Blog — Page 175 of 279

The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain 

Yale University Press

Black is the new black, beautiful the new ugly, ugly the new . . . et cetera, et cetera. Brutalism as an architectural movement is an interesting one – what was etymologically derived from French “béton brut”, meaning roughcast concrete, is an eye sore for some, inspiration for others.

What initially emerged as a necessity to build accommodations for booming populations in the post-war era, the unadorned architectural style is often being dismissed as unimaginary, monolithic and a product of conservative thinking.

Whatever your standpoint may be, The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain zeros in on the brutalist movement and the effects has not only had during its inception but explores how it infiltrated the realm of art and created a sensibility that reverberates to the current day and age.

Opulently illustrated, the sujet is meticulously researched and sheds light on the circumstances that spawned brutalism as well as the influence it exerts via depicting sculptures, collages and the aftermath of World War II.

Substantiated by documentary evidence, sketches and pop culture tidbits, the tome offers an engaging visually rewarding experience that rests on a solid foundation of art history, which helps to thoroughly understand artistic milieus and what informed them.

What is particularly interesting is when artists from seemingly unrelated disciplines describe how their approach has been informed by a brutalist approach, e.g. photography or sculpting.

The book left me intrigued and triggered research into current local brutalist landmarks in a bid to experience first-hand how a style that lacked a movement or distinct style came to be.

After exposing themselves to this book, haters might find themselves questioning if brutalism is merely a noun for failed architectural endeavours, as it makes the merits of its legacy transparent especially when it comes to finding hope in wreckage.

27 October 2018

Julius Caesar is not merely a tale of one political transition where the attempt to resolve upheaval serves as the cataclysm to cause the very outcome Caesar’s assassinators tried to prevent. Shakespeare’s closest and most overt equivalent to a political thriller is a timeless story that has never not been relevant to contemporary politics.

Bell Shakespeare’s novel take on the Bard’s tale it is an interesting one: The non-traditional, diverse gender and race blind casting with Kenneth Ransom as Caesar, Brutus portrayed by James Lugton and Ghenoa Gela’s energetic performance as Casca prove to be the strongpoints of the production, with the delivery of the other cast at times lacking the conviction that the rhetoric of Shakespeare’s powerful rhetoric would demand.

The minimalist and industrial set design is versatile, choreographed and serves as a veritable stage that keeps things flowing, specifically when speeches are set in scene, and the nature of the smart-casual costumes is not too dissimilar with the score being the diametric opposite with its thunderous bombast, overamplifying scenes that are already boosting with suspense as the battles, treasonous plots, infighting and political battles unfold.

Bell Shakespeare’s stylised approach is refreshing yet it seems to be caught in between the traditional and therefore lack dramatic depth. The next level, i.e. taking it a step further with a truly edgy interpretation would have added another dimension.

However, it was certainly one of the more accessible interpretations of a Shakespeare play I have recently seen, which is achieved through deliberately stripping back the production to its essentials and conveying the omnipresent effects that fear has once it seeps into the DNA of society.

A contemporary and at times dystopian take on a classic that adds new facets to its relevance.

Cultivate Folk is a fairly new initiative in Sydney with the main tenet being the provision of a forum to allow for Australia’s talented and passionate artists, educators and thought leaders to teach workshops in their Surry Hills classroom.

Having evolved from the brand engagement agency Our Friends Electric, Cultivate Folk’s offerings run the gamut from illustration and design to whiskey appreciation, floristry, writing, photography and screen printing, each class is designed to connect people with shared interests to professionals operating at the forefront of their respective game and who have taken their creativity and talent and turned it into a real, working career.

With classroom sizes being capped at 16, Cultivate Folk allows for presenters and trainers to engage in an intimate environment and cater to attendants individually, which truly makes it a curated classroom for the like of mind with the programs on offer being meticulously curated by the ex-brand manager of Sydney’s Tropfest, which we recently covered.

Housed on the ground floor of OFE’s new hub in Surry Hills, Sydney, the open space flexible classroom with moveable work benches and LED screens has been designed by award winning architects; Luigi Roselli, who was in attendance of tonight’s Whisk(e)y Masterclass.

Tonight’s master class was hosted by Joel Hauer, a whisky connoisseur and founder of Whisky Loot, a curated service that in essence sends subscribers a regular package of whisky samples in exchange for a fee. The content of Whisky Loot’s boxes focuses on the partnerships that have been directly formed with distilleries and is an educational exercise as it provides subscribers with relevant tasting notes and allows them to form their own opinions about varieties they would normally not come across. Each bottle is presented in a uniform monthly box devoid of label branding in a bid to enhance an unbiased representation, which comes along with a tasting booklet allowing people to write down their thoughts, as they taste.

Tonight’s master class made Whisky Loot come to live and after being sustained, Joel explained the basics and underpinning concepts of whisky for the uninitiated.

What followed was a tour de force across this earthround: What opened with a heavy-hitting Willett Family Rye, found its first highlight with Limeburners Port Cask. The malty mélange of honey, vanilla and berries was dangerously more-ish and made me come to the conclusion that the Western Australian distillery and its expressions warrant a dedicated feature.

Another highlight was the Ledaig 18 Year Old – a brooding, smoky little number that presents itself in a different smoke than the usual suspects from Islay with nuances of walnuts and ash.

Amrut has yet to release an expression that does delight in every way imaginable and the Intermediate Sherry was not an exception with a sheer endlessly lingering finish that followed what felt like chewing on Christmas cake.

A curiosity of the master class was the liquid emission of Italy’s only whisky distillery, i.e. Puni Nero Sole, an interesting zesty expression with hints of cheese and anchovies. While the dram proffered made me think the distillery is still at experimentation and calibration stage, it is definitely one to watch and one that I would have not been exposed to had it not been for the curation of Whisky Loot.

An enjoyable evening in pleasant company that proved to be the ideal transition into the weekend.

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of what many consider to be the first proto-punk album in history, Kick Out The Jams. While this may or not be accurate, it was an album unlike anything that came before, and this band from Ann Arbour, Michigan began an aggressive rock n’ roll activist movement that continued for long after the band dissolved 3 years later.

There are many bands who work the tour circuit up and down the coasts, and through the heartland of the country with only one original member and often times it comes across as little more than a sad tribute act. But this tour was a celebration. A golden anniversary celebration of an album that was a true game changer. And original guitarist spared no expense in assembling a band that could do the music justice, including Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and Zen Guerilla vocalist Marcus Durant.

Opening with Rambling Rose, Kramer and company made it clear from the start that this was a celebration, made all the more evident from the smile on Kramer’s face that quite literally never left for the duration of the show.

Next up was the song everyone was there to hear, Kick Out The Jams. Beginning the complete album run-through right up to the final space-jazz improv strains of Starship, with Durant busting out the pocket sax and sounding great doing it. There’s been some cynical rumblings that Durant has co-opted the look and sound of original vocalist Rob Tyner, but anyone familiar with his work in Zen Guerilla, a criminally underrated, truly great blues rock band that was part of the garage-rock resurgence of the late 90s knows that he hasn’t changed a bit. A 6’7 afroed and sunglassed big ol’ bottle of swagger. His performance on Let Me Try alone is worth the price of admission.

In addition to ...Jams, the band also worked through a sizable chunk of their 1970 follow-up, Back in The U.S.A. - bringing out Arrow de Wilde, openers Starcrawler vocalist to handle singing duties on High School and tackling Durant in the process. Starcrawler, incidentally are a fantastic up-and-coming rock band from LA that are a must see, live. Just be warned that if you’re in the front row, be prepared for an interactive experience.

2018 also marks the 70th birthday of Wayne Kramer, who to be perfectly honest looks more spry and energetic on stage than musicians more than half his age and holy shit, can the man still play.

It’s rare to go to a show these days and feel like you’re witnessing something truly special and watching the musicians on stage feel the same way - like they can’t believe their luck and are having an unfettered blast. The MC50 tour continues through the US and Europe through November. Don’t miss it.

Mind Over Matter -- Floating

If you are into Matt Groening’s satirical depiction of working-class life, you might have come across the Simpsons episodes that has Homer taking Lisa to a New Age store, where both of them are introduced to a water-filled sensory deprivation tank. What ensues in a spiritual journey for Lisa, while Homer’s journey becomes a real one.

Ever since coming across the aforementioned episode, I was intrigued whenever I came across etablissements offering float therapy and have wanted to try it.

Enter Koa Recovery.

The therapy center Koa Recovery was founded by its owner Shaun’s after personal experience with a back injury and his subsequent endeavours to recover, which led him to North America where he came across the Float Therapy, Whole Body Cryotherapy and the other treatments that Koa Recovery now offers. Experiencing immediate tangible benefits from the treatments, Shaun decided to bring these concepts and therapies to Sydney, Australia where he now offers them to help others – be it for pain management, prevention or rehabilitation of injuries, enhancing athletic performance, preparation for game day or to aid with relaxation and de-stressing to enhance resting the mind and nurture creativity.

Let’s enter the realms of restricted environment stimulation therapy and the actual sensor deprivation tank, shall we?

Apparently “isolation tanks” first emerged in the 1950ies for science experiments before they were modified to resemble the pod-like chambers that I was going to experience at Koa Recovery.

The initial idea was to create a separation from your surroundings through confinement in a tank that is filled with about 25 centimeters of water, heated to around 34 degrees Celsius and hundreds of kilos of Epsom salts so your body floats and to create a sensory transcendence by depriving all senses of stimulation.

The therapy has come a long way and what now materializes at Koa Recovery are luxurious, soundproof pods that allow to pull the plug and disconnect from the white noise of the daily humdrum, constant connectivity and chatter of our minds.

After taking a shower and scrubbing off anything that might taint the water and entering the pod, it took me a minute to acclimatize but it proved to be surprisingly easy to become buoyant, let go and slow down, switch off and allowing every muscle to relax.

It becomes second nature easily.

Having been on a training regime for the recent Sydney half-marathon, the high magnesium concentration and elimination of gravity made the floating session the ideal recovery as the elimination is gravity is ideal for muscle and joint recovery post injury.

Now, what happens inside the pod?

Nothing – and that is the whole idea behind it. You float in darkness – there is opportunity to adjust the lighting or leave the tank open if you suffer from symptoms of claustrophobia – and become one with black velvet.

It is a form of meditation that focus, creativity and productivity with one hour of floating being roughly equivalent to four to five hours of sleep as he sensory deprivation results in a change of brain waves to the relaxed theta state, i.e. the state before actually falling to sleep.

What do you feel?

Well, unless you let the liquid come close to your eyes, which stings a lot, a lot and nothing at the same time.

After a few minutes music stops playing and the lights dim down to blackness.

It is difficult to explain but the pod becomes your universe – the universe.

My weightless session of not using any muscles helped me enormously with my lower back pain, decompression and the realignment of my spine as it allows you to stretch in ways you have never stretched before.

Soaking in the magnesium rich water not only felt amazing after but you also absorb the minerals through osmosis, which aids detoxification and aid in combatting insomnia, both of which I was in dire need of.

Is it a spiritual experience?

It can be. It takes practice. With the first session in the clamshell, egg-shaped tank it is not very likely to experience any Simpsons-esque hallucinations or epiphanies, however, the loss of spatial awareness and not being able to differentiate between water and air definitely offers the perfect opportunity to connect with yourself and take an hour long vacation. Your mind starts to wander zigzagging through a state between being awake and a fluid dream-like state.

Once you emerge from the pod, my skin felt awesome, my back felt pain free and I felt overcome by a Hindu-like sense of Zen calm and clear-headedness.

I ensured to hydrate throughout the day after the session and what followed was a night with the most restful, dreamiest sleep I have experienced in years.

---

Photos courtesy of Koa Recovery