Blog — Page 209 of 279

Sydney Burlesque Gala 2017

Sydney, Australia

Aight, let’s tick off the basics and history lesson first: As per definitionem, “burlesque”, derived from Italian “burlesco”, is a work of art meant to elicit a joyful atmosphere by either mocking the inherent ideas behind more serious works or treating their sujets and protagonists in a similar manner.

Eventually the format morphed into what became known as a “variety show”. Burlesque shows lost their allure in England as the nineteenth century came to an end, yet the American equivalent carried the torch forward with the emphasis being put more and more on female nudity – a transition gradual in nature, with the focus being less and less on artistic merits and more on elaborate outfits, appearance and shenanigans performed on stage.

At the beginning of the 1940s, the stripper vs. artists ratio had been turned upside down with the former driving the show and being the main selling point, and the fact that the era of Prohibition was yet to commence, was aptly fueled by alcohol.

Fast-forward to our age and burlesque is en vogue again with both Europe and the US seeing resurgence. The brains and organisers behind Sydney’s Burlesque Gala live and breathe the essence of burlesque, coquettish disrobing, slinking and swinging between aerial routines, erotic shadow projection and downright saucy striptease in intimate live music and burlesque venues hosting outstanding performers of Australian burlesque and their second Annual Sydney Burlesque Gala presented the biggest Sydney Burlesque Events over ten massive nights.

Produced by three of Sydney's Favourite Burlesque entertainers i.e. Kelly Ann Doll (Red Light Confidential) , Memphis Mae (Mr Falcons) and Michael Wheatley (The Boys Light Up), the Gala’s tenet is to celebrate all things burlesque: Comedy, Spectaculars, Boylesque, Burlesque, Circus, Cabaret, Live Music – the lot. Pocket rocket, anchorette and Dominatrix of Ceremonies extraordinaire Memphis Mae is a well known Sydney Producer who is the founder of Mr Falcons Burlesque; one of Sydney's longest running monthly burlesque shows with a host of prestigious performers from all across the world.

Memphis prides herself on her quality over quantity morals that are very clear to all that attend her events. With her well calibrated delivery, she manages to steer the audience’s exhilaration through the curated evenings with pizzazz, keeping the event flowing, expertly navigating the thin line between saucy allusions, engaging banter and matter of factly framing of what the recipients are to experience, bridging between the varied segments of the evenings. Her conspirator, Kelly Ann Doll, has headlined almost every major burlesque event in Australia since she crashed her way onto the Australian scene almost ten years ago and has also held court away in Europe, USA, Asia and Indonesia.

A pedigree that manifests in her performances. Completing the triumvirate with a family history in burlesque that goes all the way back to the 19th Century, Michael Wheatley, co-producer of the infamous Red Light Confidential, has been tearing it up in the world of burlesque since 2010. After the success of their debut earlier this year, The Martini Lounge returned with all the class of the original Burlesque Shows. The Rock’s venue The Basement was transformed into a vessel that served as a stage for live music, dance and a gastronomic journey, reminiscent of New York Jazz clubs.

Hosted by aforementioned Sydney MC Memphis Mae, The Martini Lounge is in essence a modern twist on old school burlesque and variety performance, accompanied by leading Sydney blues and jazz band, The Hanged Men, an amazing cast of six musicians, spouting blues and jazz classics with veracious style.

Dancers and thematic events on the evening - as described by the organisors - were:

Sheena Miss Demeanour, Bella Louche, Lillian Starr, Noemi Nikolett and International burlesque star fresh from her tour with Dita Von Teese’s show “The Art of the Teese”, Australia’s dynamic Zelia Rose. An immersive and intimate experience, with a hint of cheek, a giant Martini Glass and a stunning smorgasbord of live music that penetrated aural senses.

Another of the flagship events of the Gala, i.e. The Saffron Club, provided the perfect evening for those whole like a bit of sophistication to their sin: The Saffron Club brings the underworld of Kings Cross back to life as you step into the devilry of the 1950's when local standover Abe Saffron ruled and the Showgirls were fierce. The Saffron Club introduced Newtown’s venue Leadbelly deviously to the thrilling and lascivious world of Burlesque and Vaudeville with showgirls / -boys, pole dancing, comedy and singing and culminating in #MyAwards are the not so serious community burlesque awards that happened after the entertainment section of the Saffron club. Summa summarum: 2017’s incarnation of the Sydney’s Burlesque Gala was a refined affair that whets one’s appetite for the 2018 incarnation.

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Photo by KAVV

Mesdames et messieurs – welcome to the second installment of our feature on Germany’s Gestalten Verlag:

Let’s ease in with a beauty:

Best of German Interior Design

Eds. Christian Boros, Florian Langenscheidt, Olaf Salié, Axel Schramm

German / English

464 pages, 652 color and b/w images

Best of German Interior Design serves as an overview about fifty of the most creative designers based in German and creators of products to lift your interior design game at home – designers that often go unnoticed by the mainstream as well as its own industry despite Germany not exactly being unknown for quality products, superb craftmanship that not only functions but also pleases the eye and have set a high standard in terms of aestheticism when it comes to domestic bliss.

The hefty book comes with a plethora of detailed illustrations, sheds light on the creative process and inspirations of interior designers as well as written elaborations by prominent writers that give background information on products that enjoy borderline iconic status, opinions and well researched themes in the world of contemporary design and both contexts – in terms of history and culture.

Contributors include the Creative Director of Studio Lambl/Homburger, Dr. Görgen (Federal Foreign Office, Head of the Department of Culture and Communications), Birgitta Homburger, the President  of Christie’s Europe & UK, Middle East, Russia & India Prof. Dr. Boll, et al.

This lavish tome is a heavyweight in every sense and more than a merely classy coffee table ornament: It comprises the essence of German design expertise in 2017 across a myriad of disciplines, enabling readers to decide for themselves which of these examples reveal the typical characteristics of German design.

Let’s shift the geographic focus a bit:

Autoban

Form. Function. Experience.

Istanbul is home to Autoban, a design studio that is held in high esteem not just by industry experts.

With their work founders Seyhan Özdemir and Sefer Ça?lar manage to bridge the divide between occident and orient, old and new, traditional and modernist approaches. They have had a hand in creating their environement and their environment having an impact on their work

The book is based on a presentation of the projects that carved out Autoban’s signature style and concepts for a myriad of architectural undertakings that somehow incorporate both ends of the spectrum – urbanism and cosmopolitanism as well as an appreciation of cultural heritage.

 a rich selection of Autoban’s breathtaking projects that are documented in striking photographs and plans.

Seyhan Özdemir and Sefer Caglar founded Autoban in 2003. Visiting Istanbul without encountering one of their creations, influenced by the Bauhaus school and refined to their very own style, is nigh an impossible feat.

Autoban has not only left a significant dent, but changed Istanbul social life’s DNA with their projects and are now establishing an international reputation. They have just finished the cavernous interior of Baku airport in Azerbaijan, which resembles a boutique hotel crossed with a transit hub, and the design of two new restaurants in central London for Wagamama founder Alan Yau.

The book on Autoban is an opulent account of their work, which is not merely art pour l’art, but shows work that is neither elitist nor prescriptive in nature, but story-driven, considered, premium, witty, idiosyncratic, timeless ... modern Istanbul.

You cannot escape advertising these days, which is not exactly overflowing with fresh and novel concepts…an area, which is covered by Gestalten’s:

Copy Paste

Graphic Design & Art

How Advertising Recycles Ideas

This book is the diametric opposite to serving as a source of inspiration – au contraire, it’s more about being a “how to not…” kind of cautionary tale.

Not that the works depicted herein are of bad quality – most of them have been awarded prices and have been praised by their peers -  the point that is made is that they are plagiarized.

What is refreshing is that the book is not being judgmental but focused on facts and empowering the reader to make the call.

Copy Paste was compiled by Joe la Pompe and is essentially a plea and advocacy for originality.  

The author Joe la Pompe has dedicated the last two decades of his life to the pursuit of illuminating concepts and ideas that have been rehashed over and over again to be spoonfed to a consumerist society and has consequently become known as a “copycat hunter”, heralded by industry and he catches them in flagranti.

The aim of Pompe’s approach is the precise documentation of plagiarism in the world of advertising, 618 of them.

A couple of visual lessons in originality: Campaigns are allocated hashtags that allow readers to interact with Joe la Pompe’s extensive research, cast their opinion online, and make their own judgments.

An essential compass for anyone remotely involved in advertising – one that clearly shows which rabbit hole you would not necessarily want to tumble down.

Gestalten Verlag recently released its Spring 2018 catalogue with upcoming titles:

I personally look forward to

• Newspaper Design, showcasing the best of editorial and graphic design from the most renowned newspapers across the world, with the objective to prove that skillful news design matters more than ever before as well as Visual Journalism with infographics from the world’s most prominent newsrooms and designers.
• The Monocle Guide to Hotels, Inns and Hideaways: A new installment of Monocle’s globally minded book series shedding light on where to find good hotels and how to design or run your own.
• Nordic by Nature, paying homage to the Nordic kitchen, its innovative approach to cuisine, creativity and longevity.
• which will be featured in our third installment on Gestalten in early 2018.

Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum 

Art Gallery of NSW

Sydney, Australia

Before the dawn of the 18^th century, the territory that was to become known as Netherlands was the epitome of a wealthy nation that provided fertile ground for painters whose influences still reverberate today. The focus of the Dutch artists was channeled through an acutely aware lense focused on details and resulting in paintings that are to this day unrivalled in terms of intensity, dramatic impact and tranquility.

Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum marks the first time 78 works of art from the renowned Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are displayed in Sydney as part of the local International Art Series 2017/18.

Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age catapults the visitor back to the seventeenth century, a time dominated with an abundance of confidence, prestige and cornucopia.

The exhibition features renowned works by the likes of Vermeer and Rembrandt, flanked by ones of Jacob van Ruisdael and Jan Davidsz de Heem, who became esteemed for their depiction of domestic scenes, maritime themes and historically significant events.

The undisputed highlight is the dedicated Rembrandt room, which contains apart from oil paintings, sixteen etchings depicting both themes and tropes from the bible as well as worldly themes and gives insight into the creative process of one of the masters.

One of the keys to understanding the art of this period is to look at the society, how different it was from the rest of Europe – being a bourgeois society, run by the rich middle class, and a Calvinist society.

In essence, a society of great tolerance supporting a lot of religious liberties and intellectual freedom and based on that, it spawned a lot of artists had a lot more freedom in choosing what they wanted to paint compared to other painters in Europe.

The exhibition feature the rock stars, i.e. Vermeer and Rembrandt, but also gives an overview of artists who are perhaps are not that familiar to the general public here but who are wonderful examples of the marvel of 17th century Dutch painting. Artists who in their own time were renowned and successful but today are not so well known.

The last time the Rijksmuseum lent Australia some of its most precious paintings was in 2005, for the Dutch Masters exhibition at the ­National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Among the paintings coming to Sydney this time is Vermeer’s Woman Reading a Letter: typical of the master with calm ambience, cool blue tones and domestic detail. It was chosen to offset The Love Letter, the Vermeer that came to Melbourne.

The whole show seems to have been planned with one eye on the Melbourne catalogue to rather complement than compete with what was presented at the NGV before.

Super Food Family Classics

Jamie Oliver

Penguin Books Australia

Jamie's Super Food Family Classics is the healthy-eating companion book to the new TV series of Jamie's Super Food.

Illustrations exemplify what the end result is supposed to look like and list all relevant information in terms of nutrition and the individual components that need to be procured and go into it. The tone is jovial and down to earth, i.e. it caters to foodies as well as those having now concept as to what a meal outside the confines of fast-food would look like.

In essence, fuss free recipes that are a bit more health conscious than your regular cookbooks, with Jamie using “family” to denote food that’s “cozy, comforting and made for sharing”.

The book is comprised of a mélange of classic recipes as well as new and different dishes, with the focus being on meals that are all relatively easy to make, and the large majority of recipes contain food groups and flavour combinations that won’t challenge your palate too much.

Detailed nutritional information, i.e. calories, fat, sat far, protein, carbs, sugar, salt, fiber and “fruit / veg” portion; as well as serving sizes are included

The book has nine main recipe sections:

Breakfast (e.g. Chocolate porridge, Toasted popeye bread, Strawberry Buckwheat Pancakes, Mango lassi bircher, etc.)

Quick fixes (e.g. Japanese miso stew, Sri Lankan prawn curry, Cheat’s pea soup, Crispy trout, oats & thyme, etc.).

Healthy Classics (Super shepherd’s pie, Salmon & prawn 'sh pie, Healthy chip butty, Sweet potato 'shcakes, Ratatouille pie, etc.)

Salads (Super tuna pasta salad, Prawn noodle salad, Super Brussels sprouts slaw, Korean bibimbap bowl, Warm smoked trout salad, Salmon crudo & crispbreads, etc.)

Curries and stews (Sag aloo korma, Veggie gurkha curry, African prawn curry, etc.).

Traybakes (Mango teriyaki salmon, Persian veggie pilaf, Jerk aubergine & peppers, etc.)/

Pasta and risotto (Veggie Bolognese, Jools’ tuna pasta bake, Garlic mushroom pasta, Super greens cannelloni, Prawn & fennel risotto, Squash & ricotta ravioli, etc.).

Soups (e.g. Alphabet tomato soup, Spinach, mushroom & risotto soup, Peruvian sweet potato soup, Super leek & potato soup, Navajo soup, etc.).

Kitchen Hacks (e.g. Super-quick batch pesto, 7-Veg tomato sauce, Curry pastes, Fruit ice lollies, etc.). 

There is an additional section of the book called “Health and Happiness”, which contains Jamie’s advice on things such as ‘how to nutritionally balance your plate” and other non-chalant life tips such as ‘why fiber is cool’ and ‘the genius of chewing’. 

So how do the field tested so far were very easy to accomplish and did not disappoint in the flavor department either, with the Mango teriyaki salmon (with brown rice & chili cucumber pickle) being one of the outstanding ones and based on ingredients that are easy to come by,

A book that will help to freshen up your staples and expand your recipe repertoire in a healthy way.

Locust House
Adam Gnade
Three One G / Pioneer Press

This one is short, immersive, dense, turbulent and poignant.

A novella-length rumination on a time, a place, and a culture.

Less a story and more of an experience – the literary equivalent of an intense, noisy and hectic live show that catapults one back to something that feels universal - a rite of passage that despite the confusion it brings, forms an integral part of one’s upbringing and DNA as it is essentially uniquely yours like few other things later on in life.

An ode to San Diego’s envelope pushing noise punk fringe music scene, circa 2002, embodied by a home-turned –concert venue, which is orbited by a cast of misfit characters.

Alienation, frustration, rebellion, existential angst, half-baked political convictions, relationships on shaky grounds and the desire for something real, raw and unfabricated in a post-9/11 brave new world.

Adam Gnade paces Locust House accordingly: It feels like one shot, one big breath and the fact that it can be easily read in one sitting adds to it.

A collaborative release by Three One G and Pioneers Press, this is a novella that will resonate with anyone who found his / her way to punk rock as an escapism from a world that denies.