It’s the blog that refuses to die…
I have no idea why I find this blog so hard to keep updated/going. After all I religiously posted weekly for the fifty-two poets project, and although my current diary of my year at UEA isn’t always updated twice-weekly as was intended, I have kept it up pretty well. But I still like the idea of this blog, so here goes resurrection number three (or is it number four?…), with two very different things I’ve enjoyed over the last fortnight.
First up, an exhibition of monotypes by Lino Mannocci at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. I’m a bit of a sucker for prints of any description, my favourite probably being etchings, since that’s the only type I’ve ever personally done. There’s something about the medium in general though that I find really compelling. Monotyping is a specific type of printmaking where the ink is applied directly to the plate’s surface, then printed, so it only creates one true impression and can’t be repeated. Mannocci’s technique also involves adding other sources to the print, creating these really evocative and dreamlike pieces. Quite a few drew from other famous works of art, or stories from the Bible; the annunciation, Susanna and the Elders.
Visiting the Fitzwilliam for the first time one of the exhibition postcards in the shop caught my eye, and I was so arrested we decided to go and have a quick look at the exhibition. I’m so glad we did – it was the highlight of the visit, for me. This is the postcard that caught my eye, and which I brought home with me:
Wednesday this week saw a rather less civilised jaunt to the spiegeltent that’s currently in Chapelfields, as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival. The Bo Nanafana Social Club – organisers of the best parties in Norwich – had taken over the tent, filling it with music from a truly awesome big band, Fat 45, who played forties/fifties jump and jive, and a bit of cabaret too. Pretty much everyone was dressed up in a fifties Vegas style; even I got dolled up in fishnets, boa and heels. We got there too late for me to show off any of my hard-won swing moves – the dancefloor was packed from start to finish – but we had a great time. Dressing up + special (temporary) venue = superb atmosphere. Photos to follow…
Thanks to Simon and Gina respectively for the superb company…
