Futuristic Fictions begins this week, and was neatly heralded this weekend by two media stories with a futuristic theme.
In The Guardian on Saturday 24th, Alison Flood gave a brief overview of time travel in fiction (you can read it here). Why? Well, because the discussion around the apparent discovery, in an Italian laboratory, of particles that can travel faster than the speed of light, has (a) caused great excitement (as well as a certain amount of scepticism) within the scientific community, and (b) raised the possibility that time travel might, just might, be achievable.
In The Observer on Sunday, Laura Cumming offered a nuanced but rather ambivalent review of the decidedly un-nuanced art of John Martin, currently showing at Tate Britain, in their exhibition 'John Martin: Apocalypse'. Amongst other things, the exhibition reveals the fascination with apocalyptic imagery and narrative in the 19th century, and suggests that we haven't quite shed this fascination or this desire to be simultaneously thrilled and horrified. The exhibition tries to recreate the manner of the works' original exhibition (e.g. showing some of them by candlelight, to enhance their dramatic effect).
You can look at some more examples of Martin's art here.
More information on the exhibition at the Tate Britain site here. I like the tagline: "Apocalypse: It's Coming..."
No comments:
Post a Comment