Red Plenty - Francis Spufford

A wonderfully innovative historical novel that blends fact and fiction set in the 1950's & 60's when it seemed,  at first, that Soviet communism and its planned economy was about to overtake America and its capitalist economy and fulfil the workers dream of a fair and prosperous society.

Soviet planners, economists, physicists and mathematicians flourished in the thaw initiated by Khrushchev following Stalin's death. They persuaded the Soviet leadership that, using cybernetic principles and the newly developed computers, the centralised, planned Soviet economy could at last be made efficient. By 1980, Khrushchev claimed, the Soviet Union would overtake America; communism would have defeated capitalism. For a while, in the aftermath of Sputnik and Gagarin's space flight, it looked as if he might be just be right.

Red Plenty explores why things didn't work out like that.

The Artist; dir. Michel Hazanavicius

A film that charts a changing world in much the same way as Under The Greenwood Tree and Cider with Rosie did, this time about the coming of the talkies to replace silent movies rather than the replacement of people by machines or the coming of the motor car. It has had great reviews by the critics but as a silent film I was interested to see whether it could hold the ordinary punter's attention for an hour and a half. After all we're not used to sitting through silent films these days and at the end of the day they're not made anymore because, in a Darwinian sense they were out-competed by something better suited to survive. I was also interested to decide if it is an enjoyable rather than a 'great piece of art' beloved of the critics. It did not disappoint on either count, a thoroughly enjoyable film about Hollywood at the end of the 1920's at the end of the silent era.

Shame; dir.Steve McQueen

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a sex addict but with a fairly well ordered life of internet porn and prostitutes, the only time he nearly has sex with someone who is interested in a relationship he doesn't manage to find wood (as Irving Welsh or the Inbetweeners would put it).

Then his sister turns up; the two of them have a strange relationship, there are obviously issues from the past. She has been a self abuser who is over familiar with him, wanting to cuddle up in bed and he over-reacts, violently pushing her away. When she has sex with his boss he can't stand it and goes out for a hard run, almost seeming to punish himself. It all leaves you wondering if he is in love with her but the film offers no answers.

There is no Hollywood ending where he has therapy and comes to terms with his past and ends up in a nice cosy relationship. He continues punishing himself, getting beaten up after goading a man about his girlfriend in a nightclub. The lack of a conventional narrative and answers to questions makes for an interesting piece of art but possibly not the most entertaining film you'll ever watch, the lack of a conventional storyline means it becomes a list of his sexual shenigans at times. An interesting film that you're pleased to have checked out rather than one you come out of having really enjoyed.

A Century of Olympic Posters - One Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London

An excellent exhibition of Olympic posters organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum to mark the beginning of Olympic year in London. The posters from past years are very interesting, I especially liked one from the 1968 games in Mexico (below) which looks very retro now. The 1972 games in Munich had the aim of a union between sport and art and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has sought to return to this artistic tradition,commissioning twelve of the UK’s leading artists to create images to celebrate London hosting the 2012 Games. Posters by Bridget Riley, Howard Hodgkin, Martin Creed, Rachel Whiteread and Sarah Morris are reporduced below. 

The Iron Lady, dir. Phyllida Lloyd

I was a bit reticent about seeing The Iron Lady, worried that it would be an hagiography of Margaret Thatcher, something that would've been hard to stomach. The fact that Norman Tebbitt said he dislikes it was the first clue that this may be a film worth seeing and in fact it turned out to be a must see with superb performances by Meryl Streep as Thatcher and Jim Broadbent as her husband Dennis.

The film goes through her career becoming a female MP in a male world to the west's first woman Prime Minister and then her ousting from office (the scene at the Cabinet meeting when she tells Geoffrey Howe to go and pay 85% of his money in tax to THE FRENCH if he likes europe so much was an absolute joy). The events dipicted all seem a long time ago now but she divided opinions to such an extent that she still inspire's admiration or hatred depending on point of view. I'm sure I can't be the only one who had that the thought of 'if only he'd given her a lift home' when her friend Airey Neave was blown up by the Irish National Liberation Army car bomb as he left the House of Commons in 1979 (only weeks before she got elected and brought in the 'greed is good' free markets that have led us to the mess we're in now).

The really interesting part of the film is its treatment of her dementia, cutting from her present confused state, with Dennis appearing to her even though he died 8 years previously, back to her years in power. Even though she struggles to remember recent events and is often confused you can still see the old Thatcher coming through in her treatment of others. The film is essentially about the human aging process, the fight against the dieing of the light that no one can avoid in the end whoever you are.

Terence Conran – The Way We Live Now; Design Museum

An exhibition to celebrate the 80^th birthday of the founder of the Design Museum. It traces his career through his earliest work at college and Festival of Britain in 1951 to setting up Habitat. Conran was influenced by his mum who wanted to remove all the clutter from the house and this informed his belief in good, clean, simple design. If, as Bill Shankley said, simplicity is genius Terence Conran is a genius. He was certainly hugely influential in helping to introduce modern design to the UK.

 

 

This is Design - Design Museum

The Design Museum is based in a lovely building at Shad Thames, overlooking Tower Bridge, but it has limited space. This exhibition, which features highlights from the collection, is reasonably interesting, some iconic pieces including a newly acquired red telephone box designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who designed Bankside power station, now Tate Modern, but it is still rather limited in terms of the breadth of the pieces on display. The museum is moving to new premises in 2014, the old Commonwealth Institute building, which will help as they will be able to display everything in their collection, alot of  which is in storage now.

Christmas Past - The Geffrye Museum

400 Years Of Seasonal Traditions In English Homes

The Geffrye museum is set in 18^th century almshouses and depicts the quintessential style of English middle-class living rooms from 1600 to the present day. It also has a collection of furniture, the chairs are especially interesting. The displays include rooms with the refined splendour of the Georgian period and the high style of the Victorians, to 20th century modernity as seen in a 1930s flat, a mid-century room in 'contemporary style' and a late-20th century living space in a converted warehouse.

The annual Christmas exhibition shows how the rooms would have been decorated at Christmas. It's all very interesting, I most enjoyed the modern rooms but then I do like a bit of 20th century retro design.

I'd love to say children will enjoy a visit but in my experience children aren't interested at looking at things from the past, they prefer to do rather than look but it's a fascinating museum, it's free and the newly opened Hoxton station is just round the corner so it's very easy to get to.