25 Apr 07 The Spitz
If the Spitz gets the boot, what would be put in its place?
The neighbourhood is getting stranger every day. The Spitz is a local restaurant, gallery and music venue at Spitalfields Market that has been an institution for arts and culture for 12 years (though I can only speak for nearly 18 months of that time), and it’s now under threat of closure.
The facts are that The Spitz has been given six months notice to quit its current site in Old Spitalfields Market by its landlords Ballymore Properties. This means in a worst case scenario The Spitz would cease to exist by the end of September this year.
Currently there’s a Save the Spitz campaign underway, though few details are offered to explain what’s going on.
20 Nov 06 Entertained
Anyone who keeps a casual and personal blog understands how it feels when there’s not much in the brain itching to be written about yet when you write nothing, a nagging pressure mounts to pick a random topic out of the ether and get over the slump. So here’s my random topic: entertained.
Not all of my time in the past while has been spent shooting pictures or editing pictures. Matt and I have been out patronising galleries and theater and cinemas, as well we have lounged a bit in front of the TV. Some recent highlights include:
The Fischli and Weiss exhibit at Tate Modern
A sincerely fun retrospective of these two Swiss artists that have collaborated for 30+ years and who I’d never heard of before this show. My favourite section is the enormous room set up as what appears to be the artists’ working studio - miscellaneous tools, crates, pizza boxes and assorted junky things. The twist is that none of the objects in this room are ‘real’, but sculpted fabrications of the real things. Having not realised this until days after we visited the exhibition, I had to return to scrutinize it all for signs of imitation. Even the rubber boots and gloves looked real, it’s a complete mind-bender. Also, separately entertaining to see is the installation of giant slides in the Turbine Hall which have attracted swarms of eager and vocal kiddies.
One Man Star Wars
Nutty Canadian Charles Ross is touring his one-man spastic interpretation of the original Star Wars trilogy. We caught the show at the Garrick Theater and were generally impressed by the unpretentious wackiness of a solo guy playing all the pertinent roles plus the spaceships as though he were performing in a livingroom for a bunch of friends for a laugh. The audience loved it but, for the few who might not have, Ross offered an apology at the end mentioning how easy it could have been to misinterpret the title of the show and have expected something different… :P
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Hysterically ridiculously belligerently funny movie, yes it is, and the humour is so way over the top to be judged only ‘politically incorrect’. Any person easily offended by pretty much anything should probably never see this flick. Just when I needed lots of laughs this movie came through, however I would happily take back five of the six (or eight) minutes I spent watching that nude wrestling scene. In light of the controversial revelations regarding the making of the film my thoughts are: Sacha Baron Cohen tricking some frat guys into drinking too much - OK whatever - but swindling an entire village of poor Romanian gypsies is perhaps ethically questionable and not entirely a practice I’d like to pay money to support.
Breaking and Entering
A London-filmed movie with Jude Law, Robin Wright Penn and Juliette Binoche - some actors I quite like to watch. Unfortunately there was no baring of Jude’s bum for this one but the interesting story and clever pacing made for a decent evening out. We have a newly opened cinema / multi-purpose community arts facility in our area, Rich Mix, where tickets cost only £6 (versus £12.50 at Leicester Square)!
In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century at Barbican
Spent a few hours wandering through this enormous and engaging photography exhibit, primarily featuring exciting and moving documentary-style images. Aside from Atget and Brassai whose images of Paris I am familiar with, top highlights for me were Henryk Ross ( represented by a series of shocking images which he took in secret while imprisoned in the Lodz ghetto in Poland during World War Two) and Anders Peterson, whose photographs taken in Sweden at “Cafe Lehmitzâ€?. Some of those pictures are the best I have ever seen, ever, and I discovered this afternoon he was here in London giving a lecture ten days ago… aaargh!
BBC’s Planet Earth series with David Attenborough
It’s nature programming at its absolute best and intriguing, really, and you can buy it on DVD. It’s equally amazing to watch the ‘diaries’ segments that document some of the trials of making the series. Unbelievably these filmmakers have suffered near attacks by lions and polar bears and extreme cold all for their commitment (and producer-pressure, I think) to record unforgettable footage. Last night’s rainforest episode had the photographer waiting 120 hours in a covered hole in the ground (not in one go), waiting with a male six-wired bird of paradise to meet a female mate. The results were worth it!
19 Sep 06 Photo Exhibition!
Some exciting news… Two prints of mine have been selected for the London Independent Photography annual exhibition! It’s the first time I’ll have framed work on public display, so it’s quite a thrill, really. I look forward to meeting the other photographers and seeing their images in the show. The details:
London Independent Photography’s 18th Annual Photographic Exhibition
Sunday 15 October - Saturday 28 October 2006
Cottons Atrium at Hay’s Galleria, Southwark (map)
Free admissionRichard Sadler FRPS and Sara Macintosh MA, both of whom have a keen professional eye for exciting, intriguing and engaging work, have selected entries for this 18th annual exhibition, which showcases the best independent photography in London.
7 Jun 06 No Parking
These are two of multiple graphics painted on the drive/sidewalk of a commercial building near Spitalfields Market:
If you park there I’m guessing your car will be cursed!
9 Apr 06 Morning with Tate
This morning we visited Tate Modern to see the Albers and Moholy-Nagy exhibition From Bauhaus to the New World. Peruse the exhibition room guide, and it’s almost like being there… well not really, but a good number of the pieces are represented in (poor quiality) photos in the order they are displayed. There are no images, however, of two of my favourites from the show - two posters by Moholy-Nagy, this one for London Underground:
and this one for Imperial Airways:
We also recently saw the Martin Kippenberger exhibit - Room Guide - which holds a large selection of drawings he did on hotel stationery.
Back in February we bought a ‘Member and Guest” membership that gives us access to all paid exhibitions at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern, so the plan is to attend as many shows as possible. It doesn’t take many visits before the membership pays for itself, especially if you want to return to the same exhibition. You also receive advance mailings of a bi-monthly guide to what’s on and a quarterly glossy magazine full of arty analysis…
At Tate Britain, Gothic Nighmares: Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination is on until May 1st, and there’s certainly enough memorable material there to cause nasty dreams. I have yet to see the Tate Triennial 2006 showcase of New British Art.
Today I signed up for a Street Photography workshop taking place over two Saturday mornings in May at Tate Modern. It’s in collaboration with iN-PUBLiC, an excellent website promoting the art of street photography and work by a selection of current photographers. I’m quite excited for the workshop as I need some new inspiration!
Some natural, outdoor inspiration is upcoming though. In the morning I’m off to visit York until Friday, with at least one day trip planned to Bridlington for a seaside walk on the cliffs to Flamborough Head and perhaps as far as Bempton Cliffs. Check out this guy David Cotton who has walked 6200 miles of UK coastline! Amazing.
18 Jan 06 Mimey Puppets
Last night we attended a puppet performance as part of the London International Mime Fest! What do puppets and mimes have in common? I suppose you could come up with a list of things if you tried… The Mime Fest, though, has a broad program that’s defined in the brochure as “the UK’s unique showcase for contemporary visual theatre… offers a broad spectrum of visual performance styles and boundary-breaking, often uncategorizable shows.”
The show we saw, Horsehead (or the Rise and Fall of the Back and Front), by performance group Faulty Optic, was too twisted a horror story to make much sense, but entered the subconscious and put you in an awesome daze. Aside from the brilliantly bizarre puppets, the sets (a hospital/sanitorium, primarily) and props were so intricately designed and operated that the mechanics of the show was a significant part of the fascination. Add live, projected video of the puppets, and a mix of pre-recorded and live music and spoken word, and all I can say is “I love horseys!” Part humourous and part macabre, in the end it was an unforgettably weird experience…
See the starring puppet:
The show was at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on The Mall, an ornate period building on the outside with a modern, industrial designed interior. There’s at least one exhibition gallery there, a theatre, cafe, restaurant, bar and a bookstore packed with contemporary art books, magazines and DVDs. The Institute puts out a monthly program packed full of events - exhibitions, concerts and performances - so we’ll definitely be back to the venue.
Also, The Fest runs until the end of the month and we plan to see at least one more performance.
GET FED: 