New Year's Eve and what we can do

As the year ends it's traditionally a time for taking stock and setting (or adjusting) our goals.

From me get ready for 365 Front doors along with a preliminary look at Faith I'll be recording highlights.

Amazing bargain 50p! and the same recipe Jane uses at Home

But looking back I really am reflecting on my good fortune - so many people with a more difficult hand to deal with (or have had dealt to them) than I and many it seems doing their best with exceedingly good grace.


And so it has been today for me - stuff that can be dealt with and some good luck, which (I think)  is the best one can expect.



It's interesting to learn that there's been something of  a return not only to tangible records and CDs but also books - there is undoubtedly a pleasure to possession and the opportunity to curate one's own space with a physical
artefact - 'Come on in to the exhibition of my likes' we might be saying at our front door.

They don't only say 'you're untidy'

As an example i'm on Chapter 6 of  'Small Pleasures' and also well into Marina Abramoić's 'Walk Through Walls I would describe the latter  as a more disturbing and honest book than any other memoir I have encountered and a strong argument for 'Analysis' for the protagonist.

 I'd be grateful for book reccomendations (or other items)  tips as we go through 2017 

Projects

Another pleasure has been the weekly roundup from Austin Kleon  (and his multiple tweets) - credit here to him (which is what his 'Steal Like An Artist' is all about)  for this excellent deconstruction of a 'project' -

So accurate.

[Congratulations to Sir Ray Davies, the former Kinks frontman and main composer - he's written some great songs and been part of a brilliant group]

Christmas in Kensington and Austin Kleon

Bill's Bike in the Window

Yesterday another welcoming day at  the (London) Kensington Design Museum and as I was slightly early into the tube station (less commuters than usual) took a short diversion onto (the not so) mean streets just off the main drag.

StreetCheck is more than fascinating

Slightly surprised to find that the rather 'posh' Phillimore Gardens had managed to go as tacky as many less affluent streets - starting with Bill Wyman's Sticky Fingers (restaurant)  the season was being marked by quite a few of the inhabitants.

The Snowman 

and Santa Baby

Some of the residents were all out for a democratic take on the decorations - others did look at making a tasteful statement ..

Slightly tasteful 

Rovers Bauble's on show

Others fell between two stools

Nice gift wrapping?

Making Marks

We're as a (slightly superior) ape all about our making of marks {article about ape's pooh- seems to point at group culture}

If you're choosing just a few people to follow on Twitter -Austin Kleon's worth considering - he's got a new book (actually about a year old)  delighting in Journals and I was interested to look at a '30-minute-ish reading' on youtube - odd that an almost stationary camera and direct presentation was so engaging - all the flashes and bangs are in the content- great the way he credits all too (including his 7th grade Englsih school teacher Mrs Neff).

Moving Pictures and Red 29

Listening to the radio yesterday evening I was reminded what an amazing group the Beatles were, the track that astonished me again was Lady Madonna - clearly it was influenced by Fats Domino in its style and delivery.

Credit where it's due

Why though is it more than a pastiche - how is it that some people when trying to emulate their heroes take their tribute to something else - I'mm reminded of one of many books that's made me think of  recognising that we don't create in a vacuum and building on what has gone before is not a bad thing -the book being Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist .


In fact many of the  things that seem original are a fusion of an idea and an existing  work - what would Picasso have done if he was Roy Lichtenstein - the idea of an experiment is not far from what challenges people and brings something new forward.


So on to Moving  Pictures - I'd heard mention of this BBC radio programme but forgotten the title - thankfully it was mentioned on Pick of The Week (BBC radio's personalised summary of standout radio programmes) so caught up with it and found that it's a great contrivance - they say that a picture's worth a thousand words but also that Radio has the best pictures and the idea goes someway to addressing both of these perceptions.

A programme worth catching up on

The first programme of the series was all about The Harveters by Pieter Bruegel (The Elder) from about 1565 - the benefit the radio offers is that you can look at the picture (on a computer in high definition) and zoom in on the detail while you listen to the commentary .


The talk was about the work, the technique and memories of harvesting but looking at the picture you can see too how it fits in with other paintings of the time and the subject - it makes me think of how a modern interpretation (heavily mechanised in the West or culturally different) of the subject could be captured in photography.

The next programme is about a  'Flower Painting' by Rachel Ruysch and I'm looking forward to hearing some insightful thoughts.

Flowers inspired by but not actually 'painted' by Rachel Ruysch  outside the National Gallery,
London  in June this year

Red 29

Traditionally 'White Goods' can be red too as noticed in local shop

And it seems to generate a premium too 

Help with Creativity and Red 237

At Tate Britain yesterday and (not too surprisingly I suppose) Creativity was a topic for conversation - In fact the idea that Creativity comes from nothing is rejected by many who consider how new directions and impulses surface.

A wide topic

Some figures that I think of in connection with this topic are:

Brian Eno (here talking at length about process, art and more)
Austin Kleon (A sharing advocate, wise beyond his years read both of his 2 books, so-far)
Keri Smith - (a favourite as well as a groundbreaker for young and old)
Noah Scalin (I'm still evoking his 365 journal)

It was a visit that took in a second traversal of Artist & Empire, its a large impressive 'wrap' of the cultural impact, by nature incomplete and controversial- let's face it we're still very much living with the consequences.

For me much of the 'Art' was not of my own taste and there was much that might fit into the British Museum but the story requires a certain type of content - the final room works well as a conclusion to the exhibition showing how the culture is now coming back to the 'Motherland'.

What it says on the label

Red 237

And of course talking of Noah Scalin..

Sadly -Not for everyone but nevertheless red

Three Little Things and Red 258

I bought them like an artist

Here's a Thing (or 3)

1) Well I declared  some time ago that I wanted Austin Kleon's books - I've now bought them both and read them too - As Austin values (rightly) accreditation I'll give his some here.

Really great books that say something many of us are probably thinking to ourselves so I'd say  they resonate well (with me for sure).
Surprisingly to me Austin's 32 the age I heard (somewhere) that many men spend much of their life thinking they are (32).

[Odd to that Austin lives in Austin, Texas]

Hey, spring can't be faraway - can it?

2) There's been a change that perhaps we'll look back on as being a Sea one - with The Independent declaring itself as an online only paper (from March 26, the first big daily one, I think that's actually stopping its physical presence) and BBC (TV) 3 closing its traditional presence as a scheduled linear TV channel- is it good? I don't know but as for most of us we can still continue to access them perhaps it's okay.

3) Down on the allotment yesterday- there were daffodils to see and despite (yet another) recent shed break-in it was a pleasure to be there and pottering.

Red 258

A part of Ealing's Heritage - it's now called the Red Room but it was where Blues legend Alexis Korner started a music club in Ealing

It has a history