GALLERY: Outside Guggenheim, inside MoMA

1. Outside the Guggenheim.

2. Inside Guggenheim;

 MoMA: 

3. Jasper Johns, Map (1960);

4. Andy Warhol's Gold Marilyn Monroe (1962);

5. Kara Walker, Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart (1994);

6. Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans (1962);

7. Bruce Nauman, Perfect Door/Perefect Odor/Perfect Rodo (1972); 

8. Robert Smithson Alogon #2 (1966).

Draconian Switch 12!

The latest issue of the Trinidad and Tobago arts zine Draconian Switch is out! It features stuff from Robert Young, 3 Canal, Richard Rawlins, Rodell Warner, Nigel Rojas, Jemima Charles and a review of Dwight Campbell's I Febreezed My Dog  by your trusty PLEASURE blogger Andre Bagoo. READ it here.

Rapso reunion at Club Ibiza

FROM THE ORGANISERS:


WATERSHED: THE KISKADEE ERA OF MUSIC REVISITED AT CLUB IBIZA

On Mon 7th June 2010 the public is invited to WATERSHED- a celebration of the sounds from the Kiskadee era at Club Ibiza, Tragerete Road from 9- 11.30pm. Performing will be Omari' Kindred' Ashby, Rubadiri 'Chantwell' Victor, with Ozy ‘Homefront’ Majiq & others capping off a Rapsomen reunion from the 90s. The group will be taking a ride down memory lane remembering that period from 1991- 1995 which was a mini-Golden Age in T&T culture where young music, fashion & creativity blossomed & changed the course of T&T's history. The night is a celebration of live music, Dj-ing, dancing & memory.

Live music will be played with unplugged sets by Omari Ashby formerly one half of pioneer Rapso group Kindred. Omari has a new band called Soul Quarters which also features Shannon Bailey, son of the Grand Wizard himself- the Mighty Shadow. Kindred was at one time the biggest group in Trinidad and Tobago, ruling the roost with hits like ‘This Trini Could Flow’, ‘Dance’, ‘Can U Tek it, ‘Blow Way’ and ‘Freedom Jam’. They were pioneers of an indigenous Rapso sound that did not try to imitate Jamaican Dancehall, American Hip Hop or any other foreign source. It was a declaration of faith in ‘Self’ that started a renaissance in original music by young Trinidad and Tobago throughout the 90s.

Ozy Majiq formerly of Homefront was also part of that revolution with the great Rapso ballad ‘Give Yourself a Chance’ and the monster hit ‘Rollin’ which revolutionized Soca and music for the road. Both Kindred and Homefront were part of the historic investment in local culture by businessman Robert Amar which saw the creation of Caribbean Sound Basin (CSB)- one of the 3 greatest recording studios in the world. CSB was also the place where Puff Daddy recorded most of Notorious BIG’s biggest hits. Amar’s creation of the Kiskadee Karavan made local youth music bigger than foreign imports. For 3 years the biggest hits in T&T were local,  with tens of thousands of young people mid-year filling up stadiums to here all-local music outside of Carnival.

Rubadiri Victor’s band Chantwell also contributed to this mini-Renaissance with his bands massive hit and video ‘Clear de Way’ which was produced independent of the Kiskadee Karavan.  Chantwell’s success outside of Amar inspired many musicians to have faith in independent productions. All 3 Rapso musicians and bandleaders for the WATERSHED event have remained committed to original Trinbago music with an indigenous sound and have continued writing dozens of songs. The public is now invited to hear some of this new material alongside re-interpretations of the classics.

The evening will also be one of Memory- whereby the crew will be reminiscing about that seminal period in T&T culture. They will talk about a time when local youths were wearing local design labels like The Cloth and First Chapter Adam which were valued more than foreign labels. They will talk about ‘Party Time’. It was a period of youth blossoming that hopefully this country will see again.

The night will be capped off by the brilliant DJ stylings of Ozy with his Flying Galvanise DJ label which spins the most eclectic and danceable grooves being played in T&T at present. The WATERSHED session is about dancing and enjoying yourself. Come one and come all: Monday 7th June 2010, Club Ibiza, Tragerete Road- obliquely opposite the Oval going west 9pm until 11.30. Admission is only $40. CDs, magazines, t-shirts and memorabilia on sale!!! Call 797-0949 for more details.

Upon these houses I have slept

Detail from Upon these houses I have slept, Liquid paper, ink and acrylic on paper.

"WHAT the hell is that?" my sister asks. "It looks like a map." Perhaps. She was talking about a painting I just started on a whim today. I was thinking about a conversation I had recently about the nature of art and what makes art 'Art', and decided to just stop thinking, start drinking and then paint something to test the idea that anybody, at any moment, can create something which expresses one of the, arguably, fundamental functions of art: to foster self-expression; reveal, reflect and create emotion.

Who knows what this expresses, but I'm pleased to think I did something creative today after a long spell of nothing but work, work, work.

As a side note, dear PLEASURE readers, I should announce that I shall be, over the coming weeks, embarking on something of a tour of the US and hope to keep a diary of my time there, here, in this space. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, perhaps you guys can help me figure out what this latest doodling is all about :)

Oh and for fun, here is what my nephew, Luke, 6, did while I was doodling:

Bach Harpsichord Concerto No.3 in D major

Am seriously crushing on this right now.

Heino Schmid, maker of exquisite collages and more, talks @ Alice Yard

From I Spend My Time Humming (2009)

The amazing Bahamian artist Heino Schmid is in Trinidad. READ more below.


FROM THE ORGANISERS:

Alice Yard is currently hosting its second Commonwealth artist-in-residence: Heino Schmid from the Bahamas. He is a 2009 recipient of the Commonwealth Foundation’s Commonwealth Connections international arts residency, and has chosen to use his award grant to visit and work in Trinidad.

On Friday 4 June, 2010, at 7.30 pm, Schmid will give an informal talk at Alice Yard about his previous work and his interest in Trinidad. This is an opportunity for artists and others to meet him and learn about the contemporary art scene in the Bahamas. All are invited.

About the artist:

Heino Schmid was born in 1976 in Nassau, the Bahamas. In addition to his own practice, he is adjunct lecturer for the School of Communication and Creative Arts at the College of the Bahamas; curator of the Central Bank of the Bahamas Art Gallery; and exhibitions director of Popopstudios Centre for the Visual Arts, a non-profit artists’ co-op where he also holds a studio. Schmid will be living and working at Alice Yard until September. For further information, visit his website: www.heinoschmid.com.

VISIT the Alice Yard website here.

The cycle will not be broken // the message will be revealed

The Au Courant website has put up a cool teaser for their planned Carnival project. Au Courant is an emerging Fashion Media + Creative Production space based in New York City. FIND out more here.

KIN and 12 THE BAND in San Fernando!

FROM THE ORGANISERS:

KIN: 
Hittin The South Land Friday >>> Hard

12 THE BAND:
People of the World.Word on the street is that it is the best live show in town so we're taking it to Sando. If you heard the "Kin n 12 Buzz" but couldn't make it to town people we are coming to you. Come early and find your space.

Date: Friday 28th May 2010
Venue: Blue Martini on Sutton St. in San Fernando
Time: 9pm
Adm: $40TT

In the meantime click on this link and check out one of the best video's produced in TnT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDvU1SUEXFI

God Bless,
Sheli

WATCH 12 the band's video for their track "Prosper" BELOW: 



AND read more here.

VIDEO: Richard Rawlins' on his button project

Read more here.

The walls are plastered with election stuff

"Apparently graffiti is only legal and accepted around election time," writes Seon Thompson at his blog Copy Book Page. SEE more here.

Plays in French and Spanish at UWI

From a production of Yasmina Rena's 1994 play Art, staged during the 2008/2009 season at the Steppenwolf, Chicago 

FROM THE ORGANISERS:


Centre for Language Learning (CLL) Audfitorium
Tuesday 25th May 2010
7:30 pm Art (In French)
8:30 pm Un borracho singular (In Spanish )
Tickets for 1 or 2 shows: $10 (Call 662-2002, ext. 2032) Limited Seating!


Art
Yasmina Reza , 1994 (France )

Set in Paris, the story revolves around three friends--Serge, Marc and Yvan--who find their previously solid 15-year friendship on shaky ground when Serge buys an expensive painting. The canvas is white, with a few white lines. Serge is proud of his 200,000 franc acquisition, fully expecting the approval of his friends.

Marc scornfully describes it as “a piece of white shit,” but is it the painting that offends him, or the uncharacteristic independence-of-thought that the purchase reveals in Serge?

For the insecure Yvan, burdened by the problems of his impending wedding and his dissatisfaction at his job as a stationery salesman, their friendship is his sanctuary...but his attempts at peace-making backfire. Eager to please, he laughs about the painting with Marc but tells Serge he likes it.

The canvas is an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendship.

Director: Mathilde Dallier
Cast: Joyanne Ribeiro as Marc
Christian Holder as Serge
Francies Bruce as Yvan

READ MORE here.


Un borracho singular
Juan Pablo Darmanin, 2008 (Argentina ) .
Adapted by Laura Serrano García

“Un borracho singular” is a hilarious comedy about the lives of three vagabonds who love to drink. The story takes place in his precious adopted dwelling place, a bench in a park through which a variety of persons pass: a young upper class woman, an authoritative police officer and an elderly lady seeking company...

All of them play out parts in extremely comical scenes with one goal in mind: to take over the bench from the poor drunkard, who will fight to demonstrate that everyone has the right to express themselves and to exist, no matter their origin or condition.

Director: Laura Serrano García
Asst Directors : Mauricio Vera; Sebastián Susa
Cast : Roger Lezama as The 1 st Drunk
Rhonda Ochoa as The Young Lady
Jay T. Coach as The 2nd Drunk
Carissa Martinez as The Police Woman & The Old Lady
Vinita Manoo as The 3rd Drunk
Jabari Fraser as The Passer-by

More from Nikolai Noel's MONO

"A few more mono-prints. I am having great fun with these. They are a bit whimsical. As to the number I intended to produce, who was I kidding, since when have I made 12 of anything? I think 25 is a good start. These are so much fun for me to do and to look at, I've run out of paper for now, but more is on the way :)"--from Nikolai Noel's blog. See MORE here.

Iron Man 2: decent but forgettable

Mickey Rourke should have emerged as one of the great villains

Now that the novelty of the first Iron Man has worn out (there's only so much of a smirky Robert Downey Jr one can tolerate), comes this sequel which is quite good, if not a little long and unambitious.

The villain is a Godsend (Mickey Rourke with a Russian accent, glasses and weird energy whips) and I was expecting more mayhem. Rourke's first bust-up with Iron Man, on a racing track in Monte Carlo, is really cool. But we saw most of it in the trailer already and there's nothing else for the rest of the movie that tops it. The closing sequences are a little long, and some of the scenes in this film should have been cut.

The plot? Umm, basically Iron Man's dad was, ironically connected to his birth as a superhero. Said dad and his Russian partner had a bust up, partner ends up in Russia. Russian partner has a son, son sells technology to Pakistan, the place where Iron Man put together some stuff to become who he became, using said technology. This is actually the most interesting part of the whole film (it's hardly a twist and is hinted from the opening scenes) because it points to a key component of the comic book genre: the idea that most superheros either participate in the conditions that birth their superdom or those conditions involve their parents. This element gives most superheros a clear Oedipal/Freudian ring, beneath the gore.

Scarlet Johannsen is way cool, Gwyneth Palthrow is kinda entertaining and well, Samuel L Jackson has the best line in the whole 2.5 hour she-bang. But this should have been better or creepier or edgier. So as my good friend Gingy would say, it was decent. But forgettable. 3.5 out of 5 stars.




NEXT REVIEW:  A look at the stunning Israeli film Eyes Wide Open.

RANDOM TRACK: Smile Upon Me

One of my favorite bands in the world, Passion Pit:

'Do So!' posters

This election season, there are all sorts of artistic posters all over the place. But none more iconic than the 'Do So' posters, all in reference to the actions of 81-pensioner Percy Villafana. He attempted to stop the Prime Minister from entering his yard earlier this year when the Prime Minister was on a walkabout. You can find out more about Percy here (he's actually got his own Wikipedia page, which is for sure a mark of distinction). In addition to the pro-Opposition poster above which was inspired by Percy, here's a sample of the pro-Government posters that have popped up in response from the ruling party:

There have also been variations inspired by the way the campaign has been going. Like this one:

According to Rachel Price on her Facebook page: "with all the uncertainty, with all the chupid rumours, the laughable promises, the ludicrous rumours, the unnecessary instigated acts of violence by the illiterate, right now T & T we need to do so!"