“The Water Lily Pond” is an 1899 work by the impressionist painter, Claude Monet. It comprises background trees, a weeping willow, a bridge and a pond that is completely covered in vegetation and lilies. The background behind the bridge is also shielded by vegetation, and I adore the almost ethereal, fairy-like nature setting. The water…
Arts
Paris’s Musee d’Orsay undergoes renaming
The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has been renamed the Musée d’Orsay-Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. This name change is in honour of the late Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who served as France’s President from 1974 to 1981 and was integral in the institution’s creation. President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing died on the 2nd of December 2020 at the age…
Arts
Maria Fragoso: the modern-day Frida Kahlo
There aren’t many artists who have had the honour of being compared to the icon that was Frida Kahlo. There are even fewer artists who have actually lived up to the accolade. Maria Fragoso has been recently coined the modern-day Frida Kahlo, and is highly deserving of such a compliment. Fragoso studied at the Yale…
Arts
Queer lives: A new view of the British Museum
The LGBTQ Histories Trail at the British Museum offers a unique insight into an often-overlooked part of our cultural past and present. Mapping a path through the expansive ‘Desire, Love and Identity’ collection, this carefully curated trail invites participants to explore representations of queer love and identity. Moreover, the trail challenges viewers to consider how…
Arts
Gory love: Francis Bacon and everlasting anguish
Content Warning: drug overdose; grief Francis Bacon has never been one to shy away from the darkness of the human psyche. With his distinctive painting style often depicting people in anguish, darkness, and other such extreme emotions, his work based on sex unsurprisingly follows in the same vein. The central panel in Bacon’s ‘Three Studies…
Music, Venue
Live albums: An underappreciated art
One thing I miss the most due to COVID-19 is live music. The buzz of trying to guess when the act would arrive on stage, to that euphoric feeling as you walk out of the venue, your ears still ringing. Over lockdown, I’ve fed this nostalgia by listening to live music. This has made me…
Arts, Venue
The polarising, political art of ‘Enough of Trump’
More than a dozen highly respected artists across America joined forces in an urgent attempt to sway the public vote before the US election day. The Enough of Trump campaign, organised by advocacy group People for the American Way, is displaying works across billboards, at protests and as projections in their attempt to keep Trump…
#BLM, Arts, Venue
Contemporary artists spearheading the fight for equality
Visual art has historically been an essential vessel through which people have advocated for social change. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, the creation of visual art has again taken on this function of being a facilitator of protest, a channel for outrage and a symbol of defiance. Here is a brief synopsis…
#BLM, Arts, Venue
Black Lives Matter graffiti art removed by Norwich council
Artist Knapple created a large graffiti mural supporting the Black Lives Movement on a wall of the Pottergate underpass in Norwich. Shortly after, the mural was completely painted over by Norwich City Council workers on Thursday 4th June. The mural, which came in the midst of the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement following…
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