Tag: London

Wearing a Mask Mask

National Portrait Gallery, London

The mask is by Gillian Wearing (you see what I did there?). You can see the mask on the mask face, the shadow of the mask behind, and the image of the sculpture on the phone of the viewer in front. It’s all very meta.

Kennards

Our first London stop last Wednesday was at a/political (The Bacon Factory in Stannary Street) to see the new show from one of my current strongest influences, Peter Kennard. The exhibit is based on a book by his son Matt Kennard and Claire Provost, Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy, which I purchased and read the week before, and I heartily recommend.

Click any of the images below to see them enlarged (if you’re seeing this in email you may need to click through to the web site by clicking on the post title, above).

Graffiti

On last week’s London trip to hear Shakti and Paul McCartney (see this post), leaving Waterloo Station by a new exit we found ourselves entering the Graffiti Tunnel. Click any image to see them all full size (you may need to click the post title to launch the web site if you’re viewing this in an email).

Exciting Musical Week with no Photos

This week was a great one musically although no cameras were allowed in either event. We spent a couple of days in London. On Wednesday evening we were at the Hammersmith Apollo for Shakti’s final London appearance. They gave a rousing performance that brought the audience to its feet after nearly every number (a tiny taste below – if viewing this in email click the post title to go to the browser and see the clip). And to make things even better, the show opened with a performance by Gary Husband and Nguyen Le.

Then, Thursday I was fortunate to be included in a group of English photography students invited to a discussion in a small theatre at the recently re-opened National Portrait Gallery between Stanley Tucci and Paul McCartney about the just opened exhibit of Paul’s pictures from 1964 (you can pay to view a recording of the live-streamed event here until July 6th). Here the secrecy was even greater and we were made to turn off our phones and seal them in envelopes before being granted entry. Tucci conducted an excellent discussion and McCartney was his usual charming, entertaining self. Interestingly, the discussion centered far more on photography and the Beatles’ experience on their triumphant initial US tour than I had dared hope. Below a shot from his Instagram. Two tremendous experiences.