Tag: art

Let’s pretend we can get in the mind (or guts) of great artists, and consider how Anish Kapoor might translate the question, ‘What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?’ This is a blog preparing to see his new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery.

June 24, 2026

Let’s pretend we can get in the mind of great artists, and consider how Anish Kapoor might translate the question, ‘What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?’ This is a blog preparing to see his new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Following your gut to their source: … More Let’s pretend we can get in the mind (or guts) of great artists, and consider how Anish Kapoor might translate the question, ‘What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?’ This is a blog preparing to see his new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery.

I used to believe theatre was about an actor playing a role. In preparation for Simon Stone’s ‘Oresteia’.

June 23, 2026

I suppose I am determined not to prepare in some small way for things I see on theatre. This is another installment of the preparation for my July 8-9th trip, for which the schedule again is thus, together with the surrounding commentary from an earlier blog on another event (the whole is at this link): … More I used to believe theatre was about an actor playing a role. In preparation for Simon Stone’s ‘Oresteia’.

When the subject is ‘seeing’, why exclude visual art, for that too allows us to ‘see’ in more than ways that are entirely visual. This blog is an explanation of why I go to art exhibitions. This is almost the same as explaining why I feel a need to prepare myself to see them. The pleasures and perils of researched prescience is however a subject in itself. This blog anticipates seeing the new ‘Zurbarán’ Exhibition at 12.00 midday to 13.30 (about) on Thursday 9th July. Will it change my world?

June 17, 2026

Explaining why I go to art exhibitions is almost the same as explaining why I feel a need to prepare myself to see them. The pleasures and perils of researched prescience is however a subject in itself. This blog anticipates seeing the new Zurbarán ExWhen the subject is ‘seeing’, why exclude visual art, for that … More When the subject is ‘seeing’, why exclude visual art, for that too allows us to ‘see’ in more than ways that are entirely visual. This blog is an explanation of why I go to art exhibitions. This is almost the same as explaining why I feel a need to prepare myself to see them. The pleasures and perils of researched prescience is however a subject in itself. This blog anticipates seeing the new ‘Zurbarán’ Exhibition at 12.00 midday to 13.30 (about) on Thursday 9th July. Will it change my world?

In ‘Grace Pervades’, the character named Henry Irving, based on the great actor-manager says to Ellen Terry, ‘I await eagerly to see what you will do next. It’s always different’. She replies ‘Then how can it always be perfect?’ The answer to that might be the answer to the question: ‘If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?’

June 14, 2026

In Grace Pervades, the character named Henry Irving, based on the great actor-manager says to Ellen Terry, ‘I await eagerly to see what you will do next. It’s always different’. She replies ‘Then how can it always be perfect?’ The answer to that might be the answer to the question: ‘If you could instantly master … More In ‘Grace Pervades’, the character named Henry Irving, based on the great actor-manager says to Ellen Terry, ‘I await eagerly to see what you will do next. It’s always different’. She replies ‘Then how can it always be perfect?’ The answer to that might be the answer to the question: ‘If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?’

There is no need for magical thinking in order to find art ‘that you wish you could experience again for the first time’. Visit art enough and it must reinvent itself. This is a blog on preparing to visit London again for an art-binge-fest

June 11, 2026

It is time for another looking forward period and for some events preparing myself – where appropriate material exists for doing so (a play-script or catalogue already purchase). In those latter cases, I will blog in preparation, Here to announce my schedule (with Geoffee and Baz left behind for one night at home), under this … More There is no need for magical thinking in order to find art ‘that you wish you could experience again for the first time’. Visit art enough and it must reinvent itself. This is a blog on preparing to visit London again for an art-binge-fest

There is no such thing as an unlimited budget that is not paradoxically limited by its duration (as it is in this question for 24 hours) but the whole point is that budgets that are swollen are essential to the magical thinking of self-interest that is supposed to be the driver to capitalist economies. The feeling of the magic bulge of growth in the National Theatre’s ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ seen yesterday night.

May 29, 2026

There is no such thing as an unlimited budget that is not paradoxically limited by its duration (as it is in this question for 24 hours) but the whole point is that budgets that are swollen are essential to the magical thinking of self-interest that is supposed to be the driver to capitalist economies. The … More There is no such thing as an unlimited budget that is not paradoxically limited by its duration (as it is in this question for 24 hours) but the whole point is that budgets that are swollen are essential to the magical thinking of self-interest that is supposed to be the driver to capitalist economies. The feeling of the magic bulge of growth in the National Theatre’s ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ seen yesterday night.

That’s easy. I saw it yesterday. This is my reflection on Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’, seen on Friday 15th May 2026 at Screen 4, 1330, Odeon Deluxe, Durham City.

May 16, 2026

The art of the unfinished: Betrayal, Revenge and Reparation. I reflect in this blog on what it means to ‘forge through’ an unfinished love story. It may be the biggest forgery of all, but does that matter? It certainly doesn’t if you act the role well enough and with attention to that love. This is … More That’s easy. I saw it yesterday. This is my reflection on Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’, seen on Friday 15th May 2026 at Screen 4, 1330, Odeon Deluxe, Durham City.

What is ‘local’ and what is ‘custom’? Selecting for preservation is the practice of dominance not community. But who selects and who interprets what it means?

May 10, 2026

What is ‘local’ and what is ‘custom’: selecting for preservation is the practice of dominance not community. But who selects and who interprets what it means? Probably Wordsworth is the primary poet who turned his back as an individual artistic sensibility, and he, of course, was called the Egoistical Sublime by Keats,  on global trends, … More What is ‘local’ and what is ‘custom’? Selecting for preservation is the practice of dominance not community. But who selects and who interprets what it means?

Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) ‘Love Lane’ London, Tinder Press.

May 8, 2026

Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) Love Lane London, Tinder Press. I have long been a reader and fan of Patrick Gale, though I have only written a blog on one of his novels, Mother’s Boy, a fictional biography of Charles … More Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) ‘Love Lane’ London, Tinder Press.

The meaning of the weather depends on what its changes mean to you, your community, your present and your future. This blog is about seeing the Opera North production of ‘Peter Grimes’ at the Theatre Royal Newcastle at 7.00 p.m Friday 20th March 2026.

March 22, 2026

The meaning of the weather depends on what its changes mean to you, your community, your present and your future! This blog is about seeing the Opera North production of ‘Peter Grimes’ at the Theatre Royal Newcastle at 7.00 p.m Friday 20th March 2026. Theatre Royal. Awaiting the performance I prepared myself as always to … More The meaning of the weather depends on what its changes mean to you, your community, your present and your future. This blog is about seeing the Opera North production of ‘Peter Grimes’ at the Theatre Royal Newcastle at 7.00 p.m Friday 20th March 2026.

I learned last what I ought to have learned first: that things connect most when they separate. Transit, Transition & Transfusion: Chiharu Shiota: ‘Threads of Life’ and Yin Xiuzhen: ‘Heart to Heart’ at the Hayward Gallery.

March 7, 2026

I learned last what I ought to have learned first: that things connect most when they separate. Transit, Transition & Transfusion: Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life and Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart at the Hayward Gallery seen on the morning of the 5th March 2026. This is a prompt question response and a reflection on the dual exhibition currently … More I learned last what I ought to have learned first: that things connect most when they separate. Transit, Transition & Transfusion: Chiharu Shiota: ‘Threads of Life’ and Yin Xiuzhen: ‘Heart to Heart’ at the Hayward Gallery.