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  1. Culture
23 December 2014updated 12 Oct 2023 10:57am

The best of the NS in 2014: Arts

Our best pieces from the past year. In this selection, we've picked the best pieces about art and music.

By New Statesman

The awful cult of the talentless hipster has taken over

By Will Self.

Our generation is to blame – we’re the ones who took the avant-garde and turned it into a successful rearguard action by the flying columns of capitalism’s blitzkrieg.

 

Inside No 9; Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloodymindedness

By Rachel Cooke.

Two of the League of Gentleman offer up a sublime new series, while Jonathan Meades’s films about concrete architecture are his richest yet.

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Poets and madmen: the art of Paolo Veronese

By Michael Prodger.

The Renaissance painter abhorred an empty canvas. Did his crowded scenes lack spiritual depth – or is it time to take a closer look?

 

Morph reborn: how everyone’s favourite plasticine man became a model for the digital age

By Anoosh Chakelian.

The last time Aardman’s little clay man Morph went on any new adventures was almost two decades ago. Why is he now returning with another series?

 

Why the suit is the greatest British invention ever

By A A Gill.

Nothing else that comes from this pathetically stunted island has had anything like the universal acceptance, reach or influence of the suit.


 

Stop clap-shaming first-time theatregoers who like Martin Freeman from off the telly

By Caroline Crampton.

So-called “seasoned theatregoers” have complained about the audience clapping during Martin Freeman’s West End appearance as Richard III, in what is nothing more than a display of blatant snobbery.

 

Britpop: an insider’s tale of music’s last great gold rush

By John Niven.

Twenty years ago, it felt like John Niven and his fellow indie kids had won pop’s cold war. But then the madness set in.

 

Who wants to live forever? The new frontiers of posthumous rock

By Kate Mossman.

In the next two decades there’ll be a mass departure of the people who brought us the best of rock’n’roll, but some bands are finding new ways to give their tunes eternal life.


 

The hunting of the snark: Friends, 20 years on

By Andrew Harrison.

Twenty years ago, a new sitcom was described as “not very entertaining, clever, or original”. But Friends went on to shape the way we live now.  

 

Kate Bush at the Hammersmith Apollo: the ecstatic triumph of a life’s work

By Tracey Thorn.

If we still ask, where has Kate Bush been all these years and why has she not done this before, my answer would be that I think she has been living the life that made this show possible.

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU