'Things' Ain't What They Used To Be | reviews, news & interviews
'Things' Ain't What They Used To Be
'Things' Ain't What They Used To Be
Wednesday, 06 October 2010
'Things' is a modern play on the traditional cabinet of curiosities
The public works for free. That is the founding principal of modern broadcasting culture. It phones radio stations with its air-filling thoughts on this and that. It monopolises Saturday nights on primetime in singing and dancing and plate-spinning. Until recently, it would sit in a house for weeks on end while we (in decreasing numbers) watched. But the public as museum curators? That’s a new one.
The public works for free. That is the founding principal of modern broadcasting culture. It phones radio stations with its air-filling thoughts on this and that. It monopolises Saturday nights on primetime in singing and dancing and plate-spinning. Until recently, it would sit in a house for weeks on end while we (in decreasing numbers) watched. But the public as museum curators? That’s a new one.
more Visual arts
Mark Rothko, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris review - a show well worth the trip across the Channel
Abstraction with emotion and soul in a landmark retrospective
Women in Revolt!, Tate Britain review - a super important if overwhelming show
Women protesting with all their might in both art and life
A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography, Tate Modern review - pulling out the stops to address issues around cultural identity
Thirty-six African artists reconnect with their heritage in dramatic and moving images
El Anatsui: Behind the Red Moon, Tate Modern review - glorious creations
As this Turbine Hall installation shows, the Ghanaian artist can cope with vast scale
RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology, Barbican review - women fighting to protect the environment
Eco-warriors and art as activism
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine, Hayward Gallery review - a Japanese photographer uses droll humour to ask big questions
Bringing the dead to life and looking at the world before and after humans
Turner Prize 2023, Towner Eastbourne review - four contestants strike a sombre mood
Art that reflects on social ills
Philip Guston, Tate Modern review - a compelling look at an artist who derided the KKK
How to appear daft while addressing the dark side
Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas, Tate Britain review - overcrowding muffles the voice of the wildest of the YBAs
Too many bunnies spoil the sculpture broth
Marina Abramović, Royal Academy review - young performers stand in for the absent artist
This pioneer of performance art is the first woman to show in the main galleries
Beatriz Milhazes: Maresias, Turner Contemporary review - the taste and sight of Brazil
A retrospective of the Brazilian artist's career transports us to Rio de Janeiro
Differently Various, The Curve, Barbican review - a step in a shared direction
Richly engaging exhibition by artists who have experienced brain injuries
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