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Dürer and Holbein have long been recognised as great German Renaissance masters, but it has taken five hundred years for the British to recognise the importance of Lucas Cranach. Despite Prince Albert’s enthusiasm, he was surprisingly little known in Britain in the nineteenth century and Friëdlander’s 1932 German monograph on the artist was not translated into English until 1978. It was only two years ago, in 2007, that the first British exhibition of his work was held at The Courtauld Gallery, and not until last year that the Royal Academy hosted the first monographic exhibition in this country to give any sense of the range of his work. Despite this general neglect of Cranach by the artistic establishment in Britain, Cranach is a great favourite among contemporary artists and was a notable inspiration for Picasso and the German Expressionists. Konrad Bernheimer, one of the sponsors of last year’s Royal Academy exhibition, has long championed his work. During Master Paintings Week (4th – 10th July) Colnaghi will be commemorating Colnaghi-Bernheimer’s association with Cranach’s work, by the publication of a catalogue which surveys some of the masterpieces handled by the firm in the last fifteen years and by showcasing two of the finest examples of Cranach’s works on the open market: David & Bathsheba and The Virgin of the Grapes with the Standing Christ Child. The “artist-in-focus” exhibition will also include one of Cranach’s early woodcuts, some prints by Picasso which were directly influenced by Cranach, and a rare photograph of the interior of Picasso’s studio showing a Cranach composition in the background. Jeremy Howard, Head of Research at Colnaghi, will give a lunchtime gallery talk on Cranach and how his style has influenced some of the Modern masters followed by a tour of some of the master paintings on view in the gallery. This gallery talk will start at 13:00 on Monday 6th July at Colnaghi, 15 Old Bond Street, London W1. An illustrated catalogue by Jeremy Howard will be available, which surveys eight important paintings sold by Colnaghi-Bernheimer and two currently for sale, as well as examining changing critical attitudes to Cranach and his influence on later masters such as Picasso, Kirchner and John Currin.
 David and Bathsheba Lucas Cranach, 1534 Konrad O. Bernheimer said: ‘Cranach has long fascinated me, but during the last 15 years, when I have been privileged to handle some really great paintings by this master and his workshop, he has remained, in my view, perhaps the most underrated of the great early German painters, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon world. As a dealer who has handled some of the best Cranachs to have come to market in recent years, I am proud to have played some part in that process of revaluation, both through supporting with my business Katrin Bellinger last year’s major Anglo-German collaboration between Städel Museum, Frankfurt and the Royal Academy, and through communicating my enthusiasm to clients. ‘
Cranach: Artist in Focus will be on display to coincide with the augural event – Master Paintings Week, held in London 4th – 10th July. Twenty-three of London’s top dealers join forces with Sotheby’s and Christie’s to stage a week of special exhibitions, events and lectures in their gallery in Mayfair and St. James’s. All galleries are open Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July, 10am – 5pm, and Monday 6 to Friday 10 July, 10am – 6pm.
www.masterpaintingsweek.co.uk
Set to be headlined by Basement Jaxx and Kanye West, the two-day event will be held in Hyde Park, which is within easy reach of the wide array of London Hotels.
Due to take place on Saturday July 4th and Sunday July 5th, the festival will also see performances by the Streets, Dizzee Rascal and Sneaky Sound System on the first day of the festival.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s line-up will feature the Noisettes, Lady Sovereign, Q-Tip, Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz.
Commenting on the show, Basement Jaxx said: “It’s going to be a mad summer for us, playing in all four corners of the world, but we are really looking forward to coming back to the very heart of London and playing at Wireless.”
Meanwhile, the organisers suggest that Kanye’s performance is likely to be one of the best that Hyde Park has ever seen – and, with hits including Through The Wire, Stronger, Diamonds From Sierra Leone and Gold Digger, they might be right.
Tickets for the event cost 45GBP for a day ticket and 80GBP for a weekend pass. A range of VIP packages are also available.
Coming off an incredible showing at this year’s SXSW including a headlining performance at Stubb’s, an over-capacity crowd at DirecTV’s “SXSW Live,” and a legendary taping of Austin City Limits, BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 proudly announce the release of their debut record, White Lies For Dark Times on 27th April on Virgin Records. The album will be available as CD, deluxe CD with bonus DVD, digital download and 180-gram 2xLP. Rolling Stone calls the new album “an 11-song set soaked with hard rock and Delta Blues.”
 Ben Harper and Relentless7 Ben Harper and Relentless7’s energetic live performance is the heart of the band. In December 2008, the band embarked on a highly successful short club tour with a handful of dates in California and New York. “The band’s combined force was almost too big for the room,” RollingStone.com said of the band’s intimate performance at Spaceland in Los Angeles.
The sweaty, gritty and energetic vibe of the clubs proved to be an incredible match for the band’s new hard-hitting sound, and they are pleased to announce their return to the road on a larger club tour which includes UK dates. “We thought, this is a new band, a new opportunity, a new energy. Let’s earn it the way that new bands do…let’s play clubs, let’s play small places,” said drummer Jordan Richardson.
Ben Harper & Relentless7 are part of the Hard Rock Calling line up on Saturday 27th June, performing alongside Neil Young, Fleet Foxes and The Pretenders.
Current confirmed tour dates are listed below.
BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 TOUR DATES:
INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES:
April 19 London, England The Forum
April 20 Paris, France La Cigale
April 21 Bourges, France Le Printemps du Bourges
April 22 Rome, Italy Piazza del Popolo
June 19 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany Southside Festival
June 20 Scheessel, Germany Hurricane Festival
June 22 Berlin, Germany Columbiahalle
June 23 Munich, Germany TonHalle
June 25 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso
June 27 London, England Hard Rock Calling Festival
US TOUR DATES:
April 30 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 1 Memphis, TN Beale Street Music Festival
May 2 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
May 4 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
May 5 New York, NY Webster Hall
May 8 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
May 9 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
May 10 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
May 12 Montreal, CANADA Metropolis
May 13 Toronto, CANADA Phoenix Concert Theatre
May 15 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
May 16 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
May 25 George, WA The Gorge Amp. / Sasquatch Festival
May 27 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
May 28 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
June 13 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival
BHR7 History:
Harper met guitarist Jason Mozersky in the late nineties, when the lead singer of
Mozersky’s then band, WAN SANTO CONDO was working as a van driver shuttling bands back and forth to the venue for a Texas promoter. He asked the then captive Ben Harper, “Can I play you my demo?” Harper obliged, and in his own words “was blown away,” and helped the band secure a record deal and release an album on Everloving Records. The band broke up after one record, but what survived was a lasting friendship between Harper and Mozersky. In 2005, Harper invited now long time friend Mozersky to lay down guitar work on a track during the recording sessions that would become a double record entitled Both Sides of the Gun. Mozersky brought along bass player Jesse Ingalls and drummer Jordan Richardson and the session would spawn not only the song
“Serve Your Soul” but the framework for Relentless7.
To reignite the chemistry discovered during the Both Sides of the Gun session, they reunited in the summer of 2008 just to jam and write songs together, and emerged with a new sound and enough tracks for an album. White Lies For Dark Times is a timeless rock record, with a cohesive collection of music that is as raw, unrelenting and thunderous, as it is arrestingly haunting and emotional.
WEBSITE: www.relentless7.com
Whether the foxtrot tickles your fancy or the tango floats your boat, there is sure to be something to suit all tastes at the out2dance festival in Blackpool, which takes place next month.
A range of different dancefloor-based events are due to take place over the course of the three-day showcase that is taking place between May 22nd and May 25th.
These include a dance class led by Strictly Come Dancing stars Ian Waite and Camilla Dallerup, and a salsa party, as well as the French UDO World Street Dance Champions and FLAVA, the latter of which took part in 2008′s Britain’s Got Talent programme.
“Help us to create the largest number of people doing a dance – Marquelle Ward from Britannia High will lead everyone in a short easy dance piece he has choreographed,” the organisers explain.
Meanwhile, those who do not fancy taking part, but enjoy watching the experts do their stuff, can see the BBC show’s experts taking to the floor on Blackpool Promenade, an attraction within easy reach of the wide array of hotels in Blackpool.
A number of the events are completely free to enjoy, while others charge a fee. Additional information on the show – and details on how to register to take part in some activities – can be obtained from the official website.
Given the popularity of the event, visitors are advised to secure their hotel rooms as early as possible. LateRooms.com offers over 250 Blackpool hotels with up to 70% discount, ranging from serviced apartments to luxury hotels.
The four star Abbey Hotel is offering en-suite double rooms for two adults from 48 GBP. However guests can upgrade their rooms to luxury rooms for an additional 7 GBP per room. This guest house is located in the heart of Blackpool and has an excellent customer rating of 89%.
Others looking for alternative can stay at The Valentine and also has four star rating with superb 88% customer satisfaction rate. This delightful guest house is offering double rooms from 56 GBP per night.
For two days (14 and 15 August) Gothenburg’s beautiful central park, Slottsskogen, hosts the cream of national and international music during Way Out West. This year’s line-up includes the UK’s Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen and Basement Jaxx, acts from around the world including Band of Horses, Wilco, and the acclaimed Antony and The Johnsons, on stage with the renowned Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
Way Out West’s unique city-based format taps into Gothenburg’s thriving music scenes, with performances at the city’s clubs and cultural centres before and during the festival. The environmentally-certified festival offers organic food and is within walking distance of hotels and restaurants. Two-day festival passes including club performances cost 1,345 SEK (£110): call +46 77 165 1000. Arriving 14 August, two nights at the Scandic Europa hotel cost 900 SEK (£75) pp. This is based on two sharing a double room including breakfast and Gothenburg Passes – giving access to the city’s top attractions. To book visit www.goteborg.com. For festival information visit www.wayoutwest.se
The humble socks on your feet could become a new art form, especially if they are mohair socks from Corrymoor Farm in East Devon.
Corrymoor Socks are to feature in an art exhibition in Liverpool to highlight the need for sustainability in the way we lead our lives.
The Climate for Change exhibition at the FACT gallery in Liverpool features the work of artist in residence Kai-Oi Jay Yung who is undertaking her Sock Exchange project at the gallery to help turn socks into works of art (April 6-12th), inviting visitors to bring their odd and holey socks to the gallery as well as running a Speed Socking Lonely Hearts event.
As part of her activity Jay has been investigating the sock manufacturing industry with her video “Socking”, which will also feature the angora goats of Corrymoor Farm at Stockland in East Devon. The film examines the whole sock making process from the birth of angora goats at Corrymoor Farm to the eventual finished socks which are then sent to customers around the world.
Kai-Oi Jay Yung wants to make consumers re-think the way they consume, and to understand what it takes to produce everyday items like socks and what effect that process has on the environment; “I want consumers to be more aware of the small details in their lives that they take for granted – like socks. The video will give a platform for the agricultural and textile industries, but the sock exchange will give people the chance to have fun and to darn their old socks and turn them into little works of art.”
Steve Whitley, who runs Corrymoor Farm with his wife Jenny, admits to having been a little surprised when he was approached by Jay to take part in the video for the art exhibition.
“We were a bit sceptical at first. It is not every day that you are asked to appear in a video for the sake of art, but Jay soon persuaded us that she was serious about making the public think about agriculture and the sock making process. It is nice to think that our angora goats and socks are being celebrated in this way.”
For more information about Sock Exchange, please contact Jay Yung on 07961 915011 or email yung_jay@hotmail.com
www.myspace.com/artsockexchange
For more information about Corrymoor socks visit www.corrymoor.com or email socks@corrymoor.com or Tel 01404 861245.
Cinemagoers have the chance to enjoy a wide array of celluloid offerings in London as the annual East End Film Festival kicks off on 23rd April.
From up-and-coming talent to larger, more established independent movies; the range of screenings at the event is set to be as diverse as any film can get.
The opening night gala on April 23rd will see the film The End – a movie directed by Nicola Collins that explores the world of her father and his friends – receive its international premiere.
Meanwhile, Sounds Like Teen Spirit – an examination of the Teenage Eurovision Song Contest by Jamie Jay Johnson – will be the last film screened at the symposium.
A range of venues will be taking part in the festival, including Cineworld West India Key, Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel, Rich Mix in Bethnal Green, Stratford Picture House, Vibe Live on Brick Lane and Amnesty International
UK Human Rights Action Centre.
Passes for each screening cost between £5 and £7.50 and are available now.
More info at www.eastendfilmfestival.com.
Bestival, the Isle of Wight’s award-winning boutique music festival, has just announced that Massive Attack will be headlining this year’s Friday night followed by Kraftwerk who take the headline spot on Saturday night. Winners of NME’s “Best Album 2008″ MGMT, and Mercury prize winners, the Klaxons will be joined by exciting up and coming acts including Fleet Foxes, Florence and the Machine, VV Brown and many more!
Bestival 2009 will be taking place from 11 until 13 September at Robin Hill Country Park in Newport, Isle of Wight. Tickets through Red Funnel cost £149 per adult and £75.75 for 13-15 year olds, and include weekend admission, camping, postage and booking fees. What’s more those aged 12 and under get in for Free! To book tickets visit www.redfunnel.co.uk/bestival
The music is only part of what makes Bestival so magical. The family friendly atmosphere and weird and wonderful events and attractions, such as the famous fancy dress carnival, the inflatable church and, new for this year, “Blastival” a spectacular pyrotechnic experience, combine to create an unparalleled out of this world experience!
Bandbacker is a new website for unsigned bands which gives music fans the chance to vote for their favourite act and share in the winning band’s success.
 Bandbacker.com It’s a competition with the winning artist being decided on by the people that count – the fans. It’s doesn’t cost anything to become a ‘Fan’ and by doing so members of the public will be able to vote for their favourite act from the initial 100 who start out in the competition. It’s also free for artists to enter and the winner will walk away with a record deal, a UK tour and a cash prize.
The initial public vote will whittle the competition down to the top 10 acts. Then, everything is in the hands of the ‘Backers’ who will cast the final votes. There is a small one off membership fee to become a Backer and as well as exclusive voting rights they’ll also get a range of special privileges and benefits.
All of the money raised from Backer memberships will be used to support and promote the winning band to ensure their success. As Gary Dalton, Managing Director, says part of the inspiration behind Bandbacker was to give bands a fair deal; “The artists taking part in the competitions will have already been touring and recording and would have had some success. We want to help them take their success to the next level but also ensure they’ll be rewarded as they should be.”
Dalton also sees Bandbacker as an opportunity for music fans to get involved in the industry and have their say, “Bandbacker isn’t just another competition where the public can vote and job done. We want the Fans and the Backers to be there from the beginning being actively involved in supporting and promoting the winning bands, helping to shape their careers, and benefitting themselves from their involvement”.
More at www.bandbacker.com.
The only dedicated event of its kind in the world, the International Circus Arts Fair is set to take place next month in Paris.
Patronised by Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, the director of Culturesfrance, the second edition of the show will be held at the Porte de Versailles between Friday April 3rd and Sunday April 5th.
Last year’s event attracted some 8,000 visitors and almost 100 different exhibitors from the world of the circus.
As well as a full-size big top, there will be workshops for those keen to try their hand at different skills, such as tightrope walking, juggling and magic.
Meanwhile, those keen to clown around will also be catered for with live performances, short talks and working groups from a range of professionals. A number of boutiques and shops will also be present.
Tickets for the show cost €12 for adults, with concessions available for those over 60 and children under the age of 12 and can be purchased online.
Porte de Versaille is located on Paris 15e and can easily be reached by a metro heading towards Mairie d’Issy or via car. As such, those staying in Paris hotels should have no problem getting to the International Circus Arts Fair.
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