so what sort of culture vulture are you?

[roosmum]

ok calling you culture vultures...what really does it for you culture-wise??
following on from the portrait-painting thread, just wondering about people's tastes - there was quite a range on there
so, are you renaissance, romantic, avant-garde??
what's your fave piece of music (tough to say, i know!), novel? etc etc...go on, oblige me!

wot no culture vultures on here tonight??

favourite painters - too many to say. All the greats and a fair few of the lesser knowns as well.
favourite novel - definitely something nineteenth century from Russia
favourite music - Abba without a doubt.

you can see Im artistic not musical.

For me I suppose it depends somewhat on my mood.

A few painters I enjoy: Magritte, Tamara De Lempika, Klimpt. Monet, Kandinsky, Miro.

Theatre: I love plays, am not really into musicals (though have seen loads) I enjoy plays by a few favesw ould be things like: The Libertine by Steven Jeffries (its just been made into a film with Jonny Depp which I haven't seen yet.) Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill, Mojo by Jex Butterworth, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. The one musical I do love is Blood Brothers becasue Willy Russell's writing is so good.

Music: I'm a bit of a punk chick with mellow undertones. I love bands like: The Pixies, The Clash, The Jam, The Specials but also I love listening to Ben Folds/ Ben Folds Five, Norah Jones, Harry Connick and Squirrel Nut Zippers. So I guess you could say ecelectic.

Novels, I love good writing. Some favourites would be The His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pulman, The Time Travellers Wife, Astas book / King Solomons Carpet by Barbara Vine (I hate her as Ruth Rendell though) The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll, I also enjoy David Mitchell, Carl Hiaasen, Paul Coelho, Iain Banks and Mervyn Peake.

I'll stop waffling now.....

I like all kinds of things, so long as they're clever interesting and unexpected. But: I don't know whether it's because I'm a prude or because I want to share things with ds & dd, but I cannot be doing with stuff whose hook is shock. Pah.

So, can't wait to see the James Turrell installations at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, think he's a genius and a craftsman (second as important as the first).

Something else I loved was a tango-inspired bit of contemporary music by a chap called Osvaldo Gollijov which was violinists & cellists standing up & duelling their playing at each other.

I'll go for anything, really, so long as it's got heart. True Vulture.

Binkie... tell me more about James Turrell... we live near YSP.

In response to the initial question, I love everything medieval, which I am lucky enough to focus on in my job too. I am obsessed with language, so love poetry and any sort of writing that uses language in a way that makes you go 'ooh' (iykwim).

Oh you lucky thing in Yorkshire (you have made me break my vow not to be on MN today).

James Turrell info here . It might sound a bit airy fairy, but it isn't. He makes environments to experience - everything from small rooms to the entire interior of an extinct volcano - which just do things to you that you could not expect and cannot at first see how they are done - someone in the Sunday Times was struggling to describe and finally said all he could use was "sublime". As a very simple example, a few years ago he had an installation at one of the London galleries: you went into a very softly lit room (maybe purplish light, can't remember) and at one end there was a pale glowing canvas on the wall. Just that. Except as you went towards the canvas it receded and receded and suddenly you realised that what you thought was a surface was in fact an emptiness - it was a void, not a canvas - and it was so beautifully constructed that when you looked into the void you could not see walls or sides behind it - it went on being endless. It sounds so simple, but the combination of the craftsmanship and the hmm sense of space upon space I think is magic. (And so do children.)

And I have just seen (from the link) he is a Quaker. If I could approve more!

Binkie,

I'm so sorry, please don't be offended but I have to ask. What does your name mean? Its just that where I am from and certainly among our whole family Binkie is a word for your breasts, they were your binkies. I keep laughing at the thaught of it whenever I see you post. Wondered why you chose it and if you knew it meant that.

Hey, an excuse to change it.
I picked it because when I joined there was a discussion about lost toys, & there's a book called Little Boy Lost with a lost toy in it called Binkie.
Commoner meaning seems to be a dummy, as in pacifier.
Quite happy to be source of a giggle!

I think the dummy pacifier one comes from this meaning. In the states it means nipple which has also spread to pacifier or comforter.

it certainly gave me a giggle

Thanks for that Binkie. I realise that I could have just googled him, but you sounded so passionate about his work that I wanted to hear what you had to say. Will definitely take the girls down there and have a look.

Couldn't say re painting, but I'm, defo a post-1850 girl (modern, that is, I love Radiohead, from their so-called 'difficult' period, seminal works. Currently listening to Hans applequist? (I've spelt that wrong) Sigur Ros anyone?

Like a lot of film. Currently watching a lot of Russian films, stuff from Tarkovsky, Sokurov and Kilmov, etc. Am studying them for a presentation next week.

TV stuff of Chris Morris, Rickey gervais, Peep Show, all very deviant comedy.

Just been to three emperors exhibition at Royal Academy-fantastic and by myself with out the babes with a borrowed pass!

Anybody else been?!

Anybody?!!!!!!!!

I'm definitely interested in seeing the show - and am even a member of the Royal Academy - but realistically, it's not likely to happen until after Christmas. Do you know how long the show runs for?

Until 17th April 2006-so you have no excuses!