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Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

Andrew Bolton

Yale University Press

If you are into design, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons will ring a couple of bells as she has been heralded as one of the most influential luminaries in her field. Ever since she debuted in Paris in 1981, she has succeeded in blurring the divide between art and fashion and transformed predominant  notions of beauty, identity, and the body.

Her fashions not only stand apart from the progenitur of clothing but also resist and actively defy labelling and clichés. Her work is centered on the concept behind the idea of the “in-between”, which according to her approach is situated between space and emptiness.

NYC’s MET Costume Institute's spring 2017 exhibition examined the work of fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, who is not unknown for being an agent provocateur challenging the status quo and what is considered to be good practice by the mainstream.

The show that was based on the theme of “in-between-ness” featured around one hundred and fifty exhibits of the womenswear Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons have become known for, not only stopping at recent collections but  dating back to the 1980s to her most recent collections.

The galleries illustrated the designer's endeavours in the space between boundaries, which are infused with a gusto for revolution.

Objects were organized into the  nine core concepts behind her aestheticism:

• Absence/Presence
• Design/Not Design
• Fashion/Anti-Fashion
• Model/Multiple
• Then/Now
• High/Low
• Self/Other
• Object/Subject and Clothes/Not Clothes

What Kawakubo accomplishes, is tearing down what is perceived to separate the aforementioned dualisms and exposing those barriers for what they are: Artificial and arbitrary.

As one who is remotely familiar with Kawakubo’s oeuvre, the show was challenging, with the astonishing garments, installation design and catalog forming an unrivaled juggernaut breaking down barriers between art and fashion, that is in book form articulated by Andrew Bolton and photography by Nicholas Alan Cope, Inez & Vinoodh, Katerina Jebb, Kazumi Kurigami, Ari Marcopoulos, Craig McDean, Brigitte Niedermair, Paolo Roversi, and Collier Schorr 

This catalogue is meant to accompany The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition, which was centered around Kawakubo’s definition of fashion:

“What I’ve only ever been interested in are clothes that one has never seen before, that are completely new, and how in what way they can be expressed. Is that called fashion? I don’t know the answer.” - Rei Kawakubo.

This lavishly illustrated publication weaves an illuminating narrative around Kawakubo’s experiments in oppositions and the spaces between boundaries.

Kawakubo regards her fashions and their environments as a Gesamtkunstwerk, i.e. a “total work of art.” This synthesis of the exhibition and this book is therefore designed as a complete expression of the Comme des Garc?ons “universe.” It is intended to be a holistic, immersive experience, facilitating a personal engagement with Kawakubo’s emissions.

A book that is minimal, arresting, and impossibly chic eye candy photography not just for hardcore fashion aficionados but one that can be appreciated by many artistic disciplinarians and one that gives insight into Kawakubo's process and thinking.

Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg

Manning Bar

Sydney, Australia

November 23, 2017

Tonight heralded the return of Marky Ramone to Australian shores, whose tenure handling skin duties for the Ramones lasted for a total of 15 year, from May 1978 until February 1983, and August 1987 until August 1996, has also played in other notable bands, Dust, Estus, and Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

Marky has made it his mission to keep The Ramones’ spirit alive, and as tonight’s demographic and turnout exemplifies, quite successfully  with audiences being a melange of older and younger punters yet with an average age where they were certainly not around when the Ramones  were together.

For his current shows, Marky is digging all the way into the Ramones catalogue to deliver an absolute treat for every Ramones fan with an extensive set list comprised of 38 Ramones songs.

And yes, one could make a case that enacting a rendition of Ramones songs with Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg with only him being the sole survivor actual band means reverting to very safe territory and indulging in nostalgia, however, the band’s performance is tight and close enough to the original to make it entertaining and stand on its own legs.

Ramones are an integral cornerstone of punk rock and gateway band and tonight was testament to their songs being timeless classics.

The band managed to rev up the crowd with a tight and at times maniacally fast set with Marky being the solid backbone and driver of the operation, adding fills along with other welcome ornaments that were not part of the original songs, which contributed to the songs rather than diluting their DNA.

A fun show with an onslaught of sound from start to finish reaffirming the Ramones' legacy with a competent tribute band that is not pretending to be more than it is and one that comes very close to the original.

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Photos by KAVV

UB 40

Hordern Pavilion

Sydney, Australia

November 24, 2017

As infectious and happy the UK’s biggest reggae export’s emissions sound, disputes had riddled the band’s legacy and resulted in a feud between the two resulting camps of founding members, with both still touring the globe under the same moniker, the one referring to the United Kingdom’s unemployment claiming form.  

Be it as it may, what descended upon tonight’s stage was a full-bodied seven-piece band that delivered the classics as well as newer tunes of the band’s extensive catalogue, which was warmly received by an appreciative and fervent crowd that was happy to chant and sway along, culminating in the night's final number, crowd pleaser and encore conclusion, the Neil Diamond-penned classic ode to the redness of vino, which made UB 40 a household name transcending generations – with tonight’s demographics being an example par excellence with a diverse crowd of all ages.

Tonight’s incarnation of UB40 delivered a fine celebration of ska, reggae and lovers rock infused with their trademark style with a heavy influence of psychedelically tinged guitars, analogue synthesizers, a brass section and a dub approach informing the irie vibe.

A band that knows exactly what their audience wants and dishes it out generously.

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Photo provided

The Aints play The Saints

Factory Theatre

Sydney, Australia

November 24, 2017

According to Sir Bob Geldorf, rock music in the seventies was changed by three bands—the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and The Saints.

Having seen Glen Matlock and Marky Ramone within the last eight days, the missing component of the triumvirate was performing tonight:

On the 40th anniversary of the release of The Saints’ classic album ‘(I’m) Stranded’, founding member, guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper revisited the classic material.

Alongside bassist Peter Oxley (Sunnyboys), drummer Paul Larson (The Celibate Rifles), keyboardist Alister Spence and a guest brass section The Aints’ performed the songs that comprised the first three full-length albums “Stranded”, Eternally yours” and “Prehistoric Sounds”.

The Aints reclaim the songs and the energy of The Saints.

Flanked by Peter Oxley on bass and the Celibate Rifles’ Paul Larsen on drums, along with a horn section and long-term collaborator Alister Spence on keyboards, Kuepper’s band is built for purpose, and purpose is to belt out the classics with passion and vengeance rather than a minute rendition of past glories.

Given the announcement of what territory was to be covered, the setlist was predictable in terms of being a classic fest with the occasional oddity, i.e. unrecorded ditty, thrown in for good measure, with the band visibly enjoying themselves, which translated to the audience.

I’ve seen The Saints in various incarnations and tonight was one of the more fun and engaging ones.

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Photo provided

Perturbator

Factory Theatre

Sydney, Australia

November 21, 2017

Producing dark and retro futuristic music with a strong 80’s feeling, James Kent AKA Perturbator is the considered to be the spearhead of the new synthwave revival (along with Danger, Lazerhawk, Kavinsky, and Dan Terminus). Since the project’s inception in 2012, Perturbator’s music has launched an explosion of hypnotic synthwave.   With Perturbator’s music making an appearance in the Hollywood movie The Guest, the TV show Limitless and the video games Hotline Miami 1 & 2, it has reached mainstream audiences globally.

Perturbator surfed the new wave of 80’s retro revival down onto terra australis for the first time and he could not have asked for a more welcoming crowd.

Heavy on 8-BIT barrage draws with influences from 80’s cyberpunk films such as The Terminator and Akira and with an emphasis on heavier songs of his oeuvre, Pertubator is a live context is an immersive, borderline cinematic experience.

While his recent albums feature slower songs that could have serenaded Ryan Gosling driving around in his getaway vehicle, he creates a more volatile ambience for his live incarnations with tension building exercises and resulting drops galore, which are rooted in metal along with chugging and blast beats, much to the acclaim of his devout audience.

Yes, given the fact that Pertubator is a one-man operation, there is zwangsläufig a lot of button pushing and hovering above synths and laptops involved, with visual entertainment mainly depending on the lightshow.

However, James Kent channeling his alchemy in his trademark druid-esque hoodie manages to make it an engaging experience that only hints at what could be pulled is he employed more organic orchestration, i.e. a band, and vocalists.

The performance was concise and dense with segues, well executed mixing and seamless transitions, eliciting a spectrum ranging from dance moves via less elegant theatrics to fist pounding.

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Photos by T