art
Articles about culture, art, music, literature, film, artists and related subjects.
Bring the war to the streets - AYN art
Photographs of an anti-Iraq war art project carried out by some people involved in the Anarchist Youth Network in 2002 and 2003. Most may not believe now that it was very politically useful but it is archived here for reference. The concept of it was threefold: to put military imagery into peaceful London settings, to illustrate that the British government going to war in Iraq would likely bring conflict to the UK in terms of terrorism and as a call to action, to bring a war against the war-mongering capitalist system to the streets of the UK. It involved sticking toy soldiers about the place, and camouflaging everyday objects about the city with paint.
National Gallery wardens strike as Velázquez exhibition opens
140 wardens at the National Gallery, London, are on strike today over changes to their holiday entitlement.
Managers at the National Gallery are attempting to replace Christmas entitlement with a one-off payment of £100, and unpaid "special leave". This would mean withdrawing the three days holiday they receive in exchange for working Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and replacing this with two days unpaid leave.
Pissarro, Camille, 1830-1903
A short biography of French Impressionist artist and anarchist Camille Pisarro.
Camille Pisarro
Born 10 July 1830 – St. Thomas, Caribbean, died 13 November 1903 - Paris, France
At the end of the nineteenth century, anarchist ideas had a notable influence not just among workers but also in literary and artistic circles in France.
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970
A short biography of Latvian-born abstract expressionist artist and anarchist, Mark Rothko.
Mark Rothko
Born Marcus Rothkowitz, 25 September 1903 - Russia, died 25 February 1970 - New York, USA
Marcus Rothkowitz was born to Jewish parents in Czarist Russia on September 25, 1903 in Dvinsk. His father emigrated to America when he was ten.
Signac, Paul, 1863-1935
A short biography of Paul Signac a French neo-impressionist painter and anarchist who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.
Paul Signac
Born 11 November 1863 - Paris, France, died 15 August 1935 - Paris, France
1950-today: Corporate and state intervention in the arts
A look at involvement of governments and corporations attempting to push their interests in the world of art and culture since the middle of the last century.
The Cultural Cold War
The Revolution of Modern Art and the Modern Art of Revolution (Clark, Gray, Nicholson-Smith, Radcliffe & others, 1967)
A situationist-influenced critique of modern art by some UK radicals in the days of 1967 when, for many, revolution seemed to be getting close. Despite the occasional silly over-estimation of delinquency and shop-lifting, still a fine critique of its time of art and its limits.
The Occupation of Art and Gentrification
How an artistic presence was used to aid the gentrification of 1980s New York City.
An article from "No Reservations
- Housing, Space and Class Struggle"; News From Everywhere
and Campaign For Real Life, London, 1989.
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THE OCCUPATION
Pourquoi le lettrisme?
Debord and Wolman survey the wreckage of radical art movements.
Baj, Enrico, 1924-2003
A biography of the Italian anarchist and painter Enrico Baj. Well known in Italy, he was finally beginning to become known in France as well though his name had never really been known in Britain.
Baj was devoted to anarchism and this expressed itself in his works. His vast canvases were beautiful and often funny. When it was exhibited in Italy in 1972, his Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli (thrown from a police station window and made famous by Dario Fo's play Accidental Death of an Anarchist) led to police commissioners marching in and closing down the gallery.
