Science Fiction: The Gone World By Tom Sweterlitsch

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Time travel is a fascinating idea and a longstanding sub-genre of science fiction. Unfortunately time travel leads to a paradox. If someone travels back in time and kills his father in Kindergarten he would not exist. But the authors found a solution: Alternate worlds. Time moves like a tree grows. It splits into different branches or time lines. People can move back in time and ruin the environment, but this not their problem, because they orginated a new time line (branch). So they ruin just another time line and theirs is still intact. It is interesting that these ideas are supported by Quantum Physics.

Tom Sweterlitsch time travel novel "Gone World" seems to be based on Quantum Mechanics, especially on Everett’s Many Worlds Interpretation (wikipedia ). The highly complex plot follows a woman who jumps back and forth on different time lines (or alternate worlds) and tries stop the apocalypse, solve murder cases and also rescue an abducted girl ( amazon ). 

Sweterlitsch can write and he has a lot interesting ideas but he created a mess. The plot leads into way too many loops, contradicting outcomes and alternate worlds. It seems that at the end of the book he lost track of his own story. There are a lot explosive action scenes, apocalyptic events and gory tableaus which keep the reader awake but they cannot save the plot.

 

Contemporary Art: Bob Dylan`s Paintings @ Halcyon Gallery London 2022

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His compositions were covered by Jimmy Hendrix and myriads of others. But the Genious is also a talented painter. At Halcyon Gallery on London´s  New Bond Street I spotted a new exhibition with the master`s paintings & drawings, the second after his 2019 show (driveby  halcyongallery). I display my favorites here, a small & very subjective selection as usual.

 

 

 

                                       

The images like look like movie stills. Maybe they illustrate the Genius`songs and are inspired by his favorite films.

 
  

 

  

 

To be continued.

Photography: Boomtown London:

(Drivebycuriosity) - Brexit or not. It seems London is booming. Duringm my recent visit of the British capital I saw so many construction places. All over the city huge cranes signal heavy construction activity. London has way more construction scenes than Berlin where I had stayed in June, London beats even Manhattan by far.

I took just some snap shots. I seems that Vauxhall is really popular. In 2019 I noticed already a lot construction places there, this year I spotted a lot new constructions.

The already dense city area is getting more crowded

Some of the construction place look like installations of contemporary art

 

 

Stay tuned.

 

Artmarket: The Art Of Literature @ Christie`s London

(Drivebycuriosity) -  Christie´s belongs to the leading auction houses in the world. In May my wife and I admired their huge galleries for their Spring auctions in New York (my post ). Their house in London`s classy Mayfair district does the same. In 2019 my wife and I used our London stay to enjoy then London`s Spring auction (my post ). 

This year, when we visited the British capital again, our timing was not quite as good and we missed this year´s Spring show. But the auction giant is always busy. They had a show called "The Art of Literature" ( christies). The very eclectic exhibition contained very different art works.

 

The press release explains: "The histories of art and literature are inextricably linked: an ancient epic poem inspires an Old Master picture; a contemporary artist takes flight from a Shakespearean phrase; a medieval illuminated manuscript combines text and painting in a single beautiful object".

 

I depict my favorites here, a very subjective selection as usual. On top of this post you can see "The Knives" by the German artist Michael Borremans. According to the press release "Borremans` theatrical and darkly surreal depiction of a child's body pierced oy knives bears a striking resemblance to the figure of Saint
Sebastian. The fate of the early Christian martyr was first recounted in the Book of Psalms in the King James Bible.

 

 

Above this paragraph follow two images by the Sout-African born artist Marlene Dumas: "Magdalena (Venus)" & "Resurrection". The first image refers to the Biblical "Magdalena", generally viewed as the archetypical "sinful woman".

 

 

Above follows Peter Doig´s "Red Boat (Imaginary Boys)". Apparently the painting was inspired by Port of Spain where Doig had lived and a postcard of southern India the artist had found in a junk shop in London.

 

 

Above you can see "A Life to Die For" by the British-Ghanaian artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

 

"Salad Days" by Andrew Cranston. The title refers to lines spoken by Cleopatra in Shakespeare`s "Antony and Cleopotra", meaning youthful innocence or inexperience.

 

 

Fernando Botero`s "Adam and Eve". Apparently the infamous apple was very nuterious.

 

"Sappho recalled to Life by the Charm of Music" by Merry Joseph Blondel.

 

 

 

"After the Audience" by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

 

                                     

 Isn`t she wonderful? Antonia Canova`s marble sculpture "Recumbent Magdalene" .

 

 

 

Christie`s showed already works earmarked for the upcoming Post War & Contemporary Art London Sale: Salman Toor´s "Bendiyan Farm" & Anselm Kiefer´s "Leviathan".

 

To be continued

Traveling: Snapshots From Mayfair London

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - My wife and I are still staying in London´s Fitzeroya district. In the recent days we walked towards the Mayfair area, about 30 minutes south to see the galleries there and to enjoy the posh neighborhood.

I took some snapshots.

 

 

 

I like the architecture: A mix of well renovated old buildings with newer constructions.

 

Stay tuned

Contemporary Art: Choi Soowhan.@ Pontone Gallery London

 (Drivebycuriosity) - My wife and I used our stay in London to visit a lot of art galleries. So we went to Pontone Gallery, on the way between Fitzeroya and Mayfair, which displayed works by the Korean artist Choi Soowhan. He created lightboxes depicting mysterious, atmospheric landscapes and flower arrangements.

 

 

The press release explains: "These refined structures are meticulously crafted from layers of black laminate. A multitude of finely drilled holes define the image, which is backlit by LED lighting. The pictures are created by holes, an ‘emptiness’ to which Soowhan refers in his titles".

 

 

 

I love this elaborately crafted vases

 

 

 I am also fascinated by these fairy tale forests

To be continued