News round-up: Papal plots, David Shrigley & Nick Cave

Today's Guardian asks why are there so many papal plots in fiction? From Dan Brown to Graham Greene, the papacy has long proved fascinating to writers so Mark Lawson examines the mysteries around this powerful figure and the church he leads. He identifies the work of Morris West as particularly prescient:

'West’s novels have an astonishing record of prophecy. The Shoes of the Fisherman was published on the day that John XIII died, and imagined an eastern European anti-Soviet cardinal ending the long line of Italian popes, which duly happened in 1978, when Cardinal Wotyla of Kraków became John Paul II. The unlikely plot of The Clowns of God (1981), in which a pope resigns because he can no longer face the burdens of office, was validated in February 2013 by the retirement of Benedict XVI. In West’s final conclave novel, Eminence (1998), the leading candidate to become pope, a Latin American radical called Cardinal Luca Rossini, now reads as a spooky preview of the Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio becoming Pope Francis.'
Lawson writes on the coincidence of the publication of Conclave this month with The Young Pope starting on Sky Atlantic in October and Doctor Faustus being at the Barbican.

'In two weeks, David Shrigley’s new sculpture will be unveiled on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. At first sight it looks like a work that needs no artspeak to explain its meaning. It’s a giant thumbs-up, cast in bronze. And who doesn’t understand that? Just in case there’s any doubt, Shrigley has titled the piece Really Good. He’s even made the thumb extra long, to emphasise the “really”.' He was interviewed by Marcus Field for the Evening Standard:

'Faith is an occasional theme, although Shrigley treads gently here. His parents are Christians, his mother an Anglican, his father an Evangelical. Shrigley himself went to church until he was 16 “and then I did sociology A-level and I stopped”.

He still has a lot of time for the principles, though. “I’m a sympathiser,” he tells me. “I think if you remove the aspects to do with gender and homosexuality, if you take that out of all the main religions, then I would say that if people lived by their central tenets — love thy neighbour, altruism, compassion, kindness — then the world would probably be a better place. And I think it’s wrong to separate Christianity from politics. What would Jesus do? Well, he certainly wouldn’t vote Conservative. He certainly wouldn’t dismantle the NHS.”'

Alexis Petridis has written an excellent review of Nick Cave's new album Skeleton Tree which scotches the idea that the album is about the death of Cave's son. Petridis concludes, this is 'an album that is no less brilliant, but perhaps less straightforward, than initial reactions suggested: not so much an exploration of grief as an example of how grief overwhelms or seeps into everything – a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless.'

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Nick Cave - I Need You.

Sculpture in Central London

Set amongst London's iconic architectural landmarks, such as the Gherkin by Norman Foster and the Lloyd’s building by Richard Rogers, Sculpture in the City draws visitors into the City transforming the EC3 insurance area. Secret Affair (Silver) by Jim Lambie is one of seven keyhole-shaped portals forged from stainless steel and finished in different colours. The work invites viewers to pass through it, and responds to its environment by creating a free-standing doorway or ‘frame’ in space, and by literally reflecting – through its mirrored silver coating – the area in which it stands.

Stephen Balkenhol's poignant and powerful Couple is located above eye-line at More London and prompts the viewer to look up. Altai Sadikhzade creates his sculptures as if they were multi-dimensional paintings. His work exempli­fies a new discovery of the world through its colourful, self-constructing text, teeming with ‘apparatuses’, hieroglyphs, esoteric epistles, palm trees, anthropomorphic machines, extra-terrestrial ‘guardians’, star observers and people. Mugham (Spring) is located outside St Lawrence Jewry and is part of the Buta Festival.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has said, "As Hans Haacke's take on the equestrian statue trots into Trafalgar Square, it brings another reason for Londoners and tourists to visit this cultural landmark. Gift Horse is a startlingly original comment on the relationship between art and commerce and I hope it will stimulate as much debate as the other works that have appeared on the Fourth Plinth."

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Let The Day Begin.

London scenes

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Saint Etienne - London Belongs To Me.

Fourth Plinth: Gift Horse

The latest commission for the Fourth Plinth, Gift Horse by artist Hans Haacke, was unveiled on Thursday 5 March 2015 in London’s Trafalgar Square. Hans Haacke’s Gift Horse depicts a skeletal, riderless horse - a wry comment on the equestrian statue of William IV originally planned for the plinth. Tied to the horse’s front leg is an electronic ribbon displaying live the ticker of the London Stock Exchange, completing the link between power, money and history. The horse is derived from an etching by George Stubbs; the famous English painter whose works are represented in the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.

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America - A Horse With No Name.

Powerless Structures, Fig. 101

"In this portrayal of a boy astride his rocking horse, a child has been elevated to the status of a historical hero, though there is not yet a history to commemorate – only a future to hope for. Elmgreen & Dragset’s work proposes a paraphrase of a traditional war monument beyond a dualistic worldview predicated on either victory or defeat. Instead of acknowledging the heroism of the powerful, Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 celebrates the heroism of growing up. It is a visual statement celebrating expectation and change rather than glorifying the past."

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Victoria Williams - Holy Spirit.