Author: Commercial Break
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Lomography definition – photography
Surveying the pictures and cameras from the Lomographic scene Info New York’s Lomography Gallery Store, 41 West 8th Street. Tel: (212) 529 4353 Websites Lomographic Society International Lomography on Flickr Analogue technology is on life support. It’s been teetering on the edge of extinction for two decades, as music, photography and TV succumb to all […]
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Blek le Rat artist profile – graffiti art
Before Banksy, French graffiti artist Blek le Rat daubed the world’s walls Book Blek le Rat: Getting Through the Walls (Thames & Hudson) Website Blek le Rat With Bristolian graffiti artist Banksy fetching a whopping £322,900 at Sotheby’s in 2007 for his work The Rude Lord, it’s worth noting that before Banksy, there was Xavier […]
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Bauhaus definition – design and architecture
A look at Bauhaus, a cultural movement that’s had a lasting effect on modern urban life Bauhaus Archive – Museum Of Design, Klingelhöferstraße 14, D – 10785 Berlin, Germany Telephone +49 (0) 30 – 25 40 02 0 Website Bauhaus Archive – Museum Of Design To suss out what makes cities tick, a schooling in […]
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Takashi Murakami artist profile – modern art
A look at the Warhol-like creations of Japan’s artful marketeer Takashi Murakami Website Takashi Murakami It’s a cliché to call Takashi Murakami “Japan’s answer to Andy Warhol”, but there are some inescapable similarities between the hip Japanese artist and the iconic US figure. Warhol took everyday objects and repackaged them as high art. So does […]
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Sicko movie review
There’s much to commend and much to be exasperated by in this documentary. It eloquently states that the USA’s (over)reliance on the insurance industry leaves the most vulnerable shortchanged in the healthcare stakes. And then it says it again. And again. Once that point has been rammed home, Moore traipses over to Canada, England and […]
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Black Gold movie review
Although this documentary is about coffee, it doesn’t give you tips on brewing the perfect cuppa. No, it tries to clarify and add meaning to those well-intentioned but largely opaque phrases like “trade not aid”. The film focuses on Tadesse Meskela, the manager of a farmers’ co-op in Ethiopia, who tirelessly brokers deals with coffee […]
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The Namesake movie review
The immigrant story often goes something like this: in a foreign land, they work their (in this case Bengali) balls off so their kids won’t endure the hardships they’ve encountered. Then, if said offspring are raised particularly well, they’ll shun their parents and dive — hook, line and sinker — into the culture of the […]
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The Pursuit Of Happyness movie review
This rag-to-riches tale (vaguely “inspired by a true story”) features an unexpectedly sensitive (and Oscar-nominated) turn by Will Smith who plays a struggling salesman of bone-density scanners, a near-defunct device that no right-thinking medic wants. That, unfortunately, is only the start of his woes after his wife (Thandie Newton) leaves him with mounting debts and […]
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This Is England movie review
Shane Meadows’ semi-autobiographical effort explains how the sharp clothing of the ska-loving skin ‘ead could possibly mutate into the conspicuous uniform of the far right. Against the backdrop of the Falkland’s War and Thatcher’s divided Britain, this Eighties-set drama revolves around 12-year-old Shaun, a cheeky misfit who’s taken into the bosom of a gang. For […]
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Norman Jay Presents Good Times 30th Anniversary Edition album preview – various artists
Experience carnival all year round with Norman Jay’s eclectic compilation that spans soul, Latin and funk Samba and soca are the signature sounds of carnival because Brazil and Trinidad are homes to the world’s most revered street celebrations. But if you’ve ever ventured to the UK’s largest jamboree, London’s Notting Hill, you’d hear reggae, soul […]