31.1.12

Arnold Newman's Portraits




Chris Beetles Fine Photographs is currently showing Arnold Newman's portraits of artists, mostly photographed in their studios and working spaces (from top to bottom: Truman Capote, Yasuo Kuniyshi and Max Ernst).

I loved the pictures (classics!), and it reminded me of why I first fell in love with black and white and that I should start taking portraits again. The exhibition is free and open until 11th February, so don't miss it.

Newman has a marvellous portrait of David Hockney (one of the few in colour), looking super stylish, as usual. Speaking of my favourite artist, Hockney's A Bigger Picture at the RA is almost next door, so if you're in London anyway check that out as well. It's supposed to be amazing.

P.S. I'm coming to UCA tomorrow to talk about my project, so see you soon!

22.1.12

Currently at the Wapping Project


Edgar Martin's is currently showing his work This is Not a House at the Wapping Project. It's a project about the mortage crisis in the US that led to the financial crisis we are in now. So it's a lot of pictures of empty half-build houses and broken dreams. These picures, that were first published as a photo essay for the NYTimes, caused a bit of a contreversy, since they were digitally altered - which kind of goes against the ethics of journalism (you can read more about it here). Since you've been working on units about the environment and the city I thought this might interest you.

Also currently at the Wapping project is Bridget Baker's installation Wrecking at Private Siding 661. It's a very interesting site-specific installation (have you ever seen a human transport basket? I didn't even know they had existed until I saw the show!) in the accumulation tower. If you decide come and see it, I recommend you come on a Thursday, because that's when I'm working there. This one's open until 11 February and Edgar Martin's in on until 4 March. Even if you can't make it to these exhibitions, the Wapping Project is a nice place to visit. It's housed in an old hydraulic power stations, there's a nice café/restaurant and you can climb up on the roof to enjoy the view. Nearby is the Thames Path, which makes a really nice Sunday walk!