Year: 2013
Renaissance to Goya
Saturday, September 21st, 2013 Art Column,Illustrious artists such as Velásquez, Zurbarán, Ribera, Tiepolo and Goya are advertised on a sign at the entrance to Renaissance to Goya at the Art Gallery of NSW. Unfortunately they are hidden in a long roll call of names that will be largely unknown to the general public. Not many Australian art lovers are hanging […]
Blue Jasmine & Mood Indigo
Saturday, September 14th, 2013 Film Reviews, Uncategorized,There are directors who enjoy a special rapport with actors, being able to coax memorable performances from the most unpromising talent. On the opposite side of the ledger are those such as Baz Luhrmann, who can assemble an all-star cast and turn everyone into a cardboard cut-out. Woody Allen is the joker in the pack. […]
Windows to the Sacred
Saturday, September 14th, 2013 Art Column,“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law,” was the personal motto of Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) once known to the headline writers as “the Great Beast” and “The Wickedest Man Alive.” It was a philosophy that would endear him to the counter-culture of the sixties and make him a hero for rock […]
The Rocket & Jobs
Saturday, September 7th, 2013 Film Reviews,Laos has the unenviable distinction of being the most bombed country in the world. During the ‘Secret War’ waged by the United States and its allies, between 1964-73, Laos endured 580,000 bombing missions which dropped two million tons of ordnance – the equivalent of a planeload of bombs every eight minutes for a period of […]
Richard Avedon: People
Saturday, September 7th, 2013 Art Column,“Youth never moves me,” said Richard Avedon (1923-2004). “I seldom see anything very beautiful in a young face.” This may sound strange, coming from one of the most celebrated fashion photographers of the twentieth century, but it pinpoints that quality which sets Avedon apart. He had a ‘hard’ definition of beauty, as opposed to the […]
String Theory
Saturday, August 31st, 2013 Art Column,String Theory is loosely defined as “a theory of everything” – which makes it an appropriate title for an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Be prepared, however, for a different experience to that provided by the usual cutting-edge creations. Allowing for a few conspicuously sophisticated items, most of this show of indigenous fibre-based […]
Stoker & The Best Offer
Saturday, August 31st, 2013 Film Reviews,There was a moment in the 1980s when Australian directors such as Bruce Beresford, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong heard the siren call of Hollywood and went to make films in the United States. It seems this alluring melody is now drifting towards South Korea, with directors such as Park Chan-wook (Oldboy), Bong Joon-ho (The […]
What Maisie Knew & Elysium (+ film festivals)
Saturday, August 24th, 2013 Film Reviews,When Henry James published What Maisie Knew in 1897, the straight-laced mores of the Victorian era were already beginning to unravel. The Edwardian period would be more permissive, more prepared to confront social and sexual issues that had previously been taboo. James had a talent for describing scenes of great moral complexity without condoning deviations […]
C.J.Pyle & J.D.'Ohai Ojeikere; Mary Tonkin; Six Artists, Seven Days
Saturday, August 24th, 2013 Art Column,After many years of exile from the high church of contemporary art, Ray Hughes is now thinking maybe there is a God. His faith has been momentarily restored by a visit from Chris Dercon, the director of Tate Modern, London, who came to Australia last month to deliver a lecture sponsored by Kaldor Public Art […]
Red Obsession & Frances Ha
Saturday, August 17th, 2013 Film Reviews,“When the dragon awakes, she will shake the world,” said Napoleon Bonaparte, with uncanny anticipation of China’s twenty-first century mania for high-end red wine. For wine buffs, Napoleon will be the least significant figure quoted in a film that explores a booming market for Bordeaux that saw prices rise by more than 1000% in […]