Analysis & Investigation

The study of a work of art can be used as a method of understanding the historical period in which it was created. Not only can a painting be appreciated for its beauty or its message, but if we know the date of its creation, for whom it was created and why it was created, then we learn something about the politics and society behind its inception. For example we can learn much about the court of King Henry VIII of England by studying the paintings of Hans Holbein the Younger.

Goshka Macuga turns this process completely around, where a piece of artwork on display is actually formed by items associated with a historical period. For example a museum display cabinet containing items from the 1930’s is in itself a piece of artwork in an exhibition. The separate items in the cabinet are equivalent to the different colours and tones in a painting.

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A painting of Barack Obama on his presidential campaign will catch your eye, if you walk past The Air Gallery at 32 Dover Street, London at the moment. One of the jobs of art has always been to make a comment on current affairs and politics, which this painting does well. The painting is optimistic and draws a line between now and the previous eight years of world history.

The painting of Barack Obama is by the artist Peter Goodfellow and is part of an exhibition of his work, which runs until 16th May 2009. Other paintings in the exhibition concentrate on the themes of ‘3 Passions: Bull Fighting, Landscapes, Football’. Peter Goodfellow has come down from Scotland personally, to organize this exhibion and welcome visitors to it.

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When the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, visited the United States in March of this year and addressed Congress, he said: “And you are also restructuring your banks. So are we. But how much safer would everybody’s savings be if the whole world finally came together to outlaw shadow banking systems and offshore tax havens?”

These words were a passing recognition of the role that offshore financial centers have played in the present global economic crisis. Up until now it has been too easy for wealthy companies and individuals to take millions of pounds, dollars, euros or any other currency made in one country and deposit them without any questions being asked in a tax haven where there is little scrutiny or regulation.

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Jacob Rigg a man who claims to have been a speech writer for President Barack Obama of the United States, was unable to disprove allegations made by Katie Connelly on the blog of Newsweek, an American current affairs magazine.

Katie Connelly wrote in a blog, published on Monday, March 16th, 2009, that Rigg is: “a tax lobbyist who, according to the London Telegraph helped Favs [Jon Favreau, Obama’s speech writer] dish up some of the most memorable political lines of the last campaign from a flat in London’s trendy Notting Hill. Unlike Favs, it seems Riggs totally makes things up. Obama’s team has never heard of him.”

If Rigg did not work with Barack Obama’s campaign team and did not help write Obama’s speeches, then Rigg has duped quite a few people on the British side of the Atlantic including journalists and members of the Liberal Democratic Party.

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Recently the singer Lily Allen released her album ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’, written by herself and Greg Kurstin. The lyrics of the 12 songs on the album have been written and are sung by Lily Allen, based on her own experiences and opinions of life.

Barely a day goes by without some piece of gossip about Lily Allen appearing in a tabloid newspaper, magazine, or on the internet. For that reason it is often difficult for the reviewer to ascertain what is fact or fiction concerning the events of the recording artist’s life, but after reading many sources I have gleaned the following biographical information.

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‘The Shock Doctrine’ is about how the ideology of total free market capitalism was put into practice around the world. This book is a reappraisal of the last 40 years of history, and tells the story of how violent means were often used to impose economic reforms on the people of many countries. New harsh economic conditions: removing workers’ rights; deregulating big business; and privatising state industries, were forced on the populations of Chile and Argentina during the 1970’s. Similar economic reforms have also been inflicted on other countries after natural disasters, when big business takes the opportunity to impose its will on a society when the population is least able to resist.

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‘Blowing the Whistle’ by Paul van Buitenen is a personal account of a whistle blower who discovered a culture of corruption at the heart of the European Commission. Although the subjects of this book are fraud and mismanagement within one of the institutions of the European Union, these types of problems are not unique to the European Commission. They occur in many other organizations both in the public and private sectors.

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The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth is unique because it was built both as a home and an art gallery, by its founders Sir Merton and Lady Annie Russell-Cotes. Construction on this beautiful villa which overlooks Bournemouth beach, was begun in 1898 and completed in 1900 and is said to be the last Victorian building built in Bournemouth. Then known as East Cliff Hall, it was designed by the architect John Frederick Fogerty. Sir Merton Russell-Cotes specified that the building should be a combination of Renaissance with Italian and old Scottish baronial styles.

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This article has been written by somebody who has neither visited Detroit nor the United States of America, but who appreciates the role that Detroit has played in the industrial history of the world. For someone living in Europe, Detroit will always be synonymous with Henry Ford and the Ford Model T - the world’s first mass produced motor-car - manufacturer at Ford’s Dearborn plant from 1908 to 1927. It has been estimated that 15 million Model Ts were produced over 19 years, making the Tin Lizzie as she was often referred to in the United States, not only the subject of mass production but also mass consumption.

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On 26th September 2008 a woman for the first time in 19 years, returned to her childhood village of Salomé not far from the city of Lille in northern France. Her name is Ida Beaussart and the circumstances of her life in a house in the village, became the subject of a film called Pleure en Silence (Cry in Silence).

Jean-Claude Beaussart was a violent neo-nazi, who had been convicted and served eight months in prison, for inciting racial hatred in relation to the murder of a Tunisian in 1984. Pleure en Silence, focuses on the last eight days of Jean-Claude Beaussart’s life in July 1989, as the physical attacks he inflicted on his family became more violent. Ida was then 17 years old, and had sustained abuse from her father for years, but it reached the point where she could take no more. Her own survival and that of her mother and siblings were in danger because of her father’s behaviour. It was at this point in July 1989, that Ida took her father’s pistol and shot him dead while he was asleep.

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