Monthly Archives: November 2010
DJ Krush
Thursday evening saw Japan’s No.1 DJ hit the decks and fx down at The Corner in Richmond.
Reverberating the venue (I refrain from suggesting dubstep) with what could be described as down-tempo tech breaks, the set rocked to the bemusement of the crowd. I must say I could really dig this vibe and it was fantastic to hear Krush in the now; throwing down new, unique and thumping sounds.
However, after half time he realised the crowd were, let‘s say ‘traditional‘ fans and thus Krush‘s appeasement then ensured that the rest of the set reflected the mediocrity of the Mo‘ Wax back-catalogue with a tweak or two on the side.
The video below features half a dozen short clips that give a fairly broad overview of the set.
-RTB
Miral
From Julian Schnabel; the director that brought such cinematic triumphs as Basquiat, Before Night Falls, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly to screen. Here comes a film that, although technically flawed presents the Palestinian plight without a cohesive or bias view -to its credit.
The film begins with camerawork from Eric Gautier (Into The Wild, The Motorcycle Diaries) that seems much too frantic for setting such a sombre narrative. However, his hand-held shots are somewhat restrained and the perhaps flamboyant use of various colour-grading techniques is excellent, amidst interesting tracking shots and realtime movement.
Although the film centres around Hind Al-Husseini‘s school for orphaned refugee girls, it’s effort to track the lives of Hind, Hani, Fatima and Miral (each pronounced with titles) leaves one feeling as though Reel 2 was omitted; with the film consolidating proper upon Miral, and Hani to a lesser extent. Complementary to this view are the cameo-like appearances of Willem Dafoe‘s U.S. Army personnel, Eddie, whose under-developed and languishing character borders on irrelevance. Worth noting too is the brilliant Hiam Abbass (The Visitor) as Hind albeit looking almost comical when the character reappears in the film as an elderly woman. As with most of the film though, this criticism fast fades as the film begins to enthrall beyond the first 40 minutes or so.
Anchored with a great range of stock shots and the aforementioned cinematography techniques, the film runs parallel to a curious soundtrack including R.L. Burnside and Tom Waits but ultimately encapsulates an engaging perspective of the Palestinian/ Israeli conflict. Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) is absolutely amazing in holding this film as her own and plays Miral seductively in the coming-of-age, politically agressive role.
Secret Wars: Phibs vs. Pierre Lloga
Wednesday evening hosted the 2nd heat in a glorious round-robin of graffiti battles that featured two of the finest ‘street‘ artists in Australia. Phibs and Pierre Lloga went head-to-head in 90 minutes of madness defined by marker pens and rollers: without aersol paint, pencils or sketches.
The crowd shaped up with plenty of enthusiasm en mass. This turnout eclipsed the first heat; and with Deb vs. Ken Taylor to battle it out on Wednesday, 8th December just before the end of year break, these numbers are set to continue to swell. So be sure to get your tickets from moshtix.com.au and get your arse into gear.
Secret Wars began in Shoreditch, London in 2006 and has since steadily risen to become one of the biggest live art movements on the scene. From these humble beginnings, you may now witness the graff battle showdowns that your parents warned you about.
check: secretwars.com.au
Joshua Wiffen
Drawing upon the graffiti artform, Josh hits his canvas with a depth of colour layers that are quite engrossing. His use of text calligraphy is striking as it brushes up against themes including societal quips, the female form, trashed pop iconoclasts and, perhaps flesh-eating disco zombies from outer space. Extra pursuits to his gallery works include aerosol murals, paste-up’s and the notional tag here or there. However, his creativity rises to the fore using an array of inks and paints on a fixed surface such as canvas or wood.
Wiffen’s visual style marks an awesome creative effort and his works prove themselves worthy of the modest sum that you would hardly expect to pay: that is, they’re a fucken bargain!
Next up, Josh is working on some further mural endeavours (such as that featured below) and he is co-curating major launch/ exhibition It’s Official from the 14th – 21st December 2010 at Gallery: 5 Crown Lane in Wollongong, NSW.
You can contact Josh for wall commissions and artist workshops at: wiffen.com.au
-RTB
Original Mould
This weekend heralds the Original Mould Emerging Artists’ Market. The event will take place at 1000 Pound Bend on Saturday the 6th of November 2010.
This is a truly Melburnian arts feast; featuring the hottest creative minds in a showcase ensemble that is quite simply spectacular.
Original Mould provides a platform for young emerging artists to showcase their designs and the arts community are welcomed through the doors to critique, collect or mingle with the artists. The market begins at 1.00pm with an impressive outlay of contemporary mediums featuring (but not limited to) street art, fashion, design, fine art, printmaking and media arts.
• Saturday the 6th November 2010.
• 1000 Pound Bend located at 361 Little Lonsdale Street.
• Doors will open from 1.00pm to 7.00pm.
• Live Performances from The Adventure Spirit and by DJ Oakley.
1000 Pound Bend is an underground warehouse with a spacious yet cosy interior, accommodating up to 30 stallholders. The venue provides our patronage with a dynamic atmosphere, with room to have a drink and relax whilst celebrating the future of Melbourne’s inspiring artists.
The market features emerging artists and arts enthusiasts. It gives up-and-coming arts talent an opportunity to sell their merchandise, so don’t be shy to splash some cash.
The market provides a creative arena, bustling crowd, plus live performances from successful local band The Adventure Spirit and also a set spinning discs by DJ Oakley.
Don’t miss out on the insight and intrigue in experiencing Melbourne’s freshest new arts!
Witness the future of our newest artists with Original Mould: Emerging Artists Market.
