barkingstars

Exhibitions

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift

I’ve never read an edition of The Face in my life but it’s always been a presence. Staring out from magazine racks or posters on walls. I was never remotely fashionable, and in fact I have an unfortunate reflex that makes me recoil from anything fashionable or popular, so it didn’t seem to be my thing. But there is no denying the quality of the photography and graphic design that made it so distinct.

I really enjoyed the musicians and pop culture portraits, as well as the clubbing photography, which are vibrant and exciting. I was less engaged with the fashion photography which, with some notable exceptions, seemed more staged and static. It feels to me that something was lost when the mag became edgy Vogue, but I suppose fashions change and fashionable magazines must change with them.

Edvard Munch – Portraits

A little know fact is that Edvard’s middle name was Munster. Munch isn’t celebrated as a portraitist so this is an opportunity to see him in a different light. This is a small exhibition with probably not more than 30 items. His portraits are very good, and he sometimes finds ways to express the character of his subjects, but some others would be rather dull if it wasn’t for his incredible use of colour. One portrait of a wealthy patron was abandoned because the subject, who apparently was doing nothing else but quietly posing, angered Munch so much he punched the canvas. I wonder if the lack of inspiration in some of these paintings hints that they were done out of duty rather than love.

But there is great stuff here, and any Munch lover will enjoy this new look at his work.

One of the cards next to a portrait (of Jappe Nilssen I think) tells a tale. The first paragraph tells us that Munch was excited to begin a portrait of his hero. In the second paragraph we are told that the subject was ambivalent about the painting and felt that, while he loved Munch’s work, he felt he had displayed a cruel streak in the way he had portrayed him. I find something quite touching and funny about this failure of two men to communicate their feelings.

Music

I mentioned Madison Cunningham’s track Hospital in last weeks post. I can confirm that the album that track comes from, Revealer, is really fantastic. It’s a bit folky, a bit country, but what really makes it shine is her restless search for original sounds and every track brings something new.

Roberta Fidora has been putting out great singles and videos recently and here is her latest.

I’ve also been enjoying the new Mclusky album. I never got into Mclusky before but have been a fan of Future of the Left for some time.

Finally, I’ve been listening to Weirdo by Emma-Jean Thackray. My jazz tastes are usually for instrumental rather than vocal but I’m really liking this. Much like Revealer this is an album where there are constant little shifts in styles and lots of ideas. And look at that cover – it reminds me of the bathroom from The Shining.

Theatre

Austentatious

For those who don’t know, this is an improvised Jane Austen adaptation based on a title provided by an audience member. During this performance audience members suggested ‘Mansplain Hark’, ‘Investment and Insolvency’ but thankfully they plumped for ‘Mary Shelley comes to dinner’. It became apparent that Percy Shelley had been assembled by Mary Shelley, but due to a tragic accident in her laboratory he would turn into a chicken man at midnight. You had to be there.

This is the third time I’ve seen this live, having also seen the recordings. They are consistently very funny. It would be easy to just undercut the Austen environment and have stuffy Georgians make modern cultural references, and there is a little of that, but they manage to be much wittier, sillier and wide-ranging than just doing the obvious, easy gags. It is remarkable how they manage to consistently deliver with every performance.

Apparently they are doing shows for the rest of year in London and touring around the country. I would recommend it.

Films

I saw Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. I hated it. Here’s my review.

TV

I’ve just seen the first episode of Poker Face season 2. I really enjoyed the first season, especially as you can see they are trying to bring back some of the joy of Columbo. Personally I still think TV hasn’t got much better than Columbo so I’m very much the target audience. Also, Natasha Lyonne is fantastic (and it’s only just occurred to me, she has the same voice as Peter Falk).

Books

I finished The Shining this week and decided to read The Kremlin Letters next after reading this article on Five Books

Random internet stuff

After reading The Shining I came across this page with quotes from Stephen King about his addictions.

This poem is great (apparently it went viral some time ago and I managed to miss it!)