Category Archives: art

Smalltown baroque

Posted on March 2, 2008 by Charles Lambert

This wonderfully bold decoration comes from the Mission San Xavier del Bac, just outside Tucson, rising from a patch of desert as though it had once expected a community to form around it, as I imagine it did, although what … Continue reading →

Posted in arizona, art, church, food | Leave a comment

Veils

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Charles Lambert

Cranach’s Venus is too saucy for London Underground travellers, according to Transport for London, which has banned its use in an advertisement. This wonderful image, at once demure and enticing, had been chosen to advertise a Royal Academy show devoted … Continue reading →

Posted in art, bigotry, islam, religion | 5 Comments

Mug shot

Posted on February 2, 2008 by Charles Lambert

If you’ve spent more than a few days in Rome you’ll probably have left the traffic of Largo Argentina behind you and paused by the turtle fountain in Piazza Mattei and thought, for a moment, how wonderful it must be … Continue reading →

Posted in art, freedom of speech, photography, politics | 5 Comments

Family life

Posted on January 12, 2008 by Charles Lambert

The Destruction of the Father is the name of a piece by Louise Bourgeois. She describes it in this way: This piece is basically a table, the awful, terrifying family dinner table headed by the father who sits and gloats. … Continue reading →

Posted in art, family day, louise bourgeois | 2 Comments

Boxes, texts

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Charles Lambert

I wonder how many writers would rather have been visual artists. We know that Frank O’Hara would (see “Why I would rather be a painter than a poet”), but I’m sure he’s not alone. The idea of working a field … Continue reading →

Posted in art, dh lawrence, frank o'hara, writing | 2 Comments

Giuseppe Mallia: Fichi d’India

Posted on December 12, 2007 by Charles Lambert

This is hanging in the kitchen, by the fridge. The paint extends beyond the board onto the frame, reinforcing the immediacy of the picture and giving it an iconic authenticity, as though its meaning could not quite be contained. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in art, giuseppe mallia | 3 Comments

Bored Sea Captain Secretly Marries….

Posted on November 22, 2007 by Charles Lambert

For the full story, click here. My thanks, as ever, to the Onion (and Pierre et Gilles).

Posted in art, gay | Leave a comment

Giuseppe Mallia: Arum lilies

Posted on November 17, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Something for the eye. It hangs in our living room, over a roughly-made probably Yugoslavian pale blue cupboard with very grand fluted columns on each side, and is partially concealed by bottles, an unused oil lamp we bought in Thessaloniki … Continue reading →

Posted in art, giuseppe mallia | 2 Comments

Back to red (sorry, Amy)

Posted on October 27, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Julian Schnabel was interviewed last night on Italian TV. The programme’s called Invasioni Barbariche, so it may have been a policy decision to appear so distracted – in the ironic 1960s rock-star sense of really being, like, somewhere else, man … Continue reading →

Posted in art, julian schnabel, politics | Leave a comment

Red

Posted on October 20, 2007 by Charles Lambert

I know I should get worked up about this dreadful act of vandalism at the Trevi fountain, but I can’t. The red stuff thrown into the water is harmless, the man responsible claims to be a futurist, which these days … Continue reading →

Posted in art, politics | 3 Comments