Cindy ShermanThe conceptual portraitist surprised the art world with a selfie-filled Instagram account. But what does it say about how we exhibit photography in 2017?
“Cindy prefers not to comment on her Instagram posts.”
This was the reply from Cindy Sherman’s New York gallery, Metro Pictures, when I asked for a statement. A private Instagram account run by Sherman featuring a new series of selfies was recently made public, creating an art world sensation overnight.
Glass menagerie: the ground floor sitting room. Photograph: Sophia Evans for the ObserverGlass menagerie: the ground floor sitting room. Photograph: Sophia Evans for the ObserverThe ObserverHomesAn Arts and Crafts studio built for painters has been reinvented as a home full of light
Talgarth Road in west London is one of the capital’s busiest, dirtiest thoroughfares. With three lanes of traffic thundering to and from the M4, it’s easy to miss the row of eight Arts and Crafts-era houses when driving past Barons Court station.
US news This article is more than 10 years oldJohn Sohus murder: fake Rockefeller found guilty of killing newlywedThis article is more than 10 years oldChristian Gerhartsreiter, tried 28 years after disappearance of John and Linda Sohus, pretended to be oil fortune heirA German man who impersonated a member of the Rockefeller family has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a man whose bones were found buried beneath the backyard of a suburban home.
Book of the weekPolitics booksReviewAnatol Lieven's clear-sighted study asks if Pakistan has lost control of its international narrativePakistan, Anatol Lieven writes in his new book, is "divided, disorganised, economically backward, corrupt, violent, unjust, often savagely oppressive towards the poor and women, and home to extremely dangerous forms of extremism and terrorism". It is easy to conclude, as many have, from this roll call of infirmities that Pakistan is basically Afghanistan or Somalia with nuclear weapons.
DramaInterviewToby Jones: dial H for HitchcockSteve RoseHe's played Truman Capote and Karl Rove – now Toby Jones is donning a fat suit and prosthetic chin to play the Master in new TV drama The Girl. Steve Rose talks to him about Hitchcock's dark side, failure and funky clothesLittle seems to have changed at Simpson's in the Strand since the days when Alfred Hitchcock dined here: the wood panelling, the chandeliers, the white-robed chefs carving hunks of meat on silver trolleys.
Lockdown culturePoetrySix of the UK’s best poets reveal exclusive new work and reflect on the last year, losing relatives, long-distance relationships and ‘artistic claustrophobia’
“The sky stretched thin…”by Simon Armitage
The sky stretched thin
over the frame
of day.
Downdraft and throttle -
the air ambulance carving
Music This article is more than 15 years oldAmy Winehouse apologises for singing racist songThis article is more than 15 years oldThe singer claims she's "the least racist person going" after a video surfaces of her chanting a string of racial slurs to the tune of a popular children's songAmy Winehouse apologised yesterday for a video that surfaced over the weekend showing her singing a song full of racial epithets.
MusicInterviewBrody Dalle interview: 'I'm not going to be held down'Charlotte Richardson AndrewsIn the decade since releasing seminal punk record Coral Fang, former Distillers star Dalle has survived more than her share of hardships. Now she's back with her first solo album – and a newfound maturityThe last time the Guardian sat down with Brody Dalle, in 2004, her band, LA punks the Distillers, had released their third – and what would be last – album, Coral Fang.
Espanyol This article is more than 14 years oldEspanyol captain Dani Jarque dies of heart failureThis article is more than 14 years old Dani Jarque dies after collapsing in Italian hotel
'The players are destroyed. One minute he was there, the next he's gone'
Dani Jarque, the captain of Espanyol, has died from heart failure while on a pre-season tour of Italy, the Primera Liga club have announced.
The 26-year-old defender had trained on Saturday morning but collapsed in his hotel room in Coverciano while talking to his girlfriend on the phone in the early evening, Spanish media reports said.
Jermaine Lawson celebrates taking the wicket of Michael Vaughan at Sabina Park in Kingston. Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty ImagesJermaine Lawson celebrates taking the wicket of Michael Vaughan at Sabina Park in Kingston. Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty ImagesWest Indies cricket teamJustin Langer feared for his life during the Jamaican’s most memorable spell, but that famous day in Antigua would also lead to his downfall
“There are three bowlers,” wrote Justin Langer in his 2010 autobiography, “leaving aside Brett Lee, who were blinding.