From the 21st to 27th April I had a short solo retrospective 'Five Years' at the Devonport Live studio space in
Plymouth. The exhibition showed a selection of my work from the past five years, linked to the music of David Bowie. The accompanying exhibition texts, which include links to the relevant Bowie tracks, can
be viewed here.
The exhibition was extended from an original
three days to a week and we had some interesting visitors, including a
woman who had worked for Bowie at Mainman in the early 1970s. Here are some photographs (click to see larger):
I didn't find the Blake exhibition quite as interesting as the A Museum for Myself exhibition at the Holbourne last year - largely because this show is focused exclusively on Blake's work for the music industry. However, the Derek Boshier stuff was all new to me (in the sense of recognising his contribution to rock art). The exhibition reminds us that Boshier appeared with Peter Blake, Pauline Boty and Peter Phillips in Pop Goes the Easel, the seminal film made by Ken Russell for the BBC's Monitor series in 1962. Incidentally, for a great account of the neglected Pauline Boty's life and work see the posts (part 1 and part 2) in Jez Winship's Sparks in Electrical Jellyblog.
... also the proud owner of this one, on tin
Also showing until the 7th is the Artist Pop Starsexhibition which complements the Blake show and contains material by rock luminaries such as Ian Dury and Bryan Ferry. Taken together, these three exhibitions are a fascinating insight to the close links between the art school and rock.
Got a Girl - my favourite - but I've only got a postcard ...
The Pallant also has its own collection of Modern British Art which includes examples of work by many important artists; and (again until the 7th) has a small exhibition of record cover art which includes 'references to the imagery of post-psychedelia, gith surrealistic and art-nouveau designs'. Who could ask for more?
Ian Dury - Danny Bubbles
The Pallant is a unique place. It consists of two conjoined modern and not-so-modern buildings. The not-so-modern part also houses many paintings and artefacts of note and, at the time I visited, a memorial exhibition of paintings by Adrian Berg(now finished) - This was terrific, by the way, especially for those of us now desperately trying to improve our drawing and painting skills to avoid failing our Access to HE art course ... Finally, the gallery also has a restuarant which serves excellent food and a shop which contains more than just the usual art gallery bits and pieces.
Lodger - Boshier and Bowie - got the LP ...
The Blake, Booshier and Artist Pop Stars exhibitions all finish on the 7th October. I recommend that you get down there, if you can.
Haven't really had time to do any proper blogging this week but here are a few tracks and videos that are worth a listen or look:
First up, on M’Lady’s Records of Brooklyn, a new album titled You're Never Going Back (click to listen) by Coasting. According to Pop'stache they are the "lo-fi duo with appassionato and gusto. Composed of guitarist Madison Farmer and drummer Fiona Campbell, the New Zealand-based pair incorporate both the pep of a glockenspiel with a fuzzed overtone of a classic atmospheric guitar riff that has a Built to Spill feel to it." Or to put it another way: Grrl power meets punk meets the White Stripes. Their potential is probably best shown on the final track of the album - Delusions of Grandeur - which moves beyond the basic approach of the other tracks.
Erin K and Tash ("a fun-fuelled world of horseheads, cupcakes, rats, sex dolls and nursery rhymes" according to the Barfly reviewer) have been getting a few plays of this Suzanne Vega soundalike track on the radio, and the video is pretty good.
Arcade Fire have been around for a while. This track: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) also has a great video and the tune combines Catatonia with 70s Electropop ... There is also an interactive version at Sprawl II (dance activated if you're feeling energetic - webcam needed).
Talking of Arcade Fire, David Bowie did his Gilbert & George/ Antony Newley/ Truman Capote impression at Fashion Rocks in 2005, and he performed two songs with the Canadians: Wake Up (from Funeral), and Five Years (from Ziggy Stardust).
This, however, is Life on Mars (from Hunky Dory), with Mike Garson on piano. Garson made a unique contribution to Bowie's Aladdin Sane, giving the song an avant garde jazz feel with lengthy and sometimes atonal piano solos (Wikipedia) and has subsequently maintained an ongoing musical relationship with Bowie.
All three tracks were released on iTunes (click for better sound). The video quality could be better but it is good to see the great man still belting them out some 30 years after the last time I saw him at Earls Court.
Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars
The Flaming Lips - one of my favourite bands - also did a cover of Life on Mars but, better still, here is a very young-looking Wayne Coyne and the band doing She Don't Use Jelly on Letterman in 1995 - watch out for Wayne's photos and other stuff on Twitter and see also my previous post about the Lips performing live with Weezer in July 2011.
And so, finally - Have a good Xmas everyone - See you in the New Year ...
