Film of the week: Personal Shopper
Olivier Assayas’ new film is genre-collapsing marvel that sees K-Stew playing a personal shopper/psychic who has do personal shopping/communing with the dead. What more do you need in a film? Nothing. Read our interview with the director here.
Arts News of the Week: The next fourth plinth sculpture announced
Michael Rakowitz will be unveiled as the next sculpture to take over Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth in 2018, replacing David Shrigley’s Really Good, a giant thumbs up. The American artist’s new work, The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, will be a tribute to the artefacts destroyed by ISIS in Iraq. Michael has created a replica of an ancient sculpture depictiting a winged bull out of tin cans. Speaking to Artnet, Michael said: “I see this work as a ghost of the original, and as a placeholder for those human lives that cannot be reconstructed, that are still searching for sanctuary.”
Tour news of the week: Skepta, Banned from America
Skepta was actually banned from America last year. But this year hopefully he will remember to correctly complete his Visa as he has announced a new tour of Trumpland called Banned from America. Also includes two dates in Trudeauland.
TV news of the week: Sesame Street’s autistic muppet
Best ever children’s TV show Sesame Street continues its pioneering mission to turn tots in liberal demagogues intent on ruining American Civilisation by instilling virtues of tolerance, respect, love and peace into them. Their latest piece of Communist propaganda features Julia, a 4-year-old female muppet who has autism, in an effort to tackle stigma surrounding the condition. Sesame Street famously had a garbage eating, badly coiffed, chaos-causing muppet called Donald Grump for a time in 2005, after Trump starting going on about defunding PBS, Sesame Street’s home channel.
Art World on Tour this Week: Art Basel Hong Kong and The Whitney Biennial
There is nothing the art world loves more than an all expenses paid jaunt across the world. So luckily for the art world, this week, they can end up at The Whitney Biennial in New York, or at Art Basel’s Hong Kong edition. The Whitney Biennial has drawn controversy for a painting by Dana Schultz of the dead body of lynched teenager Emmett Till, and maybe the only thing the art world likes more a jaunt across the world is a bit of controversy to discuss over an all expenses paid dinner. Except maybe money. Which is what you can find loads of at Art Basel Hong Kong. The art fair is currently positioning itself as the bridge between old money west and new money east. Money. Controversy. Art! Get yourself an all expenses paid trip now.
Exhibition of the week: That Continuous Thing at Tate St Ives
In quieter art news, Tate St Ives are currently exploring 100 years of studio pottery, from the relationship between Japan and the UK, in the early 20th century, the Californian Clay Revolution of the 50s, and modern practitioners like Jesse Wine and Aaron Angel who are keeping the handcrafted movement alive. It will be quiet, unexpected, beautiful, reflective, and more lovely adjectives like that.
Exhibition catalogue of the week: Jamie Hawkesworth at J.W.Anderson’s Disobedient Bodies
One more bit of art news in this especially art news heavy edition of our usually art news heavy weekly cultural round up. But what a sweet and cute bit of art news it is. Jamie Hawkesworth has shot a group of Yorkshire schoolchildren (lock him up and throw away the key!) in the directional fashions of J.W.Anderson for the catalogue of the Disobedient Bodies show he’s curated at The Hepworth in Wakefield. Awwwww.
Credits
Text Felix Petty