Visual Arts

"What do you think an artist is? He’s a political being, constantly alive to heartrending, fiery, or happy events, to which he responds in every way. No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war, for attack and defense against the enemy."

Pablo Picasso

Tuesday, 06 March 2018 15:51

Rhythm and Reaction: the subversive influence of jazz

Written by Sanjiv Sachdev

in Visual Arts

Sanjiv Sachdev reviews an exhibition focusing on the influential, dangerous and subversive power of jazz. It is nearly a century since live Jazz came to Britain. Playing at the London Hippodrome in April 1919, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band first brought the music to these Isles, followed soon after by…

dixieland the breakdown

Marxism will give health to the sick, Frida Kahlo, 1954

Tuesday, 20 February 2018 13:04

'Marxism will heal the sick': Frida Kahlo and Karl Marx

Written by PL Henderson

in Visual Arts

To mark the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx, PL Henderson offers an appreciation of one of Frida Kahlo’s greatest paintings, which was heavily influenced by Marx's creative thinking. One of the last paintings Frida Kahlo ever created was entitled ´Marxism will heal the sick` (1954). On the 200th anniversary of…

Marx 200

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 31 January 2018 21:21

Cultural democracy: Revolt and Revolutions at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

in Visual Arts

Written by Mike Quille

Mike Quille reviews an involving, stimulating exhibition which encourages the growing appetite for cultural democracy. The recent appointment of Elisabeth Murdoch to Arts Council England was yet more evidence of the increasing domination of public funding for the arts by corporate and right-wing interests. There is growing resistance, however, among…

Momentum Allende Victor Jara Movement for Cultural Democracy

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Saturday, 23 December 2017 21:23

The Aleppo Room: a lost world of cultural harmony

in Visual Arts

Written by Jenny Farrell

Jenny Farrell shows the poignant seasonal relevance of the wonderfully inclusive art in the Syrian Aleppo House. With everything that is happening in the world at the moment, it might seem facile to think of this season as one of good will. And yet Christmas is as good a time…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 27 November 2017 13:39

The Art of Revolution

in Visual Arts

Written by Jenny Farrell

Jenny Farrell celebrates the democratising power of Revolutionary art. With the Russian Revolution of 1917, the dispossessed took control over their destiny, for the first time in history. How did artists respond to this liberation? Artists from all artistic movements worked with Soviet power. The revolution offered the state and…

Lebedev Mayakovsky Rosta Altman Chagall

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 27 November 2017 13:31

Every revolution needs some smashing plates

in Visual Arts

Written by Mark Perryman

Mark Perryman went to the 1985 Exhibition of Soviet Design in London, and learned the real meaning of revolution. In 1985, Thatcherism reigned triumphant. The Miners' Strike was coming to a sorry end. With Reagan in the White House the second Cold War dominated what remained of international relations. It…

Sunday, 29 October 2017 21:50

Beyond the boundaries: A review of the Diaspora Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale

Written by Phil Brett

in Visual Arts

Phil Brett takes us on a tour of an exhibition at the Venice Biennale which explores the challenges which emigrants and immigrants face. Away from the main sites of this year's Venice Biennale Arte (See Dennis Broe for a review of the festival) is the Diaspora Pavilion. It’s housed in…

Friday, 20 October 2017 20:37

Alfredo Jaar's Garden of Good and Evil

Written by Emma Carboni

in Visual Arts

Emma Carboni introduces Alfredo Jaar's Garden of Good and Evil, at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Yorkshire Sculpture Park are presenting a major solo exhibition by pioneering Chilean artist, Alfredo Jaar. Widely regarded as one of the world's most politically engaging yet poetic artists, Jaar addresses humanitarian trauma and the politics…

Thursday, 19 October 2017 07:16

The sinful greed of the rich: Bosch's painting of The Haywain

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Visual Arts

On the 500th anniversary of Luther's revolt, Jenny Farrell gives us a critical appreciation of Hieronymous Bosch's famous painting The Haywain, a coded criticism of the ruthless extortion by the ruling religious and secular elites in mediaeval society. Hieronymus Bosch, the famous Dutch Renaissance painter, died in 1516. A year later,…

Hieronymous Bosch The Haywain Luther

Monday, 02 October 2017 19:02

Never again war: the life and work of Käthe Kollwitz

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Visual Arts

Jenny Farrell introduces the life and work of Käthe Kollwitz, one of Germany’s greatest artists and sculptors, who produced unforgettable images of the violence, injustice and crimes against humanity perpetuated by the capitalist econmic and political system. Käthe Kollwitz's artistic work reflects the events of the first half of the 20th…