Enjoy “BIRD”, the MA Photography showcase free this week at Jack House Gallery. The work on show is selected from larger photographic projects, each the result of extensive and ongoing research and may be viewed as a showcase for photography itself, as a medium uniquely suited to practice-based enquiry.
This month we have chosen books from the University Rare Books Collections about theatres. On display we have: “Good old Gaiety”: An Historiette and Remembrance by John Hollingshead, This includes photographs of performers from the Gaiety Theatre. The Gaiety was …
Since our resident cartoonist/illustrator retired, you might not realise that we used to feature regular cartoons on the Library blog. If you find yourself in need of a break or just want to look at something entirely different, check out the cartoons here or click on “cartoons” in the tag cloud on the blog and scroll through.
The mind is easily tricked. Some artists make their living using paint to deceive us into believing we are seeing impossible things – floating trees or bricks recessed in a formerly flat faced brick wall in the shape of a tree. It’s fascinating stuff.
On occasion, there is beauty in extremes, as demonstrated by the work of artist Willard Wiggan, an artist who creates sculptures using handmade tools so fine their working tips are invisible to the naked eye, to create sculptures so small they can fit in the eye of a needle… or in one Guinness World Record breaking sculpture, within the aperture of a single, hollowed out human hair. In a world where so often more is less, this man’s art really stands out.
I feel inspired by and excited about all of the CCI PhD students’ research topics but none more than Pooja Shah’s. I’ve watched her research emphasis change and develop over time and now she is ready to move beyond her PhD exploring the possibilities presented by incorporating diverse textures, forms and designs into knitted artefacts into an exciting future. Join Pooja for the two workshops that perhaps mark the transition between her past and future as a researcher. Aimed at experienced knitters, these workshops offer an opportunity to be inspired by Pooja’s research and to engage with her in conversation about the meaning knitting has in your life while you knit your own far from the ordinary creation.
Google is loved by many but its main search tool is a poor one for academic research, finding too much that is not available locally and not enough of that hidden inside premium databases of academic research. Google has, however, produced a number of databases that are pretty awesome. Over the next little while, I’ll be sharing some of our favourites with you. First up is Google Arts and Culture.
We have been lucky enough to receive the sculpture called “Portal” crafted by David Thompson, which is now on display on the first floor of the Library.
Inspired by the rise in the prevalence of street art during the pandemic, the StreetArtifacts group created an interactive AR platform on which they host scans of street art using a sophisticated camera that captures a “4k color textured 3d scan” and then use “spatial web and augmented reality” technologies to realise a map linked to authentic, detailed three-dimensional renders of the artwork in each location. The result is a virtual tour of immersive street art that digitally conserves this important part of our modern cultural heritage.
There’s a surprisingly large amount of really high quality graffiti art around Southsea. Occasionally, someone from the Library finds themselves passing some of it on foot in good light and without parked cars or hordes of people walking in front. On those rare occasions, we try to capture and share it with you.
