Before one can start any sort of study there must be a great obstacle course of diversions to navigate through. And so the real study of the Gothic met a temporary set back today by hitting the submerged rocks of Art Deco. My little ship contains a notebook, a pen, some pencils, a sketch bookContinue reading “Art Deco & Electro-Gothic”
Author Archives: DannyB
In France
The lifting of the tension and oppression of the general state of England can be tangibly felt. The constant howling of the right-wing has been silenced by the crossing of the channel. A new fool acts as the leader but it will be more of the same. Lying, the enrichment of the tax dodging managementContinue reading “In France”
The Situationist City
London can be rather fabulous on a Wednesday lunchtime, especially when toil is abandoned for a couple of weeks. I take the Crossrail to Liverpool Street and walk through the station. Down to London Wall and past the mysterious All Hallows church. There’s a cut through at Throgmorton Street and then Copthall Avenue. Uncorked hasContinue reading “The Situationist City”
Towards a taxonomy of Gothic
I was once told that if you are struggling to write something it’s because you haven’t done enough reading. So it is with trying to write about ‘Gothic Marxism’. As a starting point, Gothic architecture. This in itself went through many phases and developments but I find the study of built environments brings history alive.Continue reading “Towards a taxonomy of Gothic”
Wages, Price and Profit
The book is placed carefully on the table of the train. Moneybags should be so Lucky by Robert Paul Wolff. A woman is sitting at the table typing away. A paper cup is placed next to her laptop. I notice her reading the title.‘Have you read it?’ I ask‘No’, she replies. But she told meContinue reading “Wages, Price and Profit”
The City of London & Gothic Marxism
The Nightmare Before Socialism There are several keywords here. The City of London, Gothic, Marxism, Nightmare, Socialism. There are connections in the dynamic forces of capital as it relentlessly accumulates. The Gothic may be an association with horror. It can also be traced as a historical development which begins to form in an expressly consciousContinue reading “The City of London & Gothic Marxism”
Stepping Out
It is a peculiar sensation to feel as if stepping back into one’s own life. The recent past appears to have been the experience of another person, someone else, not me. There was a sense of a second phase. But a second phase of what exactly, unclear. It’s not as if I’ve been idle. AContinue reading “Stepping Out”
Money, or the Distribution of Commodities (and the circulation of people)
It is unlikely that Westfield Shopping Centre was constructed as a living laboratory in which to study commodity fetishism. But as a laboratory for such a study it is a surprisingly good one. Here can be found the products of global production and also working-labour and consuming-labour from around the world. Where does this magneticContinue reading “Money, or the Distribution of Commodities (and the circulation of people)”
Theses on the Expansion of Capital and the Destruction of London
I Capital has no interest in history other than how it can be commodified into tradition and heritage. Tradition and heritage must be constantly manufactured and re-manufactured in a distorted image of the past. In the process the contradictions of Capital and class tensions appear to be resolved. But this is just appearance. The traditionContinue reading “Theses on the Expansion of Capital and the Destruction of London”
Abstract Concrete Alienation
The world produces too much, and not enough. Too much of the wrong things; nuclear bombs, anti-personnel mines, hypersonic missiles. And not enough food, medicines, good quality housing, schools, kindergartens. There is an endless building boom in Britain and a never ending housing crisis. There is a shortage of homes and a surplus of emptyContinue reading “Abstract Concrete Alienation”
Commodity Fetishism 