Pop art is fun ART

I remember Lichtenstein rip offs being popular during my high school days - my favourite always was "honey, I've left the baby on the bus". So I was keen to visit on the second last day of the superb show at Tate Modern. There were 125 mostly large and colourful paintings and sculptures, brought together by The Art Institute of Chicago and Tate Modern. They told us that us that Lichtenstein is renowned for his works based on comic strips and advertising imagery, yet his art was so much more than advertising. Ok he used coloured hand-painted Benday dots, but he also used stripes and other repetitive designs. He drew with simplicity and used lots of clear prime colours and he paradied, with respect, art by Picasso and Matisse. I was impressed at how talented he was as a painter and how skilled his perspective on life was conveyed, often with tongue in cheek.

impressive A Hijacking

This Danish drama opens with the cargo ship MV Rozen heading for harbour. We hear Mikkel the cook talking to his wife and promising to be home soon, for his daughter's birthday. The film alternates between the crew quarters and the boardroom where super suave CEO Peter proves his skills at negotiating million dollar deals with the Japanese. Next minute the Rozen is hijacked by Somali pirates in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The tension is intense as Mikkel and Jan, the engineer are manipulated by Omar the Somali broker, who is emphatic that he is not a pirate. In the board room, Peter is advised by an English consultant that he should also use a broker. At first his ego prevails as he takes on the negotiations, but over time, he shows a steely patience and some deep wisdom, albeit imperfect. Meanwhile, on the ship, the days pass, food runs out and tensions rise as the negotiations are protracted. There was a subtle and very realistic development of the psychological drama as time tests patience and resolve...

Moulin Gatsby - a dichotomy of disillusion

As a self-confessed Baz Luhrmann fan, I was expecting the fabulously extravagant together with a deep enduring message. It was probably lucky that I have not read F Scott Fitzgerald's book, as I was confused and disappointed as I left the cinema. While I had been truly entertained by the amazing set, scenery and music, I was unable to summarise any message of meaning after watching the Great Gatsby. In retrospect, I realise that I have since been haunted by a series of contradictions. The underlying message of the disillusion of wealth was contrasted by indulgent happiness. Leonardo di Caprio played the sensitive, self-made Jay Gatsby who tried to win back his previous love with parties and possessions. Yet, the subtlety of this scenario was lost in the superficial and two dimensional acting. Perhaps the lack of emotional connection was part of the point? Further, while the narrator was the most developed character, he was really only describing his memories as a therapeutic strategy to manage his depression and alcoholism. Can it be that 1920's nostalgic jazz extravagence can overshadow the nihilism of wealth, luxury and hedonism?