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LONDON FOR FUN Newsletter: 15 January 2008 Issue No.139

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http://www.londonforfun.com
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1.) Top 10 London events
2.) Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries
3.) How to unsubscribe

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1. Top 10 London events
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1 - Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now - This is a major exhibition focusing on representations of sex from diverse eras and cultures. Provocative and ambitious, it includes around 250 works, spanning over 2000 years, including Roman marbles, Indian manuscripts, Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures, Chinese paintings and prints, Japanese woodcuts, 19th century photographs and contemporary video. Drawn from important public and private collections from around the world, some of the works have never been seen in public, others rarely shown and many have never been exhibited in the UK. Until January 27.
www.barbican.org.uk

2 - Peter Hujar - This is the first UK retrospective for Peter Hujar, one of the most important American photographers of the 70s and early 80s, whose work shows the life of New York at a time when the city was financially impoverished but artistically rich. Hujar, who died in 1987, is most associated with his black-and-white portraits of the city's avant-garde stars, but his subjects also include nudes, animals and the streets of night-time Manhattan. The exhibition also includes photographs of New York itself, including haunting images of the abandoned streets of Downtown Manhattan at night. Finally, there are striking images of animals, using the same square format film and the same singular approach that Hujar brought to his human subjects. Until January 27.
www.ica.org.uk

3 - Hockney on Turner Watercolours - Dazzling, evocative and sublime, this exhibition provides a rare opportunity to see some of JMW Turner's most spectacular works. Usually outnumbered by his grand oil paintings, around 150 of Turner’s beautiful watercolours are displayed, giving a comprehensive view of the artist’s astonishing use of watercolour, his techniques and his influences. At the heart of the exhibition another seminal British artist, David Hockney, presents his own selection of Turner's unique colour studies or 'beginnings' and also provides commentary on the artist's techniques. The exhibition tracks Turner's watercolour work through time. From architecture to topography, ideal and historic landscape to nature studies, and finished works to private sketches, the selection reveals Turner's extraordinary range as a watercolourist. At the same time, it shows the development of the virtuoso techniques that enabled him first to paint watercolours that could compete with oil paintings, and later to transform all aspects of his art by their example. Until 3 February 2008.
www.tate.org.uk

4 - Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft - A joint V&A and Crafts Council exhibition, Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft features eight artists who place meticulous craftsmanship at the heart of their work. The artists take inspiration from the everyday, transforming their subjects using traditional techniques in unexpected ways. Works on display include a scattering of life-like weeds and plants 'growing' around the gallery, all skilfully hand-carved from wood; an apparently paint-splattered table which has been inlaid with mother of pearl; and a seven metre high crimson cascade made using traditional Chinese paper-cutting methods. All the artists use traditional craft skills, including embroidery, wood carving, lace-making and marquetry - playing with extremes of scale or re-working precious, ephemeral or everyday materials such as diamonds, dust and nails to create new and striking effects. Until 17 February 2008.
www.vam.ac.uk

5 - Jean Prouvé - The radical, functional and inspiring work of the French designer and engineer Jean Prouvé (1901 –1984) will be shown in this first comprehensive overview of his work in the UK. With examples of his unique furniture design, architecture, drawings, film and photographs, the exhibition will present the enormous influence of Prouvé within the history of 20th Century design. Until 25 March.
www.designmuseum.org

6 - Henry Moore Exhibition - Moore at Kew is a landmark exhibition of monumental works by the internationally acclaimed sculptor Henry Moore. Twenty-eight outdoor sculptures are now sited within Kew's unique World Heritage landscape, making this the first exhibition of its kind ever to be held in London. Here at Kew all of Moore’s major themes are present: reclining figures, mother and child, organic forms, internal/external forms, interlocking forms and figure as landscape. Moore at Kew provides a unique opportunity to witness how the changing light, weather and surrounding foliage affect sculpture throughout the seasons. It also enables us to be inspired by the combined beauty of both. Until March 30.
www.kew.org

7 - Born 1947 - Camera Press at 60 - The UK's largest independent photographic agency celebrates sixty years with the unveiling of newly commissioned portraits by leading photographers of famous personalities all born in 1947 - including Sir Salman Rushdie by Bryan Adams; Ronnie Wood by Sean Cook; and Tessa Jowell by Lord Snowdon. This display marks the sixtieth anniversary of independent photographic agency, Camera Press, founded by Tom Blau in 1947. In addition to presenting to the public for the first time a group of newly commissioned portraits of notable Britons celebrating sixty this year, Born 1947 - Camera Press at 60 will also include a selection of photographs by Tom Blau of subjects from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s such as Daphne Du Maurier, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Until April.
www.npg.org.uk

8 - The Landscape Oil Sketch - Most landscape oil sketches from the 18th and early 19th centuries were never intended for exhibition - sketching out of doors was used primarily as a training for the hand and the eye. Often sketches remained overlooked, staying in artists’ families rather than being offered for sale. Only a few collectors recognised the quality of pieces in this tradition. It is these collections which are celebrated in this exhibition. Degas owned studies by Corot and Théodore Rousseau - the National Gallery purchased these pictures at the sale of his collection in 1918. They now form the core of a small but distinguished group of works, which was augmented in 1999 by the long-term loan of the Gere Collection. Until 6 April.
www.nationalgallery.org.uk

9 - Alexander Rodchenko - Revolution in Photography - Featuring approximately 120 original prints and photomontages, this exhibition traces the development of Rodchenko's photography over a period of two decades when he created many classic works of Russian and world photography. Pioneering a new vocabulary of bold and unusual camera positions, severe foreshortenings of perspective, and close-up views of surprising details, Rodchenko's photography balanced formal concerns with an interest in the social and political life of the Soviet Union. From 7 February until 27 April.
www.hayward.org.uk

10 - Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 - This is the most prestigious, innovative photographic competition of its kind and an international leader in the artistic representation of the natural world. The exhibition showcases the very best photographic images of nature to a worldwide audience, giving visitors an insight into the beauty, drama and variety of the natural world. The winning images are displayed in a stunning exhibition launched at the Natural History Museum, and then toured around the UK and the world. Through an interactive installation, visitors to the Natural History Museum can find out what the judges, scientists and the photographers themselves thought about particular images. In addition, visitors can vote for their favourite image and choose from a selection of prints to have in their own home. Until Sunday 27 April 2008.
www.nhm.ac.uk

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2. Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries

Events listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/events-in-London.htm

Theatre listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-theatres.htm

Museum listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-museums.htm

Galleries listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/galleries-in-London.htm

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