Who poses a bigger threat to society?

Catching up on the news from my 2nd hometown of London, I feel compelled to go off on a rant. It appears that the people threatening the sacred values of Armistice Day are not the 300,000 citizens demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, but rather those representatives of the Far Right who have descended on the city heading to the Cenotaph shouting 'England 'til I die' (whatever that means in their little EDL heads). Emboldened by the inflammatory claims made by the Home Secretary earlier this week, where she effectively questioned the MET police's choice to allow the march to go ahead accusing them of playing favourites with pro-Palestine supporters, these yobs are the ones clashing with law enforcement and wreaking havoc.

Just as a reminder, said Home Secretary is facing legal action for forcing through a new anti-protest legislation that has been labelled "unlawful" by human rights campaigners. In recent days, Tory politicians and client journalists have been going out of their way to condemn those standing up for peace, accusing them of disrespectfully highjacking Armistice day. The last time I checked, that is the day that commemorates the agreement that led to the end of WWI.

Make no mistake, the greatest threat to British society is the current Tory Government.

F*ck you Sue-Ellen Braverman (yes, your parents named you after a trashy TV show character), you hate-inciting, hatred-spewing, dog-whistling, vile piece of sh*t. F*CK.YOU.

#peace #ceasefirenow #henricartierbresson #photography #blackandwhite #fuckthetories #blog #beyondthecanvasblog

Henri Cartier-Bresson

"Peace demonstration", 1945

© Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos

Maestras at National Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

It was 1976 when the first international exhibition by female artists took place. Curated by Ann Sutherland Harris and Linda Nochlin of "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" fame, 'Women Artists: 1550-1950' featured works by 83 artists from 12 countries and toured 3 major American museums.

Forty-seven years later, along comes the Thyssen in Madrid claiming their show is addressing the historical erasure of female artists from art history and that it's a 'culmination of feminist conscience'. Oh really? And, of course, it's a group exhibition because, hey, they are all women after all. Maestras sees almost 100 mostly very good works (some, like the Valadon, are truly exceptional) bundled up in genres, historical periods and themes because why on earth would you provide proper individual context.

I really wanted to like this show, but it fails to hit the mark perpetuating old clichés. For example, in the New Portrayals of Motherhood room all we see are images of mothers tenderly caring for their babies or small children. How's that supposed to create a counternarrative to the meek and passive angel of the house?

I take issue with all-women-artists exhibitions as they do nothing to challenge the canon and increase the artists' ghettoisation (?) leaving them stuck in an eternal sub-category. And, of course, Pollock is right when she claims that this merely archival approach needs to be supported by socio-historical contextualization. In short, do better.

#femaleartists #thyssenbornemitsza #maestras #madrid #artblog #beyondthecanvasblog

Palestinian artists: Laila Shawa (1940 - 2022)

Born to a wealthy Gaza family, Laila Shawa studied art in Cairo and in Rome. In the early 1960s, she traveled to Salzburg to study with the Austrian expressionist Oskar Kokoschka.

The written language frequently features in her work, as seen in her 'Walls of Gaza' series, to which this image belongs. This series focuses on the messages of hope and defiance that ordinary Gazans had spray-painted on the walls of their city.

As reported by Save the Children, and as confirmed by the Ministries of Health in Gaza and Israel, since October 7, more than 3,257 children have been reported killed, including at least 3195 in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank, and 29 in Israel. The number of children reported killed in just three weeks in Gaza is more than the number killed in armed conflict globally – across more than 20 countries – over the course of a whole year, for the last three years.

#lailashawa #palestinianartist #palestine #gaza #ceasefirenow #savethechildren #blog #artblog #beyondthecanvasblog

Target, 2008

© Laila Shawa