My Inspiration: Artist Lauren Baker on vows of silence, an infinity coffin and her love of John Everett Millais’ Ophelia September 22, 2016 Artist Lauren Baker talks about her love for John Everett Millais’ Ophelia In Shakespeare’s play, Ophelia is picking flowers in the forest and falls into the river, where her billowing dress keeps her afloat for a while before she slowly drowns. In the painting she’s pale white with long, gingery hair, so I kind of see [...]
Famous sculptor Alexander Calder also made stunning jewellery, on display in London soon September 22, 2016 Alexander Calder is best known as the man who introduced the mobile to the art world. In a recent Tate Modern retrospective, his giant, astronomical sculptures rotated overhead, some powered by invisible motors, others relying on gravity and the movement of air created by visitors. They rely on delicate balance, suggesting that beauty underpins the [...]
From Dada to the cover of Vogue: the incredible life and times of Vogue photographer Erwin Blumenfeld September 22, 2016 Erwin Blumenfeld, one of the most recognisable fashion photographers of the 20th century, led a life that uncannily reflected the contradictions of his times. He was a famous photographer of nudes who was once arrested for daring to allow his bathing costume to slip from his shoulder while sunbathing. He was conscripted into the German [...]
The future of the arts: from 3D printing to VR, we speak to people bringing cutting edge tech to age-old formats September 22, 2016 Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination,” said sociologist Daniel Bell, “[They] are not separate realms walled off from each other.” The convergence of these two forces is age old, but the pace of innovation over the last decade, with the emergence of viable virtual reality and 3D printing, has given [...]
Apple Watch Series 2: repositioned as a fitness watch, it begins to make a lot more sense September 21, 2016 Smartwatches haven’t exactly set the world on fire. After 18 months, the Apple Watch – a product that once seemed like a plausible successor (or at least an indispensable companion) to the iPhone – is still decidedly niche. This requires some qualification, however: it dominates its market – about a third of smartwatches are made [...]
iPhone 7 review: A brilliant handset but one that hints at even bigger things to come September 21, 2016 There were no queues around the block for the UK launch of the iPhone 7. Flash floods were a mitigating factor (plus the fact the annual pilgrimage has been on the wane for a couple of years), but I suspect it’s also because it looks so damn similar to the last one. The aluminium chassis [...]
Destiny: Rise of Iron news – Gjallarhorn returns in an update that gives the fans what they’ve been waiting for September 20, 2016 Destiny's previous expansion, The Taken King, was a bit of a relief. It helped to simplify the more frustrating progression elements, meaning, for example, that when you finally obtained a much-sought after piece of gear (one that you had killed countless sentient beings for) you could start using it right away, rather than having to collect [...]
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week review: Ron Howard has made the definitive Beatles documentary September 16, 2016 Eight Days A Week is a fascinating look at a vital few years in the story of The Fab Four, covering their initial success, Beatlemania, and the unprecedented American success that caught a country unawares. Films about The Beatles often struggle to capture why they made such an impact. In Ron Howard's film archive footage [...]
Doctor Faustus at the Barbican review: a lively, relevant morality tale September 15, 2016 Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe certainly gave him a run for his money when it came to blood and gore. Even a modern audience can’t help but flinch when the titular doctor slices his arm open – three times no less – to make an unholy pact with the devil. In fact, it’s these darker forays [...]
Dream Play at The Vault review: A profoundly odd exploration of human emotion September 15, 2016 Very roughly based on the story of an alien who visits Earth to experience the full gamut of human emotions, Dream Play presents a series of disjointed vignettes that teeter on the fuzzy precipice between real and abstract. That’s to say, it’s supremely odd. Actors repeatedly swap characters as the audience moves from room to [...]