This is a blog for friends and family members to get a wee report of the things ive seen and my personal opinions about them.It is mostly inconsequencial shit barely rescued by a mild seasoning of spellchecker.
Members of the public are welcome , as long as you promise not to get offended.
A good end to a bad year would be an understatement on both levels to the last night concert for a first night of a mini-tour from a great live band.
Stuart Adamson is , alas , dead and so we have to live to hear great music fronted by the very able Mike Peters of Alarm fame , a quite brilliant frontman from a superb live band in the 90s.
Having read the recently published biography of Stuart Adamson by Allan Glen , an overpriced , at £14.99 , book of just over 200 pages well worth getting from the nearest public library , there is a story predicating the choice of Mike Peters being very obvious as the band did consider co-opting him as the frontman whilst Stuart was still around but being AWOL during his difficult days and nights before his sad passing away.
Any person who has had the privileged unique pleasure of seeing Big Country live will need no convincing whatsoever that it is a experience quite ineffable as to the magic that is live music.As the comments on the featured youtube videos testify there are fans in Colombia who were there in spirit.No surprise to anyone who has been to one of their concerts.
There are a surprising number of videos of this performance in youtubistan , but the best two are below:
The first is Porrohman , a song Adamson wrote based on a piece by H.G.Wells , an arresting and engaging mystique laden music poem:
The next is a well known rabble rouser:
The next one was also performed but i cant find any videos that do it any kind of justice so i have included the studio version.It is so good i cant bear to leave it out.
This production has been receiving glowing glittering tributes for very good reason.
The problem with some players of the title role is that they approach it as if they are playing King Lear , to properly play the character of Hamlet you require to imagine a youthful mind coming to terms with the dirty mechanics of power and the added pressures on the psyche which go with the weight of idealistic expectation of being thrust in struggles not of your making for the first time , rather than an old man revisiting the past from the edge of a cliff as a result of many decades of unresolved neglected responsibilities.
The success of this production is the soliloquies by Rory Kinnear are uncluttered , sparsely delivered in a simplified manner. Not with the histrionics showcasing the range of emotional melodrama gratuitously exhibiting proof the actor attended six years of drama academy just in case the audience did not realise it , and throwing in some lavish arm waving for good measure just so no one appears to be short changed from what Olivier may have done at the pictures a while back.This gives Shakespeares actual piercing stark meaningful words a rare and deserved centre stage and a deserved sharp focused spotlight action louder than any distracting gesture.
As Kinnear allows the words to do the talking , so the minimalist stark set also allows the concepts behind the words to step to the very fore , where they enter the mind of the audience without visual distraction , becoming the real drama , rather than dramatics , to play in the head long after the play ends.
The winner is Shakespeare as this version gives his art centre stage , making the audience a listener first , viewer second.
The symposium event based around the highly stimulating and timely Artur Zmijewski’s Democracies exhibition posed to examine current questions which must be preying on minds like who are the radicals or activists of the future? along with other burning topics of great concern such as...Is our current model of democracy in crisis? Does sanctioned protest have any impact? How will democracy evolve in the future? Can art play any meaningful role in effecting political change or does it merely offer aesthetic commentary?
The Chair and compere for proceedings Kirsten Lloyd quoted Fujiyama , now, premature declaration of the victory of liberal democracy , therefore the end of History.Also quoted was Zijek observation that China proves the link between capitalism and democracy is not essential , if anything capitalism required a non-democratic tribute bearing empire providing minerals at sub-wholesale costs ( as well as ready access)) and the supply of cheap factory fodder labour.It is therefore ironic only in an unironic way the first ports of call for UK Prime Minister in the crisis within capitalisms banking system where to the antithesis of democracy heartlands of Saudi Arabia and China.Though attributed to Zijek this observation is hardly new , Thucydides was asking this question in a rhetorical manner since almost pre-history.Democracy by its very nature can only be a privilege for the few , with the rest playing the role of labour service , sometimes useful but ultimately expendable.The current unelected democratic policemen states have a far longer track record of actively denying democracy for the "service" nations than promoting it.Iran in the 50s is prime example of ridding a democratically elected government which threatened to gain sovereign control of its assets to assist its own population rather than provide the , literal, cheap fuel for the King states of the democratic West.
The first speaker was journalist and broadcaster Iain McWhirter.Iain McWhirter has a vested interest in this process as he is the current , and highly pro-active rector of edinburgh university. In his blog he lays out a direction to defend no-fees in Scotland (see it in the link below) http://iainmacwhirt...er2.blogspot.com/His strategy is to put pressure on the SNP to reject the paper ( his sources suggest a backdoor tuition fee mechanism will be proposed - though it is likely to be rejected by the SNP). There after the next scottish election becomes a referendum on tuition fees with a straight fight between the SNP and Labour/the rest who will be Westminster fifth columnists within Holyrood. The other pro-active strategy for Glasgow Uni is to put up a credible anti-cuts and cross-party approved candidate for early next years Rector elections to dispose the highly embarrassing lib-dem charles Kennedy to to replace him with someone similar to Iain McWhirter. These are 2 immediate strategic goals faculty can get to work on for the present.
It can be a good fusion point for the tantalisingly close though not quite fused meeting point that brings academia and students together in a way the UCU and NUS cannot quite do. It can be a platform in which ...faculty and students work in the close cohesion that is necessary for an ultimate pro-active winning result. It can also be a excellent way for academics and students to communicate as equals and not through the imperfect conduits of UCU and NUS. If done well it could be a model for other universities to follow as admin will only yield when they are facing a joint faculty/student opposition , otherwise divide and rule will be a battle admin are comfortable with.
He may be over hasty and complacent in declaring a "result" but does identify the cabal of Uni Vice-Chancellors bearing (un)wise prophecies of this alleged £300M funding shortfall. These figures are likely to be seized upon by Labour for the May elections and it may be the next point of defensive attack for academics to scrutinise and show these figures as a discreditable fallacy before they become the "truth" as the media gang up on the SNP/Greens before the elections.
Iains view is that students act as a weathervane for society's concerns as they can have an idealistic posture and manifest it by protests as they have no immediate pressures of mortgages , Family commitments and paying taxes.The Marketisation of the Universities being proposed and administered is in a way designed to put a very real debt burden on students , making them todays financial equivalent of the cannon fodder of yesteryears.
Next up was Professor Sarah Oates of Glasgow University , her take was the state has abandoned us , thinks she means academics , the student fees are a small manifestation of a far larger problem.It did seem odd she used the very labelling which the administrators of the cuts are applying in that she regards faculty and students as separate entities rather than a whole which can team-up to defeat the process.The impression one got was sincere sympathy from academics for the student cause , but it did not seem if sentiment translating into action has wholly entered as an effective idea whose time has come.
In her discourse on the internet , images, and politics of the future she showed photos from google image searches of the recent students demonstrations , described the use of images in the private media in creating a intellectually pre-aligned thematic agenda setting , this allows them to readily manipulate a narrative which submits to a theme in the public domain that conforms to portray the discussion on their parameters.This is not always successful and the British Public have systematically refused to be swayed to a concerted attempt to give way to the politics of fear. As for independent news sources such as blogs ; social networks and internet in general , her take is the internet has not permeated the process to understand the other in a major way.Internet users use such facilities to connect with like-minded people and viewpoints , so what we end up with is partisanship sectarian bonding , not so much cross-communication.
Tone Olaf Nielson presented on "Can art offer any more than aesthetic commentary?" , at first her presentation was akin to an engineer trying to powerpoint their way to win consent for a construction project.The whole charade seemed to be like being transported to Geneva to see a stellar pitch from nations bidding to win the world cup nominations.Things were becoming dry , it did not bode well at all.
Then , suddenly , she completely captured the audience by dropping the stale theory and went on to describe her work in Denmark.Trampoline House , is based on usership rather than spectatorship, the object is to create a trust between refugees requiring shelter,advice,assistance and tools to navigate the system , and the media,politicians and members of the public who wish to be informed.This whole process creates that elusive understanding of the other which alternative forms of art and communications cannot effectively bridge.The project model is predicated to permanency ( a remarkable responsibility of all the artists who undertake to volunteer for the centre).Here we have a remarkably astounding prime example of art providing a service that should be the responsibility of the state , a more interactive form of art you cannot imagine.
A litmus test of how well the profound talk went is the final Q & A session involving all the participants found all the audience questions directed towards Olaf , with Iain and sarah only getting a few perfunctory questions from the compere to make them feel included.
Olaf describes herself as a Trans-National Feminist , rightly identifying Woman bear the brunt of globalisation , it is refreshing to see a European Feminist advocating supporting Women in other parts of the world to develop a Feminism based on their own terms , and not a have a Euro-Feminist perspective template hoisted upon them whether they like it or not.
The value of Olafs brand of this trans-national feminism is it makes the support of Woman an universal fight , not the imposition of one minority cultural model being forced on those that want regional solutions without unhealthy external unwelcome interference which could make the ideas of these dogmatic Euro-Feminists too close to Imperial colonist projects for comfort to those right minded supporters of Universal Human Rights.
But the last word should go to the individual responsible for getting the participants together.Here he gives his take on the massacre by Israeli Commandos of innocent unarmed Human Rights Workers delivering much needed aid in International Waters.
Ronnie Kasrils addressed the 2010 Mandela-Tambo Lecture and launch of the book “The Unlikely Secret Agent” written by himself about the courage and role played by his wife in the military campaign against the racist corrupting apartheid regime at University Chapel within the square.The book is about the underground activity of his late wife, Eleanor, in the early 1960s in apartheid South Africa.
As John Le Carré states, “This is a wonderful book about a courageous and extraordinary woman who was highly principled, yet endowed by nature with all the clandestine skills.”
Ronnie Kasrils was Deputy Minister of Defence in Nelson Mandela’s government, then Minister for Water and Forestry Affairs and, until 2009, Minister of Intelligence for South Africa. Prior to that, Ronnie was a leader in the armed wing of the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe.
Kasrils was a major player in the military wing of the ANC , a necessity created when the bloody massacre of innocents protesting at Sharpeville in 1960 after that response to peaceful protest by the South African forces it became blindingly clear resistance to Apartheid would have to incorporate a campaign to attack the economic foundations of the violent Pretoria Government.
The South African Communist Party adopted an enlightened position which put its European counterparts to extreme shame when it put International revolution of the Workers Proletariat led by an Intellectual dictatorship of European educated emigres on hold , and make the dismantling the racist ideology of Apartheid the primary goal of its focus.The result of this all to rare genuinely progressive mature position was to enable the Communist Party become a genuine highly effective constituent of a all encompassing mass movement , not an opportunistic entity doing more harm than good to the very constituency they purported to be labouring for.
The theme of the lecture , and hence the tribute to his wife,was courage , individual and collective, a type of courage which helped achieve one of Humanitys greatest successes of the last century , as well as an inspiration for those striving for Justice in this.His wifes Family came from Kilmarnock.
You can hear the whole lecture , a glorious highly engaging tale of an unassuming woman heroine , in the video below:( it comes in 5 parts).
After having seen the NFT beamback version i managed to press-gang my wife and son to see this magical drama live on stage.I managed to get front row tickets which is very useful as the play has a lot of humour reflected with subtle rolling of eyes and slight facial gestures make for an experience which simply cannot be sensed from further back in the theatre.
The play is very much like watching an episode of frasier live on stage , which for me would be a dream come true, though with a philosophical depth which only comes at you when you ponder themes much later than when the initial laughter has passed away.Then you realise how very profound this production really is.
Channel Four produced an amazing documentary that captures the deep background of the personal experiences of Auden and Britten and the extraordinary creative process and collaboration between playwright and director that was involved in this brilliant artwork.You can see it by clicking HERE An incredible story well worth spending 50 plus minutes over.
Polish born artist,actor and documentary visual film maker Artur Zmijewski has had a video installation showing at the Tramway called Democracies.
His films very much capture the whole of the being of the participants involved as individual and group figures in the method , as the publicity states , which demands that portrayed persons integrate their political , religious and historical beliefs and personality into a powerful single evolving work that forces them and the viewer to question profoundly the inner meaning of the subjects both internally and externally.
In this screening and curators talk the first film was KRWP which shows former soldiers of the Polish Army Guard of Honour perform a formal drill ceremony , then almost seamlessly we see them performing a dignified patriotic duty without their clothes on.Through the laughs and banter one senses not only the former proud soldiers have been stripped of their dignity , whilst giving the impression they are somehow progressing from staid backwardness to an appreciative posture which will ingratiate and somehow integrate the subjects to the outer world.This could be viewed as a representation of how the whole of Polish society has been stripped bare by exposure to the West in which the benefits of exploiting the local talent pool has benefited the West , leaving the negative scraps of capitalism , namely debt and abasement as the bitter fruit left for the Poles.
Singing Lessons II is the second film of this chronological curator perspective , it follows a choir of death children rehearsing for a live performance in Leipzig , the piece portrays the opposite dimensions of the first film as we have a heartwarming confluencial showcase when resources and ability are put at the service of bringing out the best in society and its less privileged members to create a harmonious cohesive whole to the betterment of all stratas of the community.
Them is the most unusual and stimulating part of the artwork , this brings into the same space four groups from warsaw , one represents a Catholic Womans Group , another Polish nationalists of the old school ( though young members), some Jewish students and so called freedom loving socialists with an alleged live and let live patina.The groups are then allowed to critique;debate and even adjust/deface the displays of the others , the artist seeks to show how they may interact and communicate even when faced with apparently incompatible differences of ideology , and how they may resolve it.The ironic thing is most of the intolerant , bigoted and destructive interlocutors are the so-called freedom loving libertine socialists , they go about verbally slandering , physically desecrating others displays in a wanton immature fashion , and then burning displays when they failed to rationally win their points.The other groups , to their credit spent most of the time repairing the damage to their displays and restoring symbols damaged by the tolerance slogan chanting socialists , whilst engaging in debate with the other groups in a composed dignified way.
The nest short was 80064 brings an ex-inmate of Auschwitz ( we have to remember Auschwitz was in Poland , usually guarded by Lithuanians) agrees to have his detainee number freshened up, some in the audience found the scene harrowing and contrived , the artists contention is the participant did agree to go through with it beforehand , you can judge for yourself:
Two Monuments has Polish and Irish unemployed in Dublin working to co-produce two works of sculpture that enable them to exchange views on the changing nature of Polish/Irish worker relations.What comes out is the , to the participants , barely perceptively nuanced petty attitudes of racism from the Irish towards their Polish colleagues , an odd juxtaposition in that Irish history is replete with the very experiences of migration and seeking to make a living in a hostile environment just like the Polish are going through in Dublin and elsewhere at this time.The curators did say many of the participants on the Irish side did object to the filmed representation of themselves when the inner hostility of the views came out in sharper contrast in the film than was perceived in the casual conversation format.
The last film , made this year , Artur used the philosophy and group teaching methods of the famous Bauhaus in Liverpool.The director remarked the British artists did not come forth in any numbers , only 2 volunteers , to a group art project which is common in mainland Europe.This may be due to the concept of individual enterprise has permeated our society more so than in Europe , where group solutions to problems still holds sway.The result of this is Thatchers "no society" vanity drives individualism is entrenched , this is vital to understand as the fight against cuts that can only be addressed in unison and not individual " ill fight the system my own way" passive aggressive , ultimately impotent symbolistic phyrric victories that closely resemble humiliating defeats.
There is a very apt review of the democracies display from Simons teaching Blog including a brilliantly clear understanding of his palestine segment:
In relation to this understanding of democracy, Zmijewski’s films of demonstrations against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank appear to represent something appropriately democratic. The Palestinian people of the West Bank village of Bil’in do not live in a democracy of even a liberal kind. Rather they are ruled through military law by a state that denies them the suffrage and citizenship that it gives to Israeli citizens living within the Green Line and to Jewish settlers within the West Bank itself
