After over a year of art-fuelled banter, ArtsWom will be exiting the blogosphere and retiring to a farm somewhere with huge fields to run in and lots of rabbits to chase.
Looking back, it’s difficult to comprehend the sheer variety of topics we’ve covered on these pages! Everything from dirty car art, to the neuroscience of art sponsorship, and Terence Malick to Lucy Pinder, we’ve covered it all – and have expended a hell of a lot of words doing so.
In the manner of a teary-eyed employee, issuing our soggy goodbyes while everyone around us wishes we would just leave already and let them get on with their work, we would like to thank all our fellow bloggers who’ve been kind enough to bother talking to us every now and again and, of course, our readers who have (at least) validated our pretentiousness over the past months…
We’d also like to thank our sponsor Sky Arts for supporting us over the past 365-plus days. Without their involvement, ArtsWom as it is would never have happened and we simply wouldn’t have been able to deliver our usual, witty and culturally-inflamed prose in a delightfully ad-free environment.
So, where should you go now for your daily fix of mind-expanding art-cotics? See below for a link-blast of the blogs that have kept us going…
Of course, to keep up to date with the latest goings-on of our sponsor, visit the Sky Arts Staff Blog or the Sky Arts homepage for a never-ending stream of artistic delights!
I don’t know how to end this. I guess that’s it, really.
Thanks to everyone who entered the ArtsWom competition to win a Sony LCD TV. Of course, in such things there can be only one winner, but we hope everyone who entered feels as though their lives improved in some small way after doing so.
The question asked was, what channel is Sky Arts HD broadcast on? And the answer, of course, is channel 268, which you can check by following this link: www.skyarts.co.uk.
Answering this question correctly and being drawn randomly from the thousands of entries we received was Felicia from Essex. Congratulations! Your television will be winging its way across the country shortly.
Prepare for a night of silhouette animation from the 50s courtesy of the undisputed master of the art, Lotte Reiniger. Hitting your shamefully unworthy TVs from 8.30pm, Sky Arts presents a selection of the most popular short films from the German animator.
If you simply can’t wait that long, dry your weeping eyes and watch the video below or click here to find out more –
The French Film Festival has ended for another year and the majority of this nation’s population can resume celebrating movies of a more British nature – and by that I exclusively mean dodgy gangster movies starring Vinnie Jones, sickeningly sweet romantic comedies with Hugh Grant, and edgy explorations of hooligan culture featuring Robert Carlyle as a ‘proper nuttah’ (oh, remember the days when he was Hamish MacBeth?).
Just because the banner-wavers of French cinema have left our shores, it doesn’t mean you should have to miss out on some excellent movies of a decidedly continental flavour.
Ecoute le Temps (also known by the English title of Fissures) is being shown tonight on Sky Arts. The film follows the story of Charlotte, a sound engineer who discovers that her equipment can pick up voices from the past – read more.
I’ll admit it. I grew up in the type of community that would have torn a growing boy to shreds had he been foolish enough to express interest in becoming a ballet dancer. Bear in mind that this was before Billy Elliot opened people’s minds to the possibility. Regardless, others were not so stifled by peer pressure and one such male ballet dancer went on to achieve unprecedented levels of fame, success, and critical-acclaim. Notoriously secretive, this is his story – read more.
There are some who would say that, to become an accomplished and respected artist, image is more important than talent. I’m not simply talking about the plague of manufactured pop rats infecting the music industry, across all fields there are examples of success brought about by style over substance. Is fame achieved in this way unfair and undesired or simply one aspect of the whole package that is art?
One such entertainer made himself a household name with his flamboyant appearance and outrageous lifestyle. His name still lives on in infamy whether deservingly or not – read more.
Technological advances throughout history have both inspired artists to develop new skills (for example, mastering the incredible Spirograph) and allowed us to appreciate their work in increasingly sophisticated, more accessible mediums.
The slow-yet-steady adoption of HD across the UK means more people are able to take advantage of the vastly improved picture clarity and sound quality offered by the technology. Of course, this is great for fans of the arts as it means our favourite documentaries, concerts and films look and sound better.
In the UK, Sky has been one of the biggest investors in HD programming and our sponsor, Sky Arts, broadcasts selected shows in high-def. ArtsWom will be making a point of highlighting the channels’ HD offerings, starting today with a pair of classical concerts from some gorgeous locations in Scotland – read more.
Not many of you reading this will know this, but ArtsWom turned one year old this month – we would have mentioned this on the actual day of our birthday, but we were unfortunately distracted with our typical artistic pursuits and a bottle of Jack Daniels…or five.
Regardless, now is the time to celebrate – and to do so, we’re giving away a brand-spanking new Sony LCD TV. All you have to do is answer a simple question. So what are you waiting for, click this link to enter!
The popular image of the sleazy, power-hungry, temperamental Hollywood agent owes much to Lew Wesserman. His rise to the heights of the industry and subsequent fall through corruption and association with organised crime is the stuff of legend – read more.
Switzerland is famous for more than just neutrality, cheese, banks, mountains…actually, it’s famous for a lot of things – one of which is the Montreux Jazz Festival. Although the festival starts in early July, get a taste of the action by watching some of the more popular events from the past few decades – read more here and here.
If you missed this the first time around, don’t miss this opportunity to catch it again. Why? Well, I could blather on about how it’s always entertaining to hear Stephen Fry’s gentlemanly accent, but the real reason is that you get to see his huge head broadcast in super-definition on your massive HD-telly!
Interesting fact/rumour: Classes teaching TV and film make-up across Britain are being closed as nobody knows how to properly disguise celebrities natural hideousness for the HD generation… - read more
Some may accuse ArtsWom of having a bit of a US-centric slant to our recent posts. If this has somehow offended you, we apologise with all the sincerity of a certain New York governor caught in a particularly messy situation. The similarities end there, however, as ArtsWom would never pay $500 dollars an hour for sex, we’d rather save our money, buy a fleet of Vespas and cruise around the countryside.
Interesting related fact: In America, it is illegal to transport a prostitute across state lines. Is it weird that I find that funny?
Anyway, back to the point.
Shielding our eyes, covering our ears, and ensuring no contact with any bodily fluids, ArtsWom are shifting our attention away from the US to see great art elsewhere. Somehow, we’ve ended up down under, considering the work of Ken Done, who persists in painting with a typically Aussie optimism and vibrancy – read more.
While that title could suggest a brilliant new initiative to visit the world’s most popular art galleries sitting on the back of a donkey, I’m forced to disappoint. Regardless, this excellent series provides a virtual journey through galleries such as The Guggenheim in Las Vegas, New York’s Storm King, Le Louvre, and L’institut du Monde Arabe. Places you may never get to see in a lifetime, delivered to your telly – read more.
I am always wary of any TV show that promises to “change the way you view celebrities”. Interestingly, if I was to encounter a programme promising to change the way I perceived ponds, I might be quite intrigued…
Despite this, the prospect of seeing the former US secretary of state, Madeline Albright meeting up with fellow ‘creative visionary’, actor Ashley Judd, is just too bizarre to pass up – read more.
The synthesiser, whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit that whoever dreamt up such a crazy instrument must be a bloody genius – or freaking insane. So what was the inspiration behind the most revolutionary creation in 20th century music? – read more.
If you can detect a faint whiff of garlic in the air, it’s because the French Film Festival UK has invaded our shores with the typically-French intention of mocking our dainty, English sensibilities and seducing our spouses. That’s just the price we p
