Matthew Taylor explores the meaning of 21st century enlightenment, how the idea might help us meet the challenges we face today, and the role that can be played by organisations such as the RSA.
May 19, 2011 by Matt DeAngelis VC Johnson is the genius behind the graphics that propelled Powell·Peralta into the stratosphere. His iconic images have inspired countless others to not only draw, but in some cases, to begin skating in the first place. An enigmatic figure, he disappeared off of the radar for almost 20 years until starting to work with Pocket Pistols a few years ago, and now back in his rightful place, Powell·Peralta. MD: So how did skateboard graphics fit into a journey of self exploration? VCJ: They answered to the needs of the soul that chose the body. The soul that inherited, that grabbed the baton in my early 30s had a very different mandate and how it affected the life is fascinating. I can see this in other souls who’ve come to profound turning points in their lives and I’ve shared notes with those souls who have experienced a transformation at the core of being. I come back to the company interested in a different o...
As he enters his 50s, Mills’ release schedule remains regular, though his later years have seen him increasingly fixated with the delicacies of the cosmos – his new album, The Jungle Planet , is inspired by the dreams of Charles Darwin and the idea of “the planet of planets”. It’s not been the easiest eighteen months for Mills: he retired his eclectic alter-ego The Wizard after 2012′s Detroit Electronic Music Festival, claiming that modern crowds didn’t understand it, and earlier this year he went viral after an Italian fan threw sunglasses at him during a live set. As he explained to FACT’s Tom Lea on the eve of his London appearance this weekend , however, when you’re used to club shootings and gang fights, it’s water off a duck’s back. So The Jungle Planet is the latest instalment in your Sleeper Wakes series… The Jungle Planet is the fifth chapter in the Sleeper Wakes series. It tells of a story a...
After we took a look at the modern jazz scene of Czechoslovakia in the previous episode of the Focus on European Jazz series, it’s time to delve into the jazz music of its neighbouring country Hungary. This is quite a logical step, as the history of the jazz scenes in Czechoslovakia and Hungary show many parallels. Being both Eastern European countries, Czechoslovakia and Hungary suffered from extreme left regimes that undoubtedly put their stamp on the history of their country’s jazz music. In Hungary, the harsh communist regime was installed right after the Second World War. This regime was opposed to jazz, as it was perceived as music with a distinctive Western character that represented freedom and other principles that did not fit the Soviet ideology. In 1956, the Hungarian people stood up against this regime, but the Soviet troops reacted heavily and killed 20.000 people. In that year the Hungarian borders were open for a brief period, during which approximately 250....