For as long as I can remember I have loved Roy Lichtenstein. I wasn't always sure of the name but always loved the comic book style of paintings. I am huge fan of pop art in general along with Andy Warhol.
When I saw on the Culture Show that the Tate Modern was holding a Lichtenstein - A Retrospective exhibition I got online and bought some tickets.
The exhibition had a lot of paintings and sculptures including some of the more well known ones including Whaam! Drowning Girl and Masterpiece. Looking up close at the comic style paintings - benday dot style - they are just fascinating. The amount of detail and meticulous repetition is just mind boggling. I really don't think that pictures of the paintings do them justice, they look like screen prints or reproductions and not a piece of art.
I was really surprised to see the art I never knew Lictenstein did, I will admit I was a little naive and just thought he did the comic prints. Some of the most beautiful in the collection were the Chinese landscape portraits such as Landscape with Philosopher - which was breath-taking and kind of poetic.
Some have said that he merely copied pictures but the skill he displays in those paintings is excellent. He also ventured into sculpture with art deco pieces and his two sided bust which has a blonde on one side a a blue haired girl on the other which looks a little bit like a Katy Perry cover and again I never knew existed.
The exhibition had 12 rooms dedicated to different phases and themes of his work with 125 paintings and sculptures in total.
The Tate's website said: "The artist’s rich and expansive practice is represented by a wide range of materials, including paintings on Rowlux and steel, as well sculptures in ceramic and brass and a selection of previously unseen drawings, collages and works on paper. Room after room pays tribute to his extraordinary oeuvre, celebrating the visual power and intellectual rigour of Roy Lichtenstein’s work."
The exhibition ended on Monday but if you ever get a chance to see it again do so and the Tate already has a couple of Lichtenstein paintings which you can see for free.
I really enjoyed it and was fascinated by it all.
For more on the Tate visit - http://www.tate.org.uk/
I have been a little late to the party here, but me and my boyfriend wanted to see the new Batman at the IMAX in London, the largest screen in the UK.
Well where to start, the film, the screen or the experience, it was all just fantastic.
Well first the film I won't give anything away but it ticks a lot of boxes for Batman comic book nerds. The film is just amazing! Well shot and has the perfect ending for The Dark Knight trilogy. It ties everything up in a neat bow with a little hint that more could be on its way.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman is just the part she was meant to play. Halle Berry's is an even bigger joke in comparison but is she a match for Michelle Pfeiffer's? I don't know but it would be a close fight. She is just purrfect. Sorry...hard to resist.
Of course Christian Bale and Gary Oldman do not disappoint.
It is just a stellar cast of Christopher Nolan favorites - Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and of course Cillian Murphy.
The film is just visually fantastic and the sound quality in the IMAX made the seats shake. Without saying too much any Batman fan would be happy, if not ecstatic with this film.
Now the IMAX the screen is huge and the ratio is more of a square than the usual letterbox in normal cinemas.
Batman and Bane were more like massive giants than stars on a screen. The film features over an hour of footage filmed with IMAX cameras, with crystal clear images and powerful digital sound technology.
The seats shook the screen took over but it coupled with the film was the perfect film experience.
I love films and I love the IMAX, it was £15 for an adult ticket but worth the money and a medium popcorn and small drink came to £6.60, bargain. It is ideally situated on the roundabout near Waterloo station.
If you haven't seen The Dark Knight Rises do it! And make an extra special trip to the IMAX, you won't regret it.
