Sophie Calle

Dear half-century-old Momus posted something real nice the other day. Among his tidbits of wisdom:

You know too much about LA and not enough about Laos. On the internet and in “the real world” you’re consistently looking in the wrong places for inspiration. Why is that? Partly it’s because the things that could really change you make you scared.

Reminded me to briefly mention the magic that was my ten-days-in-September fumble at various points nearby or on the Danube (Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and places between).

Most greats things about this trip can be credited to happenstance, starting with what seemed to be an inconvenient stopover. I landed in Brussels between Toronto and Vienna, left my bags checked at the airport and blindly headed into the city. Stumbled upon a fantastic Sophie Calle retrospective at BOZAR. Just so happens I’d recently read The Mystery Guest by Grégoire Bouillier (the cover of which, beautifully gold-foiled, had appealed to my magpie-like aesthetic sensibilities). The story includes a whimsical encounter with Calle, and I’d put it somewhere in the back of my mind to further investigate her work at a later date. Who knew?

Merely the start of a brilliant last few days of summer. Tiny things, nice moments. A short list of highlights:

• One day in Vienna, Klas and I rested in a public park after a day of aimless tourism, only to catch sight of a singing woman in a bright yellow patterned headwrap and dress, singing in front of a camera for what could only be a perfectly low-budget music video. In front of a Russian memorial, no less. Caught her on tape (er, the video function on my digital camera).

• Johnny the radio host took us to a party in nearby Slovakia, which put us in a former bomb shelter in the bottom of a mountain under a castle, listening to very loud and obscure electronic music. The name of the genre escapes me.

• In Budapest, I met up with my friend Vladimir, a television journalist from the press tour in Israel back in June/July. After spending a couple of days overwhelming ourselves with opulent architecture, we drove to Belgrade through Hungary and beautiful Serbian agriculture (truly rolling hills!), stopping overnight in a small town called Sombor to visit his extremely hospitable army friend and his charming, English-speaking girlfriend. We bonded while the boys conversed in Serbian.

• In Belgrade things got pretty perfect. Out of nowhere rose a rakija festival, complete with bootlegged honey schnapps (which I later managed to get through customs). Another day, we fell face first into a parade with singing crowds and airborne hats. On a stroll through downtown, we stopped into a small free gallery and saw one of Vlada’s most favourite paintings ever, quite by accident. That sort of stuff.

Serbia had rarely crossed my mind, to be perfectly honest, and I’d certainly never thought to go there—until I met and became friends with Vlada and took a chance because I planned on being somewhat in the neighbourhood. Turns out the people, the food, the culture—mostly entirely amazing. Do not go to LA, people! Visit Belgrade!

Perhaps my Canadian (and urban centre) mentality did not, however, prepare me for the old-country approach when it came to gay rights. For the first time since 2001, organizers attempted to hold a much-anticipated Pride Parade on my last weekend in town. Due to threats of violence, the parade had to be cancelled. Kinda sad.

Vi har varit på en gammaldags bio med en kompis ur mitt fotbollslag. Det var en stumfilm. Det var en Charlie Chaplin-film som heter The Circus. Den var väldigt rolig. Det var väldigt mycket folk och för att det var en ganska gammal bio så istället för högtalare var det en kille som spelade levande musik på piano. Bion hette BOZAR.

Albin

The Night of the Adeaters is a must-see and must-go event for anyone who has the slightest interest in advertising. It’s an event that takes place all over the world. In Belgium there’s at least 5 different sessions in 5 different cities. I went to the event that took place in the Bozar in Brussels last night (November 7th, 2009).

The Night

The name of the event – ‘The Night Of The Adeaters’ – should be taken quite literally as the event lasts the ENTIRE night. As of 8pm we were welcomed to join one of the most amazing spectacles I have ever seen. It starts off with music, dancing, lights and crazy hosts until finally, the lights go out and you can immerse yourself in the world of advertising. There’s a break every 90 minutes, allowing you to replenish your energy, grab a bite to eat and have your picture taken. Should you not feel like getting up, that’s not a problem either as the hosts provide enough entertainment to pass time during the break.

.

Video from the Night of the Adeaters 2008:

The commercials

The commercials shown at the ‘Night of the Adeaters’ come from all over the world. Great-Brittain, France, USA, Iraq, Saoudi Arabië … EVERYWHERE.

The aspect that interested me the most, was to find out how they promoted and tried to sell products (similar to the ones they sell in Europe) in other countries outside of Europe. It’s amazing how strategies differ from country to country. I already knew that different cultures required different strategies, but to actually witness it like that and being confronted by said fact… 6 hours in a row… I thought it was absolutely fascinating.

The commercials in the show weren’t just recent ones, which only added to my joy. We were also shown commercials from the past (Anthology of Advertising) and commercials centered around specific themes (f.e. France and their colonies). There were also parts of the show dedicated to ‘Stars in Advertising’, grouping all commercials where ’stars’ tried to sell a product.

My opinion-because I believe it matters! :p

I had an AMAZING time! It was so much fun, sitting there with hundreds of other advertising-fanatics enjoying commercials. We were singing along when possible, clapping, boo-ing and aaaaah-ing at the right moments in the commercials and sometimes, we even got up to dance. It was crazy!

I thought it was a shame that a lot of people didn’t sit out the entire night though. Not that it made the crazy atmosphere lessen one little bit, on the contrary. The more people seemed to leave, the crazier and the more responsive the ‘die hards’ seemed to get and I’m extremely happy that I got to witness it.

This night also proved that people are very difficult to understand. When at home, watching TV, the audience often complains about commercials interrupting their TV-show. They even invented a ‘digibox’ or ‘digicorder’ that allows the audience to skip through commercials alltogether. Yet, when an event like this takes place, tickets sell out very quickly and we are faced with an audience that is ecstatic and enthusiastic to be able to witness it.

My advice to you: just go! There’s still different sessions in Belgium and if you’re really an advertising-fanatic, you’ll really enjoy this! It’s definitely worth it!

.

Later on, I will create a new post to show you my favourites from ‘The Night of the Adeaters’!

BOZAR is dit najaar op zoek naar twee gepassioneerde mensen (man/vrouw) die willen deelnemen aan het festival China@Bozar.

Ze zijn op zoek naar twee ambassadeurs die de komende evenementen van BOZAR betreffende China, willen bezoeken. Achteraf wordt gevraagd om een verslag te schrijven voor  de nieuwe sociale netwerksite (www.chinaatbozar.be) van het cultuurhuis.

Met andere woorden, BOZAR is op zoek naar hun eigen reporters die zich willen laten onderdompelen in de Chinese cultuur.

De Chinese ambassadeurs krijgen echter een eigen iPhone en mogen zich verwachten aan een VIP-behandeling. Best de moeite dus!

Kandidaten kunnen BOZAR tot 30 oktober van hun Chinese talenten proberen te overtuigen met een orginele videoboodschap.

Samengevat:
Waag je kans en ga op Chinees avontuur in en rond BOZAR. Je krijgt van hen het laatste model iPhone cadeau om je indrukken online te zetten, toegang tot alle China-activiteiten, een VIP-behandeling achter de scène, … En een aparte plek op chinaatbozar.be.

Je profiel?

• Je bent een flamboyante persoonlijkheid die graag op internet vertoeft.
• Facebook, Twitter, Flickr en YouTube zijn voor jou geen Chinees.
• Je hebt een vlotte, vingervlugge pen (NL of FR).
• Je kan zelfstandig aan de slag met een iPhone-camera.
• Je bent gefascineerd door China en wilt het land en de cultuur beter leter kennen.

Het aanbod?

• Je krijgt van BOZAR het laatste model iPhone cadeau.
• Je krijgt vrije toegang tot alle activiteiten van CHINA@BOZAR
• Je krijgt een VIP-behandeling: een blik achter de schermen van BOZAR, ontmoetingen met artiesten (o.a. Luc Tuymans), uitstapjes, dinners, …

Meedoen?

Maak een originele videoboodschap als BOZAR-Chinees in spe, plaats het filmpje op YouTube en tag het met #BOZAR

Stuur een mailtje naar chinaatbozar@bozar.be met volgende gegevens:

• naam,
• leeftijd,
• taal,
• nationaliteit en
• de url waarop ze je filmpje kunnen terugvinden.

BOZAR is dit najaar op zoek naar twee gepassioneerde mensen (man/vrouw) die willen deelnemen aan het festival China@Bozar.

BOZAR is op zoek naar twee reporters die de komende evenementen van BOZAR (betreffende China) wil bezoeken. Achteraf wordt gevraagd om een verslag te schrijven voor de nieuwe sociale netwerksite. Onze ‘Chinese ambassadeurs’ krijgen een eigen IPhone en mogen zich verwachten aan een VIPbehandeling.

Welk profiel moet je hebben?

Je bent een flamboyante persoonlijkheid die graag op internet vertoeft; Facebook, Twitter, Flickr en YouTube zijn voor jou geen Chinees; Je hebt een vlotte, vingervlugge pen (NL of FR); Je kan zelfstandig aan de slag met een iPhone-camera; Je bent gefascineerd door China en wilt het land en de cultuur beter leter kennen.

Hoe kan je jouw kandidatuur opgeven?

Kandidaten kunnen BOZAR tot 30 oktober 2009 van hun Chinese talenten proberen te overtuigen met een orginele videoboodschap als BOZAR-Chinees in spe, plaats het filmpje op YouTube en tag het met #BOZAR. Stuur een mailtje naar chinaatbozar@bozar.be met volgende gegevens: Naam, Leeftijd, Taal, Nationaliteit en de url waarop we je filmpje kunnen terugvinden.

I have a slight problem with comic strips in a museum. I like to read them, for sure, but somehow it feels strange to have just some pages out of a book hanging on the walls of a museum. There’s too much missing. But I must confess: the people at Bozar  (Brussels) have tried their best to make Sexties a pleasurable experience. Of course, it’s about voluptuous women and sex. That helps. But there’s more. They’ve really tried to encapsulate in a lively way the world of four legendary authors: Guy Peellaert, Jean-Claude Forest (Barbarella!), Paul Cuvelier and Guido Crepax. You get a giant colorful wall painting and a Harley Davidson in Peellaert’s room and a couple of ancient sculptures in Cuvelier’s room. You hear Serge Gainsbourg and Bob Dylan. But it’s in the impressive room in black and white of Italian author Crepax that Bozar really proves that the universe of a comic book author can be brought to a museum. It almost looks like a comic strip boudoir. Pretty soon Europalia China will be invading Bozar. It’s good to have this little antidote to that.

Deze week de Sexties-tentoonstelling bezocht in Bozar. Je vindt er een greep uit het werk van striptekenaars/-schrijvers Crepax, Cuvelier, Forest en Peellaert. Voor 1 Euro zeker de moeite waard. Loopt nog tot 3/01/10.

The End of “Young Belgian Artists” at the Bozar last Friday, was an artsy-fartsy event I would normally not be caught dead attending: Desperate debutantes overloaded into their outfits and foppish fashionistos over-eagerly dancing to very mediocre music…. Just isn’t my thing.

Els & Friend outside Bozar

Otoh, our new geeky, artist friend, Els Vermang debuted something new of her own that night which — luckily — we managed to catch a good 20 minutes of:  A 3D sound- and visual-”scape” manually choreographed by Els behind the keyboard. I didn’t get all of it, but the idea is that scattered “inside” a 3D program on her computer were snippets of 3D sound, which she could navigate with her mouse, in order to generate sounds and visuals on the fly. Very nice stuff.

We give it a "One"

Oh and btw, this week, Els is hanging out with Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic since they’re working on a new project together… It was during a Pan Sonic concert in Kortrijk where Darius made the hugest moves in my tummy he ever did during my entire twin pregnancy — and not because it was loud. Just because of the BASS.  But if you check out their MySpace page above, you’ll understand what I mean, or watch this video from Sonar 2008 (but be forewarned):

Apparently, Els also regularly does events with the gents from the Raster Noton label (see a video about them done by our very own AB people here; and a 12-year anniversary tribute here). Thought my husband was going to swoon.

Els & Wim "tête-à-tête"

If I hadn’t been styling the backless jersey I just got in London, with my Spanish “fire” boots from NYC a few years ago, I fear Els would have posed a greater threat to my marital union than she did.*  After four days working around-the-clock for an IT project at the UN in Geneva (!), Wim was love-starved that night. Very lucky for me, though, it was apparently my love he was starving for… Whew.

Cherry's Fireboots

*Just kidding about this — but isn’t the picture great??!

Iconic figures? You bet. It was rather strange to see thát many people turn up for an interview with Gilbert & George, yesterday evening, at Bozar (Brussels). Young and old, anxiously trying to get hold of those last tickets, as if some famous rock star was going to appear. A completely packed theatre listened to the often funny stories of the British artists, who even sang a little tune at the end.  ‘Do you think our early work was rather dark and melancholic? Well, that was because we were drinking a lot in those days, and we probably overdid it a little bit.’ Read on, for more quotes and highlights.

From Thursday onwards, Brussels’ gallery Baronian Francey is showing some of Gilbert & George’s recent Jack Freak Pictures (until October 31), so that’s why the two gentlemen are in town. At Bozar they were interviewed by writer Michael Bracewell. It turned out to be an enjoyable evening, both informative and funny, with two artists not taking themselves too seriously.

On their early days: ‘Starting to work together was not a conscious decision. Something just came over us. And like a cloud we drifted away from those other students at art school. We wanted to make art with content. That was taboo. We wanted to make figurative art. That was taboo. We wanted to make art about life, death and love. That was taboo too. We were alone. We didn’t fit in. The art world considered normal people to be inferior and unintelligent. We wanted to make art for everyone. That was not thought very well of.’ 

Their biggest invention: ‘We were poor and didn’t have a studio. So we decided to become art ourselves. That was our biggest invention. We borrowed a list with addresses from an art gallery, and we started writing all those people letters to tell them we were still alive. There was an important show for which we were sure we were going to be selected, but we didn’t. So we turned up as a living sculpture at the opening. It was a big success. We got invited to Düsseldorf by one of the most important galleries.’

On those first, dark pictures: ‘We got paid a lot for our first works of art. We discovered drinking and that didn’t go very well. We started to drink a lot and we probably overdid it a little bit on those feelings of being outsiders and being desperate.’

Can art be prophetic? ‘Art has to incorporate past, present and future. We like to think that our pictures are like our tomorrows.’

On holidays and little boys: ‘We are working all the time. There is nothing else we can do. We have tried to go on holiday, but after two days in Malaga or Lisbon we wanted to go home. Creating new pictures is a great privilege. Nobody can interfere. And the next privilege is to show them in all these cities around the world where people turn up to come and see them. And all of a sudden we are at openings, surrounded by teenagers licking us all over.’

On discovering red: ‘People often ask us why we started using red early on in our career, after having worked in black and white. Well, it was simple: we discovered colour. Every artist starts out with a box of crayons. We didn’t have that. So it took us four years to find red.’

On inspiration: ‘We go deadheaded to our studio. Without any ideas. We just have what is inside us: love, fear, hope… and we try to trust that. We don’t want to have ideas. But we are collecting images all the time.’

On the Jack Freak Pictures: ‘We were amazed that we came up with more than 150 new pictures. Usually an artist doesn’t know what to do next after a career retrospective. We had a positive trauma. It’s rather amazing if you take into account that we only have 1 (!) assistant. And he’s only allowed to scan. We do all the rest. That’s something we are really proud of.’

On religion: ‘Was Jesus heterosexual? was one of the subtitles of one of our paintings. A lot of religious people were really angry, whereas the only thing they had to do was say yes. That many people are dying because of the condom-policy of the church. Religion is a subject we have to explore. It would be silly not to.’

On arguing: ‘We don’t argue. And even if we did, we wouldn’t tell you. Doing this together is an enormous strength. It removes all self-doubt. They can never defeat us. That’s why the world is divided in two’s.’

On wearing the same clothes: ‘We don’t dress the same. We dress similarly. That’s a big difference.’

On walking and routine: ‘Yes, we are always eating at the same restaurant, at 8 o’clock sharp. We never read the menu. Why should we? We don’t want to waste our brain reading menus. And why should we cook ourselves? We prefere to use our brain in more interesting ways. Before we eat, we go for a walk. George walks for one hour and a half. I just do 45 minutes, because I have flat feet. It’s important to go out and see the world, the trees, the cars and the birds.’

On changing the world: ‘Can art change the world? Yes, we believe it can. There’s so many galleries these days and newspapers are writing about art all the time. Art makes you see the world in an other way. Only culture changes people. Vicars won’t.’

PS: Bozar will be showing the complete Jack Freak Pictures-series (153 pictures) next year (October 2010-January 2011).

 (photo credit: Gilbert & George ‘Rosarium’ (2008), courtesy Baronian Francey)

Fortunately, Ann agreed to come with me last night to the Brussels Girl Geek Dinner #14. It gave me the chance to let off a bit of steam, and to find some consoling words from a fellow (what’s the female for “fellow?” Fella?) — correction, then — FELLA sufferer. I needed to vent. So, with the sympathetic ear of Ann and Els Vermang (of LAb[au] fame), who in fact happened to be the reason for our visit to the lovely Bozar center yesterday evening, I found a fleeting moment of “inner peace.”

Do I feel more inspired now? Do I feel content to be on the periphery of The Storm, instead of at it’s “Eye”? …Actually, I feel gravely, deeply and seriously “at sea” — which I guess means this storm we’re talking about is a hurricane. And I am literally drowning in a tidal wave of digital information (or is it mere “data”?) out here. I can’t get a critical hold anywhere, and I generally feel that, the more information comes at me, the worse it gets. Is this what we call “Information Overload”? Perhaps. *sigh*

Where to begin?

First, I am highly frustrated by the fact that women are dominated — to the left, right and center — by men. This happens in Art, Eduction, Politics, “Social” work, and in the corporate world. It is absolutely impossible to avoid — even in areas where women are traditionally and naturally stronger: Communication, visualization, teaching, art, etc. It reminds me of a feminist art exhibition I once saw in Tribeca, where the artist shows a woman’s face with penises being shoved into every available orifice. The caption is, “Can you please be more accommodating?”

Also, I think this “making a choice between career and family” bullshit is exactly that: Bullshit. There is no reason for women to have to “choose” between anything. We work twice as hard, we are better at multi-tasking, we are conscientious, and we are compensated less for our (invaluable) contributions to the workworld and society-at-large. The only area where women struggle is at being reliable — at being “super humans” who can be everywhere, for everyone, at all times. But the expectation for this is unreasonable, first. And, second, a society which supports women at becoming all they/we can, should place its priorities in the same areas we do: Family and children, then money-making. Simple. And why can’t women be better compensated for dedication to family and raising children, anyway — which is consistent with what any enlightened society would expect from its citizens: That we place Priority One on bringing well-loved, nurtured, caring and healthy, good “citizens” into the World….?

Why do I, or does any woman, have to choose between doing that and earning money to take care of our families? Why are these two things mutually exclusive? I’ll tell you why: Because Banks and Men rule our lives. And even Men are capable of compassion, so let’s just limit the problem to Banks.

Banks have created an artificial layer between what we do to care for our families and society, and how we get compensated for that: Money. And this system, “money,” possesses its own modus vivendi — which is external and even in direct contradiction to the good, moral objectives we have for carrying out transactions in society. Banks do not mediate transactions between individuals and society because this is good and necessary in society. They do it because trading money is a way of making money. And “making money,” for Banks — and the financial system at large– is an end in and of itself. This can only stand in stark contrast with the societal, moral and largely feminine goal of doing “what’s right” and raising children who are “good citizens.”

So why on Earth do we tolerate this situation??!?! Maybe because the global financial system has much better PR than any other industry in the world. Politicians and the State are in their pay, and little pip-squeaks like me (and you!) are powerless to change the structure that they (all together) perpetuate. And, indeed, this hierarchy can be whittled down to a single, pervasive, common element: Men.

Pffft.  Think I’ll take up painting.

Waw, wat een avond. De 14de editie van Brussels Girl Geek Dinner ging door op de wonder mooie locatie: Bozar te Brussel. Ik hou van die locatie, samen met de galerij (Ravenstein) aan de overkant. Zo veel mooie herinneringen aan!

Jammer genoeg was ik een beetje te laat om nog behoorlijk naar de tentoonstelling te gaan kijken. Maar de voordracht en de voorstelling van de projecten van LAb[au] door Els Vermang was gewoon prachtig. Van het begin tot het einde zit je eigenlijk met open mond te luisteren wat deze groep artiesten met behulp van moderne technologieën en met de focus op licht en klant kunnen maken. Check zeker de website van LAb[au] om te zien waar ze mee bezig zijn.

En met een goodiebag met gratis toegangskaart voor de andere exposities in Bozar, een girly gadget van Skynet en echt leuke artboekjes… was deze editie vol kunst een intieme en bijzonder geslaagde editie.

Een dank dus, aan iedereen die er was voor alle leuke babbels & discussies en aan Clo voor het oeverloos enthousiasme keer op keer! Hopelijk kunnen jullie ook wat ‘arty’ pictures verdragen, want het licht was jammer genoeg niet echt afgestemd op mijn camera (of is dat eigenlijk omgekeerd )

Rappelez-vous, il y a quelques semaines nous vous parlions de la venue de Gate / Michael Morley au Bozar à Bruxelles.

Au passage44 il y a une mise en valeur des disques de Gate, de son groupe The Dead C, mais aussi une mise en perspective de la foisonnante scène néo-zélandaise et ses innombrables ramifications  . . .

Un court billet pour vous rappeler l’existence de ce rayon provisoire, d’ici trois semaines il devra disparaître, c’est comme ça!  Profitez-en tant qu’il est là !

N’hésitez pas à découvrir deux podcasts consacrés à ce déclassement sur le site de la Médiathèque, ainsi qu’une série d’articles sur le blog de notre collègue globeglauber !

Pour vous mettre l’eau à la bouche et vous aider à défricher un peu le terrain, voici une série de disques qui vous sont fortement conseillés:

Chris Knox “Croaker”

Bruce Russell “Maximalist Mantra Music”

Greg Malcolm “Hung”

“God Save The Queen – A Tribute To The Clean”

The Dead C “Secret Earth”

et sa belle pochette:

. . .

pth

Het nieuwe nummer van Isel is van de persen gerold en ligt in de rekken. Met portretten van Peter Verhelst, Teun Van Zanten, Val Pollet (Mais il est où le soleil) en Peter De Clercq.

Voorts artikelen over Artificial Nature in de Verbeke Foundation, de Biënnale van Venetië, Theater aan zee (interview met Arno en Jan Goossens), Jan De Cock en Paul Dujardin (Bozar), de tentoonstelling Poëzie in zilver in het Design museum Gent, Folkfestival Dranouter (interview met Sioen), Show 2009 van de Modeacademie Antwerpen (interview met Walter Van Beirendonck). En uiteraard de cultuuragenda.

Op www.isel.be kun je door een verkleind exemplaar van het magazine bladeren.

We went there for one of the regular 11AM Sunday concerts some while ago, and, amazingly, breakfast comes with the ticket.  How often do you get free perks in Brussels?

I don’t know what I was expecting, but of course they only served disappointing pain au chocolat and croissants, plus mediocre coffee and juice.  Clearly the arts at this “Center for Fine Arts” don’t include the culinary.

I was so hungry that morning that I hoarded about five of the pastries from the buffet line into our breadbasket before my friend told me we were only supposed to take two at most.  Oops.  Nobody said anything, and by that point my indignation with the place took over anyway, so I had no shame in bringing them all back to the table to eat.  I did hope that nobody was staring at our mound of croissants for two people.

The pastries were actually pretty bad, considering we’re in Brussels — they were sort of hard with an old, suspicious-tasting chocolate — but my pride stopped me from putting them down after the first one.  I would apologize for taking extra, but the windowless geriatric atmosphere of the cafeteria maybe served as penance enough.

Aside from that, the pianist was pretty good!  She must not have eaten the breakfast.

Bozar
Rue Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000 Brussels

kunstcriticus, schrijver, curator,…

‘My cat went nuts.’ That was her opening line. We had never met before. And then she continued, rather casually: ‘It was bound to happen. Everyone goes crazy, around me.’ I suddenly remembered that weird conversation, at a Brussels’ party years ago, as I was watching a picture of three dead cats by Sophie Calle, in Bozar. How would life look like as Calle’s partner, I wondered, as I was standing in the last room of the exhibition of this French artist, just having seen twenty of her autobiographical projects. Do Calle’s cats go crazy too?

‘Take a look at the objects in this room. It may not be much, but it is enough to be stupefied.’ I am leaning against a wall, listening to a voice coming from a tiny little speaker. All over the Sophie Calle-retrospective in Bozar in Brussels the walls have these speakers, with comments by French actor/tv-producer Frédéric Mitterrand. ‘Sophie Calle is a well-organised predator’, he warns. ‘She’s a witch. And can one love a witch?’

I’m standing in the first room of this exhibition. And I’m trying to get used to Calle’s universe. I see pictures telling the story of the day Calle buried her mother’s jewellery on the North Pole. And pictures of the day a clairvoyant’s cards sent her to the French village Berck. Photographs and text, that’s the way Sophie Calle tells her stories, in which she mixes personal life and artistic fiction. Be prepared: getting to know Calle, takes a lot of reading. Visiting this exhibition takes time.

In the next rooms I read about the night she spent at the Eiffel-tower, asking people to tell her a 5 minute-story. Or about the letter she wrote the American author Paul Auster, asking him to invent a fictional character whom she would try to resemble. I read about the address book she found, and her decision to contact the people in it because she wanted to know more about its owner. I read about Calle asking people to give her a few hours of their sleep: in Calle’s bed. And I see a bit of the film she and her lover made, when they had stopped talking to each other.

‘Sophie Calle is an intellectual striptease artist’, Fréderic Mitterrand whispers in my ear, in the very last room. ‘A cannibal who feeds herself with other people’s emotions. An innocent manipulator. Alice In Wonderland’s little sister.’ He’s right. She’s all of that. Some of her projects made me smile. Other ones I cared less about. I was most intrigued by the projects in which Calle tries to capture the ineffable. Like the death of her mother. ‘Ne vous faites pas de souci’, were her mother’s last words. ‘Don’t worry.’ And so you’ll see canvases with just that word: souci. Or the project in which Calle tries to capture her sadness, when her lover has broken up with her over the phone. Just to counterbalance her sadness, she started asking people to tell her their stories of grief.

Entering Calle’s world sure is an intriguing venture. But there’s one really annoying thing, though: all of this is in French. Mitterrand’s voice is in French too. Out of respect for the artist nothing has been done to change that, Bozar says. It’s a pity. Because the little booklet you can pick up at the entrance with texts in Dutch and English is not enough. More should have been done draw those who don’t speak French that well into Sophie’s world. Now, I’m sure, many will feel shut out. And that’s too bad.

Upon leaving Bozar, I saw a dog sitting in the middle of the street, on the zebra crossing. Neither its boss, nor the cars honking could make it move. When you’ve been to Sophie Calle, the world does look a bit different, afterwards.

At Bozar (Brussels), until September 13.

(photo credits: Kleinefenn)

Lourdes-photo: ‘Où et quand? Lourdes’ (2005-2008), Courtesy Galerie Emmanuel Perotin (Paris/Miami), Arndt & Partner (Berlin/Zürich)

Depuis deux mois, peut-être un peu plus, le buzzz courait . . . .

On chuchotait dans les couloirs, des mails circulaient, puis ce fut confirmé: Bozar serait l’heureux organisateur de l’unique concert de Gate à Bruxelles ! !

C’est maintenant chose faite, le concert de samedi était loin d’être sold out, mais les heureux spectateurs en ont eu pour leur argent…

Une soirée en deux parties:   D’abord une vidéo filmée par Morley au festival ATP. Il a filmé un morceau live des Stooges, le diffuse au ralenti et c’est excellent. Filmé des coulisses, on y voit Iggy Pop et ses collègues enflammer un public convaincu d’avance, on découvre les 1001 secrets qui font qu’Iggy est une bête de scène, on réalise que le guitariste s’ennuie peut-être un peu quand même et que le mr. dont le job est de ramasser le pied de micro toutes les 2 minutes a un boulot épuisant !

Après une petite pause, on passe aux choses sérieuses, le concert, enfin, Michael Morley est là, avec son ordi, sa guitare et une petite sélection de pédale à effets….Derrière lui se déroule un film qui montre la vue de son jardin un matin brumeux, le rapport au temps est trouble tant la brume se dissipe lentement, on ne sait pas si c’est réel ou si là aussi il a ralenti l’image . . . .  Musicalement?  Il accumule des parties de guitares,  les transforme, les entrechoque et les écrase les unes contres les autres. Parfois avec succès, parfois dans un chaos troublant, il rajoute à ce magma de guitare des sons électroniques produits par son laptop.  On le sentait par moment déconcentré, comme si l’endroit où il avait conduit sa musique le menait dans un cul de sac, mais loin de se décourager il en rajoutait une couche et trouvait une issue de secours ! Un concert un peu long sans doute mais le plaisir était là ! Vraiment! ! !   Pour ceux qui râlent d’avoir raté ce concert, Gate sera en concert le 27 juin à la salle Belgïe à Hasselt/

Mais sachez que le but premier de cet article n’est pas de chroniquer un concert que 80% d’entre vous avez manqués….Non, le but, le vrai est de vous faire venir à la Médiathèque de Bruxelles afin de vous faire découvrir une sélection de près de 200 médias issus de la scène rock néo-zélandaise, je ne me lancerai pas ici dans de longs descriptifs sur cette scène, notre collègue à fait un travail remarquable sur son blog: Une mise en perspective subjective (heureusement) des 20 dernières années de cette scène foisonnante et toujours prête à surprendre!!

Pour ma part, je suis allé fouiner dans notre base de donnée, j’ai passé pas mal de temps le casque sur les oreilles et les yeux fixé sur l’écran et je ne suis pas déçu, la Nouvelle-Zélande a bel et bien SA culture rock.

Qu’elle soit pop un rien décalée avec The Clean et Chris Knox, isolationniste avec des artistes comme Sandra Bell ou Alastair Galbraith, noise à la manière de Birchville Cat Motel ou “simplement” “rock – lo – fi – nonchalant” à la Gate, il y en a pour tous les goûts….

Et en parlant de goût, voici les disques que je vous suggère dans cette sélection:

Thela · Argentina

Thela · Thela

The Tall Dwarfs · Hello Cruel World

Rst · Warm Planes

Rosy Parlane · Jessamine

Greg Malcolm · Homesick  For Nowhere

Chris Knox · Croaker

Gate · The Monolake
Gate · The Dew Line

The Dead C · The Whitehouse

Sandra Bell · Dreams Of Falling

Et pour ceux qui en redemandent ou qui ont la flemme de venir jusqu’ici, voici deux podcasts réalisés par mes soins, le premier ne contient que du Gate et du The Dead C, le second brasse plus large…..

captures d’écran du documentaire d’époque “friends with the enemy”

/
/
préliminaires étymologiques: “outnumbered by sheep” [moins nombreux que les moutons] est le nom d’une compilation de pop et de rock néo-zélandais (avec e.a. chris knox, les ables tasmans et une série de musiciens dont la renommée n’a jamais vraiment fait de vagues jusque sur nos côtes) sortie en 1986 par le fameux label local flying nun. le titre est un clin d’œil ironique à la réputation dépeuplée – réelle et/ou exagérée – de île.

/
/
ce vendredi au bozar, michael morley (surtout connu pour sa participation au groupe noise the dead c aux côtés de bruce russell et pour son projet solo gate) fera siffler quelques paires d’oreilles et en profitera pour projeter un échantillon de ses activités dans le champ de la vidéo. la venue de ce musicien culte des antipodes a aussi mis en route un petit branle bas de combat au sein de la médiathèque:

/

1°/ presque deux cents cds néo-zélandais du tout début des années quatre-vingt à aujourd’hui, pour la plupart sortis sur les labels flying nun, xpressway, corpus hermeticum et celebrate psi phenomenon sont mis en évidence au passage 44.
2°/ patrick thinsy a concocté deux mix de musique néo-zélandaise écoutables en streaming via le site de la médiathèque
3°/ j’ai moi-même écrit un premier texte d’introduction sur les deux périodes fastes des vingt-cinq dernières années du rock néo-zélandais
4°/ et je me débats encore à mes heures dites ‘perdues’ avec un texte plus long, pus nuancé et plus riche sur le même sujet dont j’espère qu’il sera fini d’ici vendredi

/
en faisant des recherches pour raviver mes souvenirs et connaissances sur tout ce pan passionnant de l’histoire de la pop, je suis tombé sur quelques pépites dont ce “friends with the enemy“, reportage quasi d’époque (1977-1982) sur la scène de la septentrionale petite ville de dunedin et le rayonnement qu’y eu the enemy, le premier groupe de chris knox et alec bathgate, avant qu’ils ne s’en aillent former toy love puis les tall dwarfs. les tous jeunes david kilgour (the clean) et shayne carter (encore bored games, pas encore dans les straitjacket fits) témoignent. et comme il paraît qu’un miracle ne vient jamais seul, l’arbre “friends with the enemy” cache l’entrée d’une véritable caverne d’ali baba: la chaîne y**t*** jpdkiwi: d’autres reportages ou documentaires (sur les scènes de christchurch, wellington ou auckland), des images de concerts ou des clips de the clean, the chills, the verlaines, this kind of punishment… et beaucoup d’autres… allez y faire un tour (c’est presque un ordre!)

/
/
michael morley (nz – gate / membre des dead c)
- concert et films / vidéos -
vendredi 12 juin – 20h30 – bozar (studio)
23 rue ravenstein – 1000 bruxelles – 5 / 7 eur

/
/
dans les jours à venir, quelques autres épisodes du feuilleton “outnumbered by sheep”…

Tentoonstelling van 25 juni – 13 september 2009

De tweejaarlijkse Prijs Jonge Belgische Schilderkunst/Prix de la Jeune Peinture Belge wil jong kunstenaarstalent uit alle beeldende disciplines een duwtje in de rug geven. Uit de 200 inzendingen die de juryleden voor de editie 2009 onder ogen kregen, kozen ze er zeven. Nico Dockx, Jeroen Hollander, Robert Kot, Lara Mennes, Caroline Pekle, Els Vermang en Leon Vranken mogen deelnemen aan de tentoonstelling in het Paleis voor Schone Kunsten, waar de jury de definitieve prijzen zal toekennen.

LEON VRANKEN
‘Mezelf verbazen en goed werk maken’
In een zolderkamer van zijn huis heeft Leon Vranken een precieze maquette gebouwd van de ruimte die hij in het Paleis voor Schone Kunsten ter beschikking krijgt en van de sculpturale werken die hij erin wil plaatsen. De zaal van 24 meter bij 7 ziet er op schaal 1/10 nog altijd imposant uit. De sculpturen beloven het publiek een verrassende ervaring. ‘Ik speel met mijn werk expliciet op de ruimte in’, legt Leon Vranken uit. ‘Voor ik mijn ideeën uitwerk, bezoek ik de ruimte waarin ze terecht zullen komen zeker zes keer. Ik kijk, fotografeer, meet op. In Bozar ligt bijvoorbeeld een prachtige parketvloer. Als ik zoiets zie, kom ik in de verleiding om ergens iets met parket te doen: zo verkrijg ik een sculptuur die helemaal opgaat in de ruimte.’

Uit Isel nr. 30, mei-juni 2009

Cette semaine je vous propose un patchwork de genres. Il y en a pour tous les goûts et pour différentes circonstances.

Par contre je n’ai pas réussi à dégotter des vidéos sympas, j’essayerai de faire mieux la prochaine fois,  comme disait le cycliste.

Pour se préparer aux fêtes de la musique.

Byetone “Death of a Typographer“
Alias Olaf Bender qui est également co-fondateur du label Raster-Noton (label qui accueille entre autres Alva-Noto, Coh et bien d’autres). Electro techno intrigante, nappes ambient, bleeps. Un cd formidable. Il se produira aux fêtes de la musique à la nuit minimale le vendredi 19 juin à Recyclart.  

Pour accompagner la nouvelle Sélec qui sera dans nos rayons dès  juin, et dont un des thèmes sera les One-Man-Band.   

Bronnt Industries Kapital “Hand for Justice”
Derrière ce nom se cachent Nick Talbot du groupe Gravenhurst et Guy Bartell, un multi-instrumentiste. Musique instrumentale, cinématique, narrative avec des nappes de synthés rétro et un chouia d’influences krautrock. Au sein de ces mélodies quelque peu répétitives ils font usage d’instruments à vent. Une démarche assez intéressante.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone “Vs Children”
Casiotone… c’est Owen Ashworth. Un multi-instrumentiste californien. Electro pop indie avec des claviers cheap, des pop songs au ralenti qui frôlent la lofi. Après avoir sorti une compilation d’inédits que je vous suggère également d’écouter, le voici avec un bel album tout beau tout neuf.

.

Pour  un avant goût du voyage.

Isol / Zypce “Sima”
Un duo argentin. Isol possède une voix enfantine et délicate. Zypce crée les instrumentaux parfois acoustiques et épurés, parfois plus fouillés à partir d’une foule d’objets ou de machines. Isol chante en espagnol.

Pour découvrir ce qui se passe sous notre nez

Lionel Solveigh “Home”
Un guitariste belge qui a déjà roulé sa bosse. Il poursuit sa route avec des chansons posées accompagnées à la guitare sèche ou avec des orchestrations plus “chaudes” qui ont de faux-airs de bossa. Le disque parfait pour un dimanche matin ensoleillé, ou pas d’ailleurs ! Sur le label indépendant Humpty Dumpty.  

.

Si vous désirez voir la totalité des chouchous rock du mois de mai rendez-vous sur le site de la média – playlists des médiathécaires.  

Nouvelles brèves plic ploc :

Y étiez-vous ? au concert de Kingfisherg et de The Berg Sans Nipple aux Ateliers Claus le vendredi 29 mai ?

Moi, oui. Je ne vais pas vous parler du concert – qui était très bien cela dit – mais plutôt vous parler du lieu. Les Ateliers Claus se situent dans une rue Saint-Gilloise,  un lieu culturel qui accueille régulièrement des musiciens pour des concerts en toute intimité.  Un endroit qui mérite d’être découvert et fréquenté. La médiathèque organisera d’ailleurs une soirée spéciale Sélec aux Ateliers le samedi 13 juin, on vous y attend.

Nouvelle suggestion dans nos rayons : A l’occasion de  la venue de Michael Morley (Gate / The Dead C) pour un concert aux Bozar, nous avons eu l’envie de faire un focus sur ce légendaire groupe néo-zélandais, et pour couronner le tout, Patrick vous a fait une belle sélection de cd’s de la rock indépendante néo-zélandaise qui a secoué et qui secoue encore ce pays à l’heure où je vous écris ! 

Donc, le 12 juin au Bozar, concert de Gate, projections de films de ce même Mr.Gate, la médiathèque sera présente, venez nombreux. 

Le palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles ouvre ses portes dès le 27 mai à Sophie Calle pour une expo-rétrospective autour d’oeuvres retraçant sa vie.

L’expo se déroule suivant un fil chronologique, balisé d’une vingtaine de projets autobiographiques. Une voix, celle de Frédéric Mitterrand, accompagne le visiteur et raconte à sa manière cette vie, qu’elle met en scène pour la faire passer au stade de fiction, pour donner à entendre une « histoire ».

A noter, le lundi 25 mai spéciale nocturne AVEC Sophie Calle. Au programme intro-visite et présentation de l’oeuvre… Ceci pour seulement 250€ p.p et attention  >>> (parking, visite, boissons, repas et cadeau compris), tout de même

www.bozar.be

Spelen met lettertjes. In Bozar heeft iemand met de lettertjes zitten schuiven. Bar Bozar is er Bob Razar geworden. Haha!