Grayson Perry

 Source

I was lucky enough to catch the closing weekend of Grayson Perry, The Vanity of Small Differences. A total of six tapestries lined the wall of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, each of which depicted stages of the life of Tim Rakewell as he rose from rags to riches. They are the result of the interactions and exchanges between people and places visited during the filming of his 2012 TV series, All in the Best Possible Taste. Simply put - the six tapestries are amazing - gorgeous, witty and at times, quite  harrowing as they document class differences within modern society. The Bayeux of our times maybe?

Morrissey

Generally, I am someone who insists on reading a book from cover to cover before even contemplating the idea of starting another, but when S presented me with Morrissey's Autobiography as an early Christmas present (most likely to keep me quiet on our long train journey home), I couldn't resist starting it straight away.  I will not attempt to review it here, except to say that it is bitter, hilarious, vitriolic and self aware in equal parts, and an essential read for any Morrissey or Smiths fan.  What I will say is that it has re-awakened my fascination with this famously reclusive man, and whilst trawling the internet for interview footage (of which there is little), I stumbled upon the documentary below which seeks to answer the question, why is Morrissey so fascinating?!  It's longer than the average video posted on here (I'm still getting through it myself), but an interesting insight into the mind of the Morrissey fan... 

Emily Martin

Source: Emily Martin 

The storm has yet to subside here on the coast. After an invigorating walk this morning we are huddled inside keeping warm! Emily Martins' latest works seem pretty apt this time of year. Wherever you may be (be it warm or cold) I hope your first weekend of the year is a good'un!

Fireworks

As it's Bonfire Night, the staff here (both of us) thought it would be apt to head to the beach and light some sparklers.  After a failed first attempt (thanks a lot wind), and the inspired use of a candle in a jam jar, we managed to get them going and decided it was an ideal photo opportunity.  So here are the fruits of our labour (well, us running up and down the beach like excited children).

 

Ryan McArthur

Astronomy & Photography

It has been a busy couple of months here at Jam and Soe Towers, but I wanted to do a quick post to draw your attention towards the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Exhibition, which is running from now until the 23rd of February next year.  Displayed at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, it is free to get in, and the images on display look amazing!  I have to admit I haven't had chance to attend yet, but the BBC has done a fantastic 6 minute film showcasing the runners up, and the overall winning photograph (which has promptly become my desktop background).  You can check it out here, and if you like space, or beauty, I urge you to do so today!

Stefano Boeri

Now that we live on a planet where over half of the population are in cities, it is great to see architects taking this into account and trying to make sure cities have green spaces and are sustainable.  Check out this video of Stefano Boeri's plans for a "vertical forest" in Milan, and let's hope this will become a trend in towns and cities across the globe.

Printing in 3D

Stone Spray Project from Stone Spray on Vimeo.

My favourite 3d printing application to have stumbled upon so far: The Stone Spray Project.  Simply awe inspiring.

Learning Chinese

All Chineasy

Happy Friday people. If you're at a loss of what to do this bank holiday, why not learn Chinese? Chineasy will show you how - in the form of characters, simple phrases and stories. Such nice typography, its got me smiling.

Laure Joliet

Laure Joliet's photography makes me think of lazy spring weekends - I might not own a scuffed old piano, and I seldom wonder around my abode drinking cocktails from vintage champagne glasses whilst nibbling butter cream laden cup cakes - but boy, doesn't it make you want to?

Double

There's always something nice about stumbling upon two artists approaching a similar conclusion ...

Top: Trans-Layers (2010) by Sakir Gokcebag

Bottom:  I-Machinarius (2008) by Marcela Armas