Simple, terrifying, cold, and beautiful. Miroslaw Balka’s work ‘How It Is’ at Tate Modern hits hard without being overtly provocative. More of this kind of art, please.
Categories: Visual arts · art exhibition · london
Tagged: art exhibition, contemporary art, exhibition, london, tate, Visual arts
Johanna Billing video installation (via artscouncil.org.uk)
Autumn is upon us, the wind is turning chilly and days become shorter and shorter. Summer exhibitions are closing down and London gets ready for the Turner Prize, Frieze, Zoo, etc. Some shows have been quite underwhelming, but it’s not the case of Johanna Billing’s exhibition at the Camden Arts Centre, which I stumbled upon and loved from start to end. The Swedish artist has the ability to elevate small events to poetic visions through her videos that feature light-hearted songs that will stick to your memory. Johanna Billing: ‘I’m Lost Without Your Rhythm’ closes on September 13, try not to miss it!
Categories: Art Container · Visual arts · art exhibition · london
Tagged: art, art exhibition, contemporary art, exhibition, london, Visual arts
20×20 magazine will take part in three fairs this Autumn:
By Leaves We Live, Sat 26 Sept, Edinburgh, organised by The Scottish Poetry Library;
Publish And Be Damned, Sun 27 Sept, Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London E2 6HG;
CCA Book Fair, Sat 28 Nov, Glasgow, organised by the Centre For Contemporary Arts.
Categories: 20x20magazine · london · magazines
Tagged: 20x20magazine, art, london, magazines, not london, Visual arts
Categories: Visual arts · london · magazines · random
Tagged: 20x20magazine, london, Music
Cover illustration for 'Opus International', 1968
I had been warned of the scale of Cold War Modern – the new design exhibition at the V&A – so I wasn’t shocked when I realised that the visit lasted at least two hours. Although I can’t really say I remember the cold war (but I do remember when the wall fell), growing up in Italy gave me a pretty good idea of political propaganda and strong pro- and anti-Americanism. I’ve been wanting to visit the exhibition also because of the shady 7th Syndikate, that contacted me through this blog at the beginning of September. As it turned out they’d contacted a bunch of other London-based bloggers with instructions and tasks to carry out in order to become an active ‘agent’ (I was Caroline something), and the big finale was a secret gathering for the show’s opening on September 24. Talking about viral marketing! I was sorry to miss it, but had a previous engagement with two friends and a pizza. Back to the exhibition: the posters were among the best pieces on show, especially the French ones from the 60s, but also a fine example of Trabant, a few interesting chairs and stereos, propaganda films from USA and URSS, and a short clip of Dr Strangelove by Kubrick that brilliantly summed up those years. It seems that the subject of war is quite popular with London galleries as Barbican has just opened three parallel exhibitions This is war! Robert Capa at work, Gerda Taro, and On the subject of war. Will definitely see them.
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I’d mentioned the End Of The Road festival (12-14 Sept) in a previous post saying that I was not going, but the lineup was too good to miss so I grew a spine and bought a ticket. It was worth every penny and ounce of mud, because almost all bands did amazing sets and the atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly.
Day one (12 Sept): Acorn (Canadian band that I saw opening for Akron/Family at the Luminaire, nothing too exciting but entertaining), followed by A Hawk And A Hacksaw (they make great music fullstop), Micah P Hinson, and the almighty Dirty Three. There are no words to describe their music. Inspired by the Australians I went to the Big Top Stage to see Akron/Family leaving my friends at the Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) gig.
Day two (13 Sept): Absentee (perhaps a bit too pop for me, but very dance-able), Bowerbirds, Bon Iver (amazing gig, probably one of the best of the weekend), Baby Dee (first time I’ve seen her live and enjoyed the set a lot, especially the craziness of Teeth Are The Only Bones That Show and The Earlie King), Kurt Wagner (great voice, great stage presence), Mark Kozelek with Sun Kil Moon (I love his/their albums but I find Kozelek very boring and cold when he plays live).
Day three (14 Sept): Sons of Noel and Adrian (a pleasant surprise), The Wave Pictures, Kimya Dawson (wonderful and endearing), Jason Molina (again, I love songs:ohia but live he’s a bit boring), Woodpigeon, Jeffrey Lewis (always funny), Moutain Goats (not a good gig, something was missing).
End Of The Road – A Hawk & A Hacksaw
End Of The Road – Dirty Three
End Of The Road – Baby Dee on fire
End Of The Road – A very focussed Alex Nielson drums for Baby Dee
End Of The Road – Kurt Wagner’s intimate set
Categories: Gigs · Music · Visual arts · art exhibition · london
Tagged: design, exhibition, folk, london, Music, not london, V&A, Visual arts
Will the credit crunch affect the global art market? It seems almost inevitable, but, if we are to believe experts, sales are holding up and investing in visual art is still popular. Nevertheless, if you’re not in the mood for a shopping spree at Frieze, you could always walk down the road to the Free Art Fair (14, 19, 21 New Quebec Street and 5, 8, 16 Seymour Place, Portman Village, London W1H), which seems the ad hoc event for such austere times…
Categories: Visual arts · london
Tagged: art market, free, london, Visual arts
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