Seeing representations of male nudity in Western art is nothing new, but how the nude male figure is represented has changed over the centuries. Especially when it comes to penis size. Male genitalia in art has increased considerably in both width and length since the Renaissance, according to a new international study. The study in question was carried out by a team of researchers and urologists based in the UK and Turkey. Male genitalia They studied how the representation of male genitalia in Western art has evolved by analyzing 160 paintings by a hundred artists from 21 countries around the ..read more

Woza Albert! is a play that sheds light on the struggles faced by black South Africans during apartheid-era South Africa. The play, written by South African theatre veterans Dr Mbongeni Ngema, Percy Mtwa, and Barney Simon in 1981, uses a two-hander performance style to delve into the lives of a wide range of characters, highlighting the injustices of the pass laws that restricted movement for black South Africans. By depicting Jesus Christ’s return to South Africa during apartheid, the production raises questions about how he would have responded to the cruelty of the time. ALSO READ: Educatin ..read more

World Book Day is held in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland annually on the first Thursday in March “to change lives through a love of books and shared reading”. World Book Day in March is not be confused with the global World Book Day created by UNESCO in 1995, and observed every year on 23 April. The event was moved to March in the UK so as to not clash with Easter School Holidays. World Book Day 2023 Since reading makes a crucial difference to a child’s future success, World Book Day encourages reading for pleasure. Parents and teachers can assist by helping children spending 10 minutes a ..read more

Changes made to best-selling children’s author Roald Dahl have sparked mixed reactions. Dahl’s Publisher, Puffin, a subsidiary of Penguin Books, apparently in collaboration with children’s books organisation Inclusive Minds, reworded current editions of some of Dahl’s most popular stories. Words matter According to a report by The Guardian, words like ‘fat’ and ‘ugly’ have since been removed from the stories: For example, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Augustus Gloop is now “enormous” instead of “enormously fat”. ALSO READ: How to become a published author While Mrs Twit from In The Twits ..read more

Time is relative, according to Einstein. And the rate at which is passes depends on your frame of reference. At Herman Lamprecht’s Reliable Clocks shop in Benoni, time stands still, it tick-tocks and it gongs. And he is in love with his timekeepers. It started off as a hobby for the former avionics engineer over two decades ago when he inherited a broken grandfather clock. “It stood around not working for years, and then one Saturday afternoon I walked past it and decided maybe I can fix it.” The bug bit after tinkering with the mechanisms of time, and he ..read more

Young generations are reading books, but their approach to books isn’t the same as that of older generations. For proof, one needs to look no further than BookTok, the huge book club that has sprung up on the social network TikTok. BookTok Many 16-25-year-olds take part in it to discover new titles to read, according to a recent survey by the Publishers Association. The British trade organization examined this phenomenon by surveying more than 2,000 respondents aged 16 to 25, through the agency Savanta. ALSO READ: This American novelist’s books are sold out thanks to BookTok It found that Book ..read more

In recent years, art historians have shown renewed interest in the works of Artemisia Gentileschi, after she had been overlooked for centuries. Now, one of her works is of particular interest to conservators at the Casa Buonarroti museum in Florence, since it was previously censored by another artist. Il Volterrano The painter in question is none other than Baldassare Franceschini, known as Il Volterrano. He made changes to a work that Artemisia Gentileschi had painted in 1616 on the ceiling of the Galleria at Casa Buonarroti in Florence. The oil on canvas, entitled “Allegory of Inclination ..read more

All the world’s a stage but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers. Thanks to frequently updated translations that dispense with the archaic Renaissance language, foreign audiences often find the Bard easier to follow. Take “King Lear”, a new version of which opened at the Comedie Francaise in Paris last week. In the original opening scene, the Earl of Kent reacts to being exiled by saying: “Sith thus thou wilt appear, Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.”  The new French version translates as, “Sinc ..read more

The work is believed to be part of a series in which Leger painted the view from his studio of the Paris skyline towards Notre Dame, repeatedly focusing on the smoking chimneys. Dutch art historian Sjraar van Heugten said only seven from the series were previously known to still exist, and the new work shows “hugely important” advances in Leger’s use of colour and abstraction. The story of the lost Leger begins around 110 years ago when the artist (1881-1955) gave the “Bastille Day” painting to his friend Marc Duchene as a wedding present in 1912 or 1913. But Duchene was killed in World War I ..read more

The Covid-19 pandemic took away the full cinema experience, with people having to stream movies or series’. However, the European Film Festival is gradually bringing back the theatre experience, announcing a hybrid event taking place next month. The event is expected to take place between 13 and 23 October, in Johanessburg and Cape Town. With this year’s theme, Innocence and Beyond, the 9th edition of the European Film Festival will explore innocence – not just as a legal concept, but as a human quality. According to the festival co-director Magdalene Reddy, the festival will continue to cater ..read more