This time last year, Alex and I went on holiday with our friends Louise and Jamie to Barcelona. Read full article
CommentArchive — Art
Visiting V&A Dundee — Dundee dares to dream
I had read some fairly mixed reviews about V&A Dundee — both the building and the exhibitions. So I had prepared myself to keep my excitement in order. In the end, I was largely delighted by both the building and the exhibitions. Read full article
CommentLetterboxing in Lundy — how not to get bored on a tiny island
This time last year, Alex and I went on holiday to Lundy. The island was best known to me as one of those mysterious locations of the shipping forecast. Somewhere between the Irish Sea and Fastnet, wherever that is. Read full article
CommentPhoto — 2018-07-09
Don’t look down.
At the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.
Day out at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
We really enjoy visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It's a fabulous space, both outdoor and indoor. It's large enough that you can't comfortably see all of it in one visit, meaning every time you go you see something new. Read full article
CommentChildish Gambino’s This is America and how the internet killed the cultural critic
Childish Gambino’s This is America and how the internet killed the cultural critic
How considered criticism has been replaced by mindless churnalism collating stuff an under-pressure journalism has hurriedly gathered up on Twitter.
Floating to the top of my feed was an article in the Guardian: “This is America: theories behind Childish Gambino’s satirical masterpiece”. This video is popular, it said, then asked: “But what does it mean?”. Yes, I thought, that’s exactly what I’m here to find out. But instead of an answer, I got a summary of tweets and notes from Genius. No interpretations were drawn, no conclusions reached. Was it a masterpiece? The headline said so, but the piece just linked to tweets by Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu.
I grew tired long ago of news stories that are basically just lists of other people’s tweets. I have even noticed BBC News doing this. Yet again, I’m left wondering if most of the media’s problems are with their own unwillingness to pursue quality.
St Peter’s Seminary rescue arts group to close
St Peter’s Seminary rescue arts group to close
This is sad news. St Peter’s Seminary is probably Scotland’s most important brutalist building. I have wanted to visit it for years, and I was gutted to miss out on the Hinterland event in 2016.
I wonder what the future holds in store for St Peter’s Seminary, but the outlook doesn’t seem promising at the moment.
Hand-coded digital artwork “Francine” is skewing your online reality
Hand-coded digital artwork “Francine” is skewing your online reality
I never used to see the point in stunts like “I created Bart Simpson in pure HTML and CSS, look at me!” But I have to admit that the work of Diana Smith is seriously cool.
It is all the more awesome when you consider how viewing it on older browsers turns the work into wonderful, glitchy, accidental versions that look like they were inspired by De Stijl.
This is like a modern version of the Acid tests. I remember showing examples of the Acid II test during presentations some years ago to explain how different browsers could interpret the same code differently. But I think this example gets it across so much better.
It’s also a warning not to build our webpages for Chrome only.
In a cultural moment where reality distortion is rampant, and it’s hard to get a consistent version of facts from person to person, it’s critical to understand that something as basic as a browser update, or switching from one browser to another, can drastically change the way we perceive information.
Photo — 2018-05-10
Quarry by Phyllida Barlow at Jupiter Artland on its opening night of the year. Brutally beautiful.
Photo — 2018-03-31
You Are Still Here.
By Mona Hatoum, on display at Fundació Joan Miró.
Dundee’s new dawn: From invisible town to Scotland’s coolest city
Dundee’s new dawn: From invisible town to Scotland’s coolest city
In September, Scotland’s first dedicated design museum arrives in the shape of the V&A Dundee. For the city’s inhabitants, there’s a cautious optimism in the air.
A good, balanced piece about Dundee. Cautious optimism is a great way to describe the atmosphere of Dundee.
When I moved to Dundee in 2010, people told me it was up and coming. The waterfront area has been in a constant state of flux, as 40-year-old buildings make way for a new masterplan. The roadworks and upheaval are dealt with through gritted teeth, in recognition that this is all for the greater good in the long term.
Dundee is still up and coming in 2018. The question is: when will it actually come up?
Photo — 2018-01-20
Highlights from our holiday to New York
In March, Alex and I took a trip to New York. It was such a brilliant holiday that it has taken me 9 months to write about it all. Read full article
CommentPhoto — 2017-11-26
Rachel Whiteread exhibition at Tate Britain
Open/Close, Dundee’s new street art trail, takes you where you wouldn’t expect to go
There is a new street art trail in Dundee. Open/Close consists of 18 doors painted by 18 different artists. Read full article
CommentJupiter Artland: an incredible sculpture park near Edinburgh
Jupiter Artland, which reopens for the summer this weekend, is arguably one of the area's greatest cultural assets. Read full article
CommentDundee Law sculpture
The new sculpture at Dundee Law initially served to confuse me rather than amuse me. But hopefully it is the first of many improvements needed in the area. Read full article
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