OK, so not in the flesh but Sam Taylor-Wood's David (2004), an hour-long silent film of David Beckham sleeping, gives us a glimpse of the star away from the cameras in a precious moment of 'down-time'. The film was shot while he was taking a siesta after an training session with Real Madrid and shows an initmacy with its subject that the viewer does not usually see - even with the deluge of paparazzi and celebrity images taken over the years.
You can enjoy this fascinating portrait alongside Andy Warhol's series of screen tests featuring friends, colleagues and acquaintances such as Marcel Duchamp, Lou Reed and Edie Sedgwick. Also on show is Peter Gidal's 1969 work Heads, an insightful charcter study of British personalities including Marianne Faithfull and David Hockney.
Click here to read more about Moving Portraits: sixty years of portraits in moving image (22 Jan - 27 Mar).
To accompany the Moving Portraits exhibition, a programme of biographical and character-led films will be shown in Gallery 2 during the day and on Thursday and Saturday evenings. There are memorable classics by international film-makers, Hollywood productions and a selection of films by artists. Click here for a full list of what's on.
Tickets: £3 afternoons / £6 for a ticket + glass of wine or half pint of Peroni at evening screenings. Box Office: 01424 229 111 http://www.dlwp.com/
Image Top: Richard Billingham, Fishtank, 1998; video installation (video still), produced and commissioned by Artangel, 46 mins 40 secs. © the artist, courtesy Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London.
Image Middle: Willie Doherty, Non-Specific Threat, 2004 (video still). Courtesy the artist, Alexander and Bonin, New York, and Matt’s Gallery, London.
Image Bottom: Sarah Purcill (UK) You be Mother, 1990, 16mm col, sound 7min.
