Photographing Men and Architecture.

A candid insight of a photographer at work. A good photograph takes far more than simply an eye for a good-looking man.

“I don’t want them just to be lumps of meat to look at. I’ve already created some kind of trust with these guys so the last thing I want to do is present a set of images that totally objectifies them and turns them into something else.”

Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4BB • June 22 – October 28, 2012

Tate Liverpool, in conjunction with the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, have brought together the later works of Turner, Monet and Twombly for a remarkable exhibition.

“It’s incredible to think that there are only three generations between these artists but, as this show illustrates, all were engaged in a radical reinvention of what painting is; and it’s this experimental energy that is passed on directly between them.”

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112 pages • Pindrop Press • May 20, 2012 [PB]

Cherry Smyth’s third collection is proof positive of poetry’s ability to combine the toughness and beauty of language in concentrated form, to expand brief moments and explore their possibilities.

“Smyth’s language is sometimes fibrous and stringy, at other times silky smooth. Her work is by turns deeply personal, overtly political and socially aware, without being polemical or ‘worthy’..”

Interview with curator Colin Ginks

I Am This Also is an exhibition at Liberdade Provisoria in Lisbon that looks at what queer art means in an age when so much its imagery has entered the mainstream.

“I wondered if I was going to get indifferent reactions to this project because banal, queer-informed, imagery has invaded the visual mainstream in so many ways.”

Emma Adams, Brian Mullin and Nick Field.

Interview with Emma Adams, Brian Mullin and Nick Field about Mauve New World, work in development by queer writers and performers, at Ovalhouse Theatre, London.

“Mauve New World explores the possibilities of queer futures, merging sci-fi and the speculative with theatre practices to create new stories and new ways of telling them.”

Michael Langan Writes His Coming Out Story.

Polari Magazine series where its readers and writers tell their coming out stories.

“It’s easier to be gay when you’re a pop star than when you’re a person, and it’s on the level of the person that telling our coming out stories still has significance.”

Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE2 9TG • April 4 – September 9, 2012

This retrospective, argues Michael Langan, shows Hirst for what he is: a man with limited ideas whose best days are far behind him.

“The central problem is that much of Hirst’s work simply doesn’t bear repeated viewing. It’s based on impact as an artistic statement but this is no longer the shock of the new but the kind of impact that, once it’s worn off, leaves a vacuum.”

Interview with director and writer Travis Mathews

In a revealing interview, Mathews talks about gay sex and intimacy in his new film, I Want Your Love, and his series of shorts, In Their Room.

“I wanted to show gay men’s sexual relationships in ways that aren’t really being depicted in mainstream gay porn. There’s so many different reasons why people have sex and I wanted to create stories and characters that explore that.”

A Portrait of the Chevalier D’Éon.

Thomas Stewart’s portrait is on display at Philip Mould showroom in London.

“Stories of the Chevalier’s exploits as diplomat, spy, and master swordsman abound, including claims that D’Éon, disguised as a woman on a secret mission Russia, became one of the Empress’s maids of honour. It seems he could out-scarlet the Pimpernel himself.”

White Cube Galleries, London • March 10 – May 12, 2012

Gilbert and George fail to impress Michael Langan with their tabloid headline vision of London.

“With the choice of material and language, Gilbert and George present a vision of London that is relentlessly bleak. Everyone is demonized and everywhere is dangerous.”