Drawing with scissors; cutting colour

Not many artists reinvent themselves in their 60's after a major health scare and while the rest of the world is at war... I am so appreciative that my all time hero, Henri Matisse, had a second chance. It seems that he was unable to stand at his easel, so he learned to cut out sheets of paper pre-painted in bright and solid colours, from his bed. He then used his bedroom walls to display and re-configure his designs!

Tate Modern's new exhibition Matisse Cut-Outs brings together works from a large number of important museums throughout Europe and America, together with some private collections, in what is an extremely comprehensive retorspective of his last 20 years. It is an amazingly well curated exhibition, where we observe the importance of constructing an image from key objects.

A highlight is a complete set of original works and prints of his large illustrated text Jazz - a kind of adult fairy tale of images and profound messages, created against the backdrop or war. He created amazing images with colorful and stylised cutouts and wrote an accompanying text in his very floral handwriting - o I wish I could access my schoolgirl French with ease!

I also loved seeing his 4 blue nudes, coming together from the Musee d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou and the Fondation Bayeler near Bern. It was truly amazing to see all 4 together. Individually they are impressive and capture the female form in such simplicity. But to be able to compare these images, also with some simple sculptures was an unbelievable indulgence...

And the final piece d'resistance pour moi, was to see some of the preparations for his final Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, in the south of France. This was one of my most unexpected spiritual life events - to see the sun streaming in through his amazing stained glass windows, contrasted against the white simplicity and his stunning drawings on the walls. OK the Tate has not been able to do this, but to present some of his early drawings enabled me to transport myself back in time and place...

so how to conclude from such an exhibition that brings so many memories together in a unified appreciation of an old man that has changed the world of colour and form - all I can say is that he has inspired me to read his catalogues and varied books, and to get out my scissors and coloured paper to recreate my creativity...o wot fun it will be ;)

Banksy makes a man homeless

I was attracted to the tiny Burton Taylor Studio to see this one man play. It was advertised; In 2011, UK graffiti artist Banksy spray painted ‘This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant’ on the side of an old water tank in Los Angeles. The disused tank was home to a man called Tachowa Covington who, in his seven years there, had furnished it with carpets, a stove and even CCTV. The tank instantly became a work of art and was taken away to be sold. By making a statement did Banksy end up making a man homeless? So this play occurs against a backdrop of 2 recent art pieces in Bristol, Banksy's home town. One piece, portrays the image of 3 trench-coated spooks holding bugging equipment around a classic red phone booth, on a side road leading out to the GCHQ headquarters. The other piece, titled Mobile Lovers, was prised off the wall by the neighbouring youth club, to be sold at auction to ensure their future. So Banksy has moved into the realm of wealthy and famous contemporary artists, although it does not seem that is what he set out to achieve by his disruptive and smart street art. So this single act play kind of played out another parody of fame - in writing a somewhat meaningless statement on an empty water tank, Banksy bought unwanted fame to the long term occupier of the water tank. He lost his home, and for what? Although we were attracted to the play for the link to Banksy, we are engaged by the story of the man, whose life was ruined by the artist!!

Cezanne and his friends in Oxford

The Guardian's review suggests this is the first full-scale exhibition of the private art collection of Americans, Henry and Rose Pearlman. Their interests in landscapes, still life and portraiture gives us a chance to see a different collection of the modern greats. I was able to enjoy this exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum after hours on Saturday evening. The first room was a delicate display of Cezanne's unfinished watercolours; sensitive and subtle in his use of colours and texture. In the second red-walled room, it was amazing to see a range of brightly coloured oil paintings by Cezanne's contemporaries such as Degas, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Manet. Two brilliant oils by Cezanne were almost hidden; a splendid, classic view of Mont Sainte-Victoire, and the shadowy forest scene Cistern in the Park of Chateau Noir. And then the final room included wonderful portraits by Modigliani, textural paintings by Chaïm Soutine, the sensual and tropical motifs of Gaugin, and minimalist scultpures of Jacques Lipchitz. Aesthetically satisfying...

catholic integrity amidst dismal reality?

This film has a very dramatic opening line, shared in a confessional with the larger than life Father James. It quickly became clear that one of the locals had been repeatedly raped as a young boy and had threatened his own version of justice. We aren't sure whether to take him seriously and who he actually is. But what becomes clear, is that Father James is a priest with moral integrity and real life experience. While he may have been an absent father to his daughter, after her mother's death, he does try to reconnect and offer her hope. But what is truly mesmirising is the mix of tragic and flawed people who live in the small Irish seaside village of Sligo, and the way Father James continues to connect with and help each one, in his idiosyncratic and down-to earth manner. But as time counts down, he senses the sinister and troubling forces closing in, and he chooses to face his own personal Calvary.

waiting for the real Jesse Eisenberg in The Double

The trailer seemed interesting; suggesting that The Double might have been an alter ego or the dark shadow self. There was a mention that the director Richard Ayoade adapted the script from an 1846 Dostoyevsky novella. There were moments when it seemed that the timid and isolated Simon James would be recognised for the work he did, rather than the confident and charismatic James Simon. Perhaps he would even reconnect with the woman of his dreams. But I was disappointed at the lack of real depth, and by then end I had lost track with which one was which - and then it seemed that it did not really matter. What made the film interesting was the bleak and tongue-in-cheek industrial and bureaucratic work place. But in the end I agree with the Director, in his summary at the Toronto premiere "I can't recommend it, but I'm happy it exists".

cryptic stories across centuries and continents

I need persistence and resilience to read Peter Carey. This time, the title 'The Chemistry of Tears' offered a chance to transcend art and science through human emotion. If only it was that simple... I could identify with the contemporary Catherine, a heartbroken conservator at a London museum, as she needed to hide her grief from the unexpected loss of her married lover. Her sensitive boss was perhaps more manipulative than he initially seemed, when he offered her the complex task of rebuilding an automaton, comissioned by the aristocratic Henry Brandling, a century earlier for his dying son. Henry's journey to the deep south of Germany to find a builder for this bizarre dream mirrors her own challenge to escape from reality. Their stories intertwine across time and geography as they explore the classic mysteries of life and death from two very different perspectives. It is so well written that there are so many hidden twists and turns, shared synchronicities and terrible tragedies...

inspirational - Dallas Buyers Club

Finally I agree with the critics - this film offers an amazing experience and I am impressed at the American establishment recognising individual resilience and integrity outside the mainstream. There are so many beautiful threads and surprising contrasts. It is shocking to be reminded of the early 80's and the sheer terror of AIDS, especially through the experience of a super macho Texas cowboy Ron Woodruf, played by Matthew McConaughey. Given 30 days to live, we see both sides of medical ignorance; sensitive uncertainty compared to arrogant controlling denial. It is predictable that his friends shun him, but not that he really learns to appreciate the conflicted cross dressing Rayon, played by Jared Leto. I was impressed by his deep search for accurate scientific information (which is part of my day job) and his entrepreneurial attitude to sharing his knowledge, regardless of the law or any clinical trial protocol. Together with a motley crew of renegades, I was totally inspired by their shared struggle for independent choice and personal dignity.