We went along to Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery to check out ‘The Shape of Things’ exhibition that explores the distinctive contribution artists make to influence or reflect national identity, the intercultural nature of British society and its connection with global cultures.

Alinah Azadeh’s exhibits started with her wrapping her mother’s rice cookers and other objects that belonged to her mother who died in the Asian Tsunami of 2004. There is a poem on the wrapping called, ‘Come, Come my Beloved’ by Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi. This poem was turned into a song by Iranian singer Bijan Bijani and the cassette recording was a gift to Alinah from her mother when she was a teenager. The poem is written in Farsi, in Romanised Farsi, and English – the three languages – tongues – spoken by Alinah, her Iranian mother and her British-born daughter.

COME AND MEET MY NEW FRENCH FRY BABY AT PARK LIFE THIS FRIDAY iN SAN FRANCISCO AND STAY OVERNIGHT AND GO TO THE CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE WITH US ON SATURDAY FEB> 27

Seven-foot-tall NBA star Shaquille O'Neal made his curatorial debut Friday at Chelsea's Flag Art Foundation, playfully asserting that "Size Does Matter." Several exhibiting artists were in attendance, including Chuck Close and Richard Pettibon, but Shaq Attack missed his coming out party due to a previous engagement with the Charlotte Bobcats. I'm not sure I buy it--does Shaq even collect art? Does he have the time, between his reality tv stints and a burgeoning rap career? But if you're in New York, the show is worth checking out for funhouse effects. And if we're talking size, Shaq somehow managed to solicit the participation of huge names--ahem, Anslem Kiefer, Jeff Koons...

Here are a few of my shots from the opening...

Ron Mueck's Big Man, pigmented  polyester on fiberglass, 80inches high

In mid-September, Greely Myatt was the focus of a citywide, 8-venue exhibit celebrating his twenty years of service teaching sculpture at the University of Memphis. More recently Myatt exhibited at Mississippi State University, a school he briefly attended on athletic scholarship in the 70’s. After the accompanying panel discussion, I had a brief  chat with Greely. Among other things, we discussed our mutual admiration for Dave Hickey’s essays and pondered what Hickey would think of Damien Hirst for working over the art market, rather than letting it work him (conclusion: Hickey would love it).

Greely grew up in tiny Aberdeen, Mississippi in the 50’s and 60’s. There was little exposure to “art,” but there were Biblical illustrations, paintings in history textbooks and best of all, comic books. His childhood sounds idyllic: jigsaw puzzles, erector sets, homemade tree houses and go-carts, laying the foundation for a lifetime of making things.

Sas and Colin Christian are an edgy pair. This husband and wife duo has a new show on display at the Opera Gallery in London called Inner Space.

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