Last week we caught the end of a very popular exhibition of light-based art installations in Southbank, London. One was specifically designed to induce night vision, so the scout in me was happy on that basis alone. It was also nice to see a gallery with a very playful atmosphere. The photos don’t do the…
In this essay I argue that Bourdieu’s thesis in Distinction* generally favours the role of structure over agency in determining taste. However, within that framework opportunities for agency do exist. Such agency is particularly available to those rich in cultural capital, enabled by their distance from necessity. Outside the dominant classes opportunities for agency still…
The first thing to say about Rain Room is that although it doesn’t cost any money to enter, it is not exactly free. Instead you pay with the most democratic commodity of all, your time. On our first attempt to see it we were told the waiting time would be three and a half hours.…
Today, BBC News (and others) reported that the Rothko painting defaced by Vladimir Umanets at the Tate Modern will take “up to 18 months to repair.” Tomorrow, Vladimir Umanets is scheduled to be sentenced by London’s Crown Court for criminal damage to the Rothko. At first this feels like a very standard slice of the…