Love it or hate it, the BP Portrait Award is back again. It is often either exalted as a wonderful exercise in human soul searching and a celebration of the artist’s skill, or derided as “the art equivalent of the Eurovision Song Contest” before that became ironic, as the Guardian’s Jessica Lack put it. This year, open to all artists over 18 (rather than just those under 40, as in previous years), the competition has attracted 1,870 submissions, a record high since its inception in 1980. The sixty selected by this year’s jury are on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh until April, representing a staggering diversity of both subjects and approaches. Friends, family members, celebrities and even an anonymous commuter are rendered in styles ranging from the poor end of an evening art class to intense photorealism, loose impressionism and surrealism. Not bad, considering that painted portraiture was once considered to be ‘dying out’ in the modern world.

In some ways, encouraging painted portraiture in the modern world is difficult, given how tricky it can be to divorce the idea of a painted portrait from its most basic: a realistic representation of a person. And unfortunately, few paintings in the exhibition manage to get past this. The many photorealistic portraits, for example, are an interesting demonstration of technical skill, but not necessarily of artistic ability. Some of the submissions, however, do make attempts to engage with the genre in a new way. In “Nisha” by Darvish Fakhr, a young girl sits on a stool in a Disney princess ball gown and plastic children’s jewellery – a dark and cheapened take on Velazquez’s paintings of Spanish court princesses. Timothy Hyman’s “She and Me” is inspired in composition by Rembrandt’s self portraits of the artist poised at the canvas, yet in execution is highly expressionistic. Emmanouil Bitakis’ “Portrait” sets the subject in a surreal landscape in which he floats beside a flower, a fly and a moth, with a separate painting of a male nude below. The genre is bent in other ways too. For example, “Time to Talk” by Lynn Ahrens, which depicts a strange, distorted, unidentifiable, androgynous creature whose semi-abstract form is strongly rooted not in the quality of the subject, but of the paint, moves us uncomfortably away from what we expect from a portrait. The surreal “A. C. Grayling” by Thomas Leveritt shows the professor sitting reading in the midst of a melting ice-flow of dripping words, dissolving into his element, as it were.

However, whilst there are interesting interpretations of a genre that initially seems limited, the ultimate issue is not the genre, but the generally dull level of the exhibition. For, despite the increased number of applicants, the diversity of style and the technical proficiency that many display, there seems little in the way of expressive power. Much of it is reduced to clever play, rather than any genuine exploration of the people depicted or the mode of their depiction. Perhaps the competition either needs to find some way to attract a higher calibre of painter, or to expand its repertoire to explore portraiture through more diverse media.

by Hannah Dingwall

At times, when reading War and Peace, I began to think that the whole book is, in fact, an attempt by Tolstoy to keep his reader interested long enough to listen to his theory of history. Now I study history, so I really tried to be interested; and the historical bits about Napoleon and the Russian Campaign were pretty good. But Tolstoy’s historical theorising drags on as he repeats his message of inescapable, inexplicable inevitability.

Luckily, this doesn’t matter too much. For, despite its title, War and Peace is best read not for the history, but for the characters. Discussing this book with other people, what seems to stick most strongly is Tolstoy’s incredible understanding of his characters: in no other author do you find such a firm grasp of the motives behind each one. This makes a big difference as to how you think about them; you can’t simply root for the hero and hope the villain dies, because you’re given an equal understanding of their needs and weaknesses. If there was a book to prove the phrase ‘to know all is to forgive all’, this would be it.

Unlike his views on history, Tolstoy never explicitly sets out his views on morality. I can’t recall a single instance when he passes a moral judgement on someone. The strength of the book is that, by the end, you understand Tolstoy’s idea of right and wrong, and it is all the more powerful for the subtle, yet simple way he introduces it, showing motives and consequences. As the book’s morality is slowly revealed, so too is its sense of the possibility for happiness, in the personal quests all characters undertake. I was greatly influenced by the idea that you should be able to find happiness in almost any situation, if you consider the world in a certain way. This is what the book is really about; war is just a background, as Tolstoy himself admits.

Tolstoy’s idea of the ease of happiness is what prevents War and Peace having a ‘proper ending’. With his aim of showing life as it really is, and his belief that happiness is, in fact, very ordinary and imperfect, ending the book with a climax wouldn’t have made sense. Endings really only exist in Art; in real life, the remaining people have the rest of their lives to live. That’s why not having a dramatic finale is actually one of the book’s strengths.

When I finished the book I felt a sense of achievement. It wasn’t just that it was fifteen hundred pages long or that it took me a month to read. I really felt I’d learned something from this book in a way unlike any other. Perhaps I’m just trying to justify the time I spent (the Stockholm Syndrome of books), but I don’t think so. In any case, if you haven’t read it, go out and do so. The length is daunting, but I guarantee you won’t regret it.

By Michael Bennett

I came across this German website, which lets you search for the frequency of different surnames across the country. It relies on phone book entries, so it’s not totally accurate, but it’s a bit of fun. There exist still in Germany:

1 telephone directory entry for Hitler on the north coast

846 Goebbels, mostly near the French border

1519 Eichmanns

7 entries for the surname Auschwitz

19 Lederhoses

3 Ahmadinejads

70 Blairs

7 Thatchers

8 Beckhams

16 Rooneys

3 Mourinhos

53 entries for Benitez

88 Giulianis

And finally, 230 Edwards, 9 Clintons but no Obamas.

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Rhiannon Nicolson, Jenny Moore and Sangwon Yoon present the Cherwell24 holiday news round up. Tune in next week for 1st week news round up.
 

I never thought I'd have a heading for films on this blog. When I got to Belgium I visited the Ardennes, beautiful forest, nothing to do with films. When I got up this morning (afternoon in fact, as I am following the year abroad agenda to a q, minus partying), I was planning on an uneventful day. I went to the Mediatheque to get films and cds and books and then met the others from my radio show to put up posters (incidently, 2pm British time on www.48fm.com). I saw a poster for a Michael Winterbottom film and decided to go along with my friend Claire. We walked in to the projection room without noticing the film had moved room, but we persevered and a film came on. It was a series of experimental films where they'd reused old reels to make new ones. The quality was excellent, I thought, " wow this has made my week worthwhile." It doesn't stop there. Claire and I decide to go for dinner and, having met in film class and just seen a bunch of eye-opening films, we began discussing films. I told her about the Belgian brothers who won the Palme D'or at Cannes a couple of years back with their particularly grimey film "L'Enfant". She wrote the brothers' name down in her notebook. We stepped outside and she noticed some filming going on across the street. We sat on a bench and watched until a woman came up to us and told us we were in the shot, she told us that it was precisely these Belgian brothers who were shooting a film in front of us. We moved to behind the camera and watched the monitors until a man came up to us and alsked us if we wanted to be in the film we happily accepted but gave up after the twelfth shot because of the cold, and we weren't being paid. The Dardennes brothers. The Ardennes have more to do with films than you'd suppose.

A flood watch alert has been issued for the river Cherwell following heavy rain this winter; the flood watch covers the full length of the river.
The Environment Agency has also issued flood watches for the River Ock, the River Ray, the Thame, Windrush and the Envenlode. Flood watch is the agency’s first level alert system warning that low-lying land is at risk of flooding and that householders should keep an eye on water levels near their properties; people have been warned not to attempt to swim or drive through the river.
The flood risk for the Thame has reduced and on Saturday, the flood risk was lifted. However, if the downpours continue, then it is possible that the alert will once more be raised. Seven rivers in Oxfordshire are still on high alert. More rain is expected today and the Environment Agency expects that river levels will continue to rise. Those who are worried about flooding can see the Agency’s website, or call Floodline on 0845 988 1188. 

Protestors demonstrating against Oxford City Council ’s Westgate area expansion plan claimed partial victory over Bonn Square Sunday after successfully halting security guards and police’s second attempt to evict protestors by squaring off the grass area with steel barricades.
The protest began when Gabriel Chamberlain, 34, decided to camp in Bonn Square’s threatened tree on January 4th to protest Westgate Partnership , the £1.5 m Westgate area redevelopment plan that will uproot the sycamore and remove the patch of grass with rock pavement. Since Chamberlain’s encampment, contractors and security guards have surrounded the reportedly 100-year-old tree with security fencing.
About 50 people gathered at Bonn Square for a peaceful protest Saturday afternoon when contractors started surrounding the area to install new barricades around the grass patch. Protesters then in response joined arms and swarmed inside the square chanting and waving flags and placards. With police intervention barriers were removed and without threat of arrest Chamberlain’s supporters were granted permission to remain on site for protest. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said the fences were removed because contractors ran out of steel barriers.
After thwarting fence additions protest organiser Danny Chivers, 29, seemed hopeful about the prospects putting enough pressure on the council and halting the development project all together.
Protester Brian Melling, 43, felt the partial victory signified the public’s disapproval of the project. “It’s not often you get a partial victory. The council said they have consulted the public but you can see how many people are here and what they think of what they are doing,” commented Melling to the Oxford Mail.
Tree protester Chamberlain expressed his further support for the 50 campaigners while calling down from his tree, “I think what these people have done is great. It’s not just about saving the tree but about saving the planet. This is the last bit of grass people can sit in Oxford and they are going to turn it in to stone. Why don’t they just leave the grass?"
Over the course of the weekend another, who Chamberlain identified as Eddie Beaumont, joined the tree encampment demonstration.

Chamberlain's mother Josephine Knight-Jacobs said, "I think what he is doing is brilliant. I am very proud of him. Too many people don't stand up enough in this country. I don't understand why they have to cut so many trees down."

Over the next few weeks you will be seeing a lot more multimedia content on Cherwell24. We have hugely expanded our broadcasting team and will be bringing you regular video features and news-in-depth investigations, as well as podcast news roundups.
27/1/08
Helena Zaba and Rachel Williams present C24's first gigging and clubbing roundup . Also, see Cherwell24's first video theatre preview . 24/1/08Our video team further explored the condition of the flooding in Oxford. 13/1/08
Our first releases have just been published – a look at busking and the Cornmarket Bagpiper , a report on the soon-to-be closed Greyfriars PPH and 'Oxford's Most Haunted ', where we go on the hunt for local spooks…We also have a podcast, a roundup of the news over the vac.Happy viewing and check back regularly!

C24 Editorial Team

Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rachel Williams, Helena Zaba and Tom Carpenter report on the Cornmarket buskers, including the famous Bagpiper and new regulations surrounding their trade.
 

Tom Carpenter, Sarah Karacs and Amelia Leeson report on the soon-to-be-closed Greyfriars PPH.