London: Middle, Part II
Okay, the last entry was getting too long, so I had to break it down. Picking up where I left off, then…
The art show (ArtLondon) was a benefit show under the name of “Paintings in Hospitals”. It was held in a large white canvas tent, and seemed bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. The works on display varied considerably in style, but impressed me as being quite good on the whole. Some I particularly liked were a group of wire-mesh sculptures, Antonia Williams’ fruit-and-buildings paintings, and a sculpted piece of a girl’s body on a plate by Liu Jianhua. (If I ever have a spare 10,000 pounds, I’d consider buying it for the living room.) I also liked this one woman’s display of assorted pills, each with distinctive packaging and uses, such as “Guarantee the Heterosexuality of Your Child!” or “Be Proud of Your Gay Son!” There were also others, of course, such as “Enjoy Reading the Bible!” but of course it would have to be that I remember the gay-themed ones best. I’m too predictable.
By the way, the only reason I remember the names of some of these artists is that at the end of the show, we were given something like a press kit, with magazines, brochures, and a catalog of the works shown. Those artists who got photographs in the catalogue, thus allowing me to recognize them, get mentioned. As for the others, too bad.
We spent a fair amount of time there, milling around and ingesting the complimentary champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Among the several things that caught me by surprise, however, were several Bowie photographs, and some paintings by George Underwood. There was the famous Bowie photo from Diamond Dogs, of him sitting in a chair with the lunging dog on a leash, and several others I hadn’t seen. Nice, admittedly, but I didn’t expect to see them in an art show. (There were also photos of Jimi Hendrix, etc.)
George Underwood, for those of you getting fed up with all the Bowie trivia I insist on imparting, was the chap who’s responsible for Bowie’s mismatched eyes. They got into a fight over a girl when Bowie was 14, and he punched Bowie in the eye, and paralyzed his pupil. To add on to this, George Underwood was also responsible for some rather unflattering portraits of Marc he did for his album covers. I don’t begrudge him the Bowie eye incident (his eyes are more interesting this way anyway), but I do begrudge him the “Zinc Alloy” cover. :P
After leaving the art show (we tried to see if we could spy the nice man again, but didn't), we stopped by a nearby part to take some photos of a Dante Gabriele Rosetti memorial, and made our way home. I think we might also have stopped off somewhere and gotten some tea, but maybe not. I think we were planning to, got off at around Notting Hill to find a pub that was still open (when we had no particular place to go, we’d just pick a tube station with a familiar name), but then decided against it at last minute, and went right back home.
The art show (ArtLondon) was a benefit show under the name of “Paintings in Hospitals”. It was held in a large white canvas tent, and seemed bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. The works on display varied considerably in style, but impressed me as being quite good on the whole. Some I particularly liked were a group of wire-mesh sculptures, Antonia Williams’ fruit-and-buildings paintings, and a sculpted piece of a girl’s body on a plate by Liu Jianhua. (If I ever have a spare 10,000 pounds, I’d consider buying it for the living room.) I also liked this one woman’s display of assorted pills, each with distinctive packaging and uses, such as “Guarantee the Heterosexuality of Your Child!” or “Be Proud of Your Gay Son!” There were also others, of course, such as “Enjoy Reading the Bible!” but of course it would have to be that I remember the gay-themed ones best. I’m too predictable.
By the way, the only reason I remember the names of some of these artists is that at the end of the show, we were given something like a press kit, with magazines, brochures, and a catalog of the works shown. Those artists who got photographs in the catalogue, thus allowing me to recognize them, get mentioned. As for the others, too bad.
We spent a fair amount of time there, milling around and ingesting the complimentary champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Among the several things that caught me by surprise, however, were several Bowie photographs, and some paintings by George Underwood. There was the famous Bowie photo from Diamond Dogs, of him sitting in a chair with the lunging dog on a leash, and several others I hadn’t seen. Nice, admittedly, but I didn’t expect to see them in an art show. (There were also photos of Jimi Hendrix, etc.)
George Underwood, for those of you getting fed up with all the Bowie trivia I insist on imparting, was the chap who’s responsible for Bowie’s mismatched eyes. They got into a fight over a girl when Bowie was 14, and he punched Bowie in the eye, and paralyzed his pupil. To add on to this, George Underwood was also responsible for some rather unflattering portraits of Marc he did for his album covers. I don’t begrudge him the Bowie eye incident (his eyes are more interesting this way anyway), but I do begrudge him the “Zinc Alloy” cover. :P
After leaving the art show (we tried to see if we could spy the nice man again, but didn't), we stopped by a nearby part to take some photos of a Dante Gabriele Rosetti memorial, and made our way home. I think we might also have stopped off somewhere and gotten some tea, but maybe not. I think we were planning to, got off at around Notting Hill to find a pub that was still open (when we had no particular place to go, we’d just pick a tube station with a familiar name), but then decided against it at last minute, and went right back home.