Monday, June 20, 2011

Sound Is The Colour I Know...

"Another rose wilts in East Harlem
And uptown downtown a thousand miles between us
She's waiting for the night to fall
Let it fall, I'll never make it in time.


Sound is the colour I know, oh,
Sound is what keeps me looking for your eyes,
And sound of your breath in the cold,
And oh, the sound will bring me home again."

I've Got A Thing For You, You've Got A Thing For Me...

Amazing video and I just can't stop listening to this song...

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Trip The Light Fantastic...

artdaily.org is fast turning into one of my favourite websites. I’ve subscribed to its daily newsletter and its always full of interesting articles about exhibitions and general art news from all over the world. While this is all very lovely, it makes me sad that I can’t see most of these exhibitions without taking myself off on some sort of mad tour around the globe. If I were to do such a thing, here are some of the exhibitions I would go see….

First off, I’d go to Paris and check out this 'The Art of Paper' exhibition at the Musée du Louvre. It’s basically a tribute to paper and the role it plays in the creation of art. It’s a collection of works on paper spanning from the 15th century to present day and it’s organized into 5 distinct sections, emphasising the differences between classic and modern day approaches and show the variety of ways in which the paper can be used:
  • Papers and colours
  • Assembled paper, multiplied paper
  • Found paper, selected paper
  • Transfers and transparencies
  • Tortured paper, glorified paper
artdaily.org describes each distinct section in its article. I would especially be interested in the ‘assembled paper, multiplied paper’ section having dabbled in the past in the practice of collage, or layering different drawings or fragments of drawings on each other and also the ‘found paper, selected paper’ section as it looks at the idea of the choice of paper itself playing a role in the overall intention of the piece. Plus, both sections look at the work of Picasso so that would be a big draw for me.

From Paris, I would jet over to London to check out the Miró retrospective in the Tate Modern. I'm a big Miró fan - I just find his work so engaging and exciting to look at, especially when you've the opportunity to see several of his paintings in one location - it's intriguing to see how his work develops. The Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona is one of my favourite galleries – the building itself is exciting to experience, but it’s just brilliant to get to see so many of Miró’s works in one location. I have fond memories of visiting it with my sister, and enjoying a drink in the café after hours of poring over his work...




The Tate Modern is showing 150 of his paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints spanning 60 years of his career. Many of his iconic pieces will be on show, adding to an exhibition that will display Miró's strong personal and national identity, the energy of his paintings, the innocence that belies a strong sense of humanity and his ability to capture the mood of a nation beleaguered by a civil war.

Perhaps while I’m in London, I would pay a visit to Bonhams Impressionist & Modern Art sale and buy a couple of Miró pieces for myself….wishful thinking.

While I was in that part of the world, I’d nip over to the Tate Britain (which I’ve never been to sadly), I would check out this exhibition The Vorticists: Manifesto for a Modern World’ which explores the world of the Vorticists (no kidding), the artists behind a brief but important modernist movement  in the years 1914-1918. The Vorticist style is characterised by being thoroughly modern for the time, embracing machine-age forms and energetic geometric imagery. The painter Wyndham Lewis was the guiding light for the movement, and his work is shown as well pieces by others including Jacob Epstein, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, William Roberts, Frederick Etchells and Edward Wadsworth. The exhibition explores the relationship and exchange of ideas between this British avant-garde movement and the American avant-garde in New York.

I would end my journey in Chicago, Illinois where I would check out the ‘Avant-Garde Art in Everyday Life’ exhibition in the Art Institute of Chicago which showcases the work of 6 European artists - John Heartfield, Gustav Klutsis, El Lissitzky, Ladislav Sutnar, Karel Teige, and Piet Zwart – who believed that they could help restructure society by redesigning common or utilitarian items, from postage stamps to buildings, from about 1910 onwards. This vast exhibition (there’s over 300 pieces) explores the long-lasting influence of this movement as explained in the artdaily.org article:

“Working in the 1920s and 1930s, specifically in central and eastern Europe, they were fully informed about the history of art and the state of the world around them, and they formed networks to circulate ideas for changing that world through creative interventions of all kinds in everyday life. Books, prints, posters, table settings, postage stamps, illustrated magazines, clothing, exhibition installations, building proposals–these artists energetically and zealously reached into every conceivable creative domain. They traded ideas through the mail, sharing published journal essays and original works in photography and graphic design. Across the boundaries of media, disciplines, and nationalities, these avant-garde artists presciently set the stage for today’s modern communications and advertising industries.”


Now if only I had the funds for such a trip....  



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

When The Darkness Comes...

Rather obsessed with this track today. AUSTRA are playing the Róisín in July so I'm definitely going to check them out then, should be a good gig...

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Whatever You Love, You Are...

I'm working on a couple of proper-written-words posts at the moment, but while I'm working on those, music videos will have to fill the gap.

Still obsessively going through all the lost gems on my Zen and here are some highlights! *cue drumroll*



A rather trippy video for a live version of Akron/Family's 'Running, Returning'...



'I Really Should've Gone Out Last Night' by Dirty Three from the wonderfully titled album "Whatever You Love, You Are." This is ridiculously gorgeous tune. If you can listen to that track without feeling like your heart might just might burst because it aches so much from the bruising beauty of it all, well then...you're just dead on the inside. I can't stress how much I love this band - Warren Ellis is a genius.



A little bit more peppy - 'It'5' by Architecture in Helsinki. This was my ringtone for a while - not one of my better ideas. I was in the Early Learning Centre store one day when my mum rang me. Not the best place to be when you have the words 'stranger danger' blaring from your phone...


The video does make me super happy though.



A bit more contemplative again (and less dodgy in children's stores), this is 'End of Music' by Do Make Say Think...



'Spring and by Summer Fall' by Blonde Redhead from one of my favourite albums "23" - lots of great songs to choose from there. 



To end with a bang, this is HEALTH's 'Triceratops' from "You Will Love Each Other." This band will be one of the major highlights of Electric Picnic '11. People will die. 



Sick.

1 October 1942...

One of the most outstanding live bands...



(If you're interested, the Lisbon Maru was a freighter used by the Japanese during WWII as a troopship and to transport prisoners-of-war between China and Japan. It sank in 1942 when it was targeted by USS Grouper (SS-214). On board, there was almost 2,000 British prisoners of war who had been captured after the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941 but unfortunately the ship did not have the appropriate signs to indicate to allied forces who was onboard. When the boat sank, many died and those who tried to swim away from the wreckage were shot by the Japanese, resulting in about 800 to 850 deaths. So there you go. Nice little story.)

Monday, June 13, 2011

We Know A Place...

My MP3 player was out of action for a while and just got it back up and running today, so I've spent the afternoon rediscovering songs I haven't been able to listen to in a while (I don't have my music backed up - how dumb is that? I will rectify it though). Some highlights so far...


Was listening to the Arcade Fire EP and came across this. I'd forgotten what a gem of a song it is. I tend to not listen to Neon Bible as much as the other albums so I'd forgotten about this song somewhat.


A Red House Painter track from their last album 'Old Ramon'. A sleepy, summer afternoon kind of song.



And finally 'So Close' by Six by Seven, taken from their album 'The Way I Feel Today'. I can only listen to this song every few months or so, it has a ridiculous effect on me that I can't explain. Lots of memories. One of those songs.

Alright Already...

Romance Layers...

Friday, June 10, 2011

Gold Panda Go...

Saw Gold Panda playing in the Róisín Dubh last night with my friend Claire. It was really great to be at a gig where the place was packed and everyone was dancing, rather than just standing about, nodding a bit. That said, we did have to move to avoid one particularly enthusiastic guy who kept waving his arms about, giving us a good ol' whiff of BO. Lovely. We followed it up by dancing like loons in the upstairs bar for the rest of the night - absolutely brilliant. I think we both needed a really fun, girlie night to blow the cobwebs away and that was just the ticket. 


This track was the highlight of pretty excellent set...

Thursday, June 9, 2011

We Put Our Feet Just Where They Had, Had To Go...

One of the highlights of 2011 will most certainly be seeing Beirut play at this year's Electric Picnic. I thought for the longest time they must be Eastern European or some such, but they're actually an American band, influenced by Eastern European and Balkan folk music. Their 2006 album Gulag Orkestar is one of my all time favourites, and I can't wait for their new album The Rip Tide, released later this summer. 





All About The Voice...

Obviously Hayden Thorpe's singing is outstanding but for me, it's all about Tom Fleming's voice. I'm not even sure I can really explain what it is about that makes it stand out for me. I guess maybe while Thorpe's voice is incredibly beautiful, Fleming's voice is more intimate, more compelling. It feels like there's a history there. In any case, they make for a stunning combination. I've only recently discovered Wild Beasts but the more I listen to them, the more I love the songs. They also played a fantastic set at the Forbidden Fruit Festival in Dublin recently which cemented them even further as a band to watch out for.


The boys earn bonus points in the following video for exceedingly jaunty outfits.

The Anticipation...

Thomas is on a journey. Where did it begin? What voices does he hear? And what will they tell him to do? 



And so the excitement builds for the premiere of Enda Walsh's 'Misterman' in next month's Galway Arts Festival. This promo gives little away but yet it completely intrigues me (or is it just the sight of Cillian Murphy looking all moody in an anorak that's having that effect?) I've heard from a reliable source that the score is outstanding, and with such talent involved, surely this won't be a disappointment?

Delicious...

And The Fluorescence Is Blinding...

It seems I can't go to a concert these days without it becoming an explosion of fluorescent colours, ticker tape and giant balloons. Not that I'm complaining of course! Photos below taken by me.


Sufjan Stevens. The Olympia, Dublin, May 18, 2011.









Flaming Lips at the Forbidden Fruit Festival. Dublin, June 4, 2011.







Thursday, June 2, 2011

Le Ponce...

I've found that if I can't think of a witty or imaginative title for my posts, I'll enter some random simple words into Google translate, and the French version of the text will automatically look more interesting and fancy. A simple cheat when feeling lazy!

Les Fleurs Dans La Réflexion...


Cet Été Sera Plein De L'art Et La Vie...

Had a quiet morning/afternoon/day in work so just started reading newsletters and looking at various art and culture type things that are coming up over the next while, and it appears that there’s lots and lots of exciting things coming up!


There are some new shows opening in the Galway Arts Centre, launching tomorrow at 6pm. The first show is the intriguingly titled ‘Post-Fordlandia’ by Megs Morley and Tom Flanagan which is described as a "filmic exploration of the mythologies surrounding Fordlandia, Henry Ford’s empty ghost town in the Brazilian rainforest.” Intriguing! I did a little research (i.e. looked it up on Wikipedia) and found that Fordlândia or "Ford-land" is a patch of land of about 10,000 km² in the Amazon Rainforest, that Henry Ford came upon in 1928 and used as a source of cultivated rubber to be used for the Ford Motor Company, creating an industrial town, which is now abandoned.


The second show is called ‘The Peoples’ History of Galway’ and the Galway Arts Centre is showing an exhibition featuring new work by Ceara Conway, Roisin Coyle and Simon Fleming, as part of month of events in various venues in Galway. I certainly think Ceara Conway’s work is worth a look  - I have yet to check out Coyle and Fleming’s work but living on the same street as the Arts Centre, I have no excuse for not dropping in for a gawk!


Further afield, the 2011 PhotoIreland festival has been announced. Lots of interesting exhibitions and talks, and the workshops teaching wet collodion photography and other fancy 19th century techniques certainly caught my eye. Unfortunately, they’re a bit on the expensive side at about €500 each so sadly, attending out of mere curiosity will not be happening. There is an intimidating number of exhibitions being shown - some that stand out are 'The Shadow of James Joyce' by Motoko Fujita - an homage to Finnegan's Wake, and 'The Arc of Realism 1911-1997' - a collection of work by Zofia Rydet, documenting her creative journey from realism to surrealism and back to realism by the end of her career. I always find it interesting to see how an artist's output changes over the years, and adapts to different movements, and the choices they make when developing their work. Rydet had to make a choice between documenting the world around her in an accurate way or creating her own poetic vision, and I'd certainly be interested to see the contrast and battle between the two.


The exhibition 'The Art Books of Henri Matisse' has opened at the Chester Beatty Library and runs until September 25. I’ve never been to an exhibition in the Chester Beatty before but it looks like this exhibition might be worth a look. The Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition runs in IMMA until June 26th so might be an idea to try and catch both, if you feel so inclined. The exhibition sounds amazing, and Kahlo’s work is outstanding when you see it in person, a must see  Apparently there’s been massive queues to go see it so maybe pick a time when it’s not likely to be so busy.


Still in Dublin, there will be a public reading and interview with the author Edmund de Waal at City Hall, Dublin next Wednesday 8 June 2011, at 6:30pm. De Waal is the author of the book ‘The Hare With Amber Eyes.’ His reading from the book will be followed by an interview chaired by Eileen Battersby, literary correspondent for The Irish Times. The event begins with a wine reception at 6.30pm and forms part of the celebrations for Year of Craft 2011. Tickets are €10.


As a crafts fan, I checked out the Year of Craft 2011 website and found all sorts of interesting things, some really original little events like this "Breakfast At Tiffany’s - Special Screening & Craft Maker Talk" event - a private tour of the exhibition Ornament followed by 'Elevenses' and a special screening of Breakfast at Tiffany's, and then a discussion with two of Ireland's finest jewellers about their style icons and inspiration, and what makes a piece timeless, in their opinion. All for the bargain price of €10! Amazing. I love the originality of the event - it seems a little frivolous and vacant, but fun nevertheless!


I’m seriously considering taking part in this Beginners Creative Textile Course - a workshop in which participants experiment in making sample textiles that can then be used for brooch and card making, and the like. It takes place out in Spiddal and costs €50 or €40 if you’re unemployed. It takes place on June 19, and again on July 17.


The Cork Midsummer Festival (11-26 June) has a really interesting and diverse programme. Ukuleles, tea dances, acrobatics, porn addiction, pop up homes…it has it all! The 'electro-opera' Tomorrow, In A Year in particular sounds interesting for fans of The Knife and might just be worth a wander down to Cork.


MOST IMPORTANTLY, tickets go on sale tomorrow for the Galway Arts Festival…the highlight of which is pretty darn fantastic – Cillian Murphy starring in the world premiere of Enda Walsh’s ‘Misterman’. This promises to be very exciting (if it equals Walsh’s awesome play ‘Penelope’ from last year’s GAF, it’ll be doing well) and is a must see. As someone who is gutted they never got to see Murphy in ‘Disco Pigs’ (the play version, I mean – I’ve devoured the film many, many times), I’m very excited to finally witness a Walsh-Murphy collaboration!


It's going to be a busy summer!!