Friday, 18 May 2012

David Shrigley


A friend of mine was telling me about this artist called David Shrigley. For some reason I couldn't recall hearing about him before, but some of his little drawings and sketches are hilarious and quite clever.

Here's a witty and interesting talk he did about his work... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4dtuSRIvUwM#!

And here's a song off an album he made by writing lyrics and inviting some really great bands to interpret them into song. The album's called David Shrigley's Worried Noodles. Go buy...




He's done books, exhibitions, site-specific work and all kinds of other fun things, so go check out his website: www.davidshrigley.com


Make Everything OK



Does what it says on the tin.

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Damien Hirst

I went to see the Damien Hirst exhibition at Tate Modern in London last weekend.

'11 Sausages' ...Yeah...

Here's a video blog I made expressing my thoughts on Hirst's work.



And here's a painfully relevant article on the subject of 'modern art' which wittily sums up a great deal of my views. Go read:
http://www.vice.com/read/i-dont-get-art

For those of you who're interested, here's a documentary about him on 4OD. But personally I think it just further emphasises how two-dimensional he is: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od

The problem is he never explains why he makes any of it, and even admits to just finding stuff he didn't even make himself and wanting to shove it into a gallery, only afterwards realising he has to have an 'excuse' to do that. That's not how art works. Surely the idea or inspiration should come before, if not at least simultaneously during the making of, the art?
And when he does explain the meaning of a couple of his pieces, the ideas are always totally unoriginal or vague bollocks or obvious and banal, and certainly shouldn't be sold for £millions.
Also VERY confused as to why he thinks 'all art is optimistic'. That's just attention-seekingly provocative crap, and not even true of some of his own art.

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Poem: Mirage

Here's a poem I wrote this morning. Even when you know you're finally getting over someone, there are still those moments when you accidentally lose yourself in a mirage of memories. This is about those moments. I hope that it's tasteful - it's not meant to be overly personal or indulgently sentimental.

Mirage

When I think of you
It's as if the world slows down,
And the middle distance becomes not just a single point
In space
Into which I gawk, my eyes glazed over,
But a great yawning fissure in time
Saturated with countless tiny fragmented moments,
Fragile and wavering like a mirage of hot air:

Cigarette smoke;
The smell of a kitchen;
That feeling of shared privacy;
Bodies tessellating, mirroring;
The contours of skin;
Light peeping through window blinds;
Sketches in bed;
How I almost
Fell
Downstairs
Running to the door to greet you after your long trip away.

But you've been away a long time now,
And when I try to piece the memories together
They slither through the gaps between my fingers like water
And scatter away like shards of broken glass,
At once invisible and hidden.

My eyes, like the lens of a camera, abruptly refocus.

It appears time hasn't slowed down at all.
In fact, I've been staring into space for fifteen minutes.

Thursday, 3 May 2012

Online Piracy Debate?

Very very relevant video re: the BPI, SOPA, courts attacking the Pirate Bay, etc.

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

TED: Printing Organs, and Climate Change Problems Solved?

Here are another couple of inspiring TED talks I found this evening.



This guy talks about engineering organs using methods such as a 3D printer that uses human cells instead of ink. Absolutely breath-taking advances in medical science that will one day save the lives of millions.



And this guy basically convinces us how we can hinder climate change and save our environment in a way that significantly reduces the use of fossil fuels by using more efficient energy resources whilst taking into account economic incentives for governments and businesses. Although it's a long talk, his ideas are very clever, and he actually provides hope rather than just ranting about how we're all doomed.

These people are truly inspirational and should definitely get more press. Go forth and spread these ideas people!