Search results matching tag 'art'

Jamaica Street Artists come to Bristol

608918 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:35:00 GMT

Bristol has always been passionate about its creative scene and in a smaller city sometimes you have to fight a bit harder to protect it. I think the up side to this is it that brings a much stronger community ethos to the scene than we might otherwise have. So I wasn’t surprised to see that Jamaica Street Artists (Bristol’s biggest art collective) are auctioning off some of their finest work in the hope that they will save their iconic headquarters, and one of the city’s major landmarks – The Old Carriage Works in Stokes Croft. They have over 43 artists in residence at the moment and are a collective with diverse skills including internationally established illustrators, film makers, and fine artists. In advance of the auction on the 3rd December, and building on the success of the Banksy exhibition, there will be a month long preview exhibition at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. The auction itself is invitation only and there is more information on how to get a ticket at the Jamaica Street Artists website. The preview at the City museum is definitely worth a visit, and you never know you might find a unique piece of work to buy. laura@3sixty.co.uk

A walk in the park

209478 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:18:00 GMT

Anyone within striking distance of the Edinburgh Fringe should make a beeline to the Royal Botanic Garden where they’re hosting a very special theatrical happening. The brainchild of David Leddy, it’s a play without actors, without a stage and with only one person in the audience. You. So how does it work? Well, you’ll be given a map to follow around the garden and an MP3 player so you can listen to a cross between a radio play and avant-garde sonic art as you go. You’ll hear snippets about opera, memorial benches and botany that fit together into a mournful and poignant story of love and loss which, according to ‘The List’ is "a sensual reinterpretation of A Midsummer Nights' Dream with a contemporary edge".

It’s on every half an hour, 10am – 5pm, until Sunday 6 September. You’ll even be issued with a brolly if the weather’s looking dodgy so no excuses, ok?

Ref. http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/816

Find a new way to pay your respects

209478 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:07:00 GMT

The First World War veteran Harry Patch died on 25 July this year. He was the last survivor of the bloody Passchendaele assault. He’d refused to talk about his experiences for 80 years but back in 1998, he took part in a BBC documentary. People say he changed his mind as he gradually realised that he was one of the last links to that war.

So how to commemorate such a life? Radio 4 came up trumps. At five to nine on Wednesday 5 August, they aired ‘Harry Patch (In Memory of)’ by Radiohead. The band had only finished recording it a few days before.

So what’s the song like? The Guardian’s Dan Martin says ‘It begins with Thom Yorke offering a desolate lament over bleak, circling strings that build as the song progresses. The lyrics follow Patch's perspective from his experiences on the battlefield, before moving to a bruising anti-war message: "Give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out for themselves." The final line comes from an interview given by a frail Patch to the Today programme in 2005: "The next world war will be chemical, but they will never learn."’

You can listen to the song and learn more about it on the BBC and it can be downloaded from the Radiohead website - all profits will go to the Royal British Legion.

Do you know what you’re dealing with?

209478 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:29:00 GMT

When Good News!, an exhibition at London’s Orel Art opened, people were intrigued to discover two new artists. Yuri and Konstantin Shamanov had a long and detailed biography. Soviet army conscripts who’d gone on to work in secret space labs and as salesmen on Cherkisovski market, they listed other places they’d exhibited. So how come no-one had heard of them before? And why did their publicity photos look a bit iffy?

The mystery was solved when the brothers turned out to be Jake and Dinos Chapman, the ‘notorious and often brilliant’ Brit Art duo, in disguise. Remember, things may not always be as they seem…

Ref. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6725166.ece

How can you integrate your brand into everyday life?

209478 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:10:00 GMT

Think like street artist, Dan Witz.

With his latest work, ‘Plain View’, he attaches his art to the doors and walls of public places, such as bus stations.

Only the occasional passer-by notices that there could be something going on behind that door or wall.

But this occasional passer by is enough to get the buzz going.

http://www.danwitzstreetart.com/2009plainview3.html

Ref. http://www.psfk.com/2009/04/dan-witzs-plain-view.html

How can you give your own four walls a more inspiring look?

209478 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:43:00 GMT

Think like Surface View, who can cover your walls with interior graphics that will make an extraordinary impact at home or at work.

Take your pick from the National Gallery, the V&A, the Tate and more.

(Thanks to big Kev in Elmwood Melbourne for this one.)

http://www.surfaceview.co.uk

Where’s our generation's Erté?

2292853 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:27:00 GMT

As the months of this year march onward toward their inevitable annual close I’ve had the glamorous artwork of an Erté calendar to guide me through the year.

Born Romain de Tirtoff in 1892, this illustrator adopted the artist name Erté to avoid retribution from his family who would have preferred that he join the Navy. Instead he went on to define art deco style. His images graced the pages of fashion magazines and his set designs showcased in theatre and film including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, La Bohéme and Ben Hur.

Gazing upon Erté’s artworks each month makes me wonder why today’s commercial world can’t seem to foster similar artistic credibility in similar tradition to what Erté has produced, and let grow our own period artists. What I see too often is ad firms ripping off, or buying into popular art trends to try and sell something. Often you’ll find a Banksy-style ad selling alcohol, music or television shows. In another example, the current Vauxhall car ads copy the concept of Ugly Dolls to produce sassy characters to run in their ad campaign.

Sometimes ads are inspired by artists independently – in the recent political campaign example, Barack Obama was the lucky recipient of a Shepard Fairey iconic image that added to him winning respect among young people for his powerful election win.

It isn’t like there aren’t talented artists and designers working within the commercial world who can provide inspiration and originality, in fact Banksy complains that advertising is leeching talent from the art world:

“The thing I hate most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.” –Banksy

I’m not opposed to the ad world recruiting artists for campaigns, although the artist themselves, like Fairey, have had to come to grips with the possibility that their underground images may be tarnished. And by the way, the New York City street artist James De LaVega is for hire.

Cheers to Absolut who recruit artists to craft the company’s collectible ads, often doing a series of images with a single artist. If any ad can immortalize recent decades artistically it is likely to be this vodka maker. I celebrate the originality produced with the Absolut campaigns and would like to see more company’s support art in similar fashion by having guest artists develop a campaign or fostering new talent from within the ranks.

Hopefully clients will appreciate something original that is proposed, and allow creative talent to shine through rather than go for copy cat campaigns. If they do support new ideas, then from the commercial world might come along the next Andy Warhol, Banksy, Fairey or my own beloved Erté.

Wondering where this generation’s Erté is,

-Lisa

PS: Comments as to who might be the commercial world’s next Erté are welcome.

Antiques Roadshow Spoils The Mission

2292853 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:37:00 GMT

Normal 0 Last night I was among millions of fans of Antiques Roadshow who waited to find out what object could possibly fetch £1 million in valuations.

I had images of a fantastic story of discovery that had the owner stumble upon a treasure at a car boot sale or dust off an old family heirloom to bring along and have one of the experts tell them of its stunning value. Instead, viewers were greeted to an object of art by Anthony Gormley, the marquette for the final version of his sculpture Angel of the North.

Brought in by the Gateshead Council, it made for less fun than when you see a Granny exclaim excitement over her sudden found wealth. Antiques Roadshow quoted the Anthony Gormley piece at £1 million and now the Gateshead Council has the masterpiece to caretake, or sell to raise money for fixing potholes or other projects. But is it truly an antique? According to the definition of antique, it applies to objects 50-100 years old. In the case of the Anthony Gormley piece, the Angel of the North sculpture was erected in 1998, making the marquette less than 20-years-old.

Has Antiques Roadshow lost the plot? The marquette is something more likely to be found at Freeze Art Fair or Tate Modern, but not on Antiques Roadshow. The value of the piece is the highest ever made for an object on the show. Evaluating a piece less than 20 years old and calling it an antique seems like false advertising to viewers. Bring back the traditional format and next week lets see Antiques Roadshow get back to rocking the worlds of treasure hunters with true antiquities.

Collecting all kinds of tat for future Antique Roadshow valuation,

-Lisa

Play It Again Steve Lamacq! Let’s Hear It For Mary Epworth and The Jubilee Band

2292853 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:56:00 GMT

BBC Radio 2’s Steve Lamacq has taken a shine to new artist Mary Epworth , and her Jubilee Band, playing her single The Saddle Song on his Music This Week programme.

The artist and her fans are hoping that Steve will play the tune again – in the meantime, you can view the YouTube video of her new single here. and check out other tracks on her MySpace page.

I caught up for a Quick Peeks oOOo conversation with Mary Epworth, who is represented by the Hand of Glory record label, to find out more about her singing and songwriting ambitions.

oOOo Tell me about The Jubliee Band? The Jubilee Band is the second generation of what originated as The Jubilee Band in 1887, when my Great-Great Grandfather Pumpata/Pompadour Chilvers was a featured artist. They were popular in the Middleton/Blakborough End area, near King’s Lynn in Norfolk. My Great-Great Grandfather was called Pompadour because he used to practice the songs while he was working, going “pom pom pom” to imitate the brass parts. I founded my Jubilee Band in the honour of him.

My band includes Will Twynham, Mark "Horse" Phillips, and Andy Zammit.

oOOo How long have you been singing? I've been singing in bands for approximately 17 years, I can't count my non-inspiring school choir days really, boring as they were.

oOOo What are your earliest experiences with music that you can remember? My brother and I used to listen to a couple of children's records when we were small. I particularly loved "I'm a Gnu" and "Mud Glorious Mud" by Flanders and Swann, "Morningtown ride" and "Puff The Magic Dragon". I also was really fascinated by "Oh My Darlin' Clementine".

The last two are interesting to me because I was always really haunted by the sadness of the stories. Now I'm fully grown I really love sad songs, so maybe that's innate.

Other than that, my Dad used to listen to CSNY, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and Yes, which all seeped in somewhere for me to revisit later. Plus he used to play Jeff Wayne's "War Of The Worlds" on long journeys, to which I would have strange car nightmares. Love it now though, thanks Dad.

oOOo You are in a quirky new folk rock genre, what is it about this type of music that appeals to you? Am I? Am I fully immersed by this thing? Or are there limbs sticking out? I write what I write, and as soon as I think I am one type of music, my contrary nature conspires against me by making me write something totally unlike. I would say my music has roots in folk-rock, but doesn't quite fit snug in that box. You'll have to hear my album to see what I mean.

I do love folk music, I started off liking American folk, and then had an awakening of a kind, when I first heard Shirley Collins. That was around the time I found out about the old Jubilee band, so these things came together and I suddenly felt a connection to English music and Englishness that I never had previously. Shirley Collins is really wonderful.

oOOo You play the autoharp, an unusual instrument, can you tell me why you picked up this instrument? An Autoharp is a type of Zither, not a harp at all, and is a distant cousin of the Dulcimer, Cymbalom etc.

I picked it up at first because I was resisting learning guitar, and wanted to find an alternative. That was when I was about 15. I then forgot about it until I got into Country music, and then realised it could be useful.

oOOo How did you learn how to play the autoharp? I’m self taught, and have never seen anyone else do it in person, so I may be doing it all wrong. I am aware that I am not fully doing justice to all the possibilities of the lovely beast, but I am, as I said, contrary. I play it like a rhythm guitar, and frequently break strings. I also play Banjo like a rhythm guitar, and according to one guy, play guitar like a drummer.

oOOo What does new folk mean to you? Hmm. I don't know. It makes me think of New Country, which is a bad thing. I would probably say Psych-folk is more what I'm keen on personally. That said, there are loads of fantastic new artists who fall loosely under the folk umbrella, so It's a good time for people like me who into that stuff.

oOOo Who are your top music influences? I have worked with a fantastic woman called Ida Kelarova for a long time. She teaches a way of singing, (not a technique, but an approach) that is something like gospel. She showed me how it's possible to put real feeling into what you are singing, and that way you never sing things the same way twice and It can be a really beautiful experience.

She comes from a background of Roma (Gypsy) culture, and I've been really deeply influenced by Roma music, and my experiences performing that music as part of a choir. I don't perform those songs myself, but I always feel them running through me, like the lettering in a stick of rock.

oOOo What's your ambition? Um, happiness and health for me, my family and loved ones, to earn a living doing what I love, and to meet Van *** Parks and shake his hand. That would do. Of course, raking in millions as a behind the scenes songwriter for teen popstars would also be nice.

Good luck to the quite contrary, psych-rocking Mary Epworth and her Jubilee Band,

-Lisa

Absolut Machines

878512 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:47:46 GMT

The perfect way to loose half an hour of a rainy Sunday afternoon - go play...

[via]

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