Greek art at the British Museum

The ancient Greece spanned from the 9th Century BC until the end of Antiquity, around 600 AD. It was one of the most incredible and prolific civilizations in the History. Greece was the language of Homer, the sculpture of Phidias, the philosophy of Plato and the oratory of Pericles. 

There are just a few preserved artworks from this period. The paintings had weak support and the sculptures, despite they were made with durable materials, were destroyed and the stone and bronze were "recycled" in the Middle Ages.

Perfection, beauty, balance, harmony and technique were their goals and the main themes were gods and mythology, heroes and battles and athletes.

55 Boadway

Not always the artists and their work are well recognized. The best example from Art History is one of Michelangelo's masterpieces, the Last Judgment. This marvelous fresco, done between 1536 and 1541, was partially modified due to the Council of Trent. Paul III and the Roman Catholic Church had condemned, at that time, nudity in religious art. For that reason, the great mannerist painter Daniele da Volterra, known as Il Braghettone, was hired to cover the genitals of Michelangelo's work.

Coming back to UK, the American-British sculptor Jacob Epstein did some controversial pieces. In London, it is possible to see some of his works like Rush of Green and W.H.Hudson Memorial, both of them placed in Hyde Park, or Ages of Man. But it was on 1929 when censorship and social pressure influenced Epstein's work.

Above the entrance of the London Underground Ltd headquarters, popularly known as 55 Broadway, Epstein designed the sculptures Day and Night. His work was considered controversial and indecent because, according to the censors, the small figure, the Day, had a "big" penis. Epstein agreed to remove from the naked statue one inch and a half. This is the length that the censors thought was acceptable and decent. 

London Underground will move to its headquarters this year and 55 Broadway, placed in St James's Park, will be a residential building. Whatever the case may be, it is still possible to enjoy the interesting front of this building.

Paddington Goes to Town

It was 58 years ago when Michael Bond bought a bear, as a present for his wife, at Selfridges. At this time nobody knew it but on that Christmas Eve, on 1956, Paddington was born.

The teddy bear was the source of inspiration for Bond. In only ten days, he wrote the first book in which Paddington, named after Paddington station, was the main character. On the 13th of October of 1958 A Bear Called Paddington was published.

Nowadays, Paddy has become a classic member on children's literature and Bond's books have been translated into more than 30 different languages.

Next Friday, 28th of November, Paddington will be brought to the big screen. The film, by the director Paul King, is the perfect movie to enjoy this Christmas with the entire family.

HippopoThames at St Katharine Docks

At the beginning of September, coinciding with the launching of the inaugural Totally Thames season, HippopoThames, the 21 metre wooden river horse sculpture, arrived at South Bank. From there, and during 28 days, he was anchored at the Battersea Power Station.

Now, the Hippo has decided to swim down and sail the Thames. St Katharine Docks will be his home from the 29th of September until the 3rd of November.

The artist, Florentijn Hofman, is well known for his large works. One of his most important sculptures, a 26 metre high inflatable yellow rubber duck, has been travelling around the Globe since 2007.

And thanks to this Dutch artist and his friendly pet, not only we had fun but we also learnt that hippos inhabited these waters a long time ago.

Germany: memories of a nation at British Museum

Volkswagen Beetle Type 1, 1953

Germany, the country where the biggest forced migration in Europe’s history took place, will be the new protagonist at the British Museum. The exposition Germany: memories of a nation will be open from the 16th of October until the 25th of January in the Room 35. The display will gather around 200 objects that will showcase the history of this country from the past 600 years. 

The exhibition coincides with the commemoration of the D-Day, the start of the Great War and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (the 9th of November, 1989). It will be planned around four different themes: floating frontiers; empire and nation; arts and achievement; crisis and memory.

The show will display the technological, historical and art achievements that defined Germany's development. Gutenberg, Hitler, the Bauhaus artists, Kafka, Martin Luther and Napoleon are just some of the protagonist of this spectacular exhibition.

Ming dynasty at British Museum

The porcelain in just de beginning...

The International Day of the Book

Today, 23rd of April, we are commemorating the International Day of the Book. This event was celebrated for the first time on 1995 and it is organised by UNESCO to promote the reading. The exception is United Kingdom that helds the World Book Day on the first Thursday in March. That's because it is also St George's Day, the National Saint's Day of England. 

UNESCO did not choose that day randomly. The 22nd of April, 1616, the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes died in Madrid but he was buried on the 23rd. Every year, to commemorate his work, Don Quijote is read during two days in Alcalá de Henares, the city where the poet was born. But also, Catalonia celebrates 'The Day of the Rose' since at least 1926. In that day it's a tradition to exchange a rose and a book.

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Josep Pla also died on that same day while Maurice Druon, Manuel Mejía Vallejo and Halldór Laxness were born.

They're gonna live forever. Oasis exhibition

Twenty years to the day since Oasis shot to stardom with Supersonic (released the 11th of April, 1994), a free exhibition dedicated to the English rock band opened in Shoreditch. Chasing The Sun: Oasis 1993 - 1997 is taking place at the Londonewcastle Project Space from the 11st until the 22nd of April. 

The showing takes us to their meteoric career through three albums: Definitely Maybe, (What's the Story) Morning Glory, and Be Here Now.

This exhibition includes original pictures taken by Jill Furminovsky, Paul Slattery, Tom Sheehan, Kevin Cummins, and Jamie Fry. The exposition also displays the instruments they played on their first few albums, awards, stage costumes, a Manchester City flag, vintage merchandise or Noel Gallagher’s handwritten lyric sheets.

The Coffee Art Project

Coffee and art have a strong bond. Do you know which one is it? 

The Coffee Art Project connects these two concepts with an excellent competition. Different artists created their unique masterpieces with the 'coffee' or 'coffee shop' theme. They could use diverse techniques as painting, photography, design, drawing, sculpture... 

The best artwork will win £1,500 and this work will appear on the labels of Coffee by Tate for 12 months. Another five shortlisted runner-up will receive a prize with value of £250 and also there will be a special London Coffee Festival Visitor Award. All of them will be announced on the 6th of April at London Coffee Festival.

The Photographers Gallery presents...

“A picture means I know where I was every minute. That's why I take pictures. It's a visual diary.” Andy Warhol 

Painter, colourist and filmmaker, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) had photography always close to his heart. On the 70th, the artist focused his work , using a Polaroid, in celebrities portraits. Nevertheless, it was in 1976 when Warhol bought a 35mm black and white film. He carried this camera until his death, taking up to 36 frames per day.

So, Warhol invented the Instagram's idea decades ago. Capturing everyday and anytime details, people, street scenes, interiors, landscapes or friends.

An exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery exposes more than 50 Warhol's black-and-white prints from 1976 until 1987. But that's not all.

London Ice Sculpting Festival

What can you do on a cold day in London? From Friday 10th until Sunday 12th January, lots of Londoners discovered the amazing things that can be done with a block of ice in The London Ice Sculpting Festival, placed in Canary Wharf.

10 teams and 20 ice sculptors from Africa, Belgium, France, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA competed in 3 different fields:

Freestyle, in which the artists made their free choice of design. The themes "River Life" for the Singles competition and "Fabulous Fashion" for the Doubles.

But the festival was, as well, a perfect occasion to know about the ice's art. There were free master classes to learn how to sculpt polar bears.