Night Waves - 01/07/2009

Provocative American artist Jeff Koons talks to Anne McElvoy on the eve of his first major exhibition in Britain, the Popeye Series. Anne finds out what the spinach-eating cartoon icon can teach us about self-acceptance and how Jeff has chosen to pay homage to Dali's Lobster. At a time when bank robbers might seem more hero than villain, critic Nigel Floyd reviews Public Enemies, Michael Mann's retelling of the story of the fast and dangerous life of John Dillinger, the man whose criminal exploits in the 1930s American Midwest captivated a nation besieged by financial hardship. As we await the first winner of the 25,000-pound Jameel Prize for Contemporary Islamic Art, Anne asks the one of the judges, Venetia Porter, and journalist Navid Akhtar what makes art Islamic and whether tradition helps or hinders contemporary Islamic artists. Plus the second in a series of letters remembering the iconic summer of 1969. Having revisited Woodstock and discussed the film Medium Cool, Michael Goldfarb remembers the Manson Family Murder. Plus how fashion thrived under Communism, despite the authorities' best efforts.