Men with Guitars and Virgins with Babies
On Monday night (god it's Thursday already and I'm still going on about Monday night what a slacker) the vet and stu and I went to an open mic night at our old local (which is a very cool pub being as it is both a pub and a small theatre). I half expected a right load of old chaff but I was pleasantly surprised to hear a series of men with guitars who were all really rather good. AND this particular pub has started serving vanilla cheesecake with chocolate fudge sauce. Well done them. It was some good cheesecake.
The standard of men-with-guitars actually got better with each man. Certainly the correct way round as the first man-with-guitar was extremely nervous and would never have been able to follow the last man-with-guitar. The second man-with-guitar sang a great song about working for the council "the best thing about working for the council is the work/life balance" which pleased us. Another thing that pleased us was that one of the best men-with-guitars was called Marco but he looked like Dr Bruce Banner and when his guitar started to feedback we were hopeful he would go green and bust right out of his shirt. Sadly he managed to keep his cool. Looking forward to going back next week but they could do with a bit of variety, maybe a woman with a guitar or at least a man with a different instrument.
Also on Monday Anna sent me her pics of Damien Hirst's 35-ft tall, 13.5 ton statue 'The Virgin Mother'. She saw it over the weekend on a trip to the Royal Academy of Arts in London (where she now lives cos she's way cooler than me).
I'm not really into Damien Hirst, or modern art at all really, but I really like this a lot. I think it's very beautiful and if I thought the balcony would take the strain I'd get over there with my cheque book. But loads of people HATE it, which I was surprised at because it's just a body after all, and really internal organs and muscles and bones are pretty amazing and people shouldn't be disgusted by them. I mean it is pretty disgusting to see them exposed if it's by a violent means, that's a fairly natural reaction, but it's not like this is red and slimey or anything. If Sir Professor Lord Doctor Robert Winston was there with a 3D computer animation of cross-sections of a pregnant woman no-one would bat an eyelid. I'm not saying everyone has to like it but I just do not understand being offended by it...
"It's not appropriate. There are pregnant women in this neighborhood. And this is a restaurant. You hungry now?"
Ansel Sheilds, New York
"Virgin Mother should be removed straightaway and those responsible for placing it here should be fired or whatever is done with reckless, imbecilic billionaires"
Jerry Saltz, artnet
"I don't like Hirst's sculpture at all...I'm fed up with seeing sculptures of pregnant women"
Fiona Townsend, Suffolk
"This is disgusting. What is the purpose?"
Baramee Prapusakpitak, Thailand
I just think it's weird how people seem most offended by the most natural things in the world like sex, nakedness, viscera, pregnancy...? Maybe I'm completely off the mark here. Maybe because I work in an anatomy department and I'm used to seeing stuff like that (well ok, not quite like that) it doesn't bother me. Maybe because I've got a bit too much time on my hands I've successfully worked myself up into a frenzy about nothing. Discuss...
The standard of men-with-guitars actually got better with each man. Certainly the correct way round as the first man-with-guitar was extremely nervous and would never have been able to follow the last man-with-guitar. The second man-with-guitar sang a great song about working for the council "the best thing about working for the council is the work/life balance" which pleased us. Another thing that pleased us was that one of the best men-with-guitars was called Marco but he looked like Dr Bruce Banner and when his guitar started to feedback we were hopeful he would go green and bust right out of his shirt. Sadly he managed to keep his cool. Looking forward to going back next week but they could do with a bit of variety, maybe a woman with a guitar or at least a man with a different instrument.
Also on Monday Anna sent me her pics of Damien Hirst's 35-ft tall, 13.5 ton statue 'The Virgin Mother'. She saw it over the weekend on a trip to the Royal Academy of Arts in London (where she now lives cos she's way cooler than me).
I'm not really into Damien Hirst, or modern art at all really, but I really like this a lot. I think it's very beautiful and if I thought the balcony would take the strain I'd get over there with my cheque book. But loads of people HATE it, which I was surprised at because it's just a body after all, and really internal organs and muscles and bones are pretty amazing and people shouldn't be disgusted by them. I mean it is pretty disgusting to see them exposed if it's by a violent means, that's a fairly natural reaction, but it's not like this is red and slimey or anything. If Sir Professor Lord Doctor Robert Winston was there with a 3D computer animation of cross-sections of a pregnant woman no-one would bat an eyelid. I'm not saying everyone has to like it but I just do not understand being offended by it...
"It's not appropriate. There are pregnant women in this neighborhood. And this is a restaurant. You hungry now?"
Ansel Sheilds, New York
"Virgin Mother should be removed straightaway and those responsible for placing it here should be fired or whatever is done with reckless, imbecilic billionaires"
Jerry Saltz, artnet
"I don't like Hirst's sculpture at all...I'm fed up with seeing sculptures of pregnant women"
Fiona Townsend, Suffolk
"This is disgusting. What is the purpose?"
Baramee Prapusakpitak, Thailand
I just think it's weird how people seem most offended by the most natural things in the world like sex, nakedness, viscera, pregnancy...? Maybe I'm completely off the mark here. Maybe because I work in an anatomy department and I'm used to seeing stuff like that (well ok, not quite like that) it doesn't bother me. Maybe because I've got a bit too much time on my hands I've successfully worked myself up into a frenzy about nothing. Discuss...
posted by karen at 12:55 PM
11 Comments:
I've not seen it before. I'd reserve judgement because it's difficult to assess something like this unless you're standing close to it and can compare it to the environment it's put in.
Brilliant! I'm not sure which 'I'm offended rant' is my favourite...I think the third one - those sculptures of pregnant women really do get everywhere...???
I was reading too quickly and thought you'd written that I live in the Royal Academy of Arts - how cool would that be? Though a little draughty, I suspect. You must remember that London, although v.interesting, is also a smelly, noisy place with far too many other people living in it.
Incidentally, I don't get the melodramatic objections to Hirst's sculpture AT all. I think it's truly majestic.
Men and guitars (and cheesecake) sound fab. x
By the way, you see that pile of what looks like left-behind, red milk crates next to it? Apparently that's art too... x
Hi Ben! Good point. I guess if all 35-ft of it are in my back garden for example no-one can really complain :)
Yeah I know! I thought that too Anna, I mean we just can't move for sculptures of those damn pregnant women round here!!!
I'll reverse too much judgement as well. From those pictures it looks very awk against the backdrop, yet I suppose that's part of the point? Vancouver (and Toronto for that matter) always have interesting modern art pieces up, I'll have to post some and we can compare :)
But I don't think that this statue would make me not want to eat, some people are just over dramatic!
Vicera and such don't trouble me either, but holy crap she's tall! I'm surprised nobody is offended by that!
Guys with guitars and cheescake - your pub sounds waaaay too cool and I am hungry now.
Ooooh, that pub sounds excellent! I agree that the statue is mighty tall, but i still dont get why people are offended by it. People are craaazzzy!
I think that's really what I don't understand Allison, I totally understand people not liking it and can totally see why it's not to everyone's taste, but to be so flouncy about it is a bit much!! Yes yes yes post some pics, although that's the limit of my modern art pics...and they weren't even mine :D
She IS really quite tall Barbara, and the taker of the pics, Anna, is really quite small and I was very disappointed there wasn't a shot of the two of them together :)
People are crazy Mellowlee, yay for people ;)
I apologise for the lack of little Anna/large sculpture pic. However, the first pic does feature the (back view) of the lovely James who is really quite tall - only goes to further prove the immense scale of the giant woman.
To be fair, I thought Dr Bruce Banner looked more like Gianfranco Zola. I bet he can't smash Gilsons up like I can eh?
Aw is that James? Hiya James I can see you!!!
Hello vet, nice to hear from you. No one smashes a Gilson quite like you, you angry young man x
Post a Comment
<< Home