
Flower photos
July 1st, 2006 · 2 Comments · Life
As a follow-up to this post about the artificial flowers in Crawley, here are some photos of the actual ones in Three Bridges which caused such consternation amongst the local killjoys. (Assuming that the Observer didn’t exaggerate and stir it up for the sake of a story. As if they ever would…) Apparently these flowers […]
Tags: Art·Crawley·Photos·Three Bridges
Crawley in bloom
June 30th, 2006 · 1 Comment · Life
Crawley Council usually put on a fine display for the Britain In Bloom competition with hanging baskets everywhere and troughs of flowers on the railings in the middle of the roads. Maybe its a bit over-the-top, and surely adds to the tax burden, but who really wants to live in a colourless place? This year […]
Tags: Art·Crawley·Crawley Council·Local Papers·Photos·Schooldays·Three Bridges·Traffic
Gerrit Dou
June 28th, 2006 · Comments Off on Gerrit Dou · Life
This week’s revelation has been the paintings of Gerrit Dou. I have been overlooking his paintings in the National Gallery while rushing off to see the famous Rembrandts, Vermeers and de Hoochs, but today I stopped and looked at this example of what are called his ‘niche’ paintings. (An interior scene viewed through a window […]
Strandbeest sightings
June 28th, 2006 · Comments Off on Strandbeest sightings · Life
I came across the strandbeests by chance at lunchtime today. I had gone across the river with the intention of looking at the Dutch realist paintings in the National Gallery again, knowing that I would be tempted to have another gawp at the Joseph Wright of Derby painting. (I just love saying the name. Its […]
Tags: Art·Labour Party·London·Photos
