The Great Art Debate

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

on an entirely different plane altogether - I shall be off to follow the elephant parade during half-term week...

http://www.elephantparadelondon.org/index.html

whole host of contemporary artists are involved one way or another...

Ah, so that's what it was!

I saw one in between the Albert Monument and the Royal Albert Hall on Thurs night (had free tickets to the Classical Brits) and wondered what it was in aid of.

[Gary the Enfield]

Back in 2000 I was in New York and they did something similair with life sized Cows.

It's....................................nice!

[TANGODANCER]

Back in 2000 I was in New York and they did something similair with life sized Cows.

It's....................................nice!

They did the cows in Manchester a couple of years ago. Our building had one stuck in its front window.

[TANGODANCER]

So this model making... does it involve dog in formaldehyde and seas of menstrual blood? What? Balsa wood and glue? My four year old and her half-blind grannie could do that. Yet count on it, there will be elderly blazer-owning persons holding their chins, puzzling over it, pretending it matters in the real world...

And - this is the outrage - some of my taxes go to support this so-called 'model makers'...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/ ... rth-plinth

[William the White]

Brill, Tango... I love the way the fourth plinth has become a sort of Hyde Park Corner of Art, Ancient and Modern...

[William the White]

And, to say, the BBC 4 Modern masters series was excellent on Picasso, and also on Salvador Dali, master showman, self-publicist, money-grabbing, cold, heartless and utterly briliiant creative genius - whose work i don't give a shooting shit about myself - but I know he's admired by many on here... Indeed, in one sense, I utterly admire him, just think him emotionally sterile...

here's the link... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ters_Dali/

I stayed with it to the end - it's good TV if you care about art...

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

And, to say, the BBC 4 Modern masters series was excellent on Picasso, and also on Salvador Dali, master showman, self-publicist, money-grabbing, cold, heartless and utterly briliiant creative genius - whose work i don't give a shooting shit about myself - but I know he's admired by many on here... Indeed, in one sense, I utterly admire him, just think him emotionally sterile...

here's the link... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ters_Dali/

I stayed with it to the end - it's good TV if you care about art...

I've not seen any of it, but I will try and catch up.

Two programmes in, I'm quite enjoying the BBC4 series of programmes on Opera - Toni Pappano on the history of Opera, particularly Italian opera, last night, and Stephen Fry on his conflicted love for Wagner tonight.

Is it an art form that does anything for you, William (or anyone else, for that matter?)?

[William the White]

And, to say, the BBC 4 Modern masters series was excellent on Picasso, and also on Salvador Dali, master showman, self-publicist, money-grabbing, cold, heartless and utterly briliiant creative genius - whose work i don't give a shooting shit about myself - but I know he's admired by many on here... Indeed, in one sense, I utterly admire him, just think him emotionally sterile...

here's the link... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ters_Dali/

I stayed with it to the end - it's good TV if you care about art...

I've not seen any of it, but I will try and catch up.

Two programmes in, I'm quite enjoying the BBC4 series of programmes on Opera - Toni Pappano on the history of Opera, particularly Italian opera last night, and Stephen Fry on his conflicted love for Wagner tonight.

Is it an art form that does anything for you, William (or anyone else, for that matter?)?

I think I've appeared on an Opera thread earlier, mummy... Love it - in a quite traditionalist (Verdi, Puccini) way... though I make a major diversion in my enthusiasm for Brecht/Weill's Threepenny Opera and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...

iPlayer will be in use for both the above you recommend, which I had clocked... iplayer a great invention...

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

I think I've appeared on an Opera thread earlier, mummy...

Ah, apologies - I've got a memory like a sieve sometimes, though perhaps without the residual retention.

But yes, both programmes excellent.

Papanno is a terrific presenter with the potential to be a great popularizer for Opera, with an infectious enthusiasm that will reach out to those outside the elites (at least it would if anyone watched the programme!) His subject matter will be the most attractive to you too if you (as I do) like the Italian masters like Rossini, Verdi and Puccini.

Stephen Fry also brings his usual charm to the subject - watch it for yourself, but my favourite bit was when he fantasized (in a front of a bemused 'expert') about going back in time so he could write to Wagner relentlessly and plead with him that his anti-semitism would be the one thing that taints his reputation and stops him from being glorified as one of the greatest composers of all time.

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

And, to say, the BBC 4 Modern masters series was excellent on Picasso, and also on Salvador Dali, master showman, self-publicist, money-grabbing, cold, heartless and utterly briliiant creative genius - whose work i don't give a shooting shit about myself - but I know he's admired by many on here... Indeed, in one sense, I utterly admire him, just think him emotionally sterile...

here's the link... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ters_Dali/

I stayed with it to the end - it's good TV if you care about art...

Watched the Dali episode last night... great TV. It gave me a new appreciation for him too - a towering, very influential figure.

[William the White]

And, to say, the BBC 4 Modern masters series was excellent on Picasso, and also on Salvador Dali, master showman, self-publicist, money-grabbing, cold, heartless and utterly briliiant creative genius - whose work i don't give a shooting shit about myself - but I know he's admired by many on here... Indeed, in one sense, I utterly admire him, just think him emotionally sterile...

here's the link... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ters_Dali/

I stayed with it to the end - it's good TV if you care about art...

Watched the Dali episode last night... great TV. It gave me a new appreciation for him too - a towering, very influential figure.

Yep, great TV... I think I'm in a minority here... I utterly admire him, but find him emotionally shallow (and sometimes repellant, as an artist and, less importantly, a human being)... i think he's all surface... but what a brilliant surface!!!

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

A Turner sold for £30million a couple of days ago:




http://www.sothebys.com/app/ecatalogue/ ... 948&id=57/

Amazing money, but I do love the subject matter and the Grand Tour spirit generally.

[William the White]

Going to the Picasso: Peace and Freedom exhibition at the Tate Liverpool on Tuesday. Really, really looking forward to this, over 150 paintings. Fantastic.

Here'a a link: http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibi ... fault.shtm

and found this review - more about his politics than the art, unfortunately, but still iteresting.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 80392.html

Will report after I've seen.

[Bruce Rioja]

To be honest, William, I'd rather stare at the sun than I would go see that shite.

Here we go;



Apparently that pile of guff is a
Monument to the Spaniards who Died for France 1945-1947

Goodness gracious! How better the bereaved must have felt?!

[thebish]

To be honest, William, I'd rather stare at the sun than I would go see that shite.

page 3 or the sports section?

[Bruce Rioja]

To be honest, William, I'd rather stare at the sun than I would go see that shite.

page 3 or the sports section?

I knew that somebody would come up with something poor such as that. I'm as amused as I am disappointed that it was you.

[thebish]

To be honest, William, I'd rather stare at the sun than I would go see that shite.

page 3 or the sports section?

I knew that somebody would come up with something poor such as that. I'm as amused as I am disappointed that it was you.

amused, disappointed and confused - all at the same time! I'd go for a lie-down chum! (and the sun's gone down now - you can stop staring!)

[William the White]

That's fine by me, Bruce - I wasn't suggesting it be made compulsory... That's one of the paintings I'm most looking forward to seeing...

[Bruce Rioja]

To be honest, William, I'd rather stare at the sun than I would go see that shite.

page 3 or the sports section?

I knew that somebody would come up with something poor such as that. I'm as amused as I am disappointed that it was you.

amused, disappointed and confused - all at the same time! I'd go for a lie-down chum! (and the sun's gone down now - you can stop staring!)

oh dear!

[thebish]

When I return from my holidays I shall be heading for the National Portrait Gallery (my favourite London gallery) to see this exhibition of Camille Silvy's work - one of my favourite photographer-artists...

http://www.npg.org.uk/index.php?id=5754