Even his name is evocative of a furball being spat out. They don’t call him a hack for nothing. This arts critic, killer of dreams and mangler of the English language, stalks his prey undercover of darkness. Nobody is safe. I’m not naming names: here is not the space to settle scores. But I’ve metContinue reading “The Callous Arts Critic”
Category Archives: Art
The Austerity Era Hogarth
Christopher Spencer, who makes wonderful collage art as Cold WarSteve, is a Birmingham artist who I adore. He’s the austerity era Hogarth as far as I’m concerned. The main image (above) is his Coronation postcard, created to celebrate the best of the UK. It’s got everyone from Bowie to The Clash, Laura Mvula to LilyContinue reading “The Austerity Era Hogarth”
Film Review: Boom For Real
Anyone who’s ever seen Julian Schnabel’s good but flawed film Basquiat knows where this documentary gets its name from: a news report that artist Jean – Michel Basquiat sampled this anguished line from, and turned into an artwork. Sara Driver’s documentary, from 2018, subtitled The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat , takes a muchContinue reading “Film Review: Boom For Real”
Barbara Kruger’s Legacy
What a forward-looking lady. Barbara Kruger was, making huge scale graphics and photography when the YBAs were babies. She still is. You can’t ever dilute the spirit of people like Kruger. Having cut her teeth working with luminaries like Diane Arbus, inspired by the likes of Walter Benjamin, Kruger creates unflinching, anti- capitalism work inContinue reading “Barbara Kruger’s Legacy”
Actually, You Can Judge A Book…
…By looking at the cover, sometimes. Artwork on books is increasingly becoming more important, as it can illustrate the contents beautifully. Some are so gorgeous as to be collectible. One such case is with Angela Carter and her dazzling novel, Nights At The Circus. Her main character, Fevvers, is a stunning, buxom trapeze artist showgirlContinue reading “Actually, You Can Judge A Book…”
Frank Kozik Was Bad-Ass
The American artist, best known for Kidrobot, Labbit the smoking rabbit and his wild, colour- saturated poster designs and graphics has unexpectedly passed away on May 6th at 61. If you grew up in the 90s, you’ll likely be familiar with his band poster images and magazine covers, with a plethora of cheeky, devilish characters.Continue reading “Frank Kozik Was Bad-Ass”
Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Dragnet (1979)
The Fall were starting to implode. Martin and Karl were out, replaced by the Scanlon brothers, Craig and Steve, pals of Marc Riley. It’s this line-up that’s the secret to their brilliant, often overlooked second album, Dragnet. Dragnet is excellent, a brooding, murky record, albeit with MES’ typically esoteric lyricism. He had already proved whatContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Dragnet (1979)”
Watch With Mother?
I recently reviewed a gorgeous show at Tramway for Fjord Review, a lovely dance website I’ve been writing for since 2015. The show carried a trigger warning, which is fine by me. People have different sensitivities, and if you have kids, some material could be inappropriate or even offensive. Now, I’m not a pearl clutcherContinue reading “Watch With Mother?”
Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar Wilde
When Oscar Wilde wrote his play Salome in 1894, there was only one artist suitable in his mind, worthy of depicting both the ghoulishness and dark eroticism of his script – Aubrey Beardsley. The pair shared a similar aesthetic sensibility and had no time for the moralising hypocrisy of the times. It seems cancel cultureContinue reading “Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar Wilde”
Hit The North 