This is a self-reflective post about how my taste in Books, Films and Music has changed over the course of the nearly 8 years that I have been learning about photography
The beginning and the end of all literary [or artistic] activity is the reproduction of the world that surrounds me by means of the world that is in me, all things being grasped, related, recreated, moulded, and reconstructed in a personal form and an original manner”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Never let a day pass without looking at some perfect work of art, hearing some great piece of music and reading, in part, some great book.”
It is also the context in which my learning has been carried out; how the most important things that I have read, listened to and seen have influenced the work I produce
Books
“Capitalist Realism” – Mark Fisher
A very short and powerful book tackling the biggest issues of our time
Whilst we blithely accept the status quo, this book provides an eye opening perspective on the fundamental flaws in our economic and political system, and the problems these cause for work, culture, education and mental health
Considered the most important book on political philosophy of the 21st century, (so far)
“The Lives of the Surrealists” – Desmond Morris
Desmond Morris is best known as a television zoologist, primatologist and anthropologist. His best selling book “The Naked Ape” looks at humans as just another primate, so he is perfectly positioned to write this book
He is also an accomplish surrealist painter with work displayed at the Ashmolean in Oxford (24th April 2024) and has personally met many of the painters he write about
Fabulously readable short biographies of very colourful people
“Mythos” – Stephen Fry
An entertaining and therefore accessible introduction to Greek mythology which runs deeply through our culture, and still influences how we think today
The great archetypes of love, ambition, power, and transformation have informed the works of Titian, Rubens, Picasso, Dalí, Cindy Sherman, and Louise Bourgeois
I listened to the audiobook version, read by the author, which is even more entertaining and accessible than the otherwise weighty book
“The Chimp Paradox” – Prof. Steve Peters
An apparently accurate, yet in any case useful, model for managing your emotional responses. Everybody has a chimp and they’re stronger than you are. You can keep them calm and in their box but if they get angry or scared, they will take over
The book is full of strategies that Peters uses with his clients to help them achieve top performance in their field of endeavour, be that sport or anything else
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” – Stephen Covey
This has been my guide to personal productivity for the last 30-40 years
“Tuesdays with Morrie” – Mitch Albom
If you knew the time and manner in which you were going to die, how would you spend your remaining days knowing that each successive day brings reduced capability?
This is a very positive and motivating true story of somebody dying from motor neurone disease imparting key life lessons to a younger person
“Outliers” – Malcolm Gladwell
The 10,000 hour rule explained in detail
“Creativity, the psychology of discovery and invention” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
This book is about the system of creativity: the operation and interaction of the domain (the rules and procedures), the field (the gatekeepers) and the person
“Godel, Escher and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid” – Douglas Hofstadter
The classic text about the mathematical beauty of art and music, and the beauty and musicality of mathematics, especially with regard to self-referential and recursive procedures
One of the first texts to seriously consider the possibility of self-aware artificial intelligence
My copy is over 40 years old, and I have enjoyed revisiting it as I write this list
Films
Locke – Written & Directed: Steven Knight; Staring Tom Hardy
The story of a car journey from Birmingham to London with the sole on-screen character conducting a series of phone conversations as he determinedly does the right thing in the face of this life collapsing around him
Many of the issues he faces are resolved as a result of having done the right thing in the past. It speaks of blunt honesty by an imperfect man. When facing a difficult decision, I often ask myself, what would Locke do?
The Social Dilemma – Directed by Jeff Orlowski
Everybody should watch this partly animated, partly interview based docudrama about societal control by the big tech companies
If you are not paying for the product (Google, YouTube, Chat GPT, etc.), you are the product and somebody else is paying to influence you
Mulholland Dr – Directed by David Lynch
Probably the most famous surrealist film, essentially a dream in which characters change identities between the first and second half. Weird things happen in dreams, and also in this film
Very clever
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – Written & Directed by Martin McDonagh; staring Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson
A story of small town America told with very British black humour. Serious issues of rape and institutional police racism are mixed with scenes that had me, embarrassingly, laughing out loud in the cinema
The idea of hiring billboards to pressure police and other institutions into action has become part of protestors’ armoury, at least in part as a legacy of this film
Lee – Directed by Ellen Kuras; staring Kate Winslet
The story of Lee Miller. Fashion model turned photographer who becomes an active war correspondent during WWII most notably photographing herself in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub in his Munich apartment shortly before Germany’s surrender
In parallel with her wartime exploits, Lee meets, falls in love with and ultimately marries Roland Penrose the leading UK surrealist painter and collector
A Complete Unknown – Directed by James Mangold; staring Timothée Chalamet
Biopic covering the early success of Bob Dylan after moving to New York as an aspiring Folk musician. Limited success at the expense of being beholden to the whims of his record label, and his eventual artistic freedom manifesting in his move to electric instruments
Pollock – Directed by and starring Ed Harris
Biopic of Jackson Pollock covering the development of his drip painting technique, his alcoholism and relationships with Lee Krasner, Peggy Guggenheim and Clement Greenburg
Tale of self-distruction culminating in the drunken car crash in which he kills himself, his mistress’ friend and seriously injures his mistress. Krasner though never remarried
Blade Runner – Directed by Ridley Scott and staring Harrison Ford
The classic cyberpunk dystopian sci-fi. Deals with, and predicted, many contemporary issues including climate change, artificial intelligence and social isolation
Made in 1982 and as relevant now as it was then
The Gathering Storm – Directed by Richard Loncraine (Ridley Scott is an executive producer); starring Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave
The title comes from the first volume of Churchill’s, largely autobiographical, six part history of World War II
The film covers Churchill’s wilderness years when, whilst still a member of parliament, is largely without power, influence or financial income; right up to the outbreak of war and his appointment as First lord of the Admiralty
A Knight’s Tale – Written and directed by Brian Helgeland; starring Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany
Loosely based on Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”, this is a cheerful and positive film to end my list
A peasant squire seizes an opportunity to pose as a knight and compete in jousting tournaments, an activity only open to the ennobled. He meets Bettany’s Geoffrey Chaucer, a charismatic yet degenerate gambler who promotes him as “Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland” in the manner of a modern boxing promoter
Great soundtrack and proof that “a man can change his stars”
Music (Classical)
This is perhaps a disappointing part of this project. At Hour Zero I had this romantic notion that I would be shooting, editing images and writing blog posts whilst listening to inspiring classical music. My first ever blog post finished with the line: “This blog was written whilst listening to: ‘The Classical Album’ by Vanessa Mae, then ‘China Girl’”. A habit that lasted for only one post
Whereas, I like the idea of working to music, I work best in silence. I hyperfocus, which sounds wonderful but in reality means I can only do one thing at a time, I get annoyed by interruptions, and often miss appointments. I do my best work in the early morning, where playing music would also risk waking the rest of the household
Since 2017 I have attended 2 operas at the Royal Opera House and a couple of other concerts but sadly no significant development in my musical taste
Music (Contemporary)
Slightly better than with classical music; my tastes have widened, slightly, and I think/ hope become more considered
| 2025 | 2017 | |
| 1 | I Faught the Law – UK Dekay | Common People – Pulp |
| 2 | Freed from Desire – Gala | Goodbye Moon – Shivaree (from Kill Bill) |
| 3 | Kiss – Art of Noise, Tom Jones | Rehab (Pharoahe Monche remix) – Ami Winehouse |
| 4 | Rehab (Pharoahe Monche remix) – Ami Winehouse | 5 Year’s Time – Noah and the Whale |
| 5 | Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts – Bob Dylan | Killing me Softly – The Fugees |
| 6 | Victoria’s Secret – Jax1 | Make You Feel My Love – Adele |
| 7 | Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen | Life on Mars? – David Bowie |
| 8 | Fortnight – Taylor Swift | Delila – Plain White Tees |
| 9 | I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker – Sandi Thom | Stan – Emminem |
| 10 | New York – Paloma Faith | Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison |
- Having seen first hand how commercial photographers manipulate images of models, the lyrics resonate uncomfortably; and I love it as a lively inspiring tune ↩︎
