It’s been fascinating watching people mourn David Bowie. There’s a sadness there that I suspect comes from more than just the loss of a major creative icon. I think we’re also mourning the loss of the conditions that created and supported that kind of icon. Bowie’s iconic status was a product of certain cultural andContinue reading “bowie’s in space”
Category Archives: Art
Bruce Pennington exhibition at the Atlantis Bookshop
Well, much excitement at Allumination Towers as the other day I met Bruce Pennington! Even more excitingly, the Atlantis Bookshop will be hosting a major retrospective of his art in July and August. The exhibition catalogue website is now live, and stunning! There’s also going to be an interview with him in the next ForteanContinue reading “Bruce Pennington exhibition at the Atlantis Bookshop”
James Cameron meets Masaccio in Santa Maria Novella downtown
I saw James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ over Christmas. It’s a remarkable technical achievement, injecting new possibilities for the creation of wholly artificial, wholly convincing dramatic worlds into cinema. In that, it reminded me of Masaccio’s masterpiece ‘The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, St John and Two Donors’, in Florence’s Santa Maria Novella church: Masaccio’s work wasContinue reading “James Cameron meets Masaccio in Santa Maria Novella downtown”
Pound 1, Brancusi 0
Just spent a lovely weekend in Venice, with H; great food, great boozing, lovely company (of course), much architectural beauty, and also of course much time spent looking at art and (as ever) following Ezra Pound around. This year’s Ezra stalking was particularly successful; our hotel was just round the corner from his and OlgaContinue reading “Pound 1, Brancusi 0”
Remembering Tim Page
I’ve just been set thinking about Tim Page by an introduction to one of the stories in this year’s ‘Year’s Best Horror’. He was one of my teenage heroes, perhaps the best photographer to cover the Vietnam War. So, I’ve been rooting round on the web to take another look at his pictures. What’s strikingContinue reading “Remembering Tim Page”
Mondrian in New York
Rushing around today, so here’s a notebook entry from when I was lurking in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was a very exciting wander – and particularly exciting was seeing Mondrian’s various late New York paintings. So, I sat in front of them and pondered. ‘The geometry of this composition isContinue reading “Mondrian in New York”
Coal sculptures
Last Friday night’s excursion was a trip to see compellingly strange French SF animation ‘La Planete Sauvage’, plus a pre-film performance of some groovy improvised music from The Stargazer’s Assistant. The film was fantastic; the music was marvellous; but what really made the evening for me were David Smith’s coal sculptures, forming his exhibition ‘TheContinue reading “Coal sculptures”