Thursday 13 October 2011

Girl About Town- A week of openings!

The unveiling of the Tacita Dean's new work for the Tate Modern felt more like a psychedelic love in rather than a conventional Art Opening. It certainly was an iconic piece of work.

It's a vertical film collage of simulating abstract images. The film is driven by mutating images that invoke feelings in flight rather than a conventional narrative.


 It coincides a campaign by Dean to recognise & save Analogue Film. Screw the guy on the BBC news who said there was no difference between analogue & digital. He clearly needs his eyes checked out!

I loved the work both as a piece of art & a  fellow analogue enthusiast. Off course there IS a massive difference between Analogue & Digital. Analogue gives you an entire spectrum of emotions that Digital is not capable of & this was so evident in Dean's inspiring piece of work.

The Opening of the Frieze Art Fair is one hot ticket & coincides with a brilliantly curated programme of events, by Sarah McCrory of Frieze Projects.

This year Frieze Projects has invited Lucky PDF to run a TV channel, especially for Frieze. The public are invited to engage with the channel at the fair or to watch remotely via the internet.

I was lucky enough to catch their 1st performance of the fair. Love the references to Tony Wilson's, 'So it Goes.'
 
I then swanned off to Lancaster House on my 1st outing as An Official Ambassador for 'The Diana Award.' The event was so inspiring. It was wonderful to meet many amazing young award holders & hear their tales of courage & bravery.
I was also over the moon that my shoulder piece by Ada Zanditon fit in so well with the Lancaster House furnishings. Yay! Check out me & Fashion legend, Zandra Rhodes.

Please go to www.diana-award.org.uk for more info about the charity & all their wonderful work. I look forward to working closely with The Diana Award to spread their message.

And finally Here is Pierre Huyghe's remake of Brancusi's 'Sleeping Muse.'
in the secret back room at The Frieze Art Fair. I loved the crab hiding inside the Brancusi head.I think it was my favourite piece of the entire fair.



Tuesday 11 October 2011

'Postmodernism,' at the V&A

 'Postmodernism' at the V&A is a design based retrospective from the 70s-90s charting what the V&A claim to be 'the most controversial movement in art & design history,' as the era 'defies definition.'

Since most of my friends & contemporaries have been born within these decades, the postmodern aesthetic has been the only state we've ever lived in & don't know any better. {Hooray!}

From Postmodernism's Italian roots, to design Collective 'Memphis,' Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner & the art of Jenny Holzer - 'Postmodernism' is a feast for all the senses.

The Room that resonated with me the deepest contained Music, projections, artefacts & costumes, from the likes of Grace Jones, Klaus Nomi, Leigh Bowery, Talking Heads & Devo.
There was even an entire enclave dedicated to Laurie Anderson's, 'Oh Superman.'




This room had almost church like connotations for me & came as a relief to see these performers represented in a gallery context- at last.
For years I've struggled in board room meetings & interviews in the music industry & press media to try & communicate the sort of musician/performer I've been influenced by & have always aspired to be. And here they all were.




I just want to say that real music fans {That's all of you - off course!} have always understood the true postmodern performer.
It's where art, design, theatre & technology orbit around Music & where the Music serves as the most important nucleus of any piece of work.


Fellow Friend, Collaborator, Friend & Blogger, Fred Butler said, of the exhibition, 'It's like our brains crammed into a museum.' Right she was.
Get thee to the temple!

Monday 10 October 2011

Miri It Is - Bishi B Side




Miri It Is by Bishi_World
Welcome to 'Miri It Is,' The B Side to the forthcoming 'Dia Ti Maria' choral epic by, me, Bishi.

'Miri It Is,' can almost be considered a 'Medieval Standard.'
Sung in Middle English, the song represents the last of Summer's Merriment before a mournful & harsh winter.

Rather fitting, seeing as we in London have just experienced a freak heat wave in early October!

I'm almost tempted to say this was my attempt at sounding ' Medieval Witchouse!' In any case I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Happy Durga Puja

Happy Durga Puja to all! It comes but once a year for those of us Hindus who don't necessarily celebrate Diwali & what a grand affair it is.



To celebrate this year, my own dear mother, Susmita Bhattacharya sang a programme of songs by Rabindranath Tagore at The Harrow Arts Centre. These songs called, 'Rabindra Sangeet,' is the music my mother is an expert in. {BTW It's Tagore 150th birth centenary dontcha know!}

This is the music I grew up with - Needless to say it had a MASSIVE effect on me.

To those of you who don't know the legacy of Tagore, he's like the Indian Bertolt Brecht crossed with Bob Dylan.
Read about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore

I was then treated to a Dance Piece, also by Tagore
Now to clear up matters this dance form is NOT 'B' for Bollywood.' Curiously all Indian Culture gets slapped with this unfortunate & generic label!
This dance form is none other than Bharata Natyam - My favourite Classical Dance form in all of India. And, moreover something that has influenced Bollywood.

Tea & Samosa's anyone?