Dr Seuss’ new movie, Horton Hears a Who, is about an adult elephant (Horton) that has the imagination and creativity of child. If you too are like Horton, then go along to an exhibition of illustrative, archival and secret art by Ted Geisel, aka Dr Seuss. Limited edition prints and sculpture are on show that display traditional Seuss-like pieces as well as abstract and bolder works. The Art of Dr Seuss is now showing daily from 10:00 am – 5:30 pm at 1/1045 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley until April 13. Continue reading ‘horton hears a who!’
Monthly Archive for March, 2008
Strictly not for the faint-hearted or those who get the heebie-jeebies when it comes to heights, the Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel in Brazil has been built at canopy level in amongst the Brazilian rainforest. Designed as a way for visitors to access the amazing sights of the Amazon rainforest without damaging the fragile eco-system, the hotel is perched 25 metres in the air beside the Rio Negro. The hotel suites are joined by 6.5 kms of boardwalks that let visitors wander the rooftop of the surrounding forest and watch nature in action, from the flutter of the rainbow-coloured macaws to the bustle of friendly monkeys and sloths. Activities on offer include jungle hikes, piranha fishing and caiman spotting.
On May 10, 2008 map magazine will host its very own Pangea Day event in the ‘Remember to Dream Park’ at 5 Morse Street, Newstead. In 2006, Jehane Noujaim was awarded the prestigious TED prize. As a TED Prize winner, Jehane was asked to make a wish. Her wish was to bring the world together through the power of film. The seeds of Pangea Day were sown. Pangea Day’s purpose is to bring together millions of people from all over the world in a unique shared experience, using the power of film to create a better understanding of one another and form a global community striving for a better future. The first 150 people to RSVP to mikki@mapmagazine.com.au will gain themselves the opportunity to share in this ‘intimate park’ event with map magazine. I hope you will join us?
There seems to be an increasing variety of mobile-living apparatus for the discerning nomad. From the Travelpod – a mobile hotel (6 m x 2.4 m) made from polycarbonate glass, to revamped classic models from Airstream, such as Christopher Deam’s ‘dj trailer’. Ideal for any outdoor festival or for a designer hotel experience that you can change the location of, the ‘dj trailer’ has an aluminium skin and takes on the shape of a traditional caravan. Mobile living is tipped to become the future in our increasingly mobile society. Mobile phones, laptops, iphones et al. are testament to our need / want to be mobile, where people can be on the move and contactable at any time. Likewise, the fear of ‘settling down’ and buying a house, inhibits our ability to be mobile, or in most cases, buying a house is out of reach financially and on this account, a mobile home may provide a happy medium. Continue reading ‘trailer happiness’
There’s something about getting up early on the weekend to check out the markets that captivates the senses – from the dew-laced fresh vegetables to the live music to the intoxicating aroma of freshly-ground coffee. Brisbane has several well-known and established markets but there’s some new ones popping up that you mightn’t have heard of yet. The Servo Sunday Markets have been happening for the last two months in Paddington. Specialising in vintage fashion, accessories and home wares, these markets add a retro-cool twist to the traditional craft market. The market starts at 9 am so you can kickstart the day with a coffee from Cabinessence before wandering the stalls and hunting down some quality vintage goods (and perhaps some breakfast). Also back this weekend is the second The Way We Wear Vintage Fashion and Textile Fair at Mt Gravatt Showgrounds. Inspired by the vintage fashion fairs taking place overseas, the fair was started as a way of taking the hard work out of finding quality vintage clothing by bringing the best dealers from all around the country together in a single spot. Following the very successful inaugural Brisbane fair last August, the fair promises stalls from over twenty high-quality vintage clothing dealers.
The Americans eat cheese out of can and Lithuanians delight in herrings that have been salted and cooked with cream. The latter proves to be quite tasty when cooked from scratch, but even the most adventurous eaters will probably draw the line at cheese squeezed out of a can, which can be safely stored in the cupboard. But how do you know until you’ve tried it? To whet your appetite, a German company has profiled 100 interesting food products, comparing the packaging to what the food actually looks like. Some foods are strikingly similar, however the majority are disturbingly different. Continue reading ‘packaging vs reality’
ecopera.
The symbiosis of art and ecology has always proved to be a provocative and powerful form of visual communication. WWF’s campaigns against pollution, Greenpeace’s naked protest on a Swiss glacier, and campaigns by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has always challenged and stirred the emotions to illustrate but a few. Ecopera, while flying under the radar of its more established counterparts, is an online, international portal, that allows graphic artists to address environmental issues through contemporary art. There are some beautiful works here and plans to open an online store selling prints and shirts with funds being donated to charities. At last glance, I couldn’t see any names from Australia. Perhaps it will be you?
Yet again, Boreen Point at Lake Cootharaba has provided me with some beautiful light and reflection. Sunrise Easter Monday… who wouldn’t get out of their grave to witness this!
Greenpeace Australia Pacific is celebrating its big 3-0 this year and to share the love, is touring the country with a photographic exhibition of original images snapped by photojournalists over the year. Photos include pics from the first protest that sparked Greenpeace Australia Pacific – an anti-whaling campaign to shut down the last whaling station in Australia at Albany, Western Australia. Brisbane is on the touring path from 26 March to 5 April and everyone is invited to the party at Metro Arts Galleries. Sydney is also hosting a separate photographic exhibition of images by Dutch photographer Robert Knoth who has been travelling through the former Soviet Union, using his camera to explore upfront the devastating effects of nuclear power on residents. A panel discussion on photo activism featuring Robert Knoth, photographer Dean Sewell, and Greenpeace Audio Visual Coordinator Michelle Thomas, will be held On Wednesday 26 March at the Australian Centre for Photography.
this wall is yours
Can you honestly say that you’ve never been tempted to indulge in a spot of urban graffiti? Whether it be a message scrawled in Sharpie across a toilet door or a rainbow-infused masterpiece spanning the width of an otherwise mundane building, graffiti can enhance or detract from the urban landscape (depending on the eye of the beholder). But whichever way you see it, there’s no denying that graffiti has become a veritable form of art and self-expression. Ever in sync with the pulse of pop culture, fashion house Diesel – an avid supporter of emerging creative genius – has created Diesel Wall, an international art contest aiming to bring intriguing, inspiring, insightful, inciting contemporary ideas to giant urban canvases in city centres around the world. Continue reading ‘this wall is yours’
Having toured Japan and America, the band that bought you the official Hello Kitty theme tune, are set to tour Australia for the first time. Lullatone bring together the electronic and melodic talents of Shawn James Seymour and the sweet-as-sugar vocals of Yoshimi Tomida to create simple, up-beat tunes to make you smile. The self-confessed ‘pajama pop’ duo are touring to mark the release of their latest album ‘The Bedtime Beat’. Described as their strangest album yet, the new songs showcase the xylophone, melodica and ukulele as well as recordings of snoring and underwater humming. Hosted by the Judith Wright Centre Of Contemporary Art, Lullatone start the Brisbane leg of their tour tonight.
pangea day.
map magazine has recently donated USD$100 to Project H Design for the purchase of the ingenious device, The Hippo Roller. Project H’s purpose is to promote design initiatives for humanity, habitats, health and happiness. One hundred dollars means one family from the Kgautswane community of Northeast South Africa will receive this ingenious device – a simple rolling barrel device that allows the millions whose livelihoods depend on the daily fetching of water to more easily access and transport their daily water supply, and reduce the risk of long-term bodily injuries. The roller holds 3–4 days worth of water for a family of seven – about five times the amount of water that can be moved using traditional methods. If you want to help them receive their goal of 75 Hippo Rollers, here is your chance.
Six people hear some terrible news and their public and private displays of emotion are analysed, depicting various angles of human suffering. Kommer, by Kassys, is a theatre production where the first half is live and the second half is film. The ‘live’ segment is meant to convey public displays of grieving, which are quite often far-removed from the actual truth. In the second half, the video footage captures the private life of the characters – tapping into the day-to-day grief of desolation and a loneliness existence. Some of the character’s private lives are seemingly aggressive, extremely emotional, risky and dangerous and not at all what they seem like in the first half of the play. Kommer is profoundly sad and hilarious at the same time. A funny, fascinating and touchingly human production by Kassys – a theatre initiative of Liesbeth Gritter and Mette van der Sijs of Amsterdam that make shows in which theatre and film are combined.
Playing at the Brisbane Powerhouse, March 18–22
Following on from the success of 2007’s Paris J’Taime, Cannes Film Festival commissioned thirty-five well-known filmmakers (including Jane Campion, Joel & Ethan Coen, Ken Loach, David Lynch, Roman Polanski, Gus Van Sant and Lars Von Trier) to each make a three-minute film with the theme of ‘movie theatres’ as a tribute to the haven of movie-lovers the world over. Film buffs can check out a screening of the collaborative collection of short films, called To Each His Own Cinema, during the Alliance Française Film Festival, which bursts onto Brisbane screens from this Thursday. Running from March 20-30, the program includes a whopping 436 screenings of 37 films (trumping the 333 screenings in 2007). Featuring an eclectic collection of top-quality comedies, thrillers, dramas and docos, the programme includes the work of French stars such as Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve, Sophie Marceau, Romain Duris, Julie Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil.
colour chart
There is no doubt that the online medium has changed the way we do everything – well most things. The internet has become our primary reference point for most offline activities, exposing us to accessible information and stimulus from all corners of earth. MoMa, New York’s Museum of Modern Art has recently developed an online art gallery for global art lovers. At the forefront of modern design and art culture, MoMa’s online space is as impressive (if not more) as the artists they are showcasing. The Colour Chart exhibition is a collection of works that convey the reinvention of colour from the 1950s until today and is best viewed with a wide-screen and flash 8 plug-in or higher. Continue reading ‘colour chart’
pool party
This is the Badeschiff (bathing ship) in Berlin, Germany and I think Brisbane should get one of those pools! The project started as part of the “con_con: constructed connection” exhibition (in 2002) that examined different kinds of connections people have with their urban environment. Berlin artist Susanne Lorenz and her partners on the project, the architecture firm AMP, wanted the pool to reintroduce Berliners to an aspect of their river that has been lost. Continue reading ‘pool party’
The sheiks and engineers behind the evolution of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), know how to think outside the box. In their case, there seems to be no box and with a seemingly endless amount of money and the attention of some the world’s richest inhabitants, the UAE continues to amaze with its emerging skylines and dancing cranes but its neighbours seem to be following closely behind. A Dubai-based developer, with the permission of the president of Yemen and the president of African nation Djibouti, will connect the Middle East to Africa by a 28.5km bridge over the Red sea. Continue reading ‘middle east to africa by bridge’
Stefan Eberstadt’s Rucksack Haus (backpack house) is a 2.50 m x 2.50 m x 3.60 m box that can be moved and suspended to the façades of residential buildings. Even though the idea was intended as a work of art (not an actual means of increasing living space) you could access it by crawling through the “host” building’s external windows. It explored ideas of small apartments and the social and architectural themes of flexibility and mobility. Just like every recent interest rate rise, it starts hinting at critical conversations about housing affordability, transient renter populations, high density developments, and adaptable housing. This artwork was part of the Talking Cities Exhibition and Convertible City Exhibition.
Following the meandering lines through the crystal-blue mass, you’d be forgiven for thinking the image on the left is trails left by fish zipping through the water. In fact, it is a satellite image showcasing the effects of bottom trawling along the Gulf of Mexico, as seen from space. Bottom trawling is a fishing practice that involves dragging large nets along the ocean floor. While an effective fishing method, it has put many fragile underwater eco-systems at risk. Greenpeace has compared bottom trawling to driving a huge bulldozer through an unexplored, lush and richly populated forest. Continue reading ‘deep trouble’
