The roadies unveiled a giant shimmering silver nylon/spandex set prop shaped like a gramophone horn. Just a teasing prelude into what the night ahead promised. Given the physical limitations of the stage I was a bit apprehensive about how it would all turn out. But come half an hour later, boy did I have absolutely nothing to worry about, because as soon as “Voice Thing” started sighing through the airwaves and the lights flashed and the dry ice made a smoky haze, it was just one continual stream of dazzling, palpitating, hallucinogenic spectacles after another.

Almost floating out of a mist, Alison Goldfrapp drifted out onstage in a brilliant figure-hugging sequinned jumpsuit and the most mesmerising poncho apparently made of twinkling tinsel/tape, which scintillated against the breeze (spurred on by super fans), and of course her signature wild frizzy blonde hair. The familiar heaving bass of “Crystalline Green” pounded through the speakers and that just set us all off into spasmodic ecstasy. This is the Goldfrapp we all know and love. Barely a sign of the folksy Seventh Tree here, just brilliant, electric 80s disco-pop and dark synth-heavy numbers. Goldfrapp covered most of her latest album, Head First, then four songs each from Black Cherry and Supernature, and “Utopia” from Felt Mountain.

Goldfrapp’s crew were just as glitteringly attired to match; the lads in shiny, patterned (even saggy, unflattering) jumpsuits, and the female keyboardist in sexy sequinned hotpants. I could barely see the drummer or supporting bass player on the right hand side.

“Rocket”, “Train”, “Ride a White Horse”, “Shiny and Warm”, “Believer” and “Ooh La La” (and well, pretty much every song) had such fabulous intros; it sucks that we couldn’t really dance around much, being so squished as we were, but everybody was moved by the pounding bass, catchy rhythms and the seamless lighting effects, which ranged from near seizure-inducing white flashes to waves of psychedelic, vivid hues. Never did a performance turn gaudy or tacky (god, I hate that word so much now) though they certainly ventured on camp ground, but somehow Goldfrapp totally validates the kitsch value into hyper chic. Alison slurred and breathlessly teased her way through each song, swaying and reaching in that floaty, almost aggressive way of hers, and concomitantly, stamping and marching to the heavy basslines. So shameless in the glitz, and cheesy, feel good glam-pop; I felt so at home! Like SHE GETS THIS SHIT, SHE LOVES IT, TOO!

After a rapturous “Ooh La La” Alison disappeared to return for the first encore, with a gauzy, frilly top with an Elizabethan ruff (I don’t even know what to call it) but it reminded me of a saucy ragdoll. After singing the two songs, she sauntered backstage once more, this time changing into a pink and white cowboy yeti-esque jacket, to finish the show with an electrifying, stomping “Strict Machine”. I was pretty disappointed that Goldfrapp didn’t sing “Satin Chic” or even “Lovely 2 C U”, but hands down “Strict Machine” was one powerful, thrilling climax to a sensational performance from beginning to end, leaving us drifting on a total high. We left the Palace with “Oompah Radar” playing, practically trooping us out with playful, sinister ease. Overall, Goldfrapp was absolutely worth paying the $90. I’m so glad I bought the ticket (while I could still afford to). She is a fantastic performer and artist; despite her relatively modest set design and props, she was thoroughly engaging and euphoric with a rich neo-baroque theatrical sensibility. More entertainers should take notes from her.

Please come back again soon, Goldfrapp! YOU ARE HOT AND WE LOVE YOU!

I found a link to a review that features photos of Goldfrapp in pretty much the exact same ensemble of costumes. Gotta say I would love to sift through her wardrobe; so many (literally) bright gems.

This was pretty much her setlist:

Crystalline Green
I Wanna Life
You Never Know
Rocket
Head First
Number 1
Believer
Alive
Shiny and Warm
Train
Ride a White Horse
Ooh La La

Encore:
Utopia
Black Cherry

Second encore:
Strict Machine (SO EFFING AMAZING)

Luckily for me I was assigned to the latter date, so that gave me a while to collate my ideas together, following my marathon completion of my artist book for my elective unit. In a nutshell, I formulated a new question/thesis, emphasising the merits of ornament over modernism, excess over restraint, maximalism over minimalism. The difference being a lot of me mixed into the concoction. I turned to critical theory and other texts to validate my arguments, and I believe I was able to confidently and convincingly articulate my ideas on, and more importantly my passion for, this subject.

I’m pretty amazed at just how much I bared my soul to everybody (despite my having known most of these people for well over 3 years it isn’t exactly like we’re close chums); I felt strangely bereaved and liberated. Like OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE, NO ONE WILL LOOK AT ME THE SAME WAY AGAIN! And conversely, NOW YOU SEE THE REAL ME; IT’S NOT ME, BUT IT’S ME. JUDGE ME, I DARE YOU. This project is as my blog title suggests a “part observation, part confession”. I stole this quote from one of my research texts, In Flagrante Collecto, but I’m sure this is not an exclusive sentiment.

Essentially this project is all about my love for kitsch. It enriches my social, cultural, intellectual, physical and emotional experience, and I need to—and want to—highlight this sensibility throughout. Of course, this makes my project an extremely self-indulgent undertaking, but I don’t think this makes my project any less worthy of investigation than exploring the history of type design, or designing a nation’s identity, or discovering more effective modes of way-finding in a city space. What these presentations ultimately made me realise is how diverse our interests are, but we are all linked by a genuine keenness to push the boundaries of art, design, sociological and anthropological discourse. It’s exciting (and terrifying!) to consider where we’ll end up 5–6 months from now…

My poster designs, with my observations and (elusive) goals for next semester:

The great part about this presentation is the scope of feedback I received, from both peers, lecturers and guest assessors. At one point we had 6 lecturers, which wasn’t as daunting as I’d imagined it was going to be. As usual, everyone had something to say about it. Egos flew (haha, I wish). I’ve scanned in notes that I found constructive, funny and … not so helpful. I didn’t post all of them here, but perhaps I will.

FYI, I wrote an entirely new essay with new material, building on what I had already argued, so it’s not like I was cheating… Granted maybe I shouldn’t have read my speech but I spoke with inflection and expression, so with that I hope I could engage my audience and not induce them into comatose sleep…

LOL I sound defensive don’t I.

Way to inflate my ego! But that’s just what I wanted to emphasise.

This was very helpful… Thank you ever so much.

Aha, kitsch WILL be taken seriously!

Making a mockery of minimalism has been frequently mentioned by others, so I will definitely consider this…. though I may not commit to that path. I’m not crusading explicitly against minimalism (it’s beautiful in its own right), but marrying the stark contrast into something kitsch completely undermines modernism’s agenda. I like the subversion.

I know this was by Nat, since she said afterwards I ought to “write porn” (her words!) and that she would “totally read it”! So as not to feel mortified (nah, totally amused), I’m reminded of a quote by Australian romance author, Anna Campbell: “it’s emotional porn!”

More like understanding Saturday Night Fever.

I don’t know how much more personal I can make an already deeply personal project! But I am very heartened by that last comment.

I have looked at kitsch’s origins for half a year… I should have mentioned this. I did mention it, albeit implicitly… But I like the alignment of kitsch to what isn’t fashionable, that’s basically what happened to Art Deco, and look now, totally chic art style and movement!

I ask these two questions (that kind of branch out into other modes of thought…):

• What is kitsch to you? Don’t tell me what you think it should be, but how you feel about it. And why do you feel that way (why do you love it, or hate it, or are you simply ambivalent and try to ignore it altogether)?
• Are you a collector? (And no, sexual partners do not count, okay) What do you collect, and what got you into collecting?  What makes you a collector, not just a passer-by with a fleeting interest in a certain object? How and where do you arrange your collection/s? (Photos would be a BONUS! ) Do you find that your collecting impedes on other aspects of your life?

Please note, I may or may not be referencing your responses in my essay, (and I may yet contact you further for more details), and my future exegesis to be published at the end of this year, so if you are not comfortable with my using your name, or responses, please don’t feel pressured into partaking in this questionnaire. General comments are always welcome.

However, if you just don’t feel like having your response published on this blog, please feel free to email me at jen@eveninghour.org with your answers!

All I ask is that you leave your name (preferably your real one) and email address. Feel free to answer one section or the other, or both!

Thank you!

Agnete Enga

Agnete is part of Smart Design. She established FemmeDen to “save good women from bad products”. It was interesting how she criticised the way products are biased towards the male target audience, when companies ought to place even greater precedence on women, who actually influence 80% of consumer products. She demonstrated the “differences” between the genders through a rather crude experiment—2 men and 2 women from the audience were asked to volunteer to come up stage, and both sexes had to hold hands. Once with the opposite sex, and once with the same sex. They were asked how they felt. I think the all-boy couple said it all with her “erms” and “ahhs”. Despite her emphasis on catering to different mindsets and biology/physicality, I think there was still a certain amount of generalisation in amongst the differentiation that still fails to recognise how diverse we (by that I mean both women and men) really are. It’s why androgyny is the way to go! I also didn’t like how it remained a Eurocentric point of view (I mean, I know the design firm tends to deal with a Western audience), but it would have been interesting to know what Asian, Latin American or African cultural perspectives on gender in design are.

Stuart Campbell

This guy reminded me of Mouse from The Matrix. I don’t know why. Maybe it was his surreal, sci-fi futuristic animation that reminded me of The Animatrix, or his rather youthful, grungy and sporadic mannerisms. Anyway, this guy has an amazing portfolio of motion and interactive graphics, but I love how he collects snippets of elements from his real-life experience and incorporates them into compelling narrative motion work.

Dean Gaylor

There was an arrogance about this man that I didn’t warm to; that said, (ironically) his lighting designs were quite stunning in their simplistic beauty.

David Lancashire

I felt rather humbled by David; his work encapsulates a whole part of Australia that our nation just “conveniently” chooses to gloss over, or worse, trivialise.

Rachel Dunn

While I admire the overall “spirit”/sentiment of Girl Director, it just didn’t seem credible to me as a valid philosophy; I don’t know, what I’m trying to say is there was something cheesy or insincere about it. Plus, my feminist sensibilities sort of flared.

Simon Taylor

I love the landscaping job he did in Kobe, Japan; this man is no Jamie Durie, and quite frankly the way Simon describes his job is exactly how I imagined a landscape designer to be, his personality came off as nothing above down-to-earth (oh, am I dripping with puns today or what). The gardens he designs are the stuff that dreams are made of.

Andreas Uebele

Andreas seemed to epitomise all that is German about German design. Actually, my poor eyesight led me to believe I was watching a copy of Erik Spiekermann, but that’s not to discredit either party! His innovative use of Futura (which he doesn’t even like) through pattern for labelling the various storey/levels of a building was quite probably my highlight.

Rob Galluzzo

Kind of a bizarre way of presentation, but it was engaging for the most part. By the way, this is the man responsible for completely “uneducating” everyone regarding the origins of the Great Wall of China and that entire dynasty in general (Nasi Goreng much?), with the infuriating (but almost endearing) Telstra/Big Pond ads.

Alex Ritchie

Well, this is one architect I could tolerate, but perhaps it was his wee Scottish accent that had me entirely enamoured.

Gerry Wedd

Mambo much? Gerry’s portfolio is really diverse; I particularly liked his ceramics

Sonny Day & Biddy Maroney of We Buy Your Kids

This partnership had me entirely intrigued; I mean, what kind of name is that! Biddy’s personal aesthetic and particularly her inspiration/sources resonated with me, given her love for trashy publications/graphics and kitsch, though I personally was never blessed with a plethora of inherited comics or magazines from my parents (Dad regrets not keeping all his Chinese Communist propaganda pamphlets and ephemera though; so do I!). Their working relationship is clearly a strong one; their strengths lying in not only their work ethics but also

Paul ‘Moose’ Curtis

This guy is phenomenal. What he does is basically “clean up” grafitti to produce new graffiti—he scrubs/bleaches the dirt and grime that’s accumulated over time on public monuments and displays, creating a new layer of meaning or message. Ironically he still gets in trouble for it, though all he’s doing technically is cleaning selectively to make a mark. Some remarkable results ensue.

Conrad Bodman

Conrad is curator of the upcoming Tim Burton exhibition to be held at ACMI. I AM SO. SO. SO EXCITED. OK, perhaps mainly it’s because there’s gonna be Batman stuff included, but come on, this guy isn’t overrated for nothing. His madness of vision just sucks me in like nearly no other director (not even Terry Gilliam). We got to be first to see an exclusive preview of the ACMI promotional advertisement for the exhibition. Can’t wait!

Alex Alvarez

By this stage my exhaustion was fully kicking in; mid-way through his (speedy!) speech, I struggled to maintain my attention. What Alex does is highly technical (he certainly made it out to be, anyway) but with incredible results. He showed bits of his involvement in films like Avatar and Star Trek, but he mainly went through his design process, from concept to 3D development to finish, which was infinitely more fascinating and productive, albeit heavy on the technical side, as I mentioned.

Verdict

Overall agIdeas 2010 was insightful, as it usually is, with some strong and inspiring speakers, but with just as weak and asinine ones (OK, so my main issue is from day 1. See corresponding blog post). What matters is what I personally got out of it, which certainly wasn’t nothing.

I’m pleased or not so pleased to say that no one particularly “bothered” me today; it was all generally pleasant… Though you’d think it’d be better to be roused into fury or fangirl delight. I did get Wayne Thompson’s signature on my sketchbook though; I may scan that in later, if anyone cares to have a laugh with me. Vincent said (somewhere along the line of) my being easily affected by fangirl tendencies. It’s called passion, and dedication, and yes, some healthy doses of obsession!

Also was able to collect our “free” agIdeas 20th anniversary book. I am so sad flicking through the 2007 speaker list. And I’m always sad about this because CHIP KIDD (The rockstar graphic designer who like, totes loves Batman, even more than me! How is this possible!) attended and I did not go to agIdeas that year. I was in first year; what did I know about design then? Zilch! This book is absolutely a brick, weighing more than 2kg and probably worth more than $100. A great weapon of choice I daresay!

Surface graphics of agIdeas. At least it’s not pixelated like it was in 2008! I’m still holding out for that year being a complete satire on bad design… I have more photos from agIdeas posted on my Flickr. Not a lot though.

Theo Jansen

He initially majored in the sciences (though he had orignally wanted to become a pilot. This was not to be) but he has instead channelled his physics background into producing ethereal mechanical creatures designed to be self-driven via the natural elements. Very intriguing fellow, with a quirkiness that could only become a charming European.

Nathan Drabsch

I love watching motion graphics reels; they’re just so mesmerising and surreal. The ABC3 channel graphics and shorts were mind-boggling. As a child I don’t know I would have appreciated all this digital flurry; what happened to the good ol’ days? Have we really grown up that fast?

Fay Plamka

I was looking forward to hearing her speak. Oh, the glamorous world of a court artist (and not the Velazquez kind!). It was riveting to hear Fay describe her experiences rendering the faces of some truly nasty criminals, and the legal entanglements she got caught in; she had much more to say I’m sure, but there just wasn’t enough time!

Amanda Henderson

There were some interesting “spectacles” in her company’s designs. I liked the rococo/baroque-esque interior created for one of the racing festival venues; they were merely facades—tiles of a massive image arranged onto a frame so as to deceptively give an overwhelming feeling of opulence and grandeur. Fashion parades are all about the façade too.

RESN

I wish I could design interactive interfaces like these guys! The website experience would be a whole lot more worthwhile.

Ghostpatrol

I’m still kind of mesmerised by his rainbow Lucifer T-shirt. Quite the oxymoron. He wasn’t particularly inspiring per se; I suppose he let his evocative imagery do the talking. At least now I know who did the street art on the very street where Classic Comics is! (It was Miso, Ghostpatrol’s partner).

Dan Formosa

Smart design indeed! These are the designers who leave you in awe, because what they do is ingenious and socially responsible at the same time. Also he validates my need to constantly check the internet for opinions on new products (from books to tech gadgets to music)

Peter Biggs

What can I say? I think I hate advertising executives for their (natural) self-congratulatory pomposity. I can’t believe in year 12 I wanted to enter this industry. Probably because I was such an ignorant twat. That’s not to say he didn’t have anything invalid to say; I rather thought his emphasis on pursuing the “dangerous edge” to be a good philosophy, though it’s hardly a new concept. Also amused that nearly every creative tends to quote T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland.

Wayne Thompson

The first Australian type designer to have sang a song about fonts? Quite possibly. But whether it was good is another question, though there was something very daggy and endearing about this guy. Liz pointed out it’s because he’s a dad, and I think that certainly rings true. It was interesting to contrast his fonts to say that of the classical masters, namely the Dutch and Swiss, or that of Tobias Frere-Jones.

Brendan Dwyer

Shoes, shoes, shoes!

Australia Project

Very relevant and meaningful undertaking in defining Australia’s identity as a nation, a multicultural society, a people. I would definitely like to participate in some way.

Rico Lins

Rico has a really diverse folio of poster designs. He also mentioned a ‘Labyrinth of Passion’ film poster, describing it as kitsch (see, I am extremely aware of anyone uttering this word at any time now!). I want the poster; and I want to watch the film now.

Tribute to Les Mason

I suppose it’s blasphemy that I’d not heard of Mason until this conference (but I was not of this generation! In fact, I’m like 3 generations away), but now I do, and having heard various accounts of his life and career, it’s plain to see his obvious influence on people, and a wry wit about him too. His widow described him, upon their first meeting at some night club/discotheque, as Don Draper (Mad Men).

Javier Mariscal

Even though we were running well overtime, I’m glad I stayed back. Javier was really delightful; he went through one of his latest projects, an animated feature film called “Chico and Rita”. It’s set in Cuba during the 1940s (at this I’m already falling in love with it) and it’s a narrative simply teeming with passion for love, for music, for glamour, for life, for despair. It looks spectacular, and the soundtrack and set designs are sensational. I am so looking forward to watching this when it’s released in cinemas (goodness knows when in Australia though!).

I may post pics of their works later, but for now Google is your friend. Or check out the agIdeas website for an overview of the speakers list.

Michael Mabry

A great prologue to the conference. Michael introduced his talk with a lively video using primitive but delightful animation techniques of all his “friends”, including Milton Glaser, Ella Fitzgerald and the President and Mrs Obama. There’s a warmth and humanity to his illustrations; he also showed us his process into making the “collagey, textural” look for one of his illustrations for Land of the Nod.

Richard Ferlazzo

Chief designer of Holden. Had  a perky kind of manner of speaking which was engaging and enlightening. Form may follow function but there’s a balance between the two somewhere round the middle, for what’s wrong with beauty in life if it is possible?

Eamo Donnelly

There’s an affectionate devil-may-care personality that he shows in his speech but always underlying this is a passion born out of his nostlagia for childhood and the things he loves (word: drawing!). That’s really admirable, especially in a competitive, and as he put it, isolating, world of illustration. Love his colourful, psychedelic palettes and compositions crammed with imagery and motifs.

Dylan Brady

Now I have a score to settle with Mr Brady. Initially he had piqued my interest with his diverse portfolio of architectural facades, but during the time he detailed his process doing the signature facade of the Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre, he made a casual, derisive remark about how Chinese labourers (and I am not quoting by word, only by his implication) are all too eager to do menial work. The context being that he had made a change in one of the designs of patterned tiles which meant there needed to be rebuilding. There was a hushed tremor of mortification in the audience, which I’m sure no one missed. Now for all intents he may have meant nothing derogatory by that statement, but it seems to underpin a certain bias, ignorance and indeed arrogance I continuously observe among Westerners in regards to well, anything and everything about China. Certainly the mass media is VIRTUALLY NO HELP WHATSOEVER. Yes, Chinese labourers ARE desperate for work, because in the world’s most populous country, at a staggering 1.3 billion people, I  imagine it wouldn’t be so easy as pie to head to your local recruitment agency for instant, gratifying work. The pay for construction workers is pitiful, but they do it because they need to survive. They’re happy to do these jobs, yes; it’s far better than working in a mine, that’s for sure.

What I loathe more is that Western corporations take advantage of this desperation, to put it crudely, and then spit back into China’s face for its so-called horrendous human rights record, or its gargantuan carbon footprint, or what have you. And it’s not just land/property developers, it’s the recycling industry, the printing industry, by golly, every damn industry in the world benefits from China’s open market! Hardly anyone has not been touched by the Chinese in some way. Got an item “Made in China”? Yeah, I bet you have a whole house full of them.  If these labourers started developing their own unions and speaking out for higher wages and better working conditions (not that these organisations do not exist; they are growing, albeit slowly) I’m sure the fat cats would start sweating some. Every big company ought to realise they owe big to China, for all its faults, since it’s still a “developing” country—that’s arguable, given its phenomenal economy, but as a nation coming to grips with the end of the darkest Mao years and embracing a new era of modern consumer capitalism, it has a long, long way to go. Innovation, morality, sustainability, political systems, the works. So, can you entirely blame China for its shortcomings? Change comes with time. Without severe capital punishments acting as deterrents society would be strife with social instability and the massive demands of a growing Chinese consumer society cause unprecedented problems: carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I do not defend China’s faults; however, equally I believe there are great things about China that Westerners must acknowledge. (And hey, when Ken Cato showed us the photo of the 20 year anniversary Design is Difference catalogues being delivered to the VAC, there was the ubiquitous CHINA SHIPPING tank. GO FIGURE.) And this brings me back to what pissed me off today about Brady. His suggestive passing off that his being involved in this design project was doing these labourers a great favour, a holier-than-thou benevolence, if you will, was arrogant, presumptuous and inappropriate, which is unfortunate because I thought the the final structure Brady produced was an impressive feat, but I could not get the offensive remark out of my head.

Okay, rant done (for now). You may think I’ve taken a tiny sentence way out of context, but this is what I believe, and what I believe needs to be said.

Robyn Beeche

I saw that a lot of her subject matter resonates with the neo-Baroque tendency; especially when she mentioned Vivienne Westwood’s New Romantics and David Bowie and Boy George. Fashionable kitsch.

Ali Vazirian

I’m sure I would have found this much more illuminating if I could just understand what he was saying half the time! I struggled. The great lyrical poetry of Islamic art and design was touched on though. Islamic calligraphy is so beautiful and sensuous.

Jacques Reymond

What a lovely, lovable man! Ah, these Frenchmen. Easy talkers and easy lovers. Oh wait, that’s Italians isn’t it. Never mind, Jacques was a real delightful charmer with an equally charming life story to tell. I want to go to his restaurant now.

Annabel Dundas

A great portfolio of motion graphics, but what I loved more is Annabel’s personal collection of chairs. Though my own collections don’t run so far and expensive as furniture—the sentiment is the same, and utterly relatable.

Dean Poole

I think Dean is quite possibly the strongest and most engaging speaker out of today, though you wouldn’t immediately think it, given his natural wry, deadpan delivery. He has a great folio of conceptual work, including an ingenious law firm identity, making an industry quite burdened by the pretentious stigma into a witty and approachable identity

Andrew Rogers

His sculptural projects are ambitious indeed. With the help of locals, Rogers crosses over to the deepest and most remote parts of the earth to build massive sculptures that speak of spirituality and humanity. I love the rock formation of the Tibetan (?) religious motif in the Himalayan mountains best.

Nicola Cerini

I’m on her mailing list! Her prints bring a real earthiness and liveliness to home decor; I don’t think I could actually use the bags. They’re artworks in themselves.

Michel Bouvet

For a second I thought it was Weird Al Yankovic. What an awesome portfolio of poster work! I’d love to do theatre and opera posters; his working process is interesting—it’s very methodical but obviously effective for him. He loves his cats too. Very adorable “homages” in some of his posters.

Other noteworthy things

• I know I heard the word “kitsch” twice today used by Richard Ferlazzo and Jacques Reymond. I was much pleased.
• Lunch was at NGV International! On a Tuesday! Have you been inside NGV International on Tuesday? No, bet you haven’t, because NGV International is CLOSED on Tuesdays! It was like being among VIP guests, albeit 5000 of them or sommat. I think there was something off about the salmon (I felt nauseated afterwards), but I liked the idea of everyone getting a cardboard lunchbox, and a pink lamington for dessert!
• I has an Uppercase Magazine, thanks to Mag Nation! The first time I saw this on the net, I’ve been coveting it ever since! A gorgeously designed publication with the type of aesthetic sensibility that I simply cannot resist!

I am making a master list of kitsch films, books, magazines and every other periodical, TV and music, and whatever else pops up in my mind through out the year that I am investigating this topic. Feel free to leave a comment or better yet make a suggestion! I’m starting to notice that a lot of my lists are material mostly harks back between the 40s and 70s, the HEIGHT of kitsch appeal. Then again, I think, arguably, pretty much everything from any era can be considered kitsch—it’s a product of whatever era from which it derives. And it seems mostly exploitative, horror, sci-fi and smut reigns supreme in this category.

I will document my findings here and on my Flickr account, plus there’s been a group blog set up by one of my classmates, so feel free to look at that too!

Films

Anything with Marilyn Monroe
Anything with Jayne Mansfield
Anything with Elvis
Barbarella
Valley of the Dolls
Grease
The Wizard of Oz
The Producers
(and pretty much every musical starring Doris Day et al)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Strictly Ballroom
Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet
Pulp Fiction
Inglourious Basterds (and every other Tarantino flick)
Across the Universe
Tim Burton’s Batman
Mars Attacks!
The Killer Condom (I saw this on SBS years back… I wish they’d put it back on!)
Monty Python
Bruce Lee Collection
The Spirit
Phantom of the Opera
Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman
Queen of Outer Space
The Giant Behemoth

I’m trying to remember the cult films I watched during film studies in second year… there was some truly kitschy stuff featured.

TV Shows

I Dream of Jeannie
Bewitched
I Love Lucy
Happy Days
The Brady Bunch
The Jetsons
The Flinstones
Scooby Doo
Batman
Doctor Who (old school)
Monty Python Flying Circus

Novels

Romance, glorious manhood swashbuckling, bosom heaving romance… or shall I call them that now negative connotation, the ‘bodice-ripper’?

I didn’t really do much on new year’s eve. As with many other Chinese, I had a relatively big ‘nian ye fan’ (New Year’s Eve dinner) with my folks, then we waited until 11pm (8pm China Beijing time) and we watched the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, an annual program broadcast by CCTV (the China government’s puppet, in less flattering words ) throughout China and the world via satellite until about 2/3am. This is a ritual that goes with New Year for many, many, if not all, Chinese and their families. I couldn’t keep my eyes open at 2:30 so I didn’t see the final countdown. No big deal for me anyway. This event holds little resonance with me as the years go by. The day when I’ll pay attention is when China is no longer Communist. Last year’s was slightly better, but it really hit its peak in the mid-90s I reckon. Now it’s all about over-extravagance and explosions of colour, but I think the director must’ve took a note from viewers’ comments and restrained things a tad.

Today in the arvo I went with my folks to Chinatown and also Southbank where the Chinese New Year action was. Russell Street wasn’t that much of a buzz, except for the dragons and the familiar bang drumming. The streets were awash in firecracker pellets, and the roar of firecrackers igniting and going off was always in the distance. Southbank’s Hawkers’ Bazaar was more lively and pretty with the natural and urbane beauty of the Yarra River landscape. The food was more varied, the main stage had music, opera and lots of dragons (of course!), and there were plenty of other stalls selling Chinese knick-knacks, parasols, good luck banners and the like. I’ve a bunch of photos I took on my Flickr.

I’ve finally returned to using my neglected moleskine journals; I’ve missed drawing like this. I’m trying to push myself to do more work for myself so that I don’t go absolutely batty working for tutors and clients alike, and being subservient to their outrageous demands of me, bless their souls.

Oh yeah, it’s Valentine’s Day. Happy relationship validation day! Of course, I don’t care one iota for this holiday. This is obviously because I am still single. (Single and still loving it!) Anyhow, last year I distinctly remember one of my clients lamented that we were both working on V-Day. I couldn’t really have cared less, really… Savings > love, at this point in my life.

Somewhat disgruntled that a staff member snapped up my entry pass away as admission (I wanted it to be my souvenir), I quickly brushed the annoyance aside. I could already hear the over-awed and overzealous comments of fellow patrons before we’d even entered the first room. The exhibition itself is not pretentiously or ambitiously designed (think back to National Gallery of Victoria‘s interiors that echoed the eccentricity of Salvador Dali). There are 6 rooms to navigate through: After Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Cezanne/van Gogh, Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School/Toulouse-Lautrec, Symbolism/The Nabis, and finally Decoration/Rousseau. Altogether a coordinated layout, letting the artists’ vision and unique styles and techniques speak for themselves. NGA has provided a comprehensive online gallery of all works in respective rooms shown, which is awfully good of them, eh?

I suppose what is potentially problematic is the fact that many paintings featured are those that we’ve come to know very intimately through the mass media  (or media reproduction) without having viewed the actual artwork. It’s the Mona Lisa Effect. Finally seeing the real thing leaves you remarkably underwhelmed. In spite of it all, Van Gogh’s Starry Night is always a pleasure to admire in its palpable form, (I first got to see it at NGV‘s Impressionists exhibition in 2004 and it truly moved me then), Monet’s astonishing sense of colour, gestural brushstrokes and his illusory technique are wondrous to view up close; Seurat’s meticulous ‘pointillist’ technique—small daubs of paint juxtaposed together via calculated colour schemes—is frankly mind-boggling; Toulouse-Lautrec’s bold and brassy graphic technique and his affinity for Moulin Rouge prostitutes and dancers are amusing. However, I found that the lesser known artists caught my attention: Pierre Bonnard (possibly my favourite artist from this period next to Renoir), Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard, all of whom were part of the Nabis, a Post-Impressionist avant-garde group leading the way in both fine arts and graphic arts, have a strong selection of works featured. Their symbolist work which draws on literature, mythology, philosophy and dreams, capture vignettes of everyday life, using methods established by the earlier post-impressionists. Bonnard’s The White Cat is an adorable example—it has decorative motifs but also abstraction.

I’ve pre-ordered the Masterpieces from Paris catalogue at the “special price” of $39.95. When I was in the NGA shop they had run out of stock. I found that rather short-sighted, seeing as this is one of the most important and logistically expensive events organised. Or perhaps this is an indication of just how huge this show is. Maybe being an indulged Melburnian I’m used to the standards set by NGV. Regardless, I eagerly await my book, if only so I can relive the gallery experience (I can’t very well go back to Canberra like that)

Some of the outstanding paintings that caught my eye:

Georges Seurat was famous for his “pointillist” technique. See it to believe it!

I wrote about Pierre Bonnard’s Siesta – The artist’s studio for my first year uni essay, and have since been a passionate fan of his work. I fell in love with the intimacy and warmth of his colours and subject matter, but there’s a touch of loneliness about it too, which I instantly connected with in this painting, The Man and the Woman [L'homme et la femme]. Or maybe I’m just a refined pervert. Whatever. Us perverts can validate our perversion through art. (Oh wait, not if I’m Bill Henson I can’t)

The pioneer of ‘en plein air’, Claude Monet at his best. I’ve tried to emulate his gestural brushtroke technique and it is HARD!

Maurice Denis explores mythology and decoration in his depiction of the Muses. I love the restrained contours, and the red leafy patterns at the top and bottom.

Another painting by Émile Bernard of his sister Madeleine that depicts everyday life in a profound, idyllic way. I wanted a postcard of this but there wasn’t any!

Masterpieces from Paris is open from 9 Dec 2009 – 5 Apr 2010 at National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Oh yeah, I got my Ps, yo. It took me 2.6 years to get there, but get there I did. That doesn’t mean I don’t still feel like a learner driver.

And now, summing up the year more superficially:

Number of films seen (approx): 29
Best film
Up!
An extremely, unabashedly and wholeheartedly sentimental film on what it is to be young and feel young. Made me cry, and is nothing below the standard of Pixar excellence—a visually spectacular treat, especially in 3D! Kevin is the greatest!

Honourable mentions:

• Changeling
• The Young Victoria
• Mary and Max
• Watchmen

Best album (or rather the album that defined my year)
Mucho Punk, and Mucho Musica, both by Clazziquai
I have quite possibly played both these albums (the former is the Korean version, the latter, the Japanese version) near a thousand times. I don’t listen to the Top 20 anymore, only when it suits me best (which is like, never) so I tend to limit my music tastes, but I’ve made some interesting discoveries this year too in the world of Kpop. See my honourable mentions.

Honourable Mentions:

• Winter Magic – Hayley Westenra
• DREAM – Yuno Ito
• Songs for Ophelia – Ibadi
• Purple Drop – Humming Urban Stereo
• It’s Not Me, It’s You – Lily Allen

Best score/soundtrack
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
For actually being a way better compilation than the film itself. No, seriously, Nicholas Hooper has done a fine job, honing in his strengths to make an altogether, darkly dramatic and sinister mood, but never losing the youthful fun that comes with growing up in a wizarding world. More impressive to me was his ability to bend convention and experiment with sounds and instruments. God do I love an artist who makes calculated risks!

Honourable mentions

• Up! – Michael Giacchino
• Mad Men: Music from the Series Vol 1, 2 – Various Artists
• Mad Men: Original Score Vol 1 – David Carbonara
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon – Alexandre Desplat (oh the shame, but oh the beauty of this score)

Best TV Show
Mad Men
I’d only started watching this show round about this time last year, but only in the last half of this year did I really sink myself into the smoky era of these dashing, mad ad men.

Honourable mentions

• Collectors
• The Big Bang Theory
• Talkin’ Bout Your Generation

Number of books read: 162
Best books I can very rarely just choose one! (all have received 5 stars on my Goodreads)

• Goddess of the Hunt, Surrender of a Siren, A Lady of Persuasion (trilogy) – Tessa Dare
• Scandal – Carolyn Jewel
• The Duke of Shadows – Meredith Duran
• Hard Evidence – Pamela Clare
• Delicious – Sherry Thomas
• Not Quite a Husband – Sherry Thomas
• Letters to a Secret Lover – Toni Blake
• Riding on Instinct – Jaci Burton
• Sex, Straight Up – Kathleen O’Reilly
• Really Good Logos Explained: Top design professionals critique 500 logos and explain what makes them work – Margo Chase

Best comic arc
From my DC point of view, Blackest Night has undoubtedly been shitloads of drama, epicness and OH MY GOD THE ORGASMIC COLOUR OF RAINBOWS, and the mysterious disappearance of Bruce Wayne aka The Batman has left writers and artists with plenty of fodder for Dick and Damian (oh say that fast ten times), but to me, the most outstanding narrative throughout has been Greg Rucka and JH Williams III’s run on Detective Comics starring the ever awesome Kathy Kane, aka Batwoman. MUCH LOVE!!

From my Marvel point of view, X-Men still makes no sense to me (I can barely keep up with the bajillion series running simultaneously), Amazing Spiderman has gone to the pits, but I’ve been far more intrigued by the War of Kings, and now currently the Realm of Kings, as all manner of creatures and peoples fight for what’s left of them. Inhumans arc has been especially of interest to me.