Stanley Spencer A Twentieth Century British Master

Go on splurge on this excellent book
http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/stanley-spencer-twentieth-century-british-master/  Exquisitely, beautifully illustrated this is a large coffee table book, a fascinating visual feast . It is linked in with the first major exhibition of the artist’s work in Australia which has just finished at Carrick Hill in Adelaide .It follows the story of Stanley Spencer’s various muses and the subjects that made him one of the greatest forces in British painting.

Stanley Spencer (1891-1959) is regarded as one of Britain’s most significant twentieth-century painters. Shortly after studying at the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small village beside the River Thames where he was born and spent much of his life.

We learn of his two troubled marriages and turbulent domestic life. We also learn about his agent gallery owner Dudley Tooth . We get a sense of his eccentric strangeness . As it says in the book ‘few artists can have been so organized in their methods as Spencer, and yet few have led a life so outwardly chaotic , complicated and controversial ‘( p25) .

Spencer’s extraordinary output of religious works , landscapes , portraits and complex figure compositions bear comparison with the European greats of his time. He was a war artist during WW11 (eg Shipbuilding on the Clyde and Burners , Caulkers and Welders).

Spencer was most famous (perhaps that should be infamous?) for his celebration and immortalisation of his home village of Cookham and his fusion of the menial and the miraculous. Sex and saints, angels and dirt, the sacred and the profane: all these were blended together by Spencer’s extraordinary artist’s eye and sense of pattern and design.

The plants become vivid and alive, one can feel the texture of the clothes worn. His work owed ‘as much to Giotto as it did to Gaugin” . His major influences were Giotto, Masaccio and Fra Angelico. While he never visited Down Under, Spencer’s work is in every major institution throughout Australia and New Zealand including the Art Gallery of NSW.

The book is divided into several chapters and includes a message from Spencer’s grandson John. It also looks at the Haywards who founded the Carrick Hill gallery and the collection and their influence and the development of the art market here in Australia.

Illustrations range from striking black and white photos, delicate pencil drawings ( eg of Margaret in 1956) and Spencer’s wonderful landscapes and flower paintings ( eg Sunflower and Cockmarsh and not forgetting Blue Iris ). A wonderful wet and windswept A Wet Morning St Ives is also featured.

There are also some wonderful religious paintings for example Christ’s Entry Into Jerusalem , The Last Supper and Christ Evicting The Money Changers ).

There is a riveting portrait of Spencer by Henry Lamb as well as challenging , revealing Spencer self portraits and a wonderful grainy black and white close up portrait photo. Also a shot of Spencer with his work trolley (actually a pram) and umbrella.

Citations are listed at the back , there is a list of the various public and private collections Spencer is included in , an excellent chronological timeline of Spencer’s life and an extensive bibliography.

The book was published to coincide with the Carrick Hill exhibition.

DETAILS

Stanley Spencer: a twentieth century British Master/ Category Arts, Architecture and Design/Format Jacketed hardback/Size 290 x 260 mm/ISBN 978174305432/ Extent 112 pages

Dancer : Sergei Polunin

For dance fans a brilliant biographical movie  http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/dancer-documentary-great-ukrainian-dancer-sergei-polunin/   “ A theatre animal with an extraordinary natural sense of belonging on the stage.” Monica Mason, former director of the Royal Ballet

Controversial twenty seven year old Sergei Vladimirovich Polunin is a Ukrainian ballet dancer who was formerly a principal dancer with the British Royal Ballet and is currently a principal dancer with the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre and the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Polunin continues to be one of the most sought-after male principals in the ballet world for his rare combination of charisma, athletic grace and authority.

Steven Cantor’s intimate and revealing biography documents his life and examines the emotional and physical sacrifices of Polunin and his family in order for Polunin to achieve success.

Was Polunin’s success worth so much sacrifice?! Members of his close family were forced to immigrate separately to different parts of Europe to pay for his education, which saw him gain a place in the prestigious Royal Ballet School. While his father frantically worked in Portugal , his mother was a hardy Ballet Mother, devoted to her son. His parents ended up painfully divorcing, after which he didn’t see his father for six years.

\We follow Polunin from his childhood in Kherson ,a bleak provincial, economically depressed city in Ukraine to his performing on the most famous ballet stages in London and Moscow and achieving comparisons with Nureyev and Baryshnikov.

Polunin became the youngest Principal dancer ever with the Royal Ballet at the age of nineteen. Yet we also see how Polunin’s ambition slid towards great disenchantment and he spiraled towards burnout and self destruction, which led to behavior that earned him a reputation as ballet’s ‘bad boy ‘ climaxing with his sudden shock departure from the Royal Ballet which created headlines around the world in 2012.

We follow Polunin in early home videos depicting a lithe, elegantly graceful young boy and then the teenage prodigy through to the dynamic, charismatic tattooed star of the David LaChapelle directed “Take Me to Church” with music by Hozier. a video that went viral last year. We are treated to the full length version of this music video.

Music by Black Sabbath haunts another section where we see Polunin taking pills and possibly some sort of liquid amphetamine.

We also follow Polunin in  rehearsal, in his dressing room and in performance as well as seeing him goofing around with his friends.

The film features a selection of great interviews, including some classmates from the Royal Ballet who have remained friends, his first dance teacher Galina Ivanova, and interviews with his  parents and grandparents.

The film sees Polunin articulate his guilt about the sacrifices his family made for him, which he expresses with searing honesty.

DANCER ends with him performing a Jerome Robbins concert,  with his family watching, and then the emotional reunions afterwards in the dressing room.

I found it interesting that the film  made no mention of his intimate relationship with that other ballet mega star Natalia Osipova. ( (They performed together again at Sadlers Wells in October).

The film’s rather optimistic ending perhaps points to a new part of Polunin’s life where he may have now found a way to find the balance between family and career.

We now await the next moves in his life.

DANCER is in English, Russian and Ukrainian, with English subtitles.

Exhibition on Screen the curious world of Hieronymus Bosch

A fascinating documentary about the major exhibition http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/exhibition-screen-curious-world-heironymus-bosch/   Who was Hieronymus Bosch? Why do his strange and fantastical paintings resonate with art lovers now more than ever? How does he bridge the medieval and Renaissance worlds and continue to influence artists even today?! Where did his unconventional and timeless creations come from? These and other questions were answered in this fascinating film.

The film is based on the critically acclaimed, once-only exhibition which brought together practically all Bosch’s major paintings and drawings from around the world to his home town of Den Bosch, Netherlands.

This is a striking exhibition that saw almost half a million visitors marveling at Bosch’s quirky creations and imagination. The Museum had to remain until after midnight every night.

The exhibition took place in Den Bosch between February and May earlier this year.

Bosch was born in the 1450’s, died 1516 and this exhibition marked the 500th year anniversary  since his death.

This great artist is compared to Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo, and his influence has continued through Breughel, the Expressionists and particularly the Surrealists and remains an inspiration for artists even today.

In the most comprehensive collection of his work ever mounted, the small Noordbrabants museum managed to secure loans of 17 of Bosch’s 24 extant paintings and 19 of his 20 drawings. With nothing to offer other museums in exchange for the loans, they instead ´paid them back’ by doing analysis, conservation and restoration of the various rare works. The film depicts some of the processes involved including the xray and infra red technologies used.

The film features insights from highly regarded curators and critics including  Peter Greenaway, The Times’ Chief Art Critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston, and the bDirector of the Het Noordbrabants Museum Dr. Charles de Mooij.

The film brings to life and places in context the original form of Bosch’s famous altarpieces, which have long been separated and are now divided between the world’s great museums. It also reveals new discoveries made by the Bosch Research and Conservation Project during preparations for the exhibition, using cutting-edge technology to uncover yet further layers to Bosch’s multifaceted paintings – for example,  the donors being painted out in the St Wilgefortis triptych.

What little we know of Bosch’s life is discussed as is his links with the local order of the Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady. We see his statue in his home town. We learn that Bosch became a popular painter and was greatly respected in his lifetime.

Bosch was very religious and a lot of his works tried to express his deeply felt morals and beliefs . We visit Bosch’s local church of St John The Evangelist which he regularly attended and the soundtrack includes some glorious period music sung by Cappella Pratensis.

Some of the paintings are analysed in great detail. For example, we look at the work The Wayfarer and how it is perceived as being allegorical in nature with it being about dealing with earthly temptations.

The Garden Of Earthly Delights, regarded by many of his finest work, was not included in the exhibition, with the painting remaining in the Prado in Madrid in Spain. The film includes it digitally, placing it in context and analysing it in detail.

This exhibition is a striking look at the world of one of art’s foremost creative geniuses.

Running time 90 minutes without interval.

Exhibition on Screen : The Curious World of Heironymus Bosch screens at selected cinemas arthouse cinemas between the 10th and 14th December 2016.

http://www.sharmillfilms.com.au/allfilms/2016/9/5/the-curious-world-of-hieronymus-bosch

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Noel! Noel!

Delightful. Here's my thoughts for The Guide http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-australian-brandenburg-orchestra-noel-noel-city-recital-hall/   You can tell it’s Christmas with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABO) are performing this year’s version of Noel!Noel! their marvellous Christmas concert which is also touring to different cities and venues. Several performances have already sold out.

The atmosphere was as if we were transported to Europe and whisked to a huge Tudor mansion.  At others it was as if we were in a huge cathedral.

With the magnificent Brandenburg choir and stunning guest soloist delightful soprano Madison Nonoa from New Zealand, this was a terrific concert.

Established by Paul Dyer in 1999, the choir wows audiences performing both familiar Christmas favourites and rarely heard sacred works, ranging from the eleventh century through to the Baroque. The program began with the choir filing in to a crisp, sprightly Wachet Auf! ( Wake up ) by Philipp Nicolai in a new version by Michael Praetorius.

Sonato 9 ( anon ) was next , rather boisterous and dance-like with Paul Dyer enthusiastically leading on keyboard.

Nonoa entered in a beautiful red dress and led a piercingly beautiful version of Once in Royal David’s City,  accompanied by an organist and choir.

The bright, crisp Allegro from Vivaldi’s Concerto for two trumpets in C Major RV537 was next and this piece was given a joyous, breathless presentation.

Nonoa was in sensational form leading the soaring, angelic Vavilov Ave Maria.

Much fun was had in the next segment, a witty horn and trombone dominated version of O Little Town of Bethlehem.

Then came a mesmerising, otherworldly performance of The Spheresfrom Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass that was incredibly riveting, shimmering and powerful.

The Coventry Carol that followed, with Nonoa in an elegant black and gold gown, was given a rich and reflective interpretation, and the choir was tremendous.

A rich yet delicate and thoughtful renditioj of Con que la lavare, a piece written by Luys de Narvaez, followed, and this was performed by the full ensemble.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was next in a strikingly unusual, very light version that featured strident horns and shimmering strings interacting with a very busy percussion section in a version that had piquant timing and phrasing.

Soft, luscious, creamy strings led the dance like Ciaccona a 7 in C Majorby Rittler, which also featured horns and tambourine, with Dyer playing the harpsichord at first but he then swapped with Heidi Jones on the chamber organ.

This was one of those pieces which started off slowly but then had more and more pieces join in and then eventually fade away.

O Salutaris Hosia ( Esenvalds) with the organ and the interweaving voices of the choir was fragile, shimmering and soaring.  The two soprano soloists were simply angelic.

An exuberant, boisterous version of Hark! The Herald Angels Singfollowed. For this the trombones came in for the last verse but they felt a little hesitant and were rather drowned out by the choir organ and strings.

Ben Fold’s The Luckiest was performed a cappella with the choir standing in line at the front of the stage. The voices blended magnificently.

Adolphe Adam’s ( yes he who composed the ballet Giselle ) Cantique de Noel, more commonly known as O Holy Night) was led by Nonoa in a beautiful long white sleeveless gown. She was radiant and the atmosphere was one of wonder.

An extremely moving version of Amazing Grace followed the choir going full pelt.

An exquisite version of Silent Night came next, sung first in German by Nonoa then in English with the choir.

To conclude the concert there was at first a hushed, reverent start toO Come All Ye Faithful which then stirringly exploded as Nonoa and the choir went all out.

At the close Dyer had much fun leading the audience in a sing – a- long version which completed the concert with much tumultuous applause.

Running time 75 minutes without interval.

The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s concert Noel!Noel! was performed at the City Recital Hall on the 14th December and goes on tour until the 20th December.

Mummies - Exploring Ancient Lives at the Powerhouse Museum

A fabulous exhibition needing repeated visits. Here's what I said for the Guide http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/egyptian-mummies-exploring-ancient-lives-the-powerhouse/ Allow plenty of time to explore in this huge, sprawling, fascinating exhibition that has just opened at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Elegantly designed, the exhibition is situated on the street level, right near the entrance.

The exhibition features six mummies from the British Museum’s collection, dating from 900 BC – 180 AD, all scanned using the latest CT technology. Interactive, 3D visualisations and allows visitors to explore the mummies, whilst displaying over 200 objects which help place each mummy in its historical context.

The exhibition asks – what lies beneath the wrappings of each mummy ? Who were they, how old were they when they died and what caused their death?!

The six mummies ,who lived and died in Egypt between 1800 and 3000 years ago, were scanned at Royal Brompton Hospital in London. The mummies are displayed in their historical, geographical and social contexts alongside 200 objects exploring themes such as mummification, gods and goddesses, personal adornment, state of health and medicine, food and diet, musical instruments, and childhood.

Visitors are be able to virtually peel back the layers of history through interactive 3D visualisations of CT scans and discover for themselves the six carefully mummified individuals.

Ancient Egyptian life is placed in context – we learn about their afterlife beliefs , what they ate, we see various musical instruments; what it meant to train as an be a scribe , ordinary family life, life at the temples ..

We learn about the process of mummification, what materials were used, see small portion of equivalent materials that could be used today. We see what bread was like then and various foods. There are displays of canopic jars, funeral stelae, fragile poignant toys and clothes for much loved long lost children to wear and play with In the afterlife ..

Information about wigs and cosmetics is also included and there is some breath taking jewellery .Also included is a description of mummification by the Greek historian Herodotus, who records that this heavily ritualised process took 70 days, and involved removing perishable organs, which were then dried, wrapped and either placed in canopic jars or back inside the salt-dried body. The brain was removed through the nose with a hook. We also learn how the process changed somewhat over the millennia and particularly in Roman times.

The entrance to the exhibition is designed as if entering an ancient pyramid and notice the discreet lotus design .There is short video introducing the exhibition which it is recommended to watch. Each of the mummies has a short interactive DVD of the scan with them so we can see the skeleton and what is hidden under the wrappings.

Nestawedjat is the first Egyptian mummy we meet as we enter the exhibition. She was a married woman from Thebes, who died in her mid-30s or 40s and stood 153cm tall.

We also meet Tamut, from Karnak, chantress of Amun and daughter of a temple priest. She was bald , wore a wig, has protective amulets placed on her skin — a winged metal deity at her throat, stones over her eyes to help to see in the afterlife — and four wax figurines, each containing an organ, buried inside her chest cavity. Her nails are covered with thin layers of metal, possibly gold. We learn that Tamut suffered from high cholesterol.

There is also a temple singer from Thebes who dies when she was roughly 39 -45 and had dental problems .There is a young child – a boy of about three years old . We also meet Irthorru a priest from Akhmim who had a dental abcess and died somewhere between 39 -45years old. A young man from ancient Roman Egypt who died about 17 -20 years old and had major tooth decay is also included.

The exhibition asks – what will tomorrow’s researchers discover? Perhaps more about the diseases ancient Egyptians suffered from? Will we be able to decipher more of the hieroglyphs? These and other exciting possibilities are raised.

There is also a terrific shop at the exit.

Go see! EGYPTIAN MUMMIES : EXPLORING ANCIENT LIVES is on exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo until 25th April, 2017.

RSC Cymbeline

A terrific production ! Here's what I said for the Guide http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/royal-shakespeare-company-presents-cymbeline/

This is a very strong and powerful production of one of Shakespeare’s now rarely seen plays, first performed in 1611 and nowadays often classified as a ‘romance’ . It has elements of grand guignol /Jacobean revenge tragedy and is quite complicated in its plotting and many characters . It could be quite confusing unless you pay close attention.

There are three main interwoven plotlines – the British war with the Romans , the love of Innogen and Posthumus , and whatever happened to Cymbeline’s-lost children – the narratives are deftly interwoven.

Under the excellent direction of Melly Still the strong cast led by Gillian Bevan as Cymbeline and Bethan Cullinane as Innogen gave fine performances. This version is set unsettlingly in the near-future, one in which a British isolationist stance has created a landscape of desolate decay and bloody conflict with the continental powers – very topical with the Brexit debate. It is also violent in parts ( there is a beheading ).

The production is set in Ancient Britain at war with Rome but has been updated and somewhat changed – King Cymbeline ( or Cunobeline ),has here morphed into Queen (a striking,grey-haired Gillian Bevan with a long oval aristocratic face and hugely expressive eyes who is defiant for Britain).

Her consort, the “wicked step-mother” role, has been transformed into ‘the Duke’. (suave , sophisticated James Clyde) Often in productions Posthumus is cast as strong and tall with Cloten dumpy and somewhat petite but in this production this is reversed – here Cloten is big and tall, Posthumus lithe and small.

The two stolen boys in the original play are both male. Here Arviragus is male and Guideria female. ( They are shown as almost half feral forest people as marvellously portrayed by James Cooney and Natalie Simpson . ) Posthumus’s servant is male. In Still’s version Pisania is female , in a fine , solid ,doughty and supportive performance by Kelly Williams.

Shakespeare wrote all his play in English but in this production when they are in Rome they speak Latin as well as Italian and there are smatterings of other languages, too , including French , with translations in surtitles on a back screen.

When Posthumus arrives in Rome , shown as the height of decadent elegance ,he goes to a disco playing ambient techno with the posh party animals posing , strutting and preening . At other times the soundscape included haunting singing and a zither like drum . Dave Price’s score – blending wind , strings, keyboard and percussion – is superb adding just the right touch of atmosphere and depth. There are enchanting , very moving settings of ‘Hark, hark the lark’ and ‘Fear no more.’

The Romans are shown in sunglasses and blindingly crisp blue military uniforms with white detail .while the Britons of Cymbeline’s court wear somewhat tattered garments made of tweed suits or sacking.

Anna Fleischle’s striking set designs , including rubbled graffiti and – especially – a tree- ( the tree is particularly symbolic by the way) allows fluid shifts to the various locations while simultaneously providing the audience some powerful images which complement the action. Two swivelling gates are positioned at the back of the stage and there is a central pit of mud ( a grave?) . The camerawork was most accomplished and transfers this work terrifically from stage to screen , cleanly shot with dexterous use of closeup when necessary.

Through Gillian Bevan we see Cymbeline’s vacillating and she garners audience sympathy especially at the end having become a widow yet reunited with all her children – a magnificent , finely nuanced performance .
Bethan Cullinane as troubled Innogen was superb . Innogen can only find herself by running away from her mother’s court and discovering comfort in the natural world ( a bit like Rosalind in the forest of Arden) . She is presented as a survivor, brave and buoyant in times of trouble , as well as being resourceful .She accepts news of Posthumus’ alleged infidelity with shocked tears , and there is the rather bizarre , difficult scene when she smears herself in the blood of what she thinks is his headless corpse .When she is in disguise as a ‘ youth’ she is indeed almost unrecognisable.

Poor Postumus ,who suffers much too, was splendidly portrayed by small ,lithe and elegantly handsome Hiran Abeysekera . Like Othello , he is presented with faked but very believable circumstantial evidence. When he thinks Innogen is dead , wearing her bloodied skirt as a talisman and haunted by guilt and grief he unleashes his inner Shiva. Postumus is also in this production Jupiter who descends and control the odd , troubling sequence that follows with paper cutouts of people in a series of set pieces about moral dilemmas. ( For me this was the only segment of the play that didn’t work) . It is his unconscious ( as Jupiter) which leads Posthumus eventually to self-discovery and further development .
Iachomo as portrayed by devilishly handsome Oliver Johnstone was hypnotic and charismatic , with possible hints of Iago and Angelo from Measure for Measure . The scene where he spies on Imogen sleeping and steals her bracelet was passionate and intense .Does he truly reform at the end ?

Ex courtier Belarius who stole Cymbeline’s children two decades before was given a focused ,vigorous and intense performance by Graham Turner. He has a beautifully eloquent exposition scene towards the end .
Foolish blockhead Cloten has his head cut off by a fierce warrior princess yet Marcus Griffiths avoids playing Cloten as a stereotypical stage villain and makes you wonder what he is up to .

The ending with the general rejoicing reconciliation and forgiveness was cathartic and very moving , with the family reunited and Britain under Roman rule. Posthumous’ forgiveness of Iachomo was splendidly ,delicately done . The play’s denouement emphasizes the inner development of the play’s young people, but it also acknowledges the future problems as Arviragus and Guideria learn who they really are, Innogen and Posthumus have to rediscover each other again and Cymbeline has to accept and deal with her tricky situation , now she has become a yielding widow of a queen.

Running time allow 3 ½ hours including a short interval.

\Cymbeline screens at selected cinemas October 22 -26 2016 . It will be live at the Barbican in London October 31- 17 December .

Mer Mer Mer at Carriageworks

 Fascinating and strange http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/mer-mer-mer-carriageworks/  o Lloyd and Nicola Gunn’s MERMERMER has come straight from performances in Melbourne as part of Chunky Move’s Next Moveseason .

The audience eavesdrops on Lloyd and Gunn’s comic rambling stream of consciousness monologues developed from what they call Conversation Therapy, created while they prepared for their interactive performance at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of Melbourne NOW. The duo keep up physical and verbal conversations simultaneously throughout the show .

The show’s title comes from English, French and Latin language roots and  has multiple meanings – memory and the sea amongst them.

The duo are dressed in brightly coloured and patterned 1980’s style unitards and sneakers and have great fun in their riffing , flexible, writhing , sculptural and surprising movement and text discussion. Topics that come up for discussion include Axel Rose,Tilda Swinton , bald men and the British Museum.

They cover themselves in white and silver tinsel as their magnificent unison work and coordinated breathing feature in their work. At times tiny, ordinary everyday movements are repeated , at other times you can see the balletic influence. There are also Isadora Duncan flame like runs , skipping, darting fish like movements and a terrific use of their flowing hair.

There are other choreographic in jokes for those familiar with independent, contemporary dance . At one point, wearing huge silver tinsel wigs and in grey cloak like blankets they undulate like deep sea creatures.

Fluid sculptural poses are contrasted with kneeling , outstretched arms , backward walks and unusual lifts. Complicated floor patterns are negotiated, sexy sculptural entwinings , and long held arabesque penches ( but with long arms straight down ) are also included.

Gunn’s unpretentious, revelatory comic talent perfectly counterpoints Lloyd’s mischievous fluent choreography in their exchanges.

The show is an attempt to analyse dance making and the esoteric language of dance, a seemingly random blend of absurdity and satire which blends pop culture and high art . It has a somewhat improvised feel but is in fact tightly choreographed The soundtrack at times throbs, beeps and humms, at other times is delicate and chirpy. It is an attempt to analyse dance making and the esoteric language of dance , placing contemporary dance into clearly defined and recognisable psychological and social areas .

Quirky ,strange and delightful with some brilliant visual images, the audience, chuckling throughout,  loved this show.

Running time 40 minutes no interval.

MERMERMER was performed at Carriageworks as part of Liveworks between 2-5 November.

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