Sutra

Posted on April 8, 2013 by hamer the framer

Five years after its first performance I finally got to see Sutra last week at Sadler’s Wells. It was worth waiting for. It’s an intense, concentrated burst of energy. 20 Kung-Fu monks behaving like curious cats in an exuberent exploration of the ins and outs of boxes. It opens with a ‘choreographer’ (down right) describing a moving line by hand over miniature boxes whilst a monk (centre stage) dances the same line over full size boxes. This duality continues throughout the performance, playing with ideas of thought/action, self/other, inner/outer, micro/macro… Read more …

Frames of reference

Five French Gardens

Posted on April 6, 2013 by hamer the framer

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I was looking at Greg Becker’s Pinterest page, The Wild Allotment, a lovely collection of green-fingered imagery and a great escape from our endless winter. It got me thinking about visits to other, slightly more manicured gardens, but most importantly gardens filled with sunshine. Indulge me while I recall warmer days. This is Le Prieuré d’Orsan where we stayed for one memorable night in 2006. Read more …

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Compass Update

Posted on April 5, 2013 by hamer the framer

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Susie Freeman’s Compass exhibition opened last week. This is her piece Bacteriology Illustrated in the window of Art@42 late on Saturday night. It features Susie’s signature machine-knitted pocket fabric formed into a dress. The pockets contain fragments torn from the pages of the book. Read more …

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Secret Session

Posted on April 4, 2013 by hamer the framer

I’ve been listening to Free Magic, the new album by Medeski, Martin & Wood pretty much non-stop in my car since I got it about two months ago. I’ve tried changing it but nothing else sounds so good for driving so I keep it on repeat. I looked for a video but there’s nothing yet from the album though I did find this impromptu performance from a concert soundcheck. It’s not really typical but then no one single piece ever is with MMW, they’re just so versatile and eclectic. Enjoy!

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Sounds And Silence

Posted on April 2, 2013 by hamer the framer

This is a short trailer for the film Sounds And Silence from 2009. It is subtitled Travels With Manfred Eicher and it tells the story of his record label, Editions of Contemporary Music, following him over five years as he records musicians around the world. I discovered it thanks to Richard Williams via his very welcome new blog, The Blue Moment where he’s written about the exhibition ECM: A Cultural Archaeology, until recently at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. Read more …

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The Shard

Posted on April 1, 2013 by hamer the framer

Shard is Open

Christopher Corr painted this picture to celebrate the opening of the Shard, London’s newest, tallest building. For the past few years we’ve watched it grow from viewpoints all around the city. The inexorable rise of this arrogant and aggressive spike was impossible to ignore. Now it’s here it has quickly become another iconic landmark on the London skyline. A spire with a view – click to ascend and there’s a great view of it from the river here.

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Portraits Of Christ

Posted on March 29, 2013 by hamer the framer

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This is another book from the collection of Evelyn Hallewell. It was published in 1940 as a paperback unlike most King Penguins which were usually hardbacks. It contains examples of Penguin’s earliest attempts at colour printing. Read more …

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Tic Toc Choc

Posted on March 28, 2013 by hamer the framer

More Couperin by Alexandre Tharaud in this vidéo charmant by Elise McLeod.

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Les Baricades Mistérieuses

Posted on March 27, 2013 by hamer the framer

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Alexandre Tharaud plays François Couperin. One explanation of his enigmatic title is suggested here.

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Flicker Pictures

Posted on March 25, 2013 by hamer the framer

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We’ve been selling these ‘lenticular’ cards at The Rowley Gallery for a while now. They’ve been very popular. Seen from one angle the eye is open, look again and it’s closed. Lenticular printing is a process of combining two or more images on the surface of a corrugated plastic lens. (I don’t think lenticular has anything to do with Lent in particular.) Read more …

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