art blog since 2009
When a gallery is a deconsecrated church and the artwork is a piece of religious music, walking in is a hair’s breadth from turning up for Sunday worship. It’s humbling, even humiliating. The early choral work, Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis, is drawing people in off the street, nevertheless. This is one church that’s …
May 11, 2011
By writing this I am making Cybraphon happy and by reading this you are making me happy. Here’s what criticismism has in common with an autonomous emotional robot. FOUND collective’s sculpture tracks hits to its own website and obsesses over its stats and indeed, like most bloggers, that is activity I can all too easily …
April 28, 2011
What could be more uncanny than neat piles of books actually underneath a desk, if not neat piles of books on a decidedly uncanny subject? In this case, automatic writing. For Gertrude Stein, to whom this sculpture is intended as a homage, the books represent a return of the repressed. The writer went from experimenting …
February 4, 2011
Putting out the flags has become the most recognised gesture of welcome in every part of the world. Here we all are, they say, together in our differing categories. Seen all at once, they inspire optimism. All these national emblems will fit on the end of a flagpole or a world cup wallchart, so it …
September 28, 2010
In case anyone is interested, here are some pieces written for Culture24 last week: Review: Art in the public realm at Liverpool Biennial Review: The John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery Artist’s Statement: Alfredo Jaar at the Liverpool Biennial Artist’s Statement: Jonathan Baldock at the Liverpool Biennial Artist’s Statement: Wolfgang Tillmans at the Liverpool …
September 26, 2010
No animals. No nudity. No feeding the customers. Apart from that almost anything goes at No Soul For Sale. 50 non-profit art organisations from around the world have been invited to set up a stall in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. By the time dusk falls, the scene is a wonderfully confused mess. They …
May 15, 2010
Most people would find the prospect of entertaining several thousand people in their own home somewhat daunting. But throughout May in Brighton, such are the visitor numbers for a typical address in the Artists’ Open House festival. Citywide that adds up to around 230,000 guests. It is no wonder that home-loving artists from Hanover to …
May 10, 2010
Few living artists get as much exposure as Spencer Tunick. But then again this live installation specialist and photographer works exclusively with nudes, hundreds and sometimes thousands of them. His latest project, shot over Bank Holiday weekend, is set in Salford and Manchester. Tunick is using the project as a response to the region’s best …
May 5, 2010
Going to review Boy George for News of the World was an interesting experience. The audience was full of die hard fans, grannies and members of the Hare Krishna. You can read the results, here.
May 1, 2010