Do Art

A new month has started, let's make the best of it. I will, especially since it's my birthday month.

Cover by Pasko Merisier for the latest issue of  The   Caribbean Writer. The Caribbean Writer has published its 25th Anniversary issue, a bi-lingual edition dedicated to Haiti.  The 640-page edition features 70 pages of poetry from Caribbean poets including Kamau Brathwaite, the talented Jennifer Rahim, Ernest Pepin and Sonia Sanchez. There is also a section on prose, as well as a section on Haitian art, and interviews with novelist Earl Lovelace (who recently won the 2011 Caribbean Literary Prize and is interviewed by Alake Pilgrim) and Elizabeth Nunez. Contributions from Lelawattee Manoo-Rahming, Edwidge Danticat, Merle Hodge and are also featured. One of my favorite pieces in the edition is 'Haiti' by Jennifer Rahim. The poem uses the problem of language as a starting point to debate the place of Haiti in modern society. Just as language reveals a development long in train before current idioms, Haiti's fate is tied to a specific historical context. For those of ...

FILM REVIEW:  Dark Tales From Paradise THE CHALLENGES of making a competent film locally cannot be underestimated. Film-makers may have problems with technical issues, with funding and with accessing markets, even their own. Additionally, in a country where cinema is tied to notions of watching other societies on screen (our idea of “film” is tied to the US and European fare which is sold to us), seeing ourselves depicted on-screen, and inevitably simplified, for the purpose of “entertainment” can trigger complex reactions.  But these are all challenges which a group of three film-makers have embraced with some boldness. The tag-line for  Dark Tales from Paradise , which screened this month at the Harvard Club St James at a TT Entertainment Company/ TT Film Company event, is “3 Dark Tales, 2 Beautiful Islands, 1 Kind of Film”. It is a provocative series of short films, assembled together in one feature “grind-house” style. In Ryan C Khan’s ‘Midnight Affair’, an American s...

Photo by Christopher Cozier.  Surinamese artist Dhiradj Ramsamoedj is currently in residence at Alice Yard, as part of its fifth anniversary programme. FROM Alice Yard: On  Saturday 3 September , at  9.30 am , Ramsamoedj will present and discuss this work during an informal gathering at Alice Yard. All are invited to join in over a cup of coffee. This will also be an opportunity to meet our third anniversary artist-in-residence, Jamaican  Charles Campbell . About the artist: Dhiradj Ramsamoedj is based in Paramaribo, where he graduated from the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in 2004. His work has been shown in two solo exhibitions, most recently  Ordinary People Reloaded  (2010) at the Readytex Gallery in Paramaribo; and in group exhibitions in Suriname, the Netherlands, and the United States, notably  Paramaribo SPAN  (2010) and  Wrestling with the Image: Caribbean Interventions  at the Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC (2011)....

In Leipzigs Messehof-Passage, there is this column with the ring of colour-changing light around it. Which makes it a fantastic object of photographic experiments.

Kingdom Come by Lavar Munroe. Graphite drawing, digital colour, Ultrachrome K3 ink on velvet paper (2010) "When I work, I am most concerned with self-fulfillment and execution. I am never satisfied. Satisfaction begins at the end of a first piece. By the beginning of the second piece, that satisfaction is lost, and I am on a quest to renew, replace and replenish it upon completion of the new piece. It is a cycle that is never ending." Laliwa Hadali Yellow butterfly of the Sun , mixed media, 2011 "The work has to search for meaning, it has to explain life on every level, the everyday and the extraordinary. It has to explain life on every level, the everyday and the extraordinary. It has to challenge preconceived notions, it has to ask questions not ordinarily asked in an attempt to answer them in ways that are life-affirming." –Lavar Munroe, in an interview with Dr Ja A. Jahannes  FROM the latest, amazing edition of ARC , an art magazine available at Paper Based Bo...

Good Morning, everyone. A new week with endless possibilities has started. Let's make the best of it.

Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre THE LATEST film version of Charlotte Bronte's novel understands, perhaps more than those that have come before it, that the book's melancholic gothicism goes hand in hand with its eroticism. From the very opening of the film, there is an overwhelming sense of the more sensational aspects of Bronte's novel which is famous for defying genres and for hiding different strands of critique within its tightly wrought Yorkshire coils. Mia Wasikowska is the best Jane on film (there have been many fine renditions, including those by Samantha Morton (1997) and Charlotte Gainesbourg (1996)). She understands Jane's deeper conflict and temptations, as well as her purity, integrity and naivety. As Rochester, Michael Fassbender never quite manages to escape Orson Welles' shadow (1943) but he brings a sense of the scoundrel that is at the heart of a character who must be attractive, yet, in some ways, repulsive. Plus, he's easy on the eyes. Unlike pre...

It's Friday the 26th of August 2011, from today on we can enjoy again really good and new music. So get your favourite chair out to your favourite spot* and listen to the freshly released new Red Hot Chili Peppers longplayer. Ah, the bliss. Have a great weekend everyone. *Nope, you don't necessarily have to sit in it, you can also dance around it. ;-)

Spring is my favourite time of year, because of all the fresh green.

Still, summer is better, now is it?

Yes, even January can be nice. Nevertheless I prefer the summer months. In January the days are too short. Tonight I'll be back at my Yoga-class. I'm really excited about it.

 click for a larger image The Trapezium Gallery is a hive of activity as students from Year 1 of the Diploma of Fine Arts prepare for their exhibition, which opens this Thursday, August 25 at 6.30pm. A vibrant array of works are starting to clad the walls and preparations for the catalogues and catering are being finalised. The first year of the Diploma of Fine Arts is a wonderful foundation training in the fine arts, with students developing skills in ceramics, painting, photography, drawing and printmaking, as well as studying  art history. Infusion is a terrific showcase of al the skills our first year students develop, and an opportunity for them to learn something about the professional practice required in order to mount an exhibition. The exhibition opens this Thursday, August 25 at 6.30pm at the Trapezium Gallery, Block P, Nepean College. All welcome. Applications for the 2012 intake of the Diploma of Fine Arts are now open. For more details, visit our course inf...

Good Morning. A new week has started. When you leave your home to go wherever, take a second to look at the sky. It's always changing and even if it is grey, you might find a smidge of beauty in it. Look at the sky and take a deep breath, it will probably relax you. I hope this pic relaxes you too and sets you of to a good start in the new week.

*Sighhhhhhh* I love this picture.

ARTISTI PARTECIPANTI DA VARIE REGIONI ITALIANE: Adelaide Bonfanti, Agata Ivana Sorgi, Alba Domenica, Alessandra Placucci, Alessandro Della Pietra, Antida Tammaro, Antonino Romano, Antonio Conte, Arianna Baccelli, Barbara Pagliarani, Benedetto Di Fazio, Bruno Capatti, Carla Colombo, Camillo Brivio, Cecilia Bossi, Chiara M. Rossetti, Claudio Romeo, Cosimo Antonicelli, Cristina Rudi, Danila Salvadore, Domenico Severino, Dora Romano, Ekaterina Anciugova, Enrico Fizzotti, Enzo Correnti, Erika Azzarello, Filippo Nasello, Francesco Acciaro, Francesco Marzetti, Gabriella Venuti, Giada Ottone, Giampaolo Marroni, Gianni Donaudi, Gildo De Vido Dordi, Giovanni Bonanno, Giovanni Conti, Giovanni Tarlao, Gisella Perego, Giuseppina Farina, Giorgia Pergolesi, Grazia Barbi, Jane Moller, Lily Lesniak, Lucio Pintaldi, Luigina Nonfarmale, Mara Riboli, Maria Lourdes Mare, MariaRita Brunazzi, Mariano Filippetta, Mario Aliprandi, Mario Selloni, Mauro Comini, Mirta Caccaro, Monica Bianconi, Massi...

Yesterday I've been to my first Iyengar yoga class and surprisingly I liked it (had plain Hatha yoga a few years back and I disliked it very much). So next Tuesday evening I'm back and train my poor muscles. I will do some of the stuff at home too. Because the stretching feels just too good to not do it.

click for larger image Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest is please to present a wonderful series of photography workshops for teenagers. The workshops complement SNAPSHOT 2011 teenage photographic exhibition  which will be on show from 10 September – 13 November, a unique show that is exclusively for teenagers. To make your booking,call Amanda Palmer at the Gallery on ph 4535 1100

Though I don't remember the name of it.

Believe it or not, but this is my 501st post on this blog. Impressive, no? I took this picture in the castles park in Wolkenburg. This town is obviously worth a trip, when you love photography. Have a great new week everyone.

installation shot, Eclectica, 2011 You are warmly invited to the closing party of 'Eclectica', to be held on Tuesday August 16, at 12 noon in the Trapezium Gallery . This elegant exhibition showcases the work of three fine art photographers and three ceramic artists currently studying part-time at Nepean Arts and Design Centre. This closing party will be your last chance to see the work from the show, so come along and enjoy some light refreshments, as well as a chance to meet the artists. Eclectica features work by Margaret Lewis, Marcela Vilaplana, Nicholas Sar, Kathryn Trippett, Brenda Maccioni, and Kay Bazley.

Get ready for a nice and relaxing weekend. Pamper yourself and your loved ones with fantastic food and some fun and maybe even some spa time (you don't have to go to a spa for that, you can do it in your own bathroom). I will certainly pamper myself and enjoy this weekend. Have fun!

Peter Lewis, who studied Ceramics at WSI Nepean last year,  has won a commission to produce a bronze memorial. "This work will be sent to a metal foundry to be cast in bronze for a K9 memorial being installed at Tahmoor, NSW to honour police dogs which have died in the line of duty. I used the free form coil building technique to create the work using the skills that I was taught at TAFE by Sue Jorgensen and Rob Linigen. This meant the the sculpture is hollow (therefore lightweight) and I did not need a metal armature to support the work. " Peter Lewis You can also check out an article about Peter's commission that appeared in the Penrith Press. http://penrith-press.whereilive.com.au/news/story/castlereagh-sculptor-completes-first-stage-of-police-dog-memorial/

House at the Darßer Ort, right next to the lighthouse. No, sadly I'm not on the Darß this week. However I will see another town in northern Germany, that I never have been to. Have a great new week everyone.