To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
Reds, Rebels and Radicals by David Bell
Must-read on heroes of labour history in the Midlands
Rebel spirit: Alice Hawkins
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
THIS little gem surveys an eclectic selection of “reds, rebels and radicals” from Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire over hundreds of years.
All, according to its author David Bell, shared the “courage and confidence to take on the power of the establishment” and there are, inevitably, many communists.
They include the entire Kane family, whose women were noted for their rock-solid resilience. Important to labour history were brothers Mick, who led the reunionisation of the Nottingham coal field after the scab union deposed the loyal union in a deal with the employers after 1926 and Jock, an intellect behind the post-war radicalisation of Yorkshire miners.
Similar stories
MARY DAVIS welcomes a remarkable documentary about the general strike — politically spot on, and featuring accounts from the strikers themselves — that is available for screenings
Corbyn and Sultana’s ‘Your Party’ represents the first attempt at mass socialist organisation since the CPGB’s formation in 1921, argues DYLAN MURPHY
OLIVER SNELLING, a south London stonecarver and yeoman stonemason, relates how he is helping bring about a new festival next month
RON JACOBS welcomes a timely homage to one of the IWW and CPUSA’s most effective orators