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23 June 2010

Art Art Art... Private Views at C&G of London Art School Degree Show 2010 and PayneShurvell


My talented sister has just finished her 3 year degree course in stone and wood carving at C&G Art School. I went along yesterday for the awards and presentations and had a quick look round at the diverse degree show which is just as good as last year with exhibits covering all bases; fine art painting and sculpture, conservation, installations etc.
I will be back there for the Private View on Thursday evening, and at some point over the weekend too, so why don't you come along and find me?!
Why they call these things Private Views is beyond me, seeing as anyone can stroll in!
Which reminds me that a couple of weeks ago I spent a very pleasant evening with a friend going from PV to PV in the Hoxton/Shoreditch area. The best show that night was the opening eve for PayneShurvell who have pulled together a really eclectic mix of artists for their show 'A Bright and Guilty Place'. I liked quite a lot of the work there esp Dan Hay's revised repetitive A-Z map of London and Anka Dabrowska's line drawings and her little 3D shops and houses which displayed a lot of love and care and attention. As regards work exhibited there, I was impressed that, even if I didn't like the finished product, I could see why it was created and how it had come about. It was a lovely contrast to an earlier show we saw that evening where an 'artist' had created large colourful ill-conceived and badly-executed canvasses obviously with an eye on the 'art as investment' market. Indeed, one man there told us that he already owned two other pieces by the artist's but he didn't really like them much and hoped they would make him some money. Oh dear. It's so wrong.
ART ART ART:
Top row: St MARTin's Lane, BARTon Street, BARTholomew Road, ChARTerhouse Square.
Middle row: DARTmouth Park, HARTley's jam factory, BARTon Street, CARTer Lane.
Bottom row: St BART's church, MARTello Street, White HART Lane, Brown HART Gardens
All of these can be found within my Flickr photostream

11 June 2010

Football crazy; football mad

My life is already, through no choice of my won, dictated by football; living 5 mins from Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, yet not caring a jot whether they win or lose, I always have to check the fixtures list or the signs at the bottom of my street to see if my visitors can park outside my home without getting a parking ticket.
Due to the traffic disruption it can be a bit frustrating trying to use the bus or tube just before or straight after a match. During these times hoardes of "fully grown" men dressed as overgrown toddlers in three-quarter length trousers, bumper boots, multi-coloured logo'd polyester T-shirts and hardly any hair, fill the streets and pubs and chant rhymes. Ah bless 'em.
Have you noticed that sports news, at the end of the 'real' news on the TV, is really only football news? I fail to see why there even has to be a sports section within the news at all. Surely if people want sports news, sorry, football news, they can tune in to a sports channel? After all we don't get an arts news section on there, for instance.
And now the World Cup is upon us. Oh deep joy.
Actually, what am I saying? I don't mind the World Cup at all. To ignore the World Cup would be daft. It's like not being interested in horse racing and having a bet on The Grand National. Likewise athletics and The Olympics, and tennis and Wimbledon.
So I will be watching some of the matches wearing my stylish cotton T-shirt with 3 lions on it.
C'mon England!!!
World, cup, foot, balls, team
Boots, players, matches, posts, marks
Half, 3 lions, boot scraper
Passing, dribbling, crossed, tackle, stadium
(locations upon application)

7 June 2010

Fox attacks babies in east London

Disturbing news today that twin 9 month old girls are being treated in The London Hospital after being mauled by an urban fox. Really?!
I know this isn't a good thing to put together a set of pics about, but it's going to be interesting to see how, or if, this changes what people think of these animals vis-a-vis the hunting ban etc. Here's Newsy's take on the subject.
Clockwise from top left:
Slug & Lettuce, Upper St; Southwark Bridge Road; Orford Road, E17; St Barnabas Street, SW1; Wardour Street, W1; coal hole cover; 2 pics of the Fox and Anchor, Charterhouse Street, EC1; Fox umbrella shop, London Wall, EC2; Surrey Docks, SE16