Baby got Back

Big back and a tiny secret little hidden back.

Art Historian Sex Appeal

When did art history get so sexy? It always was. But when did historians get so sexy? Since BBC four wanted to attract some viewers from BBC 3 probably. I have a soft spot for intelligent men, particularly arts smarts especially in particular young dark handsome ones. So let me introduce you to James Fox and Alastair Sooke. Fox recently did a nice little series "The History of Art in Three Colours" for BBC4. All I need now is their posters for my bedroom.

We are all Cylons

I think I have been watching too much science fiction and fantasy fiction television. Battlestar Galactica and True Blood to be specific.

All the Pretty Flowers

Poor Life Choices

Eventually I took a photo of my arm which was once the most bruised thing I have been attached to. They are almost two weeks old so the larger bruises and lighter and the smaller ones have disappeared.

Art I Like: Bjorn Dahlem

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Bjorn Dahlem

Glitteratti

I seem to have very much gotten out of the habit of posting. So much so that blogger has entirely changed its interface since I last used it. Here's a photograph from the floor of a studio. I like how the scrap of paper says win.

From Beijing to Grimsby

National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China.

I am taking part in a few exhibitions this month. The first is Instruments of Pleasure, an exhibition in the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, China as part of this year's Irish Wave which is on the 11th of March.

Instruments of Pleasure is the only IRISH WAVE 3 exhibitions which will feature Irish artists exclusively.
Because of the nature of the exhibition space the theme focuses on the iconography surrounding music – performance, instruments & annotation and artists who approach this theme from a contemporary perspective.
Respected Dublin Composer Grainne Mulvey has composed an IRISH WAVE ‘Clapping’ piece which will be performed at this and all the other Beijing Previews.
In addition there will be art auctions held during the preview events at the Irish Centre Shanghai and at the Yan Chao Collection Gallery, The YCC preview will also feature a performance by the Jensens Dancers.
As with the other exhibitions the artworks featured will be from a wide range of media.

The second is Lightworks an annual new media exhibition held in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK. I have embedded the video from their last exhibition below, which looks great. I love when galleries/exhibitions put together promo films. I keep trying to do it myself, but its a lot of work.

Prisms & Paragraphs

I bought a small glass prism recently. The only place where I get strong directional sunlight in my apartment (or studio) is from a small south facing window directly above my bed. It actually arrived slightly chipped, so the company I bought it from are going to send me another. From now on when I sleep in I will wake to a mini rainbow wonderland.

I only recently realised that the actor Steve Martin also writes, collects art and writes about collecting art. Apparently, Shopgirl, a film he stars in, is a screen adaption of another he wrote. I enjoyed Shopgirl so I thought I give An Object of Beauty a go given the novel's setting in the art world, and given that it was available for free in my local library. I enjoyed the book, however, I felt it was missing a little something at the end. According to the city library catalogue they have Shopgirl too, but its missing which seems to be the case a little too often. In a "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover" but with a "a good looking book is much appreciated" point of view the other version of the book cover is much more visually appealing.

Pencilling It In

I have been teaching a class in the Glucksman the last few weeks, called Pencil It In, that looks at different types of drawing. It is a great class and I am always surprised when people's drawing seems to suddenly improve, I tend to forget that it is just a skill that improves with practice. I really like teaching, although I it can be tiring. Each class is only an hour long but it is full on interaction with the students as I want the to get the most from the the hour. I actually think it would be less work if it were a full time course.

Below is the class which is featured on the U.C.C. homepage.