TRACEY EMIN: A FORTNIGHT OF TEARS

by Carmina Masoliver

content warning: mentions of death, abortion

The last exhibition of Emin’s I had been to was probably She Lay Down Beneath The Sea at Turner Contemporary in her hometown of Margate. For me, what this current exhibition at White Cube lacked in comparison to the previous one was more context to frame the concept of the artwork. Whilst there was an A4 sheet about the exhibition overall, it felt like the viewer was being pushed to form their own meanings. Whilst formulating the meaning of the work is part of the joys of conceptual art, it is always interesting to read or listen to more, particularly for those who are not as familiar with Emin’s work as fans will be able to infer the meaning and links to past work that newcomers can’t access. I also enjoyed the work in Margate more for its skill of embroidery where the stitched looked like paint from afar, whilst pieces in this exhibit lacked this sense of innovation.

Continue Reading

WALKING THROUGH THE ART IN CÀDIZ

by Carmina Masoliver

When I went to Cádiz, I had planned to do little else but lay on its beaches, swim, and eat good food. Yet, I still wanted to explore the area to see what else it had to offer, and it was on a walk to the park that I stumbled upon some of the city’s fine art exhibitions.Continue Reading

REVIEW: LARRY SULTAN’S HERE AND HOME, SFMOMA

by Hannah Rose

Finding the right home for his pictures was a feature of Larry Sultan’s early career. Museums and galleries dismissed his satirical images—which played out an ironic commentary on modern American life—and found themselves on billboards scattered across America instead. Striking and immediate, perhaps they made more of an impact outside gallery walls.

Now Sultan’s photographs can be viewed in galleries including the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and SFMOMA, where his collection Here and Home is on view until July 23rd.Continue Reading

THE GORMLEY CASE

by Tony Moore

Content warning: article mentions suicide.

World famous art comes to campus and it looks wonderful, works subtly with Lasdun’s buildings to eulogise their monumental quality whilst highlighting the interplay of light with the elements.

What’s not to like?

Then those pesky snowflake students start moaning that the figure might be perceived as about to jump and could be a ‘suicide’ trigger.

What is not to like, is that the snowflake students are fundamentally right to make their views known: they are confronting an authoritarian, elitist art work imposed on their community from ‘above’.

Continue Reading

FINE ART IN CÓRDOBA

1

by Carmina Masoliver

The past few weeks I have been acquainting myself with the visual art that the city of Córdoba has to offer. These included the Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba, the Museo Julio Romero De Torres, and the Centro de Creación Contemporánea. Whilst there is still more to see, my wanderings gave me a varied picture of fine art in this part of Spain. Continue Reading

FOOTBALL: OUR BEAUTIFUL GAME

by James Anthony

So much is written about institutions which are culturally important to us. Visual arts, music and literature — to give some examples — are all vital art forms for Norwich and are rightly given a lot of local attention. They allow people to experience different aspects of life and opinions whilst inspiring and intriguing across the city. It can be a minor hobby for some, but a whole life for others. These arts enhance so many lives and need to be protected for the good of the citizens of Norwich. We often hear that arts funding and exposure is in a crisis (and this is an important discussion) but so is something else which I worry may be overlooked by the progressive media.

Football, while not exactly a form of art, holds many of the same characteristics as art institutions when employed on a citywide scale.Continue Reading

REVIEW: LOVE IS LOVE ANTHOLOGY, FROM IDW PUBLISHING

1

by Gwen Taylor

How on Earth do I put these feelings into words? I’m sitting here just after finishing Love is Love and I have been utterly floored. 2016 has been an awful year all around, a year where hatred and intolerance appear to have won, and love has been  firmly pushed into a corner. One of the most horrific events of the year took place in June at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. One person took the lives of 49 others who were celebrating their individuality and love in what had always been regarded as a safe space.

Love is Love is an anthology of responses to the shooting published by IDW Publishing and supported by DCComics to raise money for Equality Florida. It contains 144 pages of beautiful stories designed to celebrate love following a tragic event. Each piece is 1-2 pages long and all are incredibly powerful; the sheer number of contributors demonstrates how this horrific event was felt by everyone.
Continue Reading

NOTHING AS IT SEEMS: A REVIEW OF WILL TEATHER’S INFINITE PERSPECTIVES EXHIBIT

by Hannah Rose

Tiny cheerleaders, an umbrella on the moon, portraits of dead rock stars – all of these and more can be found in the uncanny paintings of Will Teather. Time’s inconsistency runs throughout this unnerving exhibition. Teather plays with time in a way that would be funny if it wasn’t so unsettling. But then again, isn’t that the mark of a significant piece of art? To catch the viewer unawares?

Continue Reading

MONEY AND MONA LISA – THE VALUE OF ART

by Jess Howard

My younger brother is 14, and with that is coming all manner of traditional 14 year old behaviours. Sulking, door slamming, wearing a can of Lynx per day, and spending eternity glued to his Xbox. In addition to this, he has also discovered the wonderful world of procrastinating on YouTube, and so we are being treated to a delightful array of narration on a daily basis.

During one particular conversation revolving around a group of people who seem to sit and chat rubbish for hours, with one relevant fact thrown in for good measure, he asked why the Mona Lisa was such a valuable painting. An interested and insightful question, but one we only arrived upon after he asked if Leonardo DiCaprio was around during the Renaissance period.Continue Reading