Stellar Network Re-launches

Have you ever wondered why people in the creative industries sometimes behave like teenagers at a school disco? We usually stick with what we know, as a rule of thumb that sort of defines the human being. Well, well, along comes Stellar Network, who work across the theatre, film, television and digital media industries. The Network is designed for directors, writers, actors and producers to meet and collaborate. That’s very much in the vein of Aesthetica, we too believe that the arts are interdisciplinary, and when we start to collaborate, that’s when moments of serendipity and innovation occur.



On 5th November, Stellar Network, led by Sam Howey Nunn, re-launched with its new aims and objectives. These include: bridging the gap between the many talented mid level individuals in the industry and the decision makers at the top. And with Patrons including Sir David Hare and Alan Rickman and an advisory Board that includes Marc Boothe, Peter Kosminsky, Jane Wright and Hannah Minghella, Stellar Network certainly has the support of established professionals to ensure those in the Stellar community achieve their ambitions. The next 4 weeks will see a variety of new activities, including last night's ‘Off The Record’, a talk and Q&A with David Lan, Artistic Director of the Young Vic, which attracted over 60 delegates. Next up is Pitch Up! co-produced with Channel 4 and a panel of industry execs (including ITV Drama commissioner Benjamin McGrath) to provide a platform for people to pitch their great TV ideas.



Jane Wright, Managing Director, BBC Films and a Stellar Network Board Member said: “A growing number of multimedia projects, greater movement of creative people between the industries, and the opportunities afforded by digital media represent the increasing integration that is driving the need for a network like this. The Stellar community members will be supporting each other to sustain their creative careers in this fast changing arts and media landscape. I am delighted to be involved with such a forward-thinking organisation.”

For more details on membership and to attend a Stellar event visit:
www.stellarnetwork.com

Gregory Nash at The Point 9.09 photo by Janice Bruce

Aesthetica's December - January Issue Out Now

Exploring the creative zeitgeist, Aesthetica editorial is engaging and offers new perspectives on contemporary arts, looking at the art in relation to the social, political and economic.



Issue 32 of Aesthetica explores many of these topics; from the V&A’s major exhibition Decode: Digital Design Sensations looking at how raw code can be used to create art. Also a follow-up on the Lyon Biennale looking at Hou Hanru’s has curated The Spectacle of the Everyday. Barbara Kruger’s retrospective, Paste Up opens in London, which provides a timely reappraisal of her early works and wry social commentary of vast consumerism and the making of identities. Finally, a look the imagination of Tim Burton, a show at MoMA showing over 700 images of the filmmaker’s work, exploring the cross-pollination of art forms.

In film a chat with, Yojiro Takita on his Oscar-winning film Departures, a tender look at the universality of the human condition. The Brothers McLeod share their hints and tips in a practical two-part series providing a step-by-step guide to becoming an animator. As well as a Q&A session with film programmer, Philip Ilson about this year’s London Short Film Festival. In theatre an exclusive preview of I am Yusuf and This Is My Brother, opening at the Young Vic this winter, looks at the personal vs. the political.

While in music, an examination into the creative strategies that bands employ to get ahead today, and a catch up with A.A. Bondy on his new album. And to conclude, a chat with Simon Robson and an extract from the fantastic new book Diamond Star Halo by Tiffany Murray. With all the best exhibitions, productions, music and new releases of the coming months, Aesthetica considers the creative exploration of today’s most exciting artists.

Christmas Gift Subscriptions Are Now Available
http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/shop.htm




Also available, the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual



Championing new talent in the genres of visual arts, photography, poetry and fiction, the Aesthetica Annual is a publication, which will stir your imagination.

Whether you're a budding poet, superb sculptor, storyteller or an arts enthusiast, the Aesthetica Annual provides a platform to gather inspiration and to get those creative juices flowing.

The Aesthetica Annual reflects art's greatest power: to comment, debate and analyse the times in which we live. Inside this collection there are 96 artists and writers that span nationality and age, offering a true insight into the creative zeitgeist of our times.

First permanent artwork for London Underground since 1984

Full Circle by Knut Henrik Henriksen (b 1970, Oslo) was unveiled today in King’s Cross St. Pancras Underground Station. This is the first permanent artwork to be installed on the network since Paolozzi’s mosaics at Tottenham Court Road in 1984. Let's face it with the amount of time that we spend underground, these type of aesthetic pleasures do more than enhance the surroundings, but transform spaces.



Full Circle has been created as an integral part of the King’s Cross station upgrade. It references the impressive contemporary architectural setting of the modernised Tube. The size and form of Henriksen’s sculpture is frequently defined by such architectural specificities as the height, depth and materials of a given location. These become starting points for his work and in this case the circular end wall of the concourse tunnel is the origin of his concept. The circle is truncated where it meets the floor, implying a ‘lost’ segment of circle beneath. This segment has been ‘reinstated’, conceptually exhumed by Henriksen, and mounted as an integral architectural feature of the end wall. It is fabricated by the station upgrade contractor from the same material (shot-peened stainless steel) as the wall itself. The effect is of a minimalist relief: a subtle, elegant work in metallic grey.



Henriksen’s practise is underpinned by a preoccupation with and critique of key Modernist principles - form fitting purpose and truth to materials; minimal embellishment.

In the 1930s, London Underground’s Managing Director Frank Pick, fired up by European Modernist ideals, championed a unifying principle of the Tube network, which became known as Total Design. Through this concept such elements as the Roundel, the Tube map, the Johnston typeface, artists’ designs for posters and station designs, exemplified by the work of architect Charles Holden, have combined to become central to London Underground’s world renowned identity. Henriksen’s Full Circle brings this vision up to date, seamlessly becoming part of the Underground’s tunnels and passageways.

The installation at King’s Cross St. Pancras is just one of a number of significant permanent artworks commissioned by Art on the Underground for key stations on the network over the coming years. For example, Daniel Buren will create a dramatic new work for the Tottenham Court Road Tube station, which is undergoing a major upgrade.

Incidentally, I am interested to know what you think about these types of public art projects? Do you think it's worth it? How do we define the value this creates?

For more information about Art on the Underground, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/art



Image credits
Knut Henrik Henriksen, Full Circle, 2009
King’s Cross St Pancras Underground station
Courtesy the artist and Art on the Underground
Photo: Daisy Hutchison