15 Friday Nov 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Books, Film, Marilyn Monroe
≈ Comments Off on Marilyn: A Life in Biographics
“When we can recognise an actor by a set of icons, we can also recognise how completely that actor and their work have entered our culture and our consciousness.” A snapper board, a ukulele, and a birthday cake; the imprint of red lipstick, a bottle of Chanel No. 5, and a white halter dress blowing in the wind above a subway grate. These are all visual signifiers of the ultimate Hollywood bombshell, Marilyn Monroe. Continue reading
15 Tuesday Oct 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Poetry, Profumo Affair
≈ Comments Off on Swansea Celebrates ‘Dear Christine’ in Art and Poetry
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Caroline Coon, Christine Keeler, Dear Christine, Elysium Gallery, Pauline Boty, Poetry, Profumo Affair, Swansea, Wales
Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler continues its run at the Elysium Gallery in Swansea with an evening of poetry this Saturday, as curator Fionn Wilson told Wales Art Review recently. An artist panel discussion will follow on October 26, and the exhibition will be on show until November 9. (If you can’t make it, Dear Christine will move to London next February.) Continue reading
07 Monday Oct 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Profumo Affair
≈ Comments Off on ‘Dear Christine’ Opens in Swansea
Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler is now on display at Elysium Gallery in Swansea, open from Tuesdays to Sundays at 12pm until November 9, with a series of associated events. (Shown above is ‘Welcome to the Sixties’ by Cathy Lomax.) Continue reading
16 Monday Sep 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Jeanne Eagels
≈ Comments Off on ‘The Best Way to Forget, Until You Find Something You Want to Remember’
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'The Best Way to Forget Until You Find Something You Want to Remember', Amy Winehouse, Bette Davis, Christine Keeler, Cob Gallery, If You Don't Want My Peaches (You Better Stop Shaking the Tree), Jean Harlow, Jeanne Eagels, Kim Novak, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Nina Mae Fowler, Rita Hayworth, The Letter
Nina Mae Fowler is a British artist who trained at the University of Brighton, and lives in Norfolk. Her latest solo exhibition, If You Don’t Want My Peaches (You’d Better Stop Shaking the Tree), on display at London’s Cob Gallery until September 28, borrows its title from an Irving Berlin song, and draws heavily on the iconography of Hollywood’s golden age. I was delighted to find Jeanne Eagels among the subjects, as she is often neglected. This portrait shows Jeanne in her penultimate movie (and only surviving talkie), The Letter (1929.) Continue reading
06 Tuesday Aug 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Brighton, Marilyn Monroe, Politics
≈ Comments Off on Brighton Shows Love (and Pride) for Marilyn
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Brighton, Brighton Pride, broken//hartist, Graffiti, LGBTQ+, Marilyn Monroe, Public Art, Richard Avedon, Sad Marilyn, Street Art, The Postman
Brighton Pride is the biggest event of its kind in the UK, and one of the most popular worldwide. This weekend, a rainbow ribbon of graffiti streamed across my hometown – including this mural at the old Methodist Church on 88 London Road. Created by The Postman and broken//hartist, after Richard Avedon’s 1957 photograph, widely known as ‘Sad Marilyn‘ – all the more touching as this Pride weekend coincided with the 57th anniversary of Marilyn’s passing, and she will always be loved by our LGBTQ+ community.
18 Tuesday Jun 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on Read All About ‘Dear Christine’ in ART NORTH
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1960s, Amadeo Modigliani, Art North, Charlotte Rampling, Christine Keeler, Dear Christine, Denning Report, Fionn Wilson, Flamingo Club, Ian McKay, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Julie Burchill, Julie Christie, Newcastle, Profumo Affair, Sexual Revolution, Stephen Ward, Swinging London, The Boy Looked At Christine, Vane Gallery, Wicked Baby, William Hogarth
‘Christine Reads the Denning Report’ by Fionn Wilson (2017)
Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler, on display at Newcastle’s Vane Gallery until June 29 (and then touring), is featured on the ART NORTH website today, with an article by Julie Burchill (as quoted below) and ‘The Boy Looked At Christine,’ a review by Ian McKay. So if you’re in Newcastle this month, don’t miss this stunning (and free) exhibit – and you can check out the associated events here. Continue reading
04 Tuesday Jun 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Magazines, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on ‘Dear Christine’ Opens in Newcastle
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Cathy Lomax, Christine Keeler, Claudia Clare, Dear Christine, Helen Billinghurst, International Times, Jan Woolf, Mike Kelly, Morning Star, Newcastle, Profumo Affair, Sadie Hennessy, The Journal, Vane Gallery, Women of Tyneside
Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler has opened at the Vane Gallery in Newcastle, with free admission until June 29. During this first stop in a 3-city tour (more details here), there will also be a series of lectures and workshops by artists featured in the show. These events are also free, but it’s advisable to pre-book at info@vane.org.uk or 0191 261 8281. Continue reading
24 Friday May 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Books, Profumo Affair, Updates, Wicked Baby, Writing
≈ Comments Off on ‘Dear Christine’ Draws Back the Curtains
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Caroline Coon, Cathy Lomax, Christine Keeler, Claudia Clare, Dear Christine, Fionn Wilson, Helen Billinghurst, Newcastle, Sadie Hennessy, Tara Hanks, Vane Gallery
Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler, a new exhibition curated by Fionn Wilson, will open at the Vane Gallery in Newcastle on June 1st (open from 12-5 pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays.) During its four week-stay, there will also be a series of lectures and workshops hosted by artists Caroline Coon, Claudia Clare, Sadie Hennessy, Helen Billinghurst and Cathy Lomax. Whether you see Christine Keeler as a Sixties icon or political figure, the women behind Dear Christine are, at long last, bringing her humanity into public view. Continue reading
30 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Books, Fiction, Film, Marilyn Monroe
≈ Comments Off on Marilyn’s Monsters
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Betty Boop, Bus Stop, Comic Book, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Gothic Horror, Graphic Novel, Humanoids, Life Drawn, Love Happy, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn's Monsters, Sugar Kane, The Seven Year Itch, Tommy Redolfi
Marilyn Monroe has long been an inspiration to artists and writers. Among the many books devoted to her life and image are a number of comics and graphic novels. Kathryn Hyatt’s Marilyn: The Story of a Woman (1996) and Dana Gachman’s recent contribution to the Tribute series both opt for fairly conventional, if sympathetic narratives. It is from outside the USA that more imaginative retellings have emerged, such as Sergio Toppi’s 16-page comic, plus two full-length books: Jean-Francois Charles’ Shooting Star (2006) and Jose Correa’s Dreams of a Butterfly (2012.)
Tommy Redolfi’s Holy Wood was first published in France in 2016, and is now available in English as Marilyn’s Monsters, published by Life Drawn, a literary imprint from comic book publisher Humanoids. The French-born Redolfi now lives in Los Angeles, and has made several films as well as other graphic novels, including a 2007 tome about one of Marilyn’s idols, Mae West. Marilyn’s Monsters comes with an endorsement from cult filmmaker David Cronenberg: “A brilliant, hallucinatory meditation on the phenomenon of Marilyn Monroe. It will alter your understanding of both Hollywood and Marilyn.” Continue reading
12 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Profumo Affair, Television, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler
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Amanda Coe, Arthouse1, Caroline Coon, Cathy Lomax, Christine Keeler, Dear Christine, Ellie Bamber, Elysium Gallery, Fionn Wilson, Julie Burchill, Newcastle, Profumo Affair, Sadie Lee, Seymour Platt, Shani Rhys James, Sophie Cookson, Stella Vine, Swansea, Tanya Gold, The Trial Of Christine Keeler, Vane Gallery, Wales, Wicked Baby
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know Christine Keeler. She’s almost a mythical character, like folklore …
Dear Christine: A Tribute to Christine Keeler, a new multi-media exhibition of women’s art curated by artist Fionn Wilson, will open in Newcastle next month before moving on to Swansea in October, and London next February. Among the talented contributors are Caroline Coon, Cathy Lomax and Stella Vine. I have contributed some writing alongside Julie Burchill, Amanda Coe, Tanya Gold and Christine’s son, Seymour Platt, which will be published in an exhibition catalogue. Artists Shani Rhys James and Sadie Lee have talked about Keeler’s impact in this trailer, presented by Fionn and released today. Continue reading
