Posts by Clare Brant
Léo Caillard dresses Bush House statues for The Classical Now
Paris-based artist Léo Caillard, known for styling classical statues in contemporary attire, has dressed the two figures above the grand travertine marble entrance to Bush House as hipsters. Made by American artist Malvina Hoffman in 1925 to symbolise the friendship between Britain and America, the statues were each hewn from a 20-ton piece of stone.…
Read MoreThe Strand in November
A set of photographs taken by Clare Brant, showing the Christmas tree being assembled in Somerset House courtyard, and remembrance poppies on display in the window of Coutts bank. The Christmas tree goes up in Somerset House courtyard The Christmas tree goes up in Somerset House courtyard The Christmas tree goes up in Somerset House…
Read MoreBalloon on the Strand
The history of crazes is an enormously rich subject. We seem to be in the middle of a craze for fidget spinners, of which all sorts of varieties are on sale in the Strand. In 1784, the Strand was a key location for what became, for two or three years, a mad craze for balloons…
Read MoreSouvenirs on the Strand
A recent walk along the Strand in search of fidget spinners led me to start thinking about souvenirs. Sadly the Strand doesn’t feature in London-themed merchandise – it’s not as cool as the other big streets. A couple of years ago I asked a souvenir seller why he didn’t have items with the Strand? He…
Read MoreLight hearted
Today I walked down the Strand with two things under my arm: a loaf of artisan bread, destined to accompany weekend soup, and Paul Virilio’s book Lost Dimension. There was something pleasing in the conjunction: man does not live by bread alone; we need food for thought. The day holds significance for Strandlines because, after…
Read MoreStrandlines update October 2013
It’s time for some news from Strandlines to our community. First of all, news about Dr Hope Wolf who did so much to create the site, design activities and inspire us all with creativity. Hope is going to a Junior Research Fellowship in Cambridge, starting now. The usual formula is to say we wish her…
Read MoreTransforming the Strand: A Virtual Walking Tour
22 October 2012, 19:30-21:00; Anatomy Museum, King’s College London An exciting evening event run by the Centre for Life-Writing Research: the Cabinet of Artists will be leading an imaginative tour of London’s busy thoroughfare, the Strand. The tour will bring the Strand to the Anatomy Museum at King’s College London. Not only transforming the museum space,…
Read MoreDigging in the Archives with Patricia Methven: An Interview
The soft-spoken yet direct Patricia Methven is no stranger to the Strand, having lived in London since 1969 and worked at King’s College since 1978 in various positions. Today she is the Acting Director of Information Service Systems, which includes IT and Library Services. Today she is the Director of Archives and Information Management, a…
Read MoreDonald McDonnell – an artist among the people
“It is a living place”, said Donald McDonnell to me near the beginning of our interview. Donald is an artist living and working on the Strand. He is heavily involved with the Peabody Trust, and his artistic mediums range from poetry, photography and painting, to sculpture. Having spent the last (and my first) three years in…
Read MoreDickensfest
On Saturday, Dickens came to the Strand – in the ambitious form of Dickensfest! ~ an event co-organised by The Centre for Life-Writing Research at King’s (where Strandlines lives) and Westminster Archives. Many thanks to Ruth Richardson and Judith Bottomley for inspiration and organisation. Dickensfest lined up all sorts of scholars and writers to talk…
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