The Spring Post

"How I learned to look and listen"

Excellent and fascinating article by Jonathan Jones this week, in which he describes the "end of the art criticism" by the expert. As recently as 2006 he was, he says, writing with "an aggressive, cocksure, dismissive voice, determined to prove that my opinion was worth more than my readers" ... but "criticism in the age of social media has to be much more playful and giving"

Now he writes an almost daily blog for the Guardian (see my previous post). It is excellent, by the way. I have huge respect for Jones, I think he is one of the best around, and his change of attitude proves it. He says that his views are flexible because he writes frequently, and the format is informal. His writing and the discussions (which once even reached 500 responses to one post) comprise the text together.

Jonathan Jones blog

Anyone interested in art and ideas might like Jones' daily blog on the Guardian website. He says that the comments are just as much part of the text as his blog. Very cool.

www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog

Ted x Observer Dovecot Studios 2012

Alan Davie tapestry


















Today at Dovecot, Edinburgh for the annual Ted x event.
Many excellent speakers speaking about their inspiring work with, particularly, under-privileged young people around the world. Speakers included crime officers (Karen McCluskey from Strathclyde police, famous for her work with gang culture), musicians (Rosemary Malden who works in Soweto with young musicians, and Plan B, AKA Ben Drew, who is passionately advocating understanding for deprived young people in UK and beyond.) Further speakers included surgeons working with facial disfigurement and Daniel Kish, who uses vibrations to help blind people navigate. And there were many others.

Grangemouth refinery weaving