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Beat Generation artists in front of City Lights Books store in San Francisco, 1963. From left: Pat Cassidy, Philip Whalen, Robert Ronnie Branaman, Alan Russo, Ann Buchanan, Bob Kaufman, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
9 November 2014 will mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall.
The Berlin wall, erected on 13 August 1961 by the communist regime in East Germany divided not only the city but families and friends. We’d like to document the effect the wall had on those living and working in Berlin at the time but also the changes that have happened for people, on both sides of the wall, since it came down.
Berlin Wall in Google Street View
Berlin’s modern face – glass skyscrapers, busy roads, overgrown lots – shows little trace of its old scar. Our Street View expert takes us back to Checkpoint Charlie, the death strip ... and the wall’s glorious fall, 25 years ago this coming 9 November
August 1961: Military water trucks with high-pressure hoses are lined up by the Brandenburg Gate
23 August 1961: American troops and tanks occupy the border sector at Friedrichstrass
4 December 1961: Friedrichstrasse crossing point, which became known as Checkpoint Charlie. American soldiers watch as construction workers, heavily guarded by East German security forces, build a massive stone barricade
Checkpoint Charlie
1963: The wall along Bernauer Street blocks the entrance to a church in East Berlin
1963: In East Berlin looking north into Potsdamer Platz
To speak about the press in
1950 means to speak about the rise of news television shows as the increased of
television purchase grow and became a powerful medium to sell everything from
chewing gum to presidents.
Wifredo Lam (Cuban, 1902–1982). The Jungle. Date:1943. Medium: Gouache on paper mounted on canvas.
What is Surrealism?
Before talking
about Surrealism in Latin America it is
necessary to explain what Surrealism is. Surrealism is an artistic,
philosophical, intellectual and political movement that aimed to break down the
boundaries of rationalization to access the imaginative subconscious. It is a
descendent of the Dadaism
movement, which disregarded tradition and the use of conscious form in favor of
the ridiculous. First gaining popularity in the 1920s and founded by AndreBreton,
the approach relies on Freudian psychological concepts.
Proponents
of surrealism believed that the subconscious was the best inspiration for art.
They thought that the ideas and images within the subconscious mind was more
“true” or “real” than the concepts or pictures the rational mind could create.
Under this philosophy, even the ridiculous had extreme value and
could provide better insights into a culture or a person’s desires, likes or
fears.
A major reason why many people took issue with the
movement was because it tossed away conventional ideas about what made sense
and what was ugly. In fact, much of what advocates produced was designed to
break rules in overt ways. The art and writing of the style often holds images
or ideas that, under traditional modes of thought, are disturbing, shocking or
disruptive. Its major exponent was Salvador Dali (1904-1989), the most
eccentric and imaginative figure in Spanish
painting
Read more.
The British army banned the use of personal cameras on Christmas Eve in 1914, but privates and officers carried on using them. Over the last 25 years, the historian Richard van Emden has assembled a vast collection of their photographs. From al fresco cooking to swimming expeditions, he illuminates the experience of the ordinary soldier.
Two officers of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment pose for the camera in February 1915. The private possession of cameras had been banned by the army on Christmas Eve 1914. Nevertheless, the officer on the right is holding a Vest Pocket Kodak. Photograph: Richard van Emden.
Behind the front lines after taking a dip: this officer carries an umbrella 'borrowed' from a billet in Ypres. Photograph: Richard van Emden.
Goatskins were widely issued to the infantry. Both waterproof and windproof, they very popular in the trenches, as this picture from the winter of 1914 shows. Photograph: Richard van Emden
Cooks of the 14th Field Ambulance prepare a beef and vegetable stew in dixies, October 1914. Photograph: Richard van Emden
More than 1.1 million men volunteered to fight in 1914. These men are undertaking physical training known as 'Swedish Drill' in June 1915. Photograph: Richard van Emden
As part of the project the students of L & C II, 2014 recreated a poem by Owen Sheers, Mametz Wood.
I wrote this next poem, 'Mametz Wood', when I went to the Somme battlefield to make a short film about two Welsh writers who had fought at this place. The two writers were called David Jones and Wyn Griffith, and they wrote very very different accounts of this dreadful battle, but it was a strange battle because there seemed to be lots of poets present: it was also where Robert Graves was wounded; Siegfried Sassoon actually watched the battle, so it's a battlefield of the Somme that appears again and again in memoirs of poets and actually in their poetry, and I really wrote this because while I was there they uncovered a shallow grave of twenty Allied soldiers who had been buried very very quickly but whoever had buried them had taken the time to actually link their arms, arm-in-arm, and when I saw a photograph of this grave I just knew that it was one of those images that had burned itself onto my mind and I knew that I would want to write about it eventually. As it happens I did, but the poem took a long time to surface very much in the same way that those elements of the battle are still surfacing through the fields eighty-five years later. -
Listen to the poet talking about why he wrote the poem and his reading of it.
In 1914, Joey, a young farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges towards the enemy, witnessing the horror of the frontline. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey’s courage touches the soldiers around him. War Horse at the theatre: Movie: Interactive map and video of WWI
http://www.warhorseonstage.com/app/webroot/map/
Michael Morpurgo`s official website:http://michaelmorpurgo.com/
From the 1985 classic “We Are the World” to 2014′s agriculture anthem “Cocoa na Chocolate,” pop stars around the world have been coming together to make music for a cause for decades. Whether it’s to raise awareness for apartheid or funds for famine relief in Africa, benefit concerts and songs have rocked the hearts, minds and ears of activists – and helped make real and lasting change.
Here’s ten music collaborations that show how some of the world’s biggest artists used their voices for the humanitarian issues of their time:
1. Concert for Bangladesh (1971)
George Harrison, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and more
This sold-out concert, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, was the first benefit concert that brought artists ranging from the legendary Beatles to Bob Dylan for a humanitarian cause. The concert, held in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, raised awareness on the refugee crisis in Bangladesh after the 1970 Bhola cyclone, and more than $200,000 dollars for relief efforts. Most notably, it set a precedent for music as a tool of social change.
2. Gift of Song (1979)
Various, including ABBA, Rita Coolidge, Elton John and more
Pop music artists, including ABBA, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart and Donna Summer, gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to sing a “Gift of Song” to the world’s children. Broadcasted in 60 countries and reaching over 200 million, the event served to kick-off the International Year of the Child, a year that brought awareness to children’s issues and eventually led to the first universal declaration of children’s rights. The single also raised $4 million dollars for UNICEF’s life-saving programs.
3. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and Live Aid (1984)
Band Aid, including Bob Geldof, Bono, Paul McCartney and others
Band Aid, a charity band founded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, first released “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (1984) to raise money for the famine crisis in Ethiopia. It was no surprise that the collaboration with rock stars like Bono, Paul McCartney, Paul Young and more resulted in more than six million copies sold, raising $14 million dollars for relief. The single also peaked at No. 1 in more than 15 countries.
In 1985, the band held “Live Aid,” one of the most influential charity concerts. Two decades later, Geldof organized Live 8 Concerts (2005) which brought together more than 1,000 musicians in the US and UK. The concerts also served as political actions that coincided with the G8 summit on world poverty.
4. ”We Are the World” (1985)
USA for Africa, including Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Billy Joel and more
Following Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” single, USA for Africa produced ”We Are the World,” a song produced by Quincy Jones and written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. The song features a number of renowned artists like Willie Nelson, Diana Ross and Billy Joel. The collaboration generated more than $100 million dollars to fight a famine that killed nearly 1 million people in Africa between 1983 to 1984. USA for Africa foundation continues the legacy of philanthropy.
5. Farm Aid (1985)
Various, including Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Tom Petty and many more
Inspired by a remark by Bob Dylan at his performance at Live Aid, ”Wouldn’t it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?” Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized Farm Aid. The concert, first held in Champaign, Illinois brought 80,000 music-lovers to raise awareness about the issues farming families faced, and raised more than $9 million dollars to assist America’s family farmers. To this day, Farm Aid acts as an advocacy platform and resource network for farmers, while still producing an annual benefit concert.
6. “Sun City” (1985)
Artists United Against Apartheid, including Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel and others
Known as the most fervent political music single, “Sun City” brought 54 artists from across genres to take a stand against apartheid. From rock stars like Bruce Springsteen to hip-hop pioneers like Kurtis Blow, this collaboration drew attention to apartheid and urged artists to stop playing at venues that practiced the racist policy.
7. “Blackfella Whitefella” (1985)
Warumpi Band
1985 was sure the year of music collaborations for social change, and it did not stop there. Like “Sun City,” “Blackfella Whitefella,” a song by Australia indigenous group Warumpi Band, served as a political statement on racism against indigenous groups in Australia.
8. A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) and Human Rights Now! (1988)
Various artists including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel and many more
Organized by Amnesty International, “A Conspiracy of Hope” (1986) and “Human Rights Now” (1988) were a series of global benefit concerts raising awareness on human rights atrocities around the globe and in 1988, the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Artists included Tracy Chapman, Youssou N’Dour, The Police and local guest artists from each host country that participated. Most notable? The venuesincluded countries like Hungary, Costa Rica, India, Argentina, Zimbabwe and more.
9. “America: A Tribute to Heroes” (2011)
Various artists including Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and others
On the 10-year remembrance of September 11, 2001, a day we will never forget, artists from across genres came together for “America: A Tribute to Heroes.” The concert was not just a tribute to those who lost their lives but also a benefit to the September 11 Telethon Fund. The telethon raised more than $150 million for the victims of the terror attacks. In the video above Willie Nelson closed out the telethon with an ensemble version of “America the Beautiful.”
10. “Cocoa na Chocolate” (2014)
Various artists, including D’Banj, Femi Kuti, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Judith Sephuma
Africa’s hottest recording artists have come together to support our Do Agric campaign, and together have written and recorded the track “Cocoa na Chocolate.” The artists involved include some of the hottest artists from Africa, including D’Banj, Femi Kuti, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Judith Sephuma, Diamond and Omawumi. And get this – it’s the biggest music collaboration in Africa’s history. Their message is simple: agriculture in Africa has the potential to provide food, create jobs and boost economies, but African leaders need to invest now. The song dropped last month, and only time will tell whether it will ignite an agriculture revolution.