open Democracy News Analysis - arts & cultures - Comments

Ivor Cornish on "Banksy in Bristol"

Ivor Cornish — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:07:49 +0100

@ Wyrdtimes

' And then he goes and donates to the authoritarian Labour party who have done more to move England towards a police state than any other organisation in our history.

He might be a talented artist but he is no friend of liberty. '

I had not heard of his donation but if you are correct I think it was a mistake.
Donating to party which has eroded our liberties and followed pretty much Tory policies during their time in office is either naive or mis-placed loyalty. I doubt whether he actually endorses many of their policies.

Having just come back from the exhibition I came away with the sense that the exhibits which have a political or social message are diametrically opposed to the policies of both of these parties.

A great exhibition which I highly recommend.

Wyrdtimes on "Banksy in Bristol"

Wyrdtimes — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:04:27 +0100

...a triumph of dissenting liberality over authoritarianism.

And then he goes and donates to the authoritarian Labour party who have done more to move England towards a police state than any other organisationin our history.

He might be a talented artist but he is no friend of liberty.

britologywatch on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

britologywatch — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:14:34 +0100

"England too - for, yes, this must also be an English parliament". At this point, I issue the noise of breathing in while forming the sound 'f' with my lips, signifying that the author has just started to build his new parliamentary edifice on very shaky foundations, which might lead it to collapse in much the same way as Westminster itself!

What, err, brand-spanking new, inspirational UK parliament that doubles up as an English parliament, as an afterthought? I don't think so! This is a good suggestion in itself; but the most logical function the new building could serve would be as the parliament for a new kind of UK itself: a federal parliament dealing with reserved UK-wide government, while the Westminster parliament could be kept (and, yes, radically modernised, in spite of the Prince of Wales' inevitable objections) as the English Parliament that it historically was. That overcomes much of David Hume's objection that you'd have to move the government departments to the new UK capital, because the majority could remain in London - the English capital - as they would be England-only departments (as they already are in all but name). This solution would also allow Cornwall to have its own national / regional parliament to deal with its own devolved matters, if that's what the majority of Cornish people wanted.

My vote goes to Liverpool: about equidistant from all the national capitals and with close cultural connections to all the UK's nations; and a city that is on the rise and in need of further regeneration.

Gisela Stuart on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

Gisela Stuart — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:36:58 +0100

All very good ideas... have we not forgotten something. If Parliament's role is to hold the exectutive to account - then sending MPs away from where the executive is won't solve the problem.
As a mere Member of Parliament.... may I suggest that we need to remind ourselves of what our basic function is; and the fundamental problem is Parliment has lost confidence in itself - the executive has too much power!

David Hume on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

David Hume — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:16:36 +0100

I can see a few logistical problems with this proposal. The MOD, The Foreign Office, The Treasury and a host of other government departments are all located in London. Are you proposing that you re-locate these departments and there tens of thousands of civil servants to the new capital? If not, government ministers are going to have to do an awful lot of travelling between London and the new capital. Perhaps they will need a third home!

Personally I think London is the best place for the capital. It is easy to get to from anywhere in the UK, or anywhere in the world for that matter. I live 20 miles from Edinburgh and, if I time it right, I can get to the centre of London within 3 hours from my home. It's doubtful if I could get to any East Midlands or even Northern cities in that time, despite all the talk of high speed rail links.

Anthony Barnett on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

Anthony Barnett — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:38:11 +0100

I was at a citizens jury organised by Demos on MPs expenses last week. One of the issues put to them was about second homes and London accommodation. By a large majority the groups thought that MPs should be housed in rented accommodation. At the table I was at one man suggested housing them in the Olympic village. The idea turned up in Private Eye as well. As the new stadium is not getting any takers, it could be dismantled and a new parliament built in its place, thus turning the whole Olympic site into a democracy legacy! Should I suggest the idea to Tessa Jowell?

Jeremy Gilbert on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

Jeremy Gilbert — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:41:19 +0100

An excellent suggestion, which raises a host of crucial issues. The affective, aesthetic dimensions of politics aren't merely cosmetic or incidental to its workings, but fundamental, as this piece reminds us. Can we really imagine a 21st century democracy functioning effectively within that neo-gothic framework? No - and this maybe draws attention to the fact that a revived democracy might require not just a set of institutions and campaigns, but all of the artistic, aesthetic, yet wholly material elements of a new 'structure of feeling'.

The Cornish Democrat on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

The Cornish Democrat — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:26:09 +0100

And what of Cornwall and regions of England that don't get a new Parliament?

What we need is radical devolution following regions decided by the people themselves not Westminster government zones or second capitals equally distant from the people.

The Cornish Democrat

unattach on "A new politics? Move out of Westminster..."

unattach — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:33:13 +0100

So David Hayes wants the new Parliament to be built in the east Midlands? I think not - Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Lincoln are doing perfectly well for themselves.

With the new Midland Mainline extension due to go through the city in the next few years, why not build the new Parliament in the geographic centre of both modern Britain and God's Own County: yes, Bradford would not only welcome the investment, but would allow all MPs to cut down on their travel costs, and cut expenses thanks to the dirt-cheap cost of living in the city. Not to mention easy access to openDemocracy's finest, Professor Paul Rogers.

rg616 on "“South African Photographs”, David Goldblatt"

rg616 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:53:15 +0100

Agreed; you could only understand these images if you understand the culture, context and time they were taken in. I think images in magazines like national geographic completely hide the truth of the africa and disguise it in this rural anchient bushman culture, simply to feed the ego s of the western middle class so that they believe they are still be the most superior. Goldblatt is not cruel, he is truthfull.

George Washington on "Los Desaparecidos: rescuing real lives"

George Washington — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:17:00 +0100

I hate this stuff.

ege on "Guernica"

ege — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:35:29 +0100

nice info needs the date of when guernica was made but other than that really cool :)

michaelcalder on "Entropa: art of politics, heart of a nation "

michaelcalder — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:01:09 +0000

As one living in Britain (thankfully, no longer in England - I've moved to Cornwall), I can only say that if the artist depicted it in the way described - " detached Britain is....a blank space." - then he's a mere beginner, and lets his targets off very lightly.

Clear skies!

Ivo Ivanov on "Entropa: art of politics, heart of a nation "

Ivo Ivanov — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:28:09 +0000

First of all, if it wasn't for the ottomans, Europe would still use only perfume and no soap. Even still many of my colleagues don't wash there hands after visiting the toilet.
Second of all, my flat is at ground zero, and I live on the 3th floor. In case of a flood the only thing sticking out of the water would not be a minaret, but the church tower with the bell that wakes me up every Sunday at 9:30.
To compare Cerny and Aleko is ridiculous. While the latter was a real artist and achieved with his Bay Ganyo the same what Hasek did with his Svejk, the former is (at least to me) a pseudo artist who thinks he can do anything, like offending the whole EU - the different countries in a lesser or a greater degree, and give it a name art and be forgiven. Cerny likes to be the king's joker, but he is only one big joke.
Dessy, I agree with you that we need the art in Bulgaria to ring the bell and to wake the sleeping nation, or rather to say to lead the nation to something better. But Partsalev is long gone, and Slabakov just had enough and is now growing corn. And I just don't see who else can take their place. Although my hope lives on.
The place for this kind of "art" was not right, the time wasn't right either. The simple fact even that Cerny lied about who the involved artists were makes it even less valuable.

And people, please don't take Ataka party seriously. They are just a bunch of nationalists. What else one could expect from them.

The Hague
The Netherlands

DKML on "Jungle dumb: Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto"

DKML — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:28:16 +0000

Regardless of the symbolism of the film, which incidentially I thought was quite good, I don't get how any one in their right mind can infer anything about European imperialism in this film since the version I saw did not have any interaction with Europeans in it other than the Spanish rowing their boat towards the natives. Also, I don't think the portrayal of the Maya was some how demeaning. Yes, artistic license was taken with the facts but by and large Gibson portrayed them as real people with real dilemmas. I am very educated liberal and frankly I think that this sentimental emmotionally motivated analysis has no or little place in the public dialouge. If Kanishk Tharoor wants to bitch about real problems there are plenty to go around.