Beltane of the Southern Hemisphere

Today, in the Pagan calendar, the north celebrate the coming of winter at Samhainn. And all the while the sun is peaking up from behind the lush vernal trees and dancing for us once more in the southern hemisphere, as we welcome Beltane on October 31st. Or as I like to refer to it BeltaneContinue reading “Beltane of the Southern Hemisphere”

Retro TV Channels from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are on the internet for all posterity

Want something a little bit different for your next party? Here’s  a novel idea for entertaining guests. A modern browser version of vintage TV channels featuring soaps, ads, comedy, drama, music and even news from particular decades! Find it here The only requirement is that you use a PC for this app rather than a touchscreenContinue reading “Retro TV Channels from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are on the internet for all posterity”

All About Amazing Op Art

Op Art descended out of geometric art of the 50’s and the Bauhaus movement in Germany, which I have previously written about in the Origins of Flat Design. The 60’s was a period of discovery in science, psychology and new technology. This type of art reflects the experimental mood of that era. The pieces normallyContinue reading “All About Amazing Op Art”

The Sensual World of The Unseen By Photographer Duane Michals

Photographer Duane Michals pushes the boundaries of photography with evocative, erotic and sensual images. I’ve written about Polish poet Anna Świrszczyńska before, she also has a similar aesthetic. I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody’s face in a photograph.Continue reading “The Sensual World of The Unseen By Photographer Duane Michals”

Forgotten Pop Art Pioneer Dorothy Grebenak’s Rugs Are Awesome

Dorothy Grebenak was born in Nebraska in 1913 and was a self-taught rug maker who originally made rugs stocked in a Brooklyn museum. Although these weren’t rugs in the folk style, they are designed to be displayed on walls as art. These rugs were depictions of humble and everyday objects, which brought them into theContinue reading “Forgotten Pop Art Pioneer Dorothy Grebenak’s Rugs Are Awesome”

Book Review: Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini

A surreal art book that redefines the meaning of imagination. Codex Seraphinianus has a lot in common with other bizarre books like the Voynich manuscript. This new edition by Italian publisher Rizzoli was republished in 2013. It has been redesigned by the author Luigi Serafini with includes new illustrations. The fascination and curiosity for CodexContinue reading “Book Review: Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini”

About Neon Art and Loneliness

There’s something comforting yet eerie about neon signs. They garishly proclaim sales on items, announce a lonely diner on a dark stretch of road, and tout the nefarious activities inside of peep shows and brothels. Neon signs have always fascinated me. They seem to emanate a metaphysical glow as though there is a secret messageContinue reading “About Neon Art and Loneliness”

Dismaland is Banksy’s dangerous molotov cocktail of pop culture rip-offs

Banksy’s pop up exhibition Dismaland in Weston super-Mare in Somerset this weekend  is a dangerous and provocative molotov cocktail of pop culture references, Eurozone politics, rabid consumerism, and Disney fetishism exposed for our bemusement. Graffiti artist Banksy along with fellow art legends Damien Hirst, Jimmy Cauty and Jenny Holzer have taken over a derelict beachside lidoContinue reading “Dismaland is Banksy’s dangerous molotov cocktail of pop culture rip-offs”

The Viking Imagination: Medieval Cartography of Scandinavia

Just because I love cartography, here’s a couple of remarkable Scandanavian medieval maps. Note the dominance of several kraken and sea monsters off the Norwegian coast and how each country is barely hanging on by a thread because of these menacing beasts. Here be magic, Vikings and mysterious beasts. Velleius Islandia by Abraham Ortellius (1603)Continue reading “The Viking Imagination: Medieval Cartography of Scandinavia”

Welcome to Big Biba: A Legendary Department Store in London’s Swinging 60’s

Big Biba was an outrageous cornucopia of weird fashion on the London high street in the 60’s. Before H&M, Topshop or Harvey Nichols there was Biba. Invented by IT girl of the time, Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki, Biba started out as a mail order store that sold one dress available in one size. Very rapidly itContinue reading “Welcome to Big Biba: A Legendary Department Store in London’s Swinging 60’s”