Apocalypse Now (Or Maybe Tomorrow)

So we’re all looking forward (in no particular order) to Christmas, The Mayan ‘Apocalypse’ 21/12/12, The Euro Apocalypse / the imminent Bond Market collapse, the next high flying celebrity to crash and burn, the next Flood, the first nuclear war, escape to the Moon/Mars…. etc. And I was thinking how could a painter find any relevance with all this going on. But the internet is a wonderful thing for connecting anything to everything and a reminder that these type of events constantly recur, that the oldest themes in art are the best and that there’s nothing new under the sun. Continue reading “Apocalypse Now (Or Maybe Tomorrow)”

Frames of reference

Oh Brother, Where’s Thou Art?

James Read just sent us a few images of pieces he’s made for a group show at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford. The exhibition is titled Oh Brother, Where’s Thou Art? and features cinema inspired works by Lorraine Berkshire-Roe, Andy Roe, James Davies, James Read and Jason Brown. Continue reading “Oh Brother, Where’s Thou Art?”

Frames of reference

Le Quattro Volte

I’ve just seen the most beautiful film. It’s undeniably slow but that’s not to say it isn’t action packed. There’s a lot to look at. There is no spoken dialogue as such, just a sequence of gorgeous images that make up a visual poem. It’s premise is the Pythagorean idea that there is a four-fold transmigration of souls, from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. The film follows the passage from man to goat to tree to charcoal, the soul moving through four successive lives, to be discovered four times. It is set in the present day in a medieval village in Calabria. The goats are the stars, but there is one amazing prize-winning performance from a dog. This is my favourite film and I can’t wait to watch it again.

See Philip French’s review in The Guardian, but better still see the film.

Frames of reference

The Weight

This is a follow up to the post last month on January 14. I’d forgotten then about this earlier performance of The Weight by The Band from Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Waltz, which also features a guest appearance by Mavis Staples, along with her father and sisters from The Staple Singers. A righteous sound indeed.

Frames of reference