art, leisure, life and scandal

confronting heroes can be bittersweet,

corporate lecture halls and irritating ringtones

aren’t exactly what dreams are made of...

unfortunately I didn't make it to alain badiou's public lecture. it co-incided with the opening of an exhibition I was organising, hence the predominance of early-arriving well-wishers glowing with the anticipation of encountering a bona-fide french philosopher in our antipodean arena.

artist and curator and gallery guide and writer emil dryburgh penned the above portrait of the man himself as well as a thoughtful reflection on the enfant terrible of the online auckland art-writing entity #500 words.

an ever-energised and positive presence in both the institutional realm of the aag as well as artist run spaces (dryburgh is part of F U Z Z Y V I B E S) over the past year he has written perspicacious and tender reflections on many a topic, some favourites of which I have listed below. what they all share is an all too rare generosity, thoughtfulness, humour and charm.

on alain badiou

on farewelling gloria knight

on campbell patterson and the creative inhabitants of public institutions

on D.A.N.C.E. art club

on art and leisure

image: portrait of alain badiou by emil dryburgh.

animal

there can never be too much animal print in my mind.

my grandmother concurs, pointing out that it's so much more interesting than florals.

stella mccartney's latest collection has animal prints in spades, alongside some

wonderful pants. trop salinger it was presented at the convent of the sacred heart

on the upper east side of new york city featuring the yale alley cats

performing a cappella in tuxedos and tails.

also the terracotta and reflective surfaces in these photographs...

v

missing you very much

the initiative known as circuit artist film and video aotearoa has begun its

summer reading series for those in need of some gentle stimulation in the warmer months.

six writers were chosen to write about a work from the archive that has left an impression upon them

and the first piece is a sensitive and thoughtful conversation between writer-curator extraordinaire

alex davidson and artist marie shannon in which they discuss shannon's the aachen faxes (2012).

intimacy, the prolongation of time and achingly large distances are among the topics discussed see here.

somewhat linked... currently screening at window gallery is a work from the chartwell collection, auckland art gallery, toi o tamaki, julian dashper's untitled (the last second of the last venice biennale) 2007-2008, a meditation on temporality and art world rituals.

also do take a glimpse at blackout.lt for little exquisite fragments and sections of projects that have stemmed from davidson's time in vilnus, lithuania, here. the talented will pollard is also involved and there is a mailing list that promises evidence of a screening, performance events, videos, text and recipes.

feasts of crustaceans and wines flow into bodies
whose knees rub underneath butcher paper covered tables...
our laughter bounces like cackles of satiated hens....

Hands slam the table in convivial consent... 

Blow a balloon and let go of the string... 

Awakening in another continent...

v

images: a still from marie shannon, the aachen faxes (2012), a still from julian dashper's untitled (the last second of the last venice biennale) (2007-2008) and a cheeky screen-grab from 'black olives,' blackout.lt

daring

'do I dare disturb the universe?' will be opening

next tuesday. there will also be some work by sonya lacey

which will definitely be worth encountering.

alas it will all clash with the alain badiou talk. so deleuzians unite!

v

'do I dare disturb the universe?'

melanie bell, john ward knox, poppy kural, lauren winstone

and a special commission by sonya lacey

tuesday 25 november, 17.30h

window gallery

rainbow warriors of light

amy howden-chapman has two exhibitions on in auckland at the moment.
'advice for our aerial ocean' is in the mezzanine at artspace.
it looks at the examples of areas of land and river that have become legal entities
as a possible example for the atmosphere or aerial ocean.
there is sound, images, architectural interventions and places to read.
and at te uru in titirangi is 'they say ten thousand years'
an exploration of political mobilisation and motivation
through the lens of the new zealand nuclear free and peace movement.
in a lovely new gallery howden-chapman has placed textile works in glass,
video and audio works and text to be read on large brown corduroy cushions.

this creating of a space to pause, reflect and read in the midst of a gallery
 is quite captivating.

v

amy howden-chapman
'they say ten thousand years'
november 1 - december 3
te uru waitakere contemporary gallery
420 titirangi road, titirangi

'advice for our aerial ocean'
artspace mezzanine

image: taken from the periodic (hopefully they don't mind)

event-ful

theorist alain badiou is coming to auckland.

alain badiou
'in search of the lost real'
tuesday 25 november, 18h
fisher and paykel lecture theatre
owen glenn building, university of auckland 

v

soon soon soon

do look out for a small exhibition I will be organising

at window gallery, beginning at the end of november.

'do I dare disturb the universe?' will include works by

melanie bell, john ward knox, poppy kural and lauren winstone.

will post more information shortly...

v

image: from here here here