Thursday, November 25, 2004
Curiouser and curiouser...
I'm very interested in Gwen Stefani's style (but not in her music). I love studying pictures of what she's wearing. She's such an interesting dresser - it's not all stuff I'd wear, but it's usually a bit inventive, a bit different. Of course these days she can afford Westwood and Galliano, but she doesn't need couture to look distinctive.
She's doing the rounds at the moment promoting her new record, and the video for her new single is on her website. It's a real technicoloured treat, a take on Alice in Wonderland - have a look if you've got a fast enough connection (the second half is where it gets interesting).
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I'm very interested in Gwen Stefani's style (but not in her music). I love studying pictures of what she's wearing. She's such an interesting dresser - it's not all stuff I'd wear, but it's usually a bit inventive, a bit different. Of course these days she can afford Westwood and Galliano, but she doesn't need couture to look distinctive.
She's doing the rounds at the moment promoting her new record, and the video for her new single is on her website. It's a real technicoloured treat, a take on Alice in Wonderland - have a look if you've got a fast enough connection (the second half is where it gets interesting).
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Wednesday, November 24, 2004
'Picture book
Pictures of your mama
Taken by your papa, a long time ago...
I love the new HP ad which feature this Kinks song - very cleverly done. The song reminds me of a few months ago, when I was looking through boxes of slides with Mum - pictures taken in Kuwait in the early seventies, when she and Dad were courting. Dad standing proudly by his Lambretta outside his RAF quarters. Mum standing outside a mosque in a thigh-skimming minidress. Mum and her flatmate Eileen posing in their tiny, flower-crammed walled garden, with the desert visible in the background, stretching on for miles, punctuated only by oil rigs and the de-salination plant. Mum at a party wearing a white embroidered cheesecloth two-piece, bought on her last trip home from 'Stevie's' in Portsmouth.
She is the age I am now in these pictures. I screw my eyes up as I examine each one, trying to see myself in her. She looks so happy. Sexy, fashionable, and very happy. And of course, she was freshly in love - with the man behind the camera! But with the benefit of hindsight I can see that the happiness shining from her face is not just from the rush of meeting someone new, but from the feeling that she's found someone with whom she feels she really belongs for the long run.
Sometimes, she still looks at him like that...
:)
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Pictures of your mama
Taken by your papa, a long time ago...
I love the new HP ad which feature this Kinks song - very cleverly done. The song reminds me of a few months ago, when I was looking through boxes of slides with Mum - pictures taken in Kuwait in the early seventies, when she and Dad were courting. Dad standing proudly by his Lambretta outside his RAF quarters. Mum standing outside a mosque in a thigh-skimming minidress. Mum and her flatmate Eileen posing in their tiny, flower-crammed walled garden, with the desert visible in the background, stretching on for miles, punctuated only by oil rigs and the de-salination plant. Mum at a party wearing a white embroidered cheesecloth two-piece, bought on her last trip home from 'Stevie's' in Portsmouth.
She is the age I am now in these pictures. I screw my eyes up as I examine each one, trying to see myself in her. She looks so happy. Sexy, fashionable, and very happy. And of course, she was freshly in love - with the man behind the camera! But with the benefit of hindsight I can see that the happiness shining from her face is not just from the rush of meeting someone new, but from the feeling that she's found someone with whom she feels she really belongs for the long run.
Sometimes, she still looks at him like that...
:)
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Goodness, gracious, great balls of...
This just in: "The stonework at Cartwright Hall will be well wrapped up this winter, thanks to an exhibition by artists from Bradford's twin town in Germany. Installation artist Kirsten Kaiser will be covering the 25 stone spheres outside the Hall with red and yellow knitted 'cosies'. The installation is designed to highlight the importance of the wool industry in Bradford's history. It is also a reference to the game of pool which, on a recent visit to Bradford, Kirsten Kaiser noticed was so popular in the city's pubs. The 'cosies' are being hand-knitted in Hamm, following an article in the town's newspaper asking for volunteers.
"Kirsten Kaiser said: 'When I saw Cartwright Hall this August, I thought the flowerbeds and stone balls would make a fantastic site for an installation. With the exhibition happening in November, I wanted to choose something which fitted the season, but also said something about the city and its industrial heritage. It should add a lovely splash of colour to the gardens.' ..."
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This just in: "The stonework at Cartwright Hall will be well wrapped up this winter, thanks to an exhibition by artists from Bradford's twin town in Germany. Installation artist Kirsten Kaiser will be covering the 25 stone spheres outside the Hall with red and yellow knitted 'cosies'. The installation is designed to highlight the importance of the wool industry in Bradford's history. It is also a reference to the game of pool which, on a recent visit to Bradford, Kirsten Kaiser noticed was so popular in the city's pubs. The 'cosies' are being hand-knitted in Hamm, following an article in the town's newspaper asking for volunteers.
"Kirsten Kaiser said: 'When I saw Cartwright Hall this August, I thought the flowerbeds and stone balls would make a fantastic site for an installation. With the exhibition happening in November, I wanted to choose something which fitted the season, but also said something about the city and its industrial heritage. It should add a lovely splash of colour to the gardens.' ..."
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Saturday, November 20, 2004
The Real Toy Story
"...As a surprise for his son Jasper, the German photographer Michael Wolf bought a sack (app. 600) of secondhand toys at the local charity shop and distributed them on every available surface in his room - surprise! The effect was stunning. As they examined the toys closer they made a discovery – every single one was made in China.
‘Jasper observed: "I thought Santa and his helpers made toys!". It was then the idea came to me: what if I was to make an installation and cover an entire wall with toys ’Made in China’ and juxtapose them with portraits of Chinese toy factory workers?’..."
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"...As a surprise for his son Jasper, the German photographer Michael Wolf bought a sack (app. 600) of secondhand toys at the local charity shop and distributed them on every available surface in his room - surprise! The effect was stunning. As they examined the toys closer they made a discovery – every single one was made in China.
‘Jasper observed: "I thought Santa and his helpers made toys!". It was then the idea came to me: what if I was to make an installation and cover an entire wall with toys ’Made in China’ and juxtapose them with portraits of Chinese toy factory workers?’..."
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Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Friday, November 12, 2004
Between a rock and a hard place
Textile artist Alice Kettle's show, Mythscapes, is on at Hove Museum till the end of the month. (And the museum's always worth a visit - great permanent collections of toys, filmmaking stuff and contemporary craft.)
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Textile artist Alice Kettle's show, Mythscapes, is on at Hove Museum till the end of the month. (And the museum's always worth a visit - great permanent collections of toys, filmmaking stuff and contemporary craft.)
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004
'Round the boutiques of London Town...'
There's a fantastic fashion exhibition on at the Museum of London at the moment - here's my two penn'orth: The London Look: From Street To Catwalk. (NB: I don't write the headlines...)
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There's a fantastic fashion exhibition on at the Museum of London at the moment - here's my two penn'orth: The London Look: From Street To Catwalk. (NB: I don't write the headlines...)
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Monday, November 08, 2004
So hard to beat...
My favourite DJ Mark Radcliffe speaks about his friendship with the great John Peel: 'I thought the world of him'. In a way, Radcliffe was (still is) my 'Peel' - the DJ who got me into music and kept me into it, constantly widening my tastes. I loved Peel too though - the way he could be warm and gruff at the same time, the way he talked about his wife and family with such affection (I hear he wore a ring in the shape of a pig - his nickname for his wife Sheila), and of course the music - full of surprises (pleasant and unpleasant!). Peel was the one who got me into Laura Cantrell, for which I am very, very grateful. It's difficult to accept that he's not there anymore.
The most touching bit of the tribute show on Saturday night was Phill Jupitus, tugging at his hair and blinking away tears as he spoke. I rarely cry at the telly but I did shed a tear for Phill, for John. Channel 4 are repeating Peel's excellent Sound of the Suburbs series, from a few years back, and there's a lovingly-assembled unofficial website - The John Peel Session Archive. You may also like to play the John Peel Sweet Eating Game - perhaps at the wrong speed...
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My favourite DJ Mark Radcliffe speaks about his friendship with the great John Peel: 'I thought the world of him'. In a way, Radcliffe was (still is) my 'Peel' - the DJ who got me into music and kept me into it, constantly widening my tastes. I loved Peel too though - the way he could be warm and gruff at the same time, the way he talked about his wife and family with such affection (I hear he wore a ring in the shape of a pig - his nickname for his wife Sheila), and of course the music - full of surprises (pleasant and unpleasant!). Peel was the one who got me into Laura Cantrell, for which I am very, very grateful. It's difficult to accept that he's not there anymore.
The most touching bit of the tribute show on Saturday night was Phill Jupitus, tugging at his hair and blinking away tears as he spoke. I rarely cry at the telly but I did shed a tear for Phill, for John. Channel 4 are repeating Peel's excellent Sound of the Suburbs series, from a few years back, and there's a lovingly-assembled unofficial website - The John Peel Session Archive. You may also like to play the John Peel Sweet Eating Game - perhaps at the wrong speed...
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Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Doll Parts
Dress a celebrity in Paperdoll Heaven! My faves are Johnny Depp, Gwen Stefani and Dame Edna.
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Dress a celebrity in Paperdoll Heaven! My faves are Johnny Depp, Gwen Stefani and Dame Edna.
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