Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Thursday, 21 October 2010
The End of Culture?
Good God, what will happen to the people of this country?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUzOHckX-Ns
Is this the end of the arts culture too, with the cuts devastating the funding pots of Arts Councils up and down the country?
As a former volunteer Youth/Arts Worker, I understand (from a volunteer prospective) the strain local councils are under (already), to keep organisations alive and kicking which provide vital support to local communities. Youth schemes and community projects are in place to improve the areas affected by poverty, crime and unemployment. Without these schemes what will these young people have to strive for?
What are the long-term repercussions of these cuts, which have been made so 'carefully' by the Conservative government?
What's being cut: Local Government - current spending down 27%; capital spending down 100%: Communities - current spending down 51%; capital spending down 74%
Councils will see a 7.1% annual fall in their budgets. But ring-fencing of local authority revenue grants will end and councils will have freedom to borrow against their assets. Funding for social housing to be cut by more than 60%, with new tenants having to pay higher rents. But the government hopes these changes will free up funds to build 150,000 new affordable homes over the next four years."
What's being cut: Current spending down 24%; capital spending down 32%
Administration costs to be cut 41% while core arts programmes will see a 15% fall in funding. Free museum entry to remain in place. BBC licence fee to be frozen for next six years. Corporation will also fund World Service and BBC Monitoring. Adds up to equivalent of 16% savings over the period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUzOHckX-Ns
Is this the end of the arts culture too, with the cuts devastating the funding pots of Arts Councils up and down the country?
As a former volunteer Youth/Arts Worker, I understand (from a volunteer prospective) the strain local councils are under (already), to keep organisations alive and kicking which provide vital support to local communities. Youth schemes and community projects are in place to improve the areas affected by poverty, crime and unemployment. Without these schemes what will these young people have to strive for?
What are the long-term repercussions of these cuts, which have been made so 'carefully' by the Conservative government?
From the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11569160
Communities and Local Government
Annual budget: £33.6bnWhat's being cut: Local Government - current spending down 27%; capital spending down 100%: Communities - current spending down 51%; capital spending down 74%
Councils will see a 7.1% annual fall in their budgets. But ring-fencing of local authority revenue grants will end and councils will have freedom to borrow against their assets. Funding for social housing to be cut by more than 60%, with new tenants having to pay higher rents. But the government hopes these changes will free up funds to build 150,000 new affordable homes over the next four years."
Culture, Media and Sport
Annual budget: £2bnWhat's being cut: Current spending down 24%; capital spending down 32%
Administration costs to be cut 41% while core arts programmes will see a 15% fall in funding. Free museum entry to remain in place. BBC licence fee to be frozen for next six years. Corporation will also fund World Service and BBC Monitoring. Adds up to equivalent of 16% savings over the period.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Granny Got a Mobile and Didn't Get Killed by the Hitch-Hiker
Welcome to my blog!
I have finally decided to join the online world (aside from Facebook, which doesn't really count)! All the cool kids are doing it, so I accepted I must evolve with the rest of the world.
For years I approached technology, like an old granny with a mobile phone "it's too complicated for me; I don't need it!" What happens when granny runs out of petrol on a country lane (on a dark misty night) and needs to call someone, to save herself from the killer 'hitch-hiker'? YOU NEED A PHONE GRANNY!
For someone merely born in the seventies and not of that actual age, I have no excuse at all...
Maxie
I have finally decided to join the online world (aside from Facebook, which doesn't really count)! All the cool kids are doing it, so I accepted I must evolve with the rest of the world.
For years I approached technology, like an old granny with a mobile phone "it's too complicated for me; I don't need it!" What happens when granny runs out of petrol on a country lane (on a dark misty night) and needs to call someone, to save herself from the killer 'hitch-hiker'? YOU NEED A PHONE GRANNY!
For someone merely born in the seventies and not of that actual age, I have no excuse at all...
Maxie
Monday, 18 October 2010
Hell: The Dark Side of Life
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| Reflections on Hell 2010 |
"There's a pang in all rejoicing, And a joy in the heart of pain; And the wind that saddens, the sea that gladdens, Are singing the selfsame strain." - Bayard Taylor
"Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other."
Laurence Sterne
"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were.
But without it we go nowhere." - Carl Sagan
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| Schizophrenic |
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| Raging Bull 2010 |
My pieces evolved from playing around with oil paint, using white-spirit to create a layered effect when the oil had dried. I abandoned the use of oil following this collection (for a while), as my impatience and love of immediate gratification was no marriage for something that requires patience and time
Max da Silva
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Times gone by... Auctioned piece for GlobalGiving Charity 2010
'Like You'
"From the shadows I appear
Please do not be afraid, for I am just like you.
My lungs fill with the same air as you,
My heart beats with every second that passes, like you.
I long to be loved, like you
And dream of happiness in my future, like you.
For now I'll step back into the tenebrous gloom,
Into the darkness that consumes my waking hours
I wait for the bleakness of my future to unfold
I look into the crystal ball and cannot bear
To accept the person I will become
Sombre with exquisit anguish"
Please do not be afraid, for I am just like you.
My lungs fill with the same air as you,
My heart beats with every second that passes, like you.
I long to be loved, like you
And dream of happiness in my future, like you.
For now I'll step back into the tenebrous gloom,
Into the darkness that consumes my waking hours
I wait for the bleakness of my future to unfold
I look into the crystal ball and cannot bear
To accept the person I will become
Sombre with exquisit anguish"
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| Like You 2010 Indian Ink on Canvas |
Fringe Arts Festival Bath 2010
The weather was sunny and hot most of the time, despite a constant threat of rain, which did nothing to dampen the upbeat spirit of the crowd and artists. Setting up the stalls was a great way to meet and mingle with fellow craftsmen, all of whom displayed their own style and creativity from paintings and prints to illustrations, cards and hand-made toys. After wrestling with the wind, my gazebo was set up and ready for action, with the hope that the sporadic wind gusts would give up the ghost and change direction or vanish! 
My big paintings and prints were rested against the display table, enticing the crowd to peruse and enjoy at their leisure. The colours attracted a lot of attention and the womanly shapes of the naked women (in much of my work), proved a crowd pleaser (especially with the excited husbands). A brazen child walked past with her family audaciously covering her eyes with one hand, shouting loudly that she wasn’t allowed to look at ‘rudie’ pictures! Exactly what I wanted – controversy!
A FAB day had by all.
Black ink and white wine...
On Friday night, the weather was gloomy and wet and I'd had enough of the misery. Playing some tunes, from The Death to Angry Anderson, my sketch book emerged along with a thick, cheap marker pen from the pound shop.
In making my dark, black, permanent mark on the blank page, I began to feel nervous about committing myself to it. At first my strokes were tenuous and feeble! I cursed my inability to let go and be free! When I paint I am free, but drawing (my first love) traps me and taunts me into being meticulous. By the way, I personify everything!
The more wine I drank, the more relaxed I seemed with the pen... Within fifteen minutes I had my first piece!
As I reviewed the work, I was mixture of emotions. Part of me enjoyed my new-found-freedom and ability to commit myself to something I couldn’t change and the other part of me felt like I had cheated on my more particular, precise drawing-self!
The rain was relentless through the night - and so was the wine, so I carried on with the affair...
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