Book Choice - Pittville Library

You can take the man out of the library, but you can’t take the librarian out of the man. I began my professional life as a librarian – several happy years at Goldsmiths prior to equally happy years at Pittville (University of Gloucestershire) - but turned to teaching when required to relinquish librarianship for Learning Centrism. Though it is many years since I worked in Pittville Library, I still, secretly, regard it as my library. So, I was delighted to be asked to do a pick of the bookstock for display as part of a celebration of the Pittville years prior to relocation, next year.

My selection, in alphabetical order (of course) is as follows:

Becher, Bernd and Hilla (1988) Water Towers, London: MITP

I could have chosen the Mineheads, the Blast Furnaces or the Gas Tanks (I love the Gas Tanks), but I plumped for the Water Towers. Part objective typology of industrial forms and part conceptual art, these cool documents constitute strange and poetic visions - what the Bechers themselves termed Anonyme Skulpturen.

Borges, Jorge Luis (1970) Labyrinths: selected stories and other writings, Harmondsworth: Penguin

Amazing stories, each one dense with ideas and wonder.

Dean, Tacita (1999) Teignmouth Electron, London: Bookworks

The strange story of Donald Crowhurst, the man who faked his lone circumnavigation of the world and disappeared, seen through the work of this intriguing artist.

Dyer, Geoff (2005) The Ongoing Moment, London: Little Brown

The world is filling up with histories of photography: Dyer’s book is a refreshingly original take on the subjects and perceptions of photographers.

Frank, Robert (2008) The Americans, Steidl

Probably the best photobook. Ever. As Jack Kerouac says in the introduction: Anybody doesn’t like these pitchers dont like potry, see?

Hickey, Dave (1997) Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy, Art Issues Press

A good writer on art can be hard to find. Dave Hickey does the job.

Le Corbusier (1946) Towards a New Architecture, London: Architectural Press

Disguised by a bland library binding this edition of Le Corbusier’s seminal statement on architecture has the authentic whiff of heroic Modernist utopianism; the thrill of the impending machine age is captured in the pictures of cars, aeroplanes and grain silos.

Marinetti, F.T. (1989) The Futurist Cookbook, London: Trefoil

Matisse, Henri (1985) Jazz,New York: Braziller

An exhilarating and joyous feast of colour and energy: a triumph of the art of the book.

Opie, Julian (1991) A28/14(E), London: G-W Press

Order your modular sculpture here, just note the serial number. The exhibition catalogue as trade catalogue.

Parr, Martin (1999) Boring Postcards, London: Phaidon

Boring? Surely some mistake? How can you not thrill to the views of the M6, Thomas Cook’s International HQ, and the New Bus Station, Preston (‘Largest in Britain’).

Patterson, Simon (1994) Rex Reason, London: Book Works

A handy compendium of the elements reconfigured as film stars, directors and gods.

Spencer, Herbert (1969) Pioneers of Modern Typography, London: Lund Humphries

The freshness and invention of avant-garde graphic design sings off the pages of this beautifully constructed book.

Vogel, Amos (2005) Film as a Subversive Art, London: C.T.

For much of its history, the world of avant-garde and experimental film has been obscure and inaccessible; now, thanks to the internet and the wonderful UbuWeb, this world is opening up. Vogel’s book is the key to unlocking it.

Wentworth, Richard (1998) Thinking Aloud, London: Hayward Gallery Publishing

A brilliant and witty selection of objects and images gently nudged into new relationships and poetic dialogue.

Martin Creed (and others) at the Cheltenham Literature Festival

Martin Creed, Work No.338: Things, 2004

The Cheltenham Literature Festival kicks off on Friday 8^th October and features a handful of art related events. Most notably, Martin Creed (Turner Prize winner, 2001) will give a talk about his work at the Parabola Arts Centre, 12-1pm on Saturday 9^th October.

Other art related events are more conventionally book oriented:

• Michelangelo and Leonardo – talk by Jonathan Jones, 10-11am, Saturday 9^th

• Picasso – talk by Christopher Riopelle, 2-3pm, Tuesday 12^th

• Lucian Freud – talk by Martin Gayford, 2-3pm, Wednesday 13^th

• Caravaggio – talk by Andrew Graham-Dixon, 12-1pm, Thursday 14^th

• Canaletto – talk by Charles Beddington, 10-11am, Friday 15^th

• Van Gogh –talk by Ann Dumas, 2-3pm, Friday 15^th

For more details and booking information go to the Festival website.

Street Photography NOW

Coinciding with the publication of Street Photography Now, by Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren (soon to be available in Pittville Learning Centre), and in association with the Photographers Gallery, a year long project for street photographers to "record the world we live in" is launched today (1st October).


Olivier Laurent writing in The British Journal of Photography explains how it will work:

Each week, one of the 52 photographers featured in the book will issue instructions for street photographers around the world to follow. "These detailed instructions will act as a call to arms to photographers to look afresh at their immediate surroundings and to literally take to the streets," say the organisers. " All photographers will be encouraged to comment and respond to the images posted to the Flickr page."

Once the instructions have been issues, photographers will have six days to respond and upload one photograph to the Street Photography Now Project gallery on Flickr. At the end of the 52 weeks, "the photographer felt to have made the most outstanding contribution over the year will be awarded £1000 of Thames & Hudson books and have their work displayed on The Photographers’ Gallery digital Wall for All at the Gallery’s newly redeveloped space."

The first instructions (see above) have been issued by Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden.

For full details about how to take part see Street Photography Now Project.

Photography - Competitions

The following photography competitions are waiting to be won:

• The Terry O'Neill Award - deadline 22nd October, 2010.

This competition invites the submission of between 3-6 images as an exhibition series. Images must fall into the criteria of reportage, fashion, documentary, landscape, wildlife, portraiture, or fine art photography. Terry O'Neill, himself, has an exhibition showing at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester until16th October: Bardot, Bond, Beckham and Beyond: Photographs by Terry O'Neill.

Terry O'Neill, Brigitte Bardot

• Document 2011: The War on Want Photographic Award - deadline 12th April 2011.

The theme for this year’s competition is: The New Austerity: Surviving without a safety net. Last year's winner was Gareth Kingdon from University of Wales, Newport.

One of Gareth Kindon's winning pictures: Andrew's House, Kibera Slum, Nairobi, Kenya.

Et enfin, si vous savez comment prendre des photographies en Français, pourquoi ne pas essayer cette compétition?

• Prix HSBC pour la photographie - deadline 30th November 2010

Exhibition Roundup - October 2010

An occasional, and highly selective, pick of current and forthcoming exhibitions.

Klara Lidén, Self Portrait with the Keys to the City 2005 (See Serpentine, below)

The Liverpool Biennial continues through to 28th November. The theme is ‘Touched’, embracing the meanings both of physical contact and emotional effect. This is explored through a wide range of installations, events, talks and exhibitions (see website for full programme and map). Adrian Searle's review picks out the film work of Ryan Trecartin showing at 52 Renshaw Street as the highlight. The ‘Touched’ exhibition at Tate Liverpool features performance and interactivity in a show including: Magdalena Abakanowicz (Poland), Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan (Philippines), Nina Canell (Sweden), Wannes Goetschalckx (Belgium), Diango Hernández (Cuba), Jamie Isenstein (United States), Eva Kot’átková (Czech Republic), Otto Muehl (Austria), and Franz West (Austria). Concurrent with the Biennial in Liverpool are the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2010 at The Coach Shed (18th Sept – 13th November) and the John Moores Painting Prize 2010 at the Walker Art Gallery (18th Sept. – 3rd Jan. 2011). (And the £25,000 winner is... Spectrum Jesus by Keith Coventry, below.)

Keith Coventry, Spectrum Jesus, 2009

The 4th Brighton Photo Biennial, runs from 2nd October until 14th November and will feature a series of exhibitions, New Documents, curated by Martin Parr as well as a full programme of talks and events, see BPB website for details. Alongside New Documents there will be an exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe’s work at Towner in Eastbourne. (See Jonathan Jones: Robert Mapplethorpe: Sexual Terrorist). Like the Diane Arbus exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary (ends 3rd October), this exhibition of more than 60 photographs by Mapplethorpe is one of the Artist Rooms given to the nation by Anthony d’Offay.

Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, 1975

The big shows at Tate Modern, for October are Paul Gauguin (30th September - 16th January) and on 12th October the latest Turbine Hall installation (the Unilever Series) will be unveiled: this year the daunting commission has been given to the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Over at Tate Britain, the Turner Prize exhibition opens on 5th October and will run until 3rd January 2011. The shortlisted artists are: Dexter Dalwood; Angela de la Cruz, Susan Philipsz and The Otolith Group. The winner will be announced on 6th December. Continuing at Tate Britain are Eadweard Muybridge, Rachel Whiteread Drawings (both until 16th January 2011) and Fiona Banner’s installation of jet fighters (until 3rd January 2011).

Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Double Mattress Yellow), 1991

The Arts Council's quinquennial survey of British art, British Art Show 7, begins its run on 23rd October in Nottingham, with shows at Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham Castle Museum and New Art Exchange. The exhibitions will be on until 9th January, 2011, after which they will tour to London, Glasgow and Plymouth. Subtitled In the Days of the Comet, the show is intended as a pulse check on the state of British art today.

For a more commercial take on the state of contemporary art the Frieze Art Fair (14th – 17th October) is the place to be.

The Ikon Gallery in Birmingham is showing an intriguing double bill of Kitagawa Utamaro and furniture by Donald Judd: A Good Chair is a Good Chair (both 22nd Sept – 14th Nov). Also in Birmingham, is Steve McCurry – Retrospective, at Birmingham Museum (until 17th October).

Kitagawa Utamaro , Lovers in the upstairs room of a teahouse, from Poem of the Pillow, 1788

The Serpentine presents the first major UK exhibition by Swedish artist Klara Lidén. Working with installation, video and architectural intervention Lidén explores spaces for living. (See article by Sam Thorne in Frieze Magazine.)

Right at the end of the month (from 29th Oct - 27th Nov) the 20th Hereford Photography Festival promises to be an exciting event.

MA Fine Art show - Cheltenham (20th Sept - 1st Oct, 2010)

Modern British sculpture in Gloucester

Sarah Lucas, Stanway John, concrete and bronze, 2008

Gloucester Cathedral, in association with Pangolin Editions (the sculpture foundry in Chalford, nr Stroud), is hosting an exhibition of modern British sculpture entitled Crucible. The 76 works on show include sculptures by an impressive list of artists, including, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, Marcus Harvey, Lynn Chadwick, Eduardo Paolozzi, Phillip King...

The exhibition runs until 30th October, 2010.

Crucible, has been tagged, in its publicity, as the sculpture exhibition of the decade; while that remains to be judged, the Royal Academy of Arts has announced its forthcoming major survey show, Modern British Sculpture, which may well be the sculpture show of the next decade. It will run from 22nd January – 7th April 2011. More on that story, later.