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Hadrian Takes a Lover

Sunday, August 10, 2008

We spent the day in London as we had managed to acquire complimentary tickets to the Hadrian Exhibition at the British Museum.

The Exhibition was very interesting and I am glad to see that the British Museum has kept the temporary gallery space in the reading room.

Following a couple hours in the company of the Roman Emperor and his gay lover we decided to head into Soho where we grab a bite to eat at one of our favourite diners before having a mooch around Carnaby Street for a bit of shopping (I got myself a bargain in the Howies shop) ;0)

I find it very interesting that Hadrian was so powerful and had such influence and yet hardly anything is known about his wife (more is known about his lover).

Labels: Art, London

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Sex AND the City

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Richard and I spent yesterday in London as we had booked to see the Sex and the City Movie.

We had a wander around the capital before heading to our favourite branch of Paul for a cake and a coffee. On our walk we made our way to the South Bank via the Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern - I finally managed to capture some images from the exterior of the gallery following the current Street Art exhibition. We have watched these pieces of work take shape from the office and it's been intriguing.

Another recent addition to London is the Electroscope which enables you to stand in front of it and see people in live in New York who are looking back at London. A novel twist on the web cam me thinks (especially at a tenner a pop!). I love the Jules Verne style of the Electroscope though. As you can see it was certainly drawing a crowd.

Of course the main event of the day was Sex and the City. For the majority of the female viewers at the Odeon in Leicester Square it certainly was turned into an event. The cinema was completely sold out and I'd say 90% of the women were all dressed up in their best frocks and come along with their girlfriends. I don't think I have ever known such an atmosphere for a film - there was applause when the film started, gasps during the film and a huge round of applause at the end.

To say it was an emotional viewing would be an understatement - then to be fair it was an audience that consisted of girlfriends and gay couples!

That aside the film was brilliant, funnier and wittier than I had ever imagined. The writing was spot on and there were enough plot twists to keep you guessing. It truly was a great film and it didn't feel like an extended episode of the show. There were some truly laugh out loud moments which had us in stitches.

I had heard rumours that a sequel is being discussed as this film has been so successful (it's already outsold the likes of the new Indy movie). Personally I think the SatC movie rounded all of the stories off perfectly and I wouldn't want to see the story continued for the sake of another movie.

New York didn't appear to play such a big part in the movie as it had in the TV shows but it was still great to be able to spot all the locations throughout the film.

Of course the fashion was stunning and you can see where every effort was made to make the film as up to date and as relevant as possible (right down to magazines which featured headlines about the housing problems and Hillary Clinton's campaign).

This truly is a relevant film set in this time period and the studio have to be given credit for achieving such timely content.

Now I would love to talk about the ups and downs of the movie but I feel that most of my audience will be going to see the film so I won't spoil it - I shall just say it's well worth it. Even if you're not a fan of the show it's probably the best romcom ever brought to the big screen.

Labels: Art, London

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Guernica brought alive

Sunday, May 18, 2008

I truly feel Picasso's Guernica is the most moving painting ever created.

Lena Gieseke has created a fascinating 3D journey through the work.

I feel that you cannot really appreciate the power of this painting until you see it in the flesh (we were lucky enough to view it whilst in Madrid last year). This animation gives a very moving and interesting perspective on this great work.

Labels: Art

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Nightlife

Friday, March 21, 2008

Things to do on a soggy Good Friday...

Produce a new Trunk Cast (show 128)

Create a new desktop wallpaper

Feel free to download.

Labels: Art, Trunk Cast, Wallpaper

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S L O W

Thursday, April 19, 2007

I have been very slow in writing anything for the blog this week as I just have not had the time.

I did manage to produce another Trunk Cast and that will go some way to explain why.

With one thing and another it's simply been too much to want to spend too much time in front of the computer at home. I think I may even be right in saying my computer wasn't even switched on last night - I'd simply had enough of sitting in front of a computer.

There will probably be even less entries next week as I am away a number of days (again refer to Trunk Cast 88)

This Gay Life - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

I did mention the designs I submitted to Threadless last time I wrote anything here and sadly both designs were rejected over technicalities in the design (colours, size etc). I have now updated the designs and resubmitted. Follow the thumbnails to pop by and vote for them - of course, that is when they get approval!

Update - unfrotunately Office Politics has been declined again. I will submit a new version over the weekend!

Man with palm tree strapped to his back spotted in The City

I posted a rather bizarre photograph to my 365 set yesterday on Flickr. (You will need to open the full size image to get what I am on about).

Basically on my walk up to St Paul's yesterday there was a suited chap with briefcase who had a palm tree strapped to his back. I have no idea why, but I fear it was probably part of some tiresome marketing campaign.

There was a photo I captured last year of a yellow open top bus full of children and balloons - this ended up in a Marks and Spencer advert - so I wouldn't be surprised!

Isn't it amazing what you can see when you actually look? I wonder how many people walked past him and didn't notice?

I must say a quick thanks to the guys over at the Gay Boyfriends group of Flickr for choosing a photo of Richard and I as their icon :) We are flattered - thanks.

Labels: 365, Art, Digital Media, Pic-a-Day, Threadless, UK

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Culture and Booze

Sunday, February 18, 2007

We had a great day yesterday in London and ironically most of it was spent in the same area in which Richard and I work!

As mentioned in this weeks Trunk Cast, Richard and I had booked tickets to see the Gilbert and George Exhibition at the Tate Modern.

This really is a major exhibition and a huge body of work (both in volume and stature). As mentioned previously we have seen a number of collections in the past but nothing on this scale.

Gilbert and George : England

I was amazed and delighted by the charcoal sculptures at the very beginning of this retrospective and very interested to see how Gilbert and Georges styles and stories progress through the years.

They have been very prolific too as there was only one noticeable gap since 1972. They have managed a large body of work every year.

Of course people criticise them and make comments and jokes about such works as Piss, Spunk, Tears and Shit, but you really have to see these works in their respective collections as the context and the story of each set comes through.

Gilbert and George : Fuck

We saw the Dirty Words and Pictures exhibition a couple years ago at the Serpentine Gallery. It was a good collection and a wonderful exhibit but seeing it at the TM with the two pieces that weren't part of the Serpentine exhibition actually ties the commentary together.

In fact one of my favourite works was Alcoholic. I found it very dramatic and very moving. I also enjoyed Headache which seemed like a major departure for them as it consists of bright purples and crimson.

Of course I cannot find examples of either of these works on line - do you have copies?

Richard kindly bought me a few goodies from the exhibition; the Rubik Cube (which I will not use but have to have) - let's face it their art is perfect for such a medium. See photo above... Richard also bought me the catalogue and a signed exhibition poster which will be framed and hung as soon as I get it home (as we were spending more time in town I dropped that latter items off at my desk for safety and convenience!).

I was very moved by the new body of work such as Bombings and Terror which were inspired by the July 7th Bombings here in London. These works were very direct and very moody. Not like the penultimate collection which featured works such as Hooligan and Ginko pictures which includes Was Jesus a Heterosexual?.

I think I am a Gilbert and George purist and although I like the most recent works, the work generated around 2003 just seemed to be too digital and moved their focus away from their art (this was the first time Gilbert and George used digital photography techniques instead of their more traditional methods).

I have never seen the Tate Modern so busy either - I think the Carsten Hooler Unilever Exhibition may have something to do with it though as there were a lot of families milling about queueing to go down the Test Site slides!

Once we left the TM Richard and I made out way to St Paul's where we had a lovely late afternoon lunch. It was a nice meal and provided us with a chilled departure following the exhibition.

From here we made our way to the National Portrait Gallery where I finally got to see the Pet Shop Boys Portraits Exhibition. It was exactly what I expected it to be but interesting nonetheless. Of course it helped that when we arrived the video was playing Bruce Webers excellent video to Being Boring.

After the NPG we made our way into Soho where we met up with Lee and some friends. We had a drink or two in the Duke of Wellington before heading over to Bar Code for the spoils of Happy Hour. Thankfully Richard and I decided to quit while we were ahead (and still vertical) before heading up to Regents Street to do a bit of shopping.

All in all a very packed day and a great day at that.

If you get the opportunity to see the Gilbert and George Exhibition I highly recommend it; even if you do not consider yourself a fan.

The exhibition has prompted me to create a new wallpaper...

Labels: Art, London, Richard, Trunk Cast, Wallpaper

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