Art

My art week

I have just finished Art of the Extreme 1905-1915 by Philip Hook the ex-Director of Impressionism and Modern Art at Sothebys. His background is sales. He writes well. He is on safer ground discussing the great collectors Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov in Russia and the emerging super rich ones [...]

December 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

The week began with Fake or Fortune on Monday night on BBC4. Some find this programme contrived but it’s popular for a reason. There is the Antique Roadshow element, which Fiona Bruce also presents, of the masterpiece bought in a junk shop: the reputation and work of the artist; the [...]

November 19, 2021 // 0 Comments

Tate Britain v Tate Modern

Yesterday our art art tutor gave us a curated tour of Tate Britain. Before writing this I visited the Tate website to see how this clarified the difference between Tate Modern and Tate Britain. This explained that Tate Modern was the more international and contemporary. Tate Britain – as it [...]

November 12, 2021 // 0 Comments

A Day at the Tate Modern

The last time I visited Tate Modern must have been 2017. It did not float my boat as modern art is too political for me. I was back there yesterday for the curated tour of our art and visual culture course from 1950 onwards. We started with German artist and sculptor Joseph Beuys. He was a keen [...]

November 10, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

No exhibitions nor art on telly this week but two fascinating lessons in our art course. In the first – on British art and visual culture 1950 to the present – we studied David Hockney and Francis Bacon. Hockney, though it was not compulsory, studied line at Bradford Art College and [...]

October 23, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

Although I did not visit any exhibitions or museums this week it was a full art week. In our art course we covered Jasper Johns and his partner Robert Rauschenberg and across the Atlantic pop art. Consumerism was still the key driver. I had one of those serendipity moments on switching on Sky Arts [...]

October 15, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

Looking back at my art week money seems to be the dominant theme, whether it’s the artist or the museum provider. In our art course we studied Andy Warhol the ultimate consumer painter. Walking down Fifth Avenue after emigrating from Russia he was fascinated by the marketing of consumer objects [...]

October 11, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

On Monday I watched a Sky Arts programme on the Young Picasso which covered his early life in his birthplace Malaga, the family move to Corunna and then Barcelona where he launched himself. In 1900 he came to Paris. The quality of his work for one so young was staggering. Many – including me [...]

October 2, 2021 // 0 Comments

Normal service is resumed?

I was so looking forward to the resumption of my art class at the learning centre but the first reaction to me upon arrival was from one attendee brusquely saying I should not sit next to her as I was not wearing a mask. I banged my bag down at another space and glowered at her. This is the [...]

September 22, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

Pending the return of my art courses next week, my art week concentrated more on two arts programmes on BBC4. The first was called Ego and was presented by Observer art critic Laura Cumming. She featured the art of self/portraiture. She started with a 1500 self portrait by and of Albrecht Dürer [...]

September 17, 2021 // 0 Comments

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My art week

December 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

I have just finished Art of the Extreme 1905-1915 by Philip Hook the ex-Director of Impressionism and Modern Art at Sothebys. His background is sales. He writes well. He is [...]
Not just a matter of self-identification

December 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

Many of those who contribute to this organ take pride in the Rust‘s long and healthy record of pointing out both the oddities and absurdities of modern 21st Century [...]
West Ham 1 Brighton 1

December 2, 2021 // 0 Comments

The Seagulls maintained their unbeaten record against the Hammers in their second consecutive draw. They left it rather late – and had only 10 players on the pitch [...]
It’s all about a load of hot air …

December 2, 2021 // 0 Comments

Now some two months into my new life living on the south coast of England, I have been learning much – in my terminally technologically illiterate way – about the [...]
Duck into the bouncer, Doug!

December 1, 2021 // 0 Comments

In 1993 I was on the beach at Bridgetown Barbados facing a skinny 11 year old with a mean bouncer. At the other end was my friend Wayne Daniel who advised me to “duck into [...]