Witty, irreverent, political collages
In Heads of State (1920), two portly figures are pictured in their bathing suits before a feminine backdrop of butterflies, flowers and a woman with a parasol.
Culture
Expect to find just about anything under the Arts umbrella – architecture guides, commentary on plays, reviews of galleries, and overviews of different places you can visit.
Tiny Tate display still packs a punch
The Tate Modern opens its Harry Callahan display with a quote from the photographer: “if a man wishes to express himself photographically, he must understand… his relationship to life”.
Is all art propaganda?
Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. It’s an instantly quotable adage from Banksy, but what does it actually mean? Can a line be drawn between outright political propaganda and the canvases hanging in every hip gallery in London?
Turandot: finished but flawed
Puccini’s Turandot was “the end of the great tradition” of Italian opera. Ever popular, it is the grandest of them all, and yet it is deeply problematic. Set in a mythical China, at its simplest the tale concerns a Prince, Calaf, who wins the heart of the Princess of China, Turandot.
The Critic Laughs
Richard Hamilton. Father of pop art, experimenter of consumer design, right? If that is all you associate with this icon of twentieth century British art, this massive retrospective at the Tate will change your mind.
The Blind Astronomer
Is science emotional? Clara Clark Nevola interviews theatre maker Tom Espiner about the play Going Dark to find out
Not such Happy Days...
Disclaimer: do not book tickets for this as a February blues pick-me-up. The poster’s colourful, the title’s promising, but the only comedy you’ll get it the bleakest of tragicomedy.
ArtsFest is Coming, Look Busy!
Yes the biggest event of the union calendar has arrived. And I don’t mean the Big Elections. ArtsFest sees our scientists’ paradise turned over to our Artistic under culture for a week of something different.
Brum Photorealism
You’d be forgiven for thinking that London is the place to be for everything arts related...
V&A’s Boiler Room
The Friday Lates are, much as the name suggests, a series of exhibitions that take place on a Friday night, specifically the last Friday of each month.
Under The Vaults
Fred Fyles goes underground as part of the Waterloo Vaults Festival
Russel Tovey shines in The Pass
With the latest revelation from Thomas Hitzlsperger, and Tom Daley’s recent announcement that he is in a gay relationship, the topic of high profile sportsman and homosexuality is currently much discussed.