WHEN I was a kid, my obsessive compulsiveness found its natural outlet in those spot the difference puzzles. Man, I would get so obsessed with finding every one of the differences between the pictures that the magazines. It was like I was temporarily the chick from Murder She Wrote or something. I needed to get to the bottom of every mystery, and I couldn't rest until I found all 10 differences!
Public sculpture and public art have also often represented something of a mystery to me. Most of the time, giant sculptures or installations leave me feeling underwhelmed. It's a tough gig making something that is eye popping, that fits the surroundings and that leaves a good impression, and that you can comfortably feel is a piece of art. But we live in a world where cities are in constant competition with one another. Cities whose administrations know it's no longer enough to appeal to residents. You need landmarks alongside your services to be of any significance in this modern world. When you have lots of big, new cities, you gotta invest in them. You've got to find ways of making them liveable, and if the budget allows for it, a good piece of public art can do wonders for a place before the street artists descend and claim it as their own. This is the case in China, which in the space of thirty years has been completely transformed with the push to urbanism. So, imagine how quickly I was shot back into my childhood by these pictures of futuristic sculptures. I was Angela Lansbury all over again, trying to spot the differences. You see, there's been a bit of a keffuffle in the news in recent days. Veteran artist Anish Kapoor is up in arms. His stainless steel sculpture Cloud Gate for the city of Chicago has been sitting in the windy city for the past nine years. It's become something of a symbol of one of the US' biggest cities and has long been heralded an example of what a successful piece of public art can be. The kind of addition to a place that makes you more fond of the surroundings and that is automatically associated with the host town. And the kind of thing that hundreds of thousands of tourists snap on their cameras. So, why is Kapoor so angry? Has a usual suspect committed a crime at the installation scene? Was Jessica Fletcher on the scene while it happened? For once, no. But there is a usual suspect element to the story. Cloud Gate was Kapoor's aim of using sculpture to reflect the sky and the heavens. He used his trademark curves and a rather masterful application of stainless steel to act as a mirror. You see, the North Western Chinese town of Karamay has just birthed its own public sculpture that is yet to be officially unveiled. It's said to be in the shape of an oil bubble, planted firmly at the spot where the town's first oil well was located. Well, it seems that Karamay has its own remarkable, stainless steel sculpture that is also reflecting its surroundings. But if you believe officials, their sculpture is aimed at reflecting the ground and not the sky, which means, at least in that wonderful world called convenience theory, that there is no plagiarization or infringement of Kapoor's ideas, despite the almost identical nature of the sculpture. In fact, Chinese officials are horrified that Kapoor has the gall to even think of accusing them of stealing his idea. How dare he think his nine year old idea is his own! Now, I don't want to be my pedantic nine year old self, but let's call a pot black when it's black. Kapoor, like so many other creatives, has had his intellectual property compromised by this anonymous new piece in Karamay. And beyond that, his IP rights are just the latest victim in China's ongoing assault of IP. As far as I can tell, no artist has come forward and claimed authorship of the sculpture, and at this point, they would be foolish to do so. Kudos to the administration of Karamay for protecting the identity of this artist despite the avalanche of bad publicity that the sculpture is generating. I guess the administration in Karamay didn't really fully grasp the idea of what competing on the international map really means. Kapoor has been widely quoted as saying the following: “It seems that in China today it is permissible to steal the creativity of others...I feel I must take this to the highest level and pursue those responsible in the courts.” There are countless examples of how intellectual property rights are constantly infringed in China and other markets. Unfortunately, copyright is a difficult thing to enforce across borders and the cost associated with doing so makes it even more prohibitive than the logistics alone - even when it's a local matter. In my mind, there's a very strong correlation between sending your designs abroad and playing with fire. Yes, you might save in the short term by having foreign factories produce your designs, but you're basically sending your creativity into the ether by doing so. In this case it's not a clear example of designer sending blueprints to a manufacturer and manufacturer capitalizing on them for the local market. But it's essentially the same theft of ideas that is occurring. My hats off to Kapoor for drumming up the publicity on this matter. I don't know if it will come to anything, but at least it will give hope to so many artists who feel their work is being compromise, particularly in places where laws don't seem to work in their favour. And in the meantime, perhaps city administrations around the world need to consider new ways that they can protect their creatives' ideas. Rather than sending their work abroad, where the possibilities for IP infringement are more rife, perhaps there are ways that local governments can invest in providing access to equipment that allows for designs to be manufactured locally in a protected environment. More here.
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THESE straight outta memes are straight out of this world. This one is one that I just felt motivated to put together because, well, some things can only be said through a meme. The Australian Prime Minister, in a power play that one of his own front benchers labelled as being a form of branch stacking has brought in his Coalition partners (from the conservative National party) to out manouvre the more progressive members of his party, and effectively block many of them from having a free vote when the forthcoming bill for gay marriage is tabled in parliament. Common thinking in Australia is that Abbott is essentially treading water on this and other issues. He's not likely to be re-elected, and there is speculation that despite today's power play (with the assistance of the coalition partners), the PM is looking down the barrel of a party revolt. In case you are so inclined, there's a fabulous list of achievements that the government has achieved under Abbott. They really make for disturbing and sad reading. Go here for more, or consider visiting One Term Tony for more up to date achievements/follies. If you want to make your own Straight Outta meme, head here. Flags are weird things. They just kind of sit there flapping about in the wind, and most of the time the only use they have is to tell you that the building you are looking at is probably an official building. Or that it belongs to some ultra nationalist.
In addition to my ambivalence towards fellow concert goers and selfie sticks, I have also been prone to some ambivalence to New Zealand. Not to New Zealanders as people, because I've got a lot of Kiwi friends, but more New Zealand as a country. I mean, I'm glad that it exists and I've heard wonderful things about Wellington, but most of the time, I've just considered it some outpost of Australia. Well, I can't do that anymore. Not because it's politically incorrect, but because New Zealand has stepped up for the third time to show Australia that it is the far superior country. The other times? Well, New Zealand passed the laws for gay marriage in 2013. Australia still is nowhere near that milestone because the prime minister there is like one of those people that promises you that they're going to do something, but they just keep postponing and pretend forgetting until you just lose your patience and do it yourself. And everybody has at least one of those people in their lives. The other time New Zealand (the country) earned my respect was much much earlier. Back in the eighties, the French bombed Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior boat in Auckland, back in 1985. The Rainbow Warrior was due to head out into the Pacific to protest against France's nuclear tests in Muroura, but the French government wasn't having any of that. So they sent some operatives to Auckland to bomb that peace loving, environmentally crusading boat into smithereens. As a result of those actions, New Zealand is directly responsible for me hating the French government and anything connected with nuclear shit. And if you know me, you'll know I'm as loyal and stubborn as a dog. It's been thirty years, and I've clung to those anti French and anti nuclear ideas my entire life. Well, I have to say that New Zealand, for the third, and now definitive time, has earned my respect and demonstrated that it is a better country than Australia. For so long, like so many other Pacific ex-colonies of Britain, some sad looking flags have flapped above its buildings and on New Zealand Day. Actually, I don't think there is a New Zealand Day as such, but let's just pretend there is until you forget I even mentioned it. New Zealand's current flag, like many others in the Commonwealth, still bears the Union Jack. And actually, if I can be brutally honest, given that I'm saying something positive about NZ for a change, their flag is basically a rip off of the Australian flag. It just has like some different coloured stars (and even then less than the Aussie one). I mean, that kind of thing is redundant. No, it's reductive! It's like Lady Gaga to Madonna. Or the rest of the world to Queen Bey. So, to shake off the shackles of colonialism, Mary Mary style, and to capitalize on the more recognizable silver fern motif that the All Blacks wear (gross, rugby!) New Zealand is changing its flag. It has opened the new design to the public and encouraged submissions from anyone who wants to see their designs printed onto fabric that will inevitably fray from being in one of the windiest corners of the world. The majority of the designs that have made it through to the finals are colorful, modern and more like bedfellows to the neighbouring Pacific Island nations. While nearly all of them are better than the current flag, let's be honest and say they're a bit on the boring side at the end of the day. Especially when the above design, submitted by James Gray, has not been considered as a final contender. That to me is avantguard flag design at its best. A flag like that would bring terror to its neighbours and remind everybody that kiwis are extraordinarily powerful. They'd be able to save millions on printing X-ray screening signs at the airports, because that bird would send the message that ain't nothing getting through customs. If you want to see the more conventional designs (and some more of the offbeat ones) then visit here for more information. Big night last night for Bande a sud, with the predictions holding out and the main square of Trepuzzi being packed with thousands of people who came down to check out Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral band.
It was an entertaining and long set which lived up to the expectations, and that had the crowd jumping and hopping for the show's entire duration. And at two hours on a hot summer's night, you need more than just Bregovic's charisma, gold shoes and white suit to pull something like that off. I loved it: loved the music and the atmosphere, and of course, loved the priceless people watching that was on offer when I wasn't too busy bopping along. You might know that one of my favourite gripes is always about fellow concert goers, or rather, people who don't know how to observe a minimum of decorum at a show. And selfie sticks is one too. Well, last night offered both in spades, with a dash of some extra, unscripted comedic entertainment from one unhappy woman in the crowd who was more than comfortable to launch the occasional death threat anybody's way. Just added to the wild, Bregovic flavour of the night. I've been lending a hand to the Bitume crew in the lead up to this year's edition of the photography festival. The event, which will include a number of workshops and a final exhibition/catalogue will take place in the nearby Gallipoli area, and this year the theme that invited photographers will be exploring is that of rural layers. While a number of photographers have already been selected for this year's festival, the call for photographers has been extended by popular demand, and the final call has a deadline of tomorrow, August 10. If you're interested in participating or want to know more, head on over to the website bitumephotofest.it. Hurry now (and good luck!) Having staged a number of events myself in the past - I once ran an art gallery which hosted, on average, a new exhibition every three to four weeks - I know how exhausting and how challenging it can be to find the energy to keep things moving and to get things done. But at the end of the day, a well planned event is a reward in and of itself and watching from the sidelines as my friends are currently running their own events is a reminder of that. I'm enjoying watching the Bande A Sud crew realise their dreams in creating one of Puglia's most interesting and visited new events. It's in its fourth year now and is growing: this year the festival is becoming more and more itinerant. Remember, if you know someone who is putting their heart and soul into something, then it's your responsibility to lend a hand! It's not about jumping on the winning chariot, but, seeing your friends pull something off, knowing that you've somehow helped in the process is just as rewarding as doing it yourself. And a word of advice for friends of creatives: you can do your bit simply by snappibg some photos of your friends and their events along the way: it's nice to have something that they can look back on later on. ;) During the Italian summers the focus shifts from its major cities to its coastal areas. As hundreds of thousands of people pick up and move towards the beachside cities, many of the big cultural events find seasonal sites and stages. You can be sure that places like the Amalfi Coast, Rimini and the islands of Sardegna and Sicily come to life, waking from their relaxed slumbers into temporary cultural capitals. Salento, the southern most part of the Puglian peninsula is arguably the epicentre of this summer migration. I've mentioned in previous posts that this part of the country really comes to life in the summer. There are major concerts and events going on nearly every night with Giorgio Moroder and Major Lazer among the acts that will be taking the stage in Gallipoli, the nightlife and gay capital of the southern summer. But beyond the big ticket events there are numerous local festivals that aim to entertain the multitude of visitors to the area, some of which are more imaginative than others. I've posted about Bande A Sud recently in the lead up to events. Well, the festival has already kicked off. On Thursday night the small town of Trepuzzi hosted the festival's inauguration, with a street band festival. I had a great time acting as a roadie for one of the groups from Terni who had been invited to participate in the event which featured a dozen or so different bands who performed in the streets of the town before converging on the town's piazza where they duelled it out in competition for the huge crowd's attention. The music continued until 4 in the morning as the bands then each took their place on the casa armonica, that gorgeously lit stage in the square. Since Thursday the event has begun its rotation in nearby areas, hosting musicians from all over Italy and Europe, and bringing more than a bit of fun to proceedings- like on Friday when the street bands, in the true spirit of the between two seas mantra took to the shores of nearby Casalabate to entertain beach goers and celebrate the festive summer season. Tonight all eyes will be back on Trepuzzi when one of Europe's living treasures, Goran Bregovich takes the central stage. Organizers are anticipating a huge turn out tonight: last year's marquis event by Caposella attracted around 10,000 visitors, so I won't be surprised if Bregovich attracts even more. So I'm going to rest up today because by the end of tonight I'm sure I'll be hoarse and exhausted by the proceedings. TODAY, August 6, 2015 marks the seventieth anniversary of the A bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Later this week, we'll also be commemorating the anniversary of the bomb that was dropped on nearby Nagasaki a few days after the one in Hiroshima. What have we learned from those horrific events that have led to so many deaths? One could argue that it depends on where you are in the world, as beyond the global grief that we share for the hibakusha, it seems there are still alternative takes on the events. I''m on the side that thinks that these were two particularly despicable acts that annihilated hundreds of thousands of people to make a point. I'm also of the belief that we must never forget these terrible actions even as very few hibakusha (the Japanese name for those who were affected by the bomb blast) are still among us, and as such we need to find ways to keep the realities of those events alive and relevant to people. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only cities in the world onto which nuclear bombs have been dropped. No nuclear bombs had been deployed in war before or since those events, but as always they conveniently lay at the disposal of certain countries and super powers. A deterrence rather than an abhorrent threat that remains? By definition, the horrific events of 1945 have never been classified as war crimes, despite all the evidence (and logic) to the contrary. Mehdi Hasan wrote a really interesting piece a few years back which went back and forth on the war crime issue if you're interested. I find it odd that we are capable of collectively grieving, but incapable of really addressing the other issue at stake, and which I as a mere blogger won't do the disservice to by being flippant. But how is it that some countries are willing to continue to entertain the notion of nukes, even as, seventy years later, there are still people suffering as a result of their initial use? How do we make sense of an atrocity that is so beyond the limits of our logic? Like everything else in the digital age we do it in both good and bad ways. The press coverage seems to be respectful and solemn for the main part. There are moving personal accounts and excerpts that recount the day's events and that get to the heart of the issue: the personal toll that dropping these bombs caused. Unfortunately if you look through google you'll also see the usual bottom/pond scum denominator in existence (conversely comparing Hiroshima's rebuild to Detroit's fall with a host of racist smatterings) as well as the perennial debate about Japan's changing stance on pacifism. In some of the Australian papers today, you'll see the usual personalization/localizing of the events for Australian audiences, where nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein's Nukemap is used to simulate the fallout in Australia's major capitals. Sigh. In the last few days I've been thinking about the most solemn of monuments to the events of August 6: The A-Bomb Memorial Park and Museum in Hiroshima. And I apologise in advance for personalizing, but I guess I'm Australian and it's in my nature to do so... I remember I once had a pretty offbeat graphics teacher when I was at art school. He was quite the character and had, let's say, a certain taste for the Orient. I remember he once sat me down over some photos he'd snapped in Kyoto. Mostly geisha and some streetscapes if I remember. I must've been about 18 or 19 at the time - and remember him telling me that I absolutely needed to travel to Japan, that I would fall in love with the place and that it would just be an unforgettable experience for me. I kind of laughed off his observations as those of a slightly eccentric teacher trying to make a connection with a student, but they came back to me years later when I first made my way over to Japan. I spent about a month there traveling from city to city, and he was right, I fell for it right there and then. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of people thanks to my lovely ex who knew dozens of people there and the love affair began. There were certain things that stayed with me: the food, the fashions, the mountains...the general aesthetic. That arty kook was right! - and eventually, I moved there. But one of the more indelible memories I have of Japan was made during my first visit there when I made my way to the A Bomb Memorial Park and Museum in Hiroshima. It's located pretty much at Ground Zero. Visiting places of incredible sadness and historical significance (like Auschwiz) always leaves its mark, but I recall that that museum was more than just a monument to the fallen: it was a really powerful call against the existence of nuclear weapons. There were so many artifacts on show: In my mind, I can still see the wrist watch that the bomb blast stopped in its tracks as well as all kinds of other personal belongings whose warped conditions were just too powerful to process properly or ignore. I wasn't a kid when I visited, so I wasn't easily impressionable: quite the contrary if you know me. But I remember one display in the museum stayed with me more than any other. For a museum collection grounded so much in realia (there are thousands, possibly tens of thousands of objects collected from around the city on display, with more now being added to the collection) one of displays that seemed to put a truly human face to the events and the memorial was the series of post apocalyptic dioramas. Disheveled, sometimes deformed wax mannequins set up in arrangements that imagined what the days immediately after the bombing would've been like. They were macabre and disturbing, but despite their inauthenticity in that context, they offered some of the greatest visual insight into how reality after the bomb must have transpired. The mannequins I saw were 1990s re-dos of the originals that were at the museum. The museum is about to undergo its latest revamp, and its management board has decided to dispense with these displays in favour of making room for more objects that are going to enter into the collection and the museum space. It's a decision that has divided the public and whose results we won't know until 2018 when the revamp is unveiled. While it's true that we have a wealth of technology at our disposal to tastefully incorporate sound and vision into collections, I recall the space as being a mostly silent, hushed space that probably wouldn't be the right fit for a CGI display. And besides, many parts of the space house screens featuring actual documentary footage. The mannequins, to me at least, have taken on their own significance and authenticity. I don't know anybody that has visited who hasn't been affected by seeing them. Usually the effect is emotional, and I think that a museum of that kind has every right to tap into, and establish a tone for its visitors. I think the push for authenticity at any cost is not necessarily useful if it's not the most effective means of making your point. A silent, static display, despite its perceived outdatedness can still do all the right things for a museum visitor, and can still contribute to the ongoing heritage and preservation of not just artifacts, but an experience that is so larger than life that realia alone can not hope to capture in all of its intensity. In the meantime, lest we forget this, and the other completely low point in our collective histories. And of course a thought for all of those who were and remain affected by these horrible war crimes that occurred back in August 1945. A 2013 piece on the removal of the mannequins here. (http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201311090011) |
Dave
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Dave Di Vito is a writer, teacher and former curator.He's also the author of the Vinyl Tiger series and Replace The Sky.
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