Blog — Page 177 of 275

Mark Lanegan

Factory Theatre

Sydney, Australia

September 18, 2018

Mark Lanegan.

The Screaming Trees.

Queens of the Stone Age.

If you are remotely into the darker realms of music and do not mind digging a bit deeper, chances are that you  familiar, if not enamoured with not only his high profile collaborations but especially the bleak early solo albums of Mark Lanegan.

The fact that the man has never not been relevant and that his recent emissions borderline eclipse his early oeuvre is testament to his legacy and only adds to the appeal of the dark alchemy he channels with his caustic, leathery baritone.

With a tight backing band that delivers the nocturnal, psychedelic, at times vile yet always soulful bluesy rock foundation, Mark Lanegan thrones with his growls and navigates through the evening like the captain of a ghost ship, displaying differently darkened facets of his personality.

Mark Lanegan holding court in a live environment is in essence subdued world weary gloom glam par excellence, if there is such a thing:

Always brooding, clutching the mic stand with an iron grip, confident and in equilibrium with himself, he is grinding and filling the space of the Factory Theatre with his idiosyncratic intensity and distinctively rich, effortless versatile gravely vocal delivery, which is always the focus of the performance.

The set tonight was deliberately slow-burning proof that Mark Lanegan, despite his vocals being rooted in a limited register, is more than a mere grunge / alternative music icon playing the character of a traditional anti-hero:

He is as relevant as can be – a rare identify that has aged as well as his back catalogue.

It feels all too  good to be scorched by the dry witted, barren and evocative atmosphere that radiates from this survivor, whose songs of the recent album Gargoyle weave in perfectly with the classic noir he has become known for.

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Photos by @k.a.vv

Sydney Underground Film Festival 2018

Factory Theatre

Sydney, Australia

September 13-16, 2018

Constantly growing, the 2018 Sydney Underground Film Festival marked the twelfth edition of an extravaganza that has established itself as one of “the” events on the calendar of film enthusiasts. With a dedicated hands-on team of directors and a well-curated program, SUFF is aimed at nurturing cinema culture that not only challenges the status quo and the complacency that defines the lowest common denominator of mainstream movies but also injects life and gives exposure to creatives in need of a forum - in essence a platform for filmmakers whose work would otherwise not be seen.

In a world where mindless blockbusters reign supreme, it creates a niche and aims to change an ingrained culture of cinematic complacency and revitalise an enthusiasm for the very essence of cinema.

It serves as a springboard for local talent, as the screening of their movies more often than not gains them access to distribution deals and other markets.

So far for the mission statement in theory.

The actual four-day incarnation of The Sydney Underground Film Festival is a weird, creative  and wonderful  tour de force running the gamut from the downright unclassifiable along with the staple horror film selection, outré music documentaries, Spaghetti Westerns, drug altered and blood-drenched masterpieces, comedies, workshops, short films, newly restored classics and parties. A melange that never not surprises.

2018 proved SUFF 2018’s status as an incubator with the display of the emissions of new films like 'The Wild Boys' (Bertrand Mandico), 'The Goose' (Mike Maryniuk), 'Madeline’s Madeline' (Josephine Decker) and 'Bugs' (by local Sydney-Based filmmaker Jack Moxey).

Along with a VR workshop, SUFF 2018 also was host to the inaugural InHuman Screens conference, which explored themes of technology and post humanism in films, featuring keynotes from Steven Shaviro, Sean Cubitt along with a host of others who considered the cultural, socio-economic and philosophical implications of future technologies.

Needless to say that the Australian premier of Nicholas Cage’s wild performance in Panos Cosmato’s Mandy was the cherry on top of a smorgasbord of eclectic events.

Given that the Sydney Underground Film Festival has constantly expanded over the last twelve years and the quality of its offerings in 2018, anyone remotely into movies would do themselves a favour by saving the date for 2019.

David Baddiel

Seymour Centre

Sydney, Australia

September 14, 2018

Full disclosure: I had no idea who David Baddiel was prior to attending his Sydney incarnation with his unvarnished one-man stage show My Family: Not The Sitcom, which is thematically cantered around (the loss of) memory, ageing, infidelity, dysfunctional relatives, moral policing on social media, golf, and gay cats.

I will not go into further details as to the content as it would spoil the experience.

What on face value could be perceived as a an exercise in disrespect and exposing the inner workings of his family, is in essence a compelling appreciation of their characters with all their quirks, faults and his love for them.

As he delves into the deepest secrets of his family, the affection and subtle admiration for his sex-crazed mother and his frontal lobe dementia ridden father that pervades Baddiel’s two hour monologue, is subtle yet it is that very emotional connection that makes his monologue more than   a mere laugh fest: What makes the show entertaining is the fact that truth can be stranger and more outrageous than any manufactured, scripted fiction.

Being an ardent advocate for truth, Baddiel’s tackles topics that are commonly deemed to be uncomfortable with humour while avoiding the pitfalls of throwing people under the bus for a cheap laugh. It is that well-calibrated approach that avoids cruelty and the nuanced melange of compassion and his warm stage presence which holds the audience rapt as they become acquainted with his life and willingly follow his stories and observations.

The highly personal show benefits greatly from the approachable and effortless way in which David Baddiel performs and the best parts ensure are when he abstains from framing and embraces the chaotic and outrageous escapades of his parents by merely recounting the details.

The show is refreshing in that in an age where breaking taboos, causing offense and swearing is en vogue in the comedy world just for the sake of it, beneath the humour of My Family: Not the Sitcom lies a rich layer of thought that celebrates life in the omnipresence of death.

If this sounds something you’d do with, I’d strongly recommend spending an evening with David Baddiel on his remaining tour dates down under in Brisbane and Perth.

Mathematics and Art: A Cultural History

Princeton University Press

Mathematics is dreaded by many, while the arts at large enjoy a better rep. However, the pursuit and adherence to patterns, formulas and ratios is more often than not the DNA of some of the most significant pieces of art.

It did not take The Da Vinci Code to illuminate a mainstream audience that Leonardo Da Vinci’s oeuvre is largely made of mathematical explorations and was the foundation upon which some of his most striking art is based and the new age with digital technology pushing boundaries on a daily basis has taken the mathematics / art connection to a whole new level and using mathematics creatively.

Mathematics and Art: A cultural history is one opulently illustrated tome of a coffee table book. A coffee table book that does not only look great but is meticulously researched and documented, creating a nexus of philosophy, science, art and mathematics that reaches back to antiquity.

Given the myriad of approaches, schools of thought and theories, it serves as a guide to shed light on seemingly opposing visions and thereby making abstract concepts more tangible through well-written intelligent accompanying essays and contextualised quotes.

In essence, this rich and sumptuously illustrated anthology chronicles and encapsulates the cradle of Western civilization and its appeal is that it is both accessible and challenging, serving as a source of reference for reading and research without overwhelming the recipient no matter what the background might be – arts or mathematics – and creating an opus larger than the sum of both individual components.

An enriching tome that is pervaded by attention to detail as mesmerizing artworks and mathematical diagrams are juxtaposed, leaving the reader with a sense of clarity, beauty and the truth that almost everything in nature can be explained and predicted by mathematics.

Frank Gehry

Prestel Publishing

Frank Gehry is an artist.

Frank Gehry is a creator.

Not unlike one of his most prominent works, i.e. the Bilbao Guggenheim, which triggered a phenomenon known as the “Bilbao effort”, his bespoke emissions are usually a spectacle – to the extent where critics claim that his constructs are mainly an exercise is excessive self-indulgence defeating the purpose of being functional.

Apart from the fact that Gehry’s engineered pursuits are never not intriguing, they raise the questions of the merits of creating art, the significance of building as a cultural occurrence and the practicalities of it all.

Be it as it may, the impact he has had on architecture at large and the incorporation of ornamentation and the application of computer software to create sheer limitless, intricate and undulating designs pushed the boundaries of what was considered to be possible.

This beautifully illustrated monograph compiles fifty of Frank Gehry’s most striking and impactful work, spanning a period of sixty years. Following a chronological timeline, the tome sheds light on Gehry’s genesis and his evolution, which was fuelled by him firmly embracing new technologies and innovations. It is great to see how Gehry’s work not only expands and elaborates on the concept of what a city can and should be, but conceptualised the buildings and creates a dialogue with them and their environment – a conversation that usually enhances both.

The range of the idiosyncratic edifices and constructions that are profiled along with their locations is testament to the Gehry’s flexibility and diversity. The sketches, drawings and plans that are depicted give an indication of how much visionary thought and efforts goes into the modelling of each.

If nothing else, Frederic Migayou’s and Aurelien Lemonier’s informative book illustrates that has never ceased to create surprises and inspiration for both his peers as well as the general public.

An intriguing read that translates and resonates well with what I feel and sense when I encounter a “Gehry” in the third dimension.