Cathy's Art Diary

Confusing exhibition at the Design Museum looking at how California has become the home of Silicon Valley and at how the personal computers, smart phones and social media which it has developed have changed our lives. I say confusing because it took me a while to realise this was the narrative of the show as it seemed to begin with the 1960s and the alternative cultures which grew up in the state. It was a fascinating section looking at the changing politics and the use of graphic design in this. It was particularly nice to see the original eight –stripe Gay Pride flag designed by Gilbert Baker. It took me a while to grasp that the idea was that Silicon Valley grew out of this counter culture and ideas of freedom and creativity. The show was themed and this progression worked better with some of the themes than others. I loved a section tracing the design process of personal computers and then threw to smart phones. I was astonished to realise we’d had the ip...

Evocative exhibition at the British Museum looking at the one of the longest cultural traditions of North America which has continued despite environmental and social change.   As I walked up to the exhibition I suddenly remembered a book we were read at junior school called Beaverbird by Ruth Underhill which was set amongst the indigenous population of this area and all the words which I had found magical like potlatch came flooding back to me. It’s strange how these things come flooding back. You were greeted by a large welcome figure which would have faced the sea or be placed on a high location to welcome people to a village. There were some lovely objects. I loved a bowl in the shape of an animal on its back with its tail as a handle. I also liked the axes with fish heads and clubs with faces on them. It was sad to read that about 90% of the population died when the Europeans came and brought smallpox and that in the 20th century some of the children were for...

Bland exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery looking at contemporary art from the USA. Nothing really moved me in this show. There seemed to be a lot of big canvases which were more about using paint and its effect than creating an image. I did quite like Lisa Anne Auerbach’s knitted wall hangings of mind maps with notes to self like “Learn better techniques for screaming”. I also liked a big embroidered canvas giving an out of focus effect but it had lost it’s label so I have no idea who it was by! Review Evening Standard    

A fascinating exhibition at the British Museum looking at print making in American in the last century. In doing this it also gave a good overview of art there in general. My favourite section was the modernist one using the buildings of New York as subject matter. These includes “New York” by Louis Lozowick which is used for the poster. I also liked the Provincetown woodcuts which were mainly done by women and rather cubist in style. As ever I seemed to like the earlier prints best finding some of the later ones too abstract. Reviews Guardian Daily Telegraph Evening Standard