This video “Brisbane in May” was shot over a weekend by Rhys Day. It captures a lot of the honest, everyday going-ons and familiar scenes you might experience and observe in the public spaces of the City and New Farm Park. It has kids playing, pauses at traffic lights, smokers taking a break and picnics in parks. As someone who spends a lot of my time wondering and writing about cities and the experience of urban places, I like that a film without words can say a whole lot more that I could ever really articulate in words.
Monthly Archive for May, 2009
From Fast Company: Both American automobile and bicycle purchases fell overall in the first quarter of 2009, but in a surprising twist, bike sales trumped car sales (2.6 million bicycles vs. 2.5 million cars). And while bike sales are down 30% overall from the first quarter of 2008, it’s a slower drop than car sales, which are down over 35%. Granted, bikes are much cheaper than cars–many college students can afford a brand new bike but would be hard-pressed to purchase a car. Still, Dennis Markatos, founder of Sustainable Energy Transition, thinks it is also an indicator of a growing bike culture in the U.S. Continue reading ‘bikes outsold cars in the first quarter.’
Take a moment to go outside today and look at the sky. This shot was taken this morning on my way home from a shoot, the sky was so inspiring, I just had to stop and shoot. Clouds are so cool.
Sydney’s event banners are working overtime. Not only are they whipped daily by salt laden winds channeled through the city’s cement corridors, but it seems every week their tension cables are unhooked to rig up the latest event to promote. And after the Writers Festival and Vivid, it’s the cinema’s turn. And what a ripe time it is. Warwick Thornton’s Camera D’or award for Sampson and Delilah is surely a silver lining for the Sydney Film Festival with Teri Hatcher and John Woo among notable international red carpet attendees. Promoted online under categories of Give me a kiss, Take me on a journey, Fire me up, Make me laugh, Push me to the edge and Freak me out, there’s sure to be a story for all tastes. Check it.
It’s not often that a city council creates an event, or series of events, with brand communication as appealing as private undertakings with larger budgets and wider imaginations. Imagine the pressure then, when the event being staged, is aimed squarely at creatives. Welcome to Vivid - a festival of music, light and ideas. Pitched as “the biggest international music and light festival in the Southern Hemisphere, it will showcase the city as a major creative hub in the Asia-Pacific region, celebrating the diversity of Sydney’s creative industries.” Trust Sydney to claim first place. Brian Eno’s Luminous festival, and Thursday’s Creative Catalyst’s Showcase at the MCA have my attention. For sparkies and lovers of public disco fever alike, the various lighting displays should keep your eyes flickering well into dreamland. Now if only the Northern Hemisphere would take notice.
Since hanging out with graphic designers, I’ve discovered the world of “wordmarks” (which is a company logo that is text-only). One well known example of a wordmark is Google. Doodle 4 Google, is a competition that invited school students to play around with the logo under the theme “what I wish for the world”. The finalist designs are online and the winner is being revealed on the home page tomorrow (21 May 2009). It turns out that there is a “doodle team” at Google who develops the themed illustrative logos that we often see celebrating different days and events - man, I want that job!
Based on the bestselling expose of the Italian Mafia, Gomorrah tells the story of the residents of Naples, who are forced to follow the rules of the Camorra, which values power, blood and money above all else. Five stories are interwoven in this controversial and violent tale of daily life under Italy’s dominating crime families. Each story reveals individuals whose lives have become inextricably linked with the deadly Mafia gangsters. Gomorrah is currently showing at Palace Barracks and Palace Centro cinemas.
Two upper-class couples meet to discuss a playground rift between their boys. What started as name-calling ended in one whacking the other in the mouth with a stick and a subsequent loss of teeth. Set in a domestic lounge room, the couples meet one evening to discuss the situation. In an English translation of Yasmina Reza’s French farce, Queensland Theatre Company’s God of Carnage is a comedy of manners in which good people behave badly. What begins as a civil chat soon descends into a messy fight involving alcohol-fuelled accusations and caustic wit. Directed by Michael Gow and starring Andrew Buchanan, Jodie Buzza, Benj D’Addario, Veronica Neave, the Australian premiere of God of Carnage promises to be a sharp and entertaining play. God of Carnage runs until June 6, 2009, and you can book tickets online.
Spunk Records have certainly outdone themselves in recent years, picking up a myriad of outstanding breakthrough Australian acts like Leader Cheetah, Firekites and most recently The Middle East. All six members of The Middle East reside in regional Townsville, and together produce lush songs that are warm enough to wrap around you and keep you toasty on brisk Autumn evenings. The lyrics are devastatingly beautiful, conveying themes of death and identity, framed by a euphoric cohesion of acoustic guitars, percussion and angelic harmonies. The Middle East release their debut EP at The Old Museum on Thursday June 4, a body of work that includes the triple j-supported single ‘Blood.’
I had a lovely day outside the city, and it included a stop to the creative and inventive home of artist, designer, pilot and film-maker, William Lishman. He’s the guy that the movie Fly Away Home is based on, which is the story of how he trained geese to migrate with his plane. His underground house is a series of concrete domes covered in a hill and overlooking a stunning Ontario landscape. It’s an artistic and engineering feat that you can casually stroll on to the landscaped roof from the ground. It is quite an inspiring experience. There is a swing and part of a rock climbing wall IN the living room, and he said simply that “living rooms should be made for living”. All houses should feel like this.
Nominated for a Webby Award this year, minimovies.org is a portal for online documentary directors looking for a place to show their work. A minimovie is an episodic documentary consisting of a series of 8–10 episodes of 3–7 minutes each. When put together, the episodes form remarkable stories. Minimovie Dear Oprah by Kasper Verkaik is an insightful documentary discovering non-voting America. Episode one sees a group of European filmmakers start in Washington DC, then onto Columbus, Ohio, South Carolina, New Orleans, Texas and Nevada. Throughout the story it becomes apparent that many Americans would argue that Oprah would do a better job running the country, hence the name of the movie. After traipsing through America, the minimovie ironically finishes in Chicago – Oprah’s hometown. Continue reading ‘dear oprah’
Steve Newcomb finds new sounds and spaces in music. As one of Australia’s most gifted young contemporary jazz composers, arrangers and pianists, his earnest approach to music is inspired by words of wisdom from one of his idols, Charlie Parker, who said, “Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn”. For Steve, this quote reminds him to always communicate the honesty of music, something he’s achieved for the likes of Ben Folds, Katie Noonan and Tim Rogers, as well as for state orchestras, and currently with young jazz diva, Hannah Macklin. With Hannah’s silky sweet vocals and Steve’s nimble fingers on the keys, the dazzling duo will wow Valley Jazz Festival goers in their hometown of Brisbane in May before doing the same in Sydney and Melbourne, always with their eyes and ears open to meet new collaborators and discover new sounds. Continue reading ‘live dreamer – steve newcomb’
As children, our dreams are limitless. Our imaginations take us on journeys that defy the improbable and impractical, into worlds where anything is possible. But, too often, as we grow into adulthood, fear of failure sets in, and expectations become so low that we give up on dreaming. Determined to ensure that his five-year-old son would grow up in a world of optimism, kindness and limitless possibilities, 29-year-old Dallas Clayton penned, illustrated and self-published his own children’s book, An Awesome Book!, which is not only teaching children around the world to dream big, but it’s also teaching adults that they should never have stopped. Continue reading ‘international dreamer – dallas clayton’
Just over five years ago, Kate Bezar’s life was at a crossroads. Growing up in New Zealand before moving to Australia, she had embarked on a career that was both lucrative and allowed her to travel the world, but there was one key ingredient missing: it neither nourished her soul nor fuelled passion within her. But then a night came that would change her life, and put her on a path that not only enabled her to live her life with passion and purpose, but would also inspire thousands of other people across the world to do the same. For it was on that fateful night that the beloved quarterly magazine Dumbo Feather, Pass it On was born. Continue reading ‘national dreamer – kate bezar’
Mackay-born, Brisbane-based painter Anthony Bennett likes to mash faces, phrases, cultures and aesthetics, painting with a belief in the ‘chance element’ and will happily step aside when outside forces claim his canvas. He admits to sometimes plucking random snippets of strangers’ conversations that drift through his open apartment window and embedding them in a painting, either straight up or on the rocks with a Nietzsche quote or in a Batman speech bubble. He is a finalist in the Archibald Prize for the second year running and considers himself a success because he can sustain himself as an artist full-time – a life he committed to, quite naively, from the moment he flew the art college coop in 1999. Continue reading ‘local dreamer – anthony bennett’
Barista by day, artist and animator by night, Emma Bertoldi has got a lot on her plate. For six months now, Emma’s new project has been up on the drawing board. Titled Plank!, the upcoming skateboard art exhibition will feature some of the biggest names in the underground art scene, including Emma herself, ranging in styles from stencil art, graffiti and all the way through to comic book artists. With an exhibition already under her belt, Plank! is the continuation of Emma’s dreams and creative ideas. Emma first dreamed of drawing comics as a young kid when she came across her Dad’s old MAD magazines. Now, she has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Animation and plans on opening her own gallery in the future. Being fond of “bright and catchy” art which can be stripped back to reveal “immense meanings and desires”, you will find her art exhibitions will showcase just that. Continue reading ‘a skate deck art bonanza’
