Newsletter Update; some photos within; Victoria and Albert

Major autumn exhibition opens next month!
Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990
24 September 2011 - 15 January 2012
Supported by the Friends of the V&A


Our major autumn exhibition will be the first in-depth survey of art, design and architecture of the 1970s and 1980s, examining one of the most controversial phenomena in recent art and design history: postmodernism.

Tickets are available to book online now. Don't miss out - book in advance today.

See the exhibition for free if you join as a V&A Member

With further support from Barclays Wealth




Ettore Sottsass (for Memphis), Casablanca sideboard, 1981 © V&A Image
Review of the month...
London's best museum exhibits
Time Out

"From sabre tooth to cutting edge, London is the greatest city in the world for museums. Explore a world of wonder as some of the capital’s curators pick their favourite exhibits"...

Our very own Glenn Adamson, head of graduate studies and curator of Postmodernism, chose Ettore Sottsass’s Casablanca sideboard: "What struck me when I first saw it in real life was its perfection and the fine craftsmanship. It has a huge amount of power, force, drama. It’s sheathed in plastic laminate and although it looks like it’s mass produced, it’s all handmade".

You can see the Casablanca sideboard in Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990.



© Peter Ashworth
Design a hat for Stephen Jones

"the next must see fashion exhibition" (Vogue.com)

Master milliner Stephen Jones, Vogue.com and Talenthouse are inviting budding milliners and fashion designers to create a one-off, spectacular hat.

The winning design will feature in the V&A exhibition ‘Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones’ which opens at the Bard Graduate Center in New York on 15 September. The maker will also get a two week internship at Stephen Jones Millinery.

Competition closes Thursday 11 August, so get your thinking caps on!

Find out more and apply



John Constable Oil Sketches from the V&A for iPad
John Constable Oil Sketches from the V&A for iPad

This beautiful app created by the apps team at Artfinder gets you closer than ever before to some of the most thrillingly spontaneous landscapes ever painted. Through our unparalleled collection, it explains Constable's working methods through his drawings and sketches, and charts the artist's development from his early works to the paintings that helped to define our idea of the English countryside. You can zoom to show each of the sketches in their incredible painterly detail, and follow Constable's progress from Suffolk, to London and Brighton. The app also explains the history of the oil sketch, and discusses each sketch in detail.

£5.99, download from iTunes Store



Five Truths (Michelle Terry), Katie Mitchell/59 Productions/V&A
Five Truths
Until 29 August


"it's a visceral, immersive experience"(The Guardian Theatre Blog)

"This rewarding project, which reworks Ophelia's mad scene from Hamlet in the styles of five key 20th century European theatre directors, repays careful attention rather than cursory glances" **** (Evening Standard)

This video installation created by a group of contemporary theatre makers, consists of five short films suggesting possible variations of Ophelia in the famous mad scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Ten screens of varying sizes simultaneously play films of Ophelia interpreted dramatically through the lens of Constantin Stanislavski, Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht, Jerzy Grotowski and Peter Brook

Find out more

Admission free




© V&A Images

Friday Late
With MasterCard
SUMMER CAMP
Until 30 September

This summer three Friday Lates come together for Summer Camp, a special season of events unpicking the design process. From brainstorming to manufacturing, workshop ideas, develop projects and create your own designs.

Coming up...


Design
Friday 26 August, 18.30–22.00 & Saturday 27 August, 13.00–17.00
Explore ideas about open source and collaborative design practice through lively workshops. Create your own prototype models, rework famous failed designs and discover the creative potential of working in a design collective.

Make
Friday 30 September, 18.30–22.00
Engage with new technologies to craft, tinker and hack your own objects. Discover developments in personalised production and witness extraordinary demonstrations of making.

Admission free

Drinks Partner Bombay Sapphire will serve creative cocktails from their specially designed Imagination Bar on the Friday evenings.



Marie Blandin, V&A Creative Art Photography Student, 2011
Learn the art of digital photography

Throughout the year the V&A offers a range of acclaimed digital photography courses, taking inspiration from the Museum's photography collections to show you how to get the best out of your camera.

On Monday 15 August, join our Introduction to Digital Photography course to discover the potential of your digital SLR. Combining theory and practice, the course gives you exclusive access to the V&A's rare photographic prints before tutor Justina Burnett guides you in taking photographs in the galleries. Suitable for beginners, this course will teach you the basic technical knowledge needed to create stunning images, from camera controls and image composition to digital photo editing.

Book online
£320, £256 concessions
DSLR camera required


Kings Cross Hot Club
Back to bal-musette
V&A Café
Friday 19 August
20.00-21.30

Join us for a special concert with the Kings Cross Hot Club playing bal-musette - a style of French music and dance that became popular in Paris in the 1880s through to the 1940s. Kings Cross Hot Club will recreate the ambience of that period and entertain you with a repertoire including classics by Jo Privat, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.

Admission free



Festival of Britain

Inside Outing: Festival of Britain
Saturday 3 September
11.00-16.00

Discover the story of this landmark exhibition through the V&A archives and a guided visit to the Southbank Centre.

Tickets £50




August Summer Sale
Summer Sale at the V&A Shop

Bag yourself a bargain both in store and online in our August Summer Sale. Gorgeous jewellery, fashion, homewares, ceramic and accessories are on offer. Hurry before stock runs out.

View the Summer Sale at the V&A Shop



Waldemar Januszczak © ZCZ Film
Members' Talk

Waldemar Januszczak: Impressionism
Friday 2 September
19.00-20.45

Two-time winner of the Critic of the Year award and principal arts writer at The Sunday Times, Waldemar Januszczak is also an established filmmaker. In his new landmark BBC series he takes a fresh look at Impressionism, from familiar faces – Monet, Renoir, Degas, Seurat – to the movement’s lesser known players, their materials and techniques. In this talk, Waldemar will show what makes Impressionism so compelling and give an insight into the arts documentary-making process – including an exclusive look at outtakes and behind-the-scenes tales from the series.

£15 (including wine reception with speaker)

Call 020 7942 2277 to book


You might also be interested in...

Devotion by Design: Italian Altarpieces before 1500


Zanobi Strozzi, The Annunciation, about 1440-5 © The National Gallery, London
The National Gallery
Until 2 October

Explore some of the National Gallery’s most beautiful works in their original context. Walk around free-standing altarpieces, view reconstructions of disassembled works and experience the atmosphere of a 15th-century sacred space.

Admission free
Watch Me Move: The Animation Show



Barbican Art Gallery
Until 11 September

Haven't made plans for the summer holidays? Not to worry. Watch Me Move continues throughout August. With over 150 of films on display, there's something for all tastes and it will keep the whole family entertained for hours. Plus under-12’s get in free!


Coming up at the V&A...


Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990
24 September 2011 - 15 January 2012
Supported by the Friends of the V&A

Book online


Buy tickets online for our major autumn exhibition

Power of Making
6 September 2011 - 2 January 2012
A V&A and Crafts Council exhibition

The Porter Gallery
Admission free



Power of Making will be a cabinet of curiosities showing works by both amateurs and leading makers from around the world to present a snapshot of making in our time
The House of Annie Lennox
15 September 2011 – 26 February 2012

Admission free


This exciting display will explore the image and creative vision of the artist