Category archives: art

 

 

Punk rock back to basics

I am in love with this project by Mike Joyce. Inspired by his love of punk rock and Swiss Modernism, he’s gone and mixed them up. The result? Swissted, these re-imaginations of  punk rock  and indie rock shows that actually happened in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. According to Wikipedia “the Swiss Style, is a graphic design style developed in Switzerland in the 1950s that emphasizes cleanliness, readability and objectivity”. Quite a departure from the rough diy style of the original flyers. I find them unsettlingly beautiful. And I would obviously give my right arm to go to any of these. You can see them all here.



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Antonio López

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A couple of months ago I spent a weekend in Madrid to see Antonio López’s exhibition at the Thyssen Museum. As you read this I am in Madrid seeing another exhibition by another amazing artist. But let’s focus on Antonio, shall we? Antonio López is a Spanish painter and sculptor who offers a hyperrealist take on objects, people and landscapes from his daily life. Bathroom tiles and desolate interiors, his family, views of Madrid, an open fridge, anything is beautiful enough to become a work of art.

Antonio Lopez kid

Antonio Lopez roses

 

 

 

Antonio Lopez room

 

 

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Say it with Hitlers

I’ve mentioned how interesting I find the figure of Hitler before. Needless to say this doesn’t mean I support nazism in any way. Quite the opposite, actually. I’ve always been fascinated by WWII, by Hitler’s appeal and by the personality who hides behind that maniac. I also find it amazing how, so long after his death, his image can still conjure such strong feelings in people. He is instantly recognisable, more so than any other villain, which may partly explain why people are instantly shocked at the sight of him (the other part is obviously that he was a bad, bad dude). I love looking at the use of his image and its two instantly recognisable elements (moustache and fringe) in art, advertising and popular culture. I love it when people laugh at Hitler, like they do in the herbal laxative tea ad (see below), and I love it when his image is in a more serious manner to raise awareness about certain issues. I think the Malaria ad below, which combines mosquitos and Hitler’s face, is an amazing example.

 

Hitler the painter

So simple, so good.

More images here. Found @ Little Miss Gosflair.

 

Possibly the best plates ever.

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Vintage travel posters

 

Picasso in Paris

A few days ago I spent the day in Barcelona (where I will be at the time of this post’s publishing) and I took advantage of some free time to visit the temporary exhibition at Picasso’s Museum. Devorar París shows works painted by the Spanish artist during his first stay in Paris from 1900-1907, as well as paintings by other artists who were popular in the French capital at the time. It is great to see how Picasso’s art evolved into something absolutely unique and how he was influenced by painters like Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. I’m a big fan of impressionism and turn-of-the-century Paris (though not really a big fan of Picasso), so it is not a surprise that I really enjoyed this exhibition. It will be on at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona until October, so if you’re planning a trip there this summer I advise you not to miss it. Here are some works I liked:

Moulin de la Galette
The Wait (Margot)
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Wasted Rita is my Heroine

 

Vintage Spanish Postcards

 

The Executioner (Luis García Berlanga, 1963)

 

I watched The Executioner (Luis García Berlanga, 1963) for the first time last weekend. It’s amazing how clueless I am when it comes to Spanish cinema. Set in 1960s Spain, during the last part of Franco’s dictatorship, the film shows a country that appears to be going through a metamorphoses. The executioner’s daughter, who has trouble to find a husband due to her father’s job, hooks up with a gravedigger, who has the same problem. Everything appears to be going fine in this morbid love story until they learn that, because the executioner is retiring, they are going to lose their flat. With a baby on the way, the only option left for them is to continue the family tradition in order to keep the flat, and so the gravedigger reluctantly becomes the new executioner in hopes that he will never have to kill anybody. And so the call for his first execution comes and the whole family travel to Mallorca, allowing us to see the peak of Spain’s development as a major tourist destination and the blatant contrast between the modern foreigners who holiday abroad and the bleak lives of Spanish people, who want to go abroad in search of a better life. The film successfully exposes the contradictions of Franco’s Spain and makes a statement against death penalty without losing for a second its entertaining black humour. Highly recommended.
And you know what else is great about this film? The title sequence. Please don’t miss the music that goes with it.

 

Monet in Amsterdam

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Dutch landscapes