In the late 1980s, Miles Davis once told a Canadian journalist that a lot of his paintings and drawings in that period were simply “faces and lines,” and that making art helped him relax. When asked how he compared to other musicians pursuing visual art at the time — Tony Bennett, Joni Mitchell, David...
We’re nearly seven months into David Cameron’s term as Prime Minister. Here’s a look back at his May 11, 2010 acceptance speech at 10 Downing Street, via Wordle:
At a time when e-readers may be displacing the good, old-fashioned print book, an effort to revive interest in the art of the book cover is taking place in London. The gallery StolenSpace gave a simple task to a group of more than 30 artists, designers, ceramic artists and photographers: design a cover for...
Recently caught live performances by Soul Rebels Brass Band, Get the Blessing, and Led Bib during the 2010 London Jazz Festival. Several hundred people who gathered at the Southbank Centre to see Soul Rebels Brass Band were so into it the show that they boo-ed loudly when the band did not play an encore....
In London on November 3rd, the day after the midterm elections in America, political conversations among expats concentrates mainly on two things: the Tea Party and America’s economy. “With the Tea Party, if we can’t agree on lowering the deficit and taxes, if we can’t do that, then we haven’t done our job,” said...
In 2004 Florent de La Tullaye and Renaud Barret encountered Leon “Ricky” Likabu playing music on the streets of Kinshasa. A victim of poliomyelitis, he was joined by fellow wheelchair-bound musicians and street youth. Together, with old beat-up or hand-made instruments, the group played what could only be described as folk music: honest, heart-felt...
Onstage, 68-year-old Mulatu Astatke is as subtle and understated as the Ethiopian jazz he created. The music, a hybrid of traditional Ethiopian music and jazz, is subdued, somewhat melancholy, and at times psychedelic. Mr Astatke, the originator and composer of songs in this canon, plays his principal instrument, the vibraphone, with a light touch....
On the belief that poets, not politicians, can help bring about tangible political change, London’s Southbank Center will again host its biennial Poetry International festival, nine days’ worth of readings, music, translations and new poetry commissions. The festival, which runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 in various venues within Southbank, has political roots....
Since the middle of last month, the Mexican-born artist Damián Ortega has been in London gathering up bits of news — newspaper stories, photojournalism, graphics — from local, national and international publications. He’ll now spend the next three months repurposing his stash as art, in the form of sculpture, installation and prototypes for future...
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Harry Shearer, an actor, author, director and part-time New Orleans resident, has created “The Big Uneasy”, an investigative documentary in which he also stars. The film screened recently at the Curzon Soho cinema in London, followed by a question and answer session with Shearer. Shearer is...