Newsletter London for fun

Welcome to the London For Fun regular newsletter keeping you up to date with what's new in London`s events.

LONDON FOR FUN Newsletter: 16 June 2009 Issue No.174

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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 - Richard Grayson - The Golden Space City of God - This is a large-scale video installation with sound featuring a new choral work performed by a 26-piece choir. Within the gallery, theatre drapes and plastic stacking chairs give the impression of a space linked to community expression and exchange – a church or community hall – that speaks of the formation of group identities and ideas of improvement and aspiration. The Golden Space City of God score was composed by Leo Chadburn based on a libretto by the artist – which appears as subtitles in the video work – abstracted from a website associated with The Family, a community that developed from the 1960s cult Children of God. It is based upon texts that give a detailed prediction of events leading up to the end of the world, drawn from the Book of Revelation and re-imagined through the languages and imagery of science fiction. Until 28 June. www.mattsgallery.org LAST CHANCE

2 - Raqib Shaw: Absence of God - Set against a backdrop of classical ruins, the paintings in the ‘Absence of God’ series are framed within architectural spaces inspired by the Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s depiction of ancient Rome. The densely composed scenes are populated by anthropomorphous creatures, as well as deep blue, Krishna-like figures engaged in fraught, sexual combat. Winged warriors simultaneously perform acts of bondage, flagellation and ritual disembowelment while showers of screaming hominid faces explode mid-air and regal monkeys survey, from under their parasols, a mutant striving to catch flocks of glittering butterflies with its broken net. Until 4 July. www.whitecube.com

3 - David Claerbout - Since the mid 1990s, David Claerbout has made extraordinary video installations, often combining moving and still images to unsettle the delineation between past and present. Impacting subtle philosophical reflections, his works are strikingly sensual, using every constitutive element available - pixel constellations, image sequences, speed, speech, music and ambient sound, installation environment and the technologies used to convey these - to elicit new modes of perceptual absorption. Until 1 August. www.hauserwirth.com

4 - Summer Exhibition 2009 - Now in its 241st year, the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition 2009 continues the tradition of displaying a wide range of new work by both established and unknown artists in all media including painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and architecture. Until 16 August. www.royalacademy.org.uk

5 - Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur - A rare chance to see paintings in the royal collection of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur. The exhibition features a loan of 56 paintings from India, none of which have been displayed before in Europe. It is a fantastic opportunity to experience the unique art tradition that flourished in the royal courts between the 17th and 19th centuries. Until 23 August. www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

6 - Body Worlds & The Mirror of Time - BODY WORLDS & The Mirror of Time will feature a special presentation on the human life cycle and ageing. Visitors will witness the body living through time - at its most radiant, and as it changes, grows, matures, peaks, and finally wanes. The exhibition shows the complexity, resilience, and vulnerability of the human body through anatomical studies of the body in distress, disease and optimal health. The exhibition includes human and animal specimens to be seen in London for the first time. The plastinates show the form, beauty, function, and potential of the human and animal body. Until 23 August. Buy tickets

7 - Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular - (Family entertainment) - After 65 million years they're back! After years of planning, the award-winning BBC TV series, Walking with Dinosaurs comes to life in a stunning theatrical event. Internationally renowned designers have worked with scientists to create 15 life-size dinosaurs, including the terror of the ancient terrain, Tyrannosaurus-Rex! Be amazed and thrilled as the greatest creatures ever to walk the earth return before your eyes. It's a dazzling 10 million pound arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality set to captivate young and old alike. Marvel at the story of their 200 million year domination of life on earth. Watch them walk. Hear the roar. Be there as they fight for survival and supremacy. From the ripple of their skin to the glint in their eye, you will know the dinosaurs really have returned! So make sure you have your seat to see the return of the dinosaurs! From 5 August until 31 August at the O2 and Wembley Arena. Buy tickets

8 - Jeff Koons: Popeye Series - The Popeye Series incorporates ideas that are central to the artist’s work, including surreal combinations of everyday objects, art historical references and children’s toys. The paintings in the Popeye Series combine disparate found images with images of the inflatables and readymades used in the sculptures, while the sculptures themselves continue Koons’s interest in juxtaposing cast aluminium exact replicas of inflatable pool toys with other readymade objects. From 2 July until 13 September. www.serpentinegallery.org

9 - Futurism - This exhibition will be the first large-scale showing of Futurism in Britain in thirty years. The movement set out to modernise Italian art and social attitudes and its influence spread across Europe and beyond, revolutionising the response to the dynamism of modern life. Its master of ceremonies was the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and this exhibition celebrates the centenary of his publication of The Founding and First Manifesto of Futurism in 1909. A core group of artists – Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla and Gino Severini – pledged its enthusiastic adherence to Futurism and abandoned the art and culture from the past. The Futurists embraced a celebration of modern technology, speed, and city life and they often painted urban and industrial scenes. The fascination and experience of cars, trams and airplanes is frequently represented in their subject matter together with the use of bold and strident colours on the canvas. Until 20 September. www.tate.org.uk/modern

10 - Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed - Beatles to Bowie explores the leading pop music personalities who helped create ‘Swinging London' in the 1960s. Bringing together 150 photographs, together with a range of memorabilia, the exhibition evocatively illustrates how image, music, fashion and performance combined to make these musicians the leading icons of their time and London the world's most important cultural capital. From 15 October 2009 until 24 January 2010. www.npg.org.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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