Then and now

Adolph Valette's 1910 view of Albert Sq next to Manchester Town Hall. Mine, 2012. Note, grey sky in both- only he was probably painting in November not July!

We Face Forward

I popped into Manchester City Art Gallery this week to watch Turner-Prize nominated Spartacus Chetwynd's video installation "Art in Hard Times". Along with his bunch of merry men, Chetwynd's walks in David Copperfield's shoes from London to Dover, taking snaps along the way, on a real-film proper camera. There are also long stretches of video documenting the hundred or so miles walk. The installation was accompanied by a sprinkling of Victorian social type paintings of the poverty stricken people of the poor houses and the glorious middle classes, notably William Powell Frith's Derby Day. However this rather small show was overwhelmed by the current We Face Forward; Art From West Africa Today exhibition- one that challenges culture and change in Africa. Various installations appear throughout the gallery, interrupting the expected displays of proper British museum practice. Shocking and thought provoking, I liked Romuald Hazoumè's oil can masks- challenging a western view of the people and cultures of Africa. Well worth a visit.

Liverpool World Museum

A fantastic Museum to interest children on a rainy day in Liverpool, the World Museum has it all! From tanks full of fishes, to a planetarium and a vast collection of objects from world cultures and religions. At times it felt as though a little too much had been attempted an the galleries could be a little confusing and overwhelming. The aquarium for example was small with few tanks, I felt I would have seen more in my local pet shop! My advise would be to go with a clear idea of what you want to see and stick to that area. The individual collections are overall good with lots of interactive interpretation, if something's gory, it's great to find that out. My favourite was the world cultures area- showcasing objects and clothing from indigenous populations all over the globe. This is a snap of an African Village's communal voodoo doll! Even though we were too late arriving to make it to the space show, we had a great time, especially Freddie (aged 18months).

Nice stuff at the John Rylands Library

King Florus and the Fair Jehane is a medieval French Romance telling the take of a woman's virtue and marriage. It was translated from old French to English by William Morris and printed at his Kelmscott Press in 1893. James and Mary Lee Tregaskis, noteworthy London booksellers, bought 75 unbound sets of the work out of the 350 printed. They sent then to 26 countries to be bound in traditional style for a 1894 exhibition of bookbinding from craftsmen all over the world. Being a big fan of William Morris, in addition to her full set of Kelmscott Press publications, Enriqueta Rylands bought the exhibition in its entirety, for the library on Deansgate she built in memory of her late husband. These books signify the Victorian rebellion against the machine made, the fin de siècle notions of Imperialism and Colonialism; the need to define and appropriate a cultural reaction to Empire. More over, they are quite simply exquisite books. Just need to turn that into 12000 words and I'll have a dissertation!