Dislocation Inspiration

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In June/July this year Marina Abramovic brought her very unique self to Sydney for 12 days in her Kaldor Public Art Project No 30, Marina Abramovic: In Residence. As there were no cameras permitted, this photograph of Marina is from a document that accompanied the event. In fact, phones, watches, wallets and bags were locked away upon entry and participants were gloriously e-disconnected for the duration of their stay. This is where the 'dislocation' occurs - as per the title of this post.

The simple act of removing personal objects we not only depend on but instinctively and continuously monitor for information and communication, for protection against loss or theft, or simply for telling the time... the removal of these things from the equation frees up a surprising amount of conscious and subconscious space in your mind and relaxes muscles you didn't know were tense - once you let go of the thought of your precious little belongings resting safely in a locker.

What you do with this arable awareness is completely up to you.

Knowing that Marina tours the world and there’s a chance some elements will be comparable wherever you happen to be, I’m actually not going to give you any more details. Whatever you do, if you have the opportunity to go to one of her ….. worlds, don’t research it beforehand. Just go. Allow yourself to be surprised. I will say, though, that the Mutual Gaze part of the experience was the one that has stayed with me most vividly. Truly inspiring.

This Week's Photographs Brought To You By Blue

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Whether it's the contrast

the destination

the above and below,

the contemplation of distant horizons

or the blue-black of night...

This week, Blue has been our constant companion.

Images and text copyright 2014  Sarah Lorien

Curves and Inspiration

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Each instrument, particularly unique or crafted-with-love instruments, inspire their own music when you pick them up and start to play. 

It has always been a gauge for me to know if a union is 'meant to be' - the spontaneous sounds that present in those first minutes or hours between me and the creature in my hands. 

In fact, there have been significant unplanned dollars spent when the calling is undeniable. Like the time I walked into the music store to buy guitar strings and walked out with those guitar strings, plus my beautiful nylon-string classical guitar... about two hours later. Two hours of drifting through melodies and resonances, oblivious to everyone else in the room.

Oh, I'd love to play the harp guitar seen in this photograph!  

Might need someone to tune it up for me, though...

HARP GUITAR - image with permission www.retronaut.com

Various Ishes of an Oil Hibiscus

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Carnevale Venezia-ish

sunset-ish

interior design for funnel web spiders-ish

sea shells by the sea shore-ish

dreaming of a distracted gaze in black and white-ish

celebrating with champagne-ish

distracted gaze-ish

Images and text copyright 2013  Sarah Lorien

Saturday Evening

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Saturday evening.  Rain over the ocean.

Image copyright 2013  -  Sarah Lorien

Talk About The Weather

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I talk about the weather when -
1. the weather is worth talking about
2. I have something else to say but it's really not the right moment
3. I have no idea what you are talking about

Today was deliciously HOT. Record-breaking HOT. Unfortunately I missed most of it, locked away in freezing cold air conditioning.  But even at mid afternoon, when I finally made my escape, heat greeted me at the door, escorted me to my car, and promised there were still a few hours to enjoy.

This evening at dusk the wind picked up.  In fact it picked up quite a lot of things and threw them about the place. Fast. At the beach, rows of speeding sand particles gave visible form to gusts of otherwise unseeable currents.  Lovely, lovely, lovely. And literally breath-taking if you inhale the stuff so I don't recommend that.

In the sky, storm clouds gathered.  And in the storm clouds, a porthole appeared.  A vortex. A big, loud secret thing.  A vibrant, glowing existential tease.

And then it was gone.

Copyright Sarah Lorien 18th January 2013

Afternoon Sun On Early Spring Branches

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It was a freezing afternoon in early Spring.

The last of the day to grasp at warm, mellow afternoon sun's rays

were these glowing branches. 

They would be in full bloom by now.

.

Image and text copyright 2012 Sarah Lorien

Some Days

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Some days make no reference to sunsets or birds.

Others do.

Some days are roads and traffic, or maybe trains.
Some days are appointments you made months ago.
Some days are so similar to other days you're not quite sure if you've slept.
Some days are inside all day without windows.
Some days you are standing directly under a huge, magnificent sky;
but forget to look up.
Some days make no reference to sunsets or birds.
Others do.











Image and text (c) Sarah Lorien.

Point Of View

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Separate events, but same ballpark.

You could say,

"Oh yeah, another hibiscus"

Or you could try a different angle,

move your focus

or illuminate it with new light

and maybe change your point of view.

All images and text (c) Sarah Lorien 2012

Stars

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You know it has been raining A LOT recently when that 40-second walk from the car to the front door takes ….. well, a lot longer. Even once you are inside the house 'they' are still hovering before your eyes.

STARS. Tonight there were stars in the sky.

No unbroken canopy of grey, no underside of a weary umbrella.

STARS.

If you've ever tried to capture stars with a phone camera, you'll know it's not particularly successful. So here is a photograph of some very pretty clouds. It's up to you to imagine it's night time, imagine the clouds dissolving completely into perfect still air, and let yourself be amazed by STARS.

.

Bluebottles. Beware.

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I believe there are landlubbers among you - those who prefer not to venture to the oceans

or the beaches that bind us to them. I don't understand you. 

But as a common courtesy I offer this warning: 

If you find yourselves, one day, at the water,

and are taken with curious luminous blue mush

that globs and stretches around these creatures...

Sometimes a single one can have tentacles metres long! 

Almost invisible in the ocean waves!...

BEWARE. They really, really hurt.

It will be tempting, though.  Their luminescence is bewitching.  We have all known beauty

dangerous to touch, and we have known it all the way to the inevitable contact.

Someone passing by said I was crazy to lie on the sand to take these photographs - 

next to the blue tentacles that waited, languid, along the shoreline for waves to deliver them excruciatingly around limbs and weave them murderously through tangled tresses. 

Maybe. But that's what Bluebottles do, 

like silent blue Sirens from the ocean depths they lure you closer and closer.

And closer.

All images and text (c) Sarah Lorien 2011

The Memory of Water

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Infinitely elegant is the language of water -

revealing its memories, hopes and dreams with precision and melody. 

Each tiny drop resonant with life.  Every grain of sand placed perfectly.

These are the stories of this world.

The memory of water - voyagers.

The memory of water - love.

The memory of water - moon.

The memory of water - music.

The memory of water - is speaking.

All images and text (c) Sarah Lorien 2011

ELEPHANT EGGS

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When a five year old lets you join in 'drawing a picture', sharing a few minutes of their delightful artistic logic and the resulting magic that appears on a sheet of A2 paper, chances are it will happily challenge the well-worn pathways your brain uses for every-day thinking.

Me: I know what that is, it's an elephant!

5-year-old: Yes.

Me: Wow, that's great! Look at the big ears!

5-year-old: (Restraining herself from rolling her eyes at my comment. Of course an elephant has big ears. Duh!) Yes.

The drawing continues until the elephant is complete, with two smaller ones (baby elephants?) on the left hand side of the page, and a few small circles around the elephant's feet. Suddenly, all pens are down and she's leaving the table.

5-year-old: It's finished.

Me: But look…. there's still space on the page. Can I have a go?

5-year-old: Um. OK.

I picked up the green felt pen and drew the leaves in the top left hand corner. Apparently this was not the direction she had in mind and I was politely relieved of contribution duties. She was back in the driver's seat, and the beautiful rainbow took form - making the elephant's smile all the more radiant - and quite a few more circles were added.


Me: (Pointing at the circles) What are they?

5-year-old: (Very matter-of-factly) They're elephant eggs, of course!

Me: Elephant eggs?

5-year-old: Yes, look - two have them have hatched already.


They were, indeed, baby elephants. Newly hatched, with a bunch of siblings on the way.

5-year-old: (Waving her hand across the page and pausing to make an estimate…) There's about 60 of them.


Well, when you look at it like that it all makes perfect sense. Elephant eggs. I've since counted them and, including a few which look a bit squashed, there seem to be 49 of them not counting the babies, so 60 was a pretty good guess.

Yes, the imagination of a child is a wonderful thing.

In contrast to that, the elephant eggs reminded me of an item in a news broadcast a month or so before. It was on one of the major commercial networks, announced with the same news-girl smile and gusto regularly invoked for celebrity sightings and white goods sales.

The headline went like this: "And great news from the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, today - their 90-year-old tortoise has given birth!"

Given birth??? A tortoise???

I don't know about other parts of the world, but living in Australia, documentaries on turtles and turtle eggs are pretty common, and that would only be of some surprise to you if you managed to sleep through a few years of school. Primary school.

Does no-one in that news department remember? - The turtles lay their eggs in nests in the dunes of open beaches. The peril the little ones face once they hatch and scurry instinctively across the sand, towards the ocean. Predators abound! How we wish we could protect those cute little turtles that have just hatched so they make it to safety!!!! - Don't they watch David Attenborough???? Sadly, no.

Assuming that turtles have babies in much the same manner as cats have kittens, or that baby elephants come from eggs, really isn't that much of a stretch in the malleable and hungry mind of a 5-year-old child.

Let's just hope those children don't rely on the news to teach them about it.




Sarah

Here's the link to the Dubbo Zoo, home of the feature tortoise in this story!

And this is a YouTube clip I just found. You don't actually see them emerging from the eggs, but there are no daddy turtles handing out cigars either. Normally baby turtles hatch at night, but these ones were making their hazardous trek to the water (where more treachery awaits!) in the midday sun, which makes for very clear and uber-cute footage. Enjoy!

Thief steals Mick Harvey encore! .... nearly.

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Beginning at the end of the evening....

Human Music Stand

Mick Harvey had finished his set and while the audience was cheering for more he was, apparently, out back checking the footy scores.  Well, you  know, fair enough. On returning to the stage he discovered a souvenir acquirer - a much more accurate title than thief, but a headline's a headline - had swiped the set list.  On this list was also the only copy of the settings for the various musical accoutrement involved, and Mick was having nothing of it. We knew he meant business because he had already banned photographers from taking photos during the performance as the sound of clicks was distracting him.  And you know, that's fair enough too. I thought it was pretty funny, though, because they were digital SLRs, which meant that they could have just turned the shutter sound off.  "If the person who took the set list does not return it to the stage there will be no more music." (Roughly a direct quote.)  To her credit - she did. The next bit I'm not that clear on, but somehow she ended up holding a page of what I presume were lyrics for the encore song, unreadable from the floor. So it all worked out for the best. A bit of inner-city serendipity.

Mick Harvey and Rosie Westbrook

The gig was for Mick's new album "Sketches From the Book of the Dead", with Rosie Westbrook on double bass and joined on a couple of songs by a drummer who had never rehearsed with them, "but probably knows the songs better than I do", whose name I couldn't quite catch. 

Madelaine Lucas - A Casual End Mile 

The support act for the evening was the lovely and mellow A Casual End Mile.  If this was a music review I'd draw a few very complimentary comparisons to help convey their music to you, but I think it's best you check them out yourselves and I'll leave the music reviews to the professionals. They have a new album out as well - "Dream With Me" released March 2011 - Madelaine Lucas - voice and guitar, Luke Bacon - Rhodes piano and Rob Irish - drums. Reading their website I see the album was recorded, produced and mastered by Chris Townend at BigJesusBurger Studios - excellent choice! Chris mixed our first album and one of the songs from our latest EP.

When you are listening to them,  imagine them in the intimate setting of the Oxford Art Factory. I hadn't been to this venue before and was really impressed. The atmosphere was great and the front-of-house sound for both acts was really good. The venue website describes itself as being influenced by Andy Warhol/New York, and contains a heap of other relevant information. Now if this was a venue review....

Windswept

Which leads me to the beginning of the evening and the performance art in the enclosed glass room between two of the venue areas. He was titled 'Windswept' and there was a description stuck to the glass of what exactly he was doing, but unfortunately I didn't get close enough to read it.  Someone said he was embroidering an Australian flag. I do know there were two strategically placed fans and he was most definitely windswept for the entire evening. As it was a relatively chilly evening out, I found it mildly distressing to watch, which I'm guessing is part of his intention. Maybe on a steamy summer's night the fans would have been replaced with sun lamps.

Sarah

Links relevant to this post:

http://www.myspace.com/mickharvey

http://www.rosiewestbrook.com.au/bio.html

http://acasualendmile.wordpress.com/ 

http://acasualendmile.bandcamp.com/

http://www.oxfordartfactory.com/

http://www.bjbstudios.com/

This Is Not My Dog (RS5%O)

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This is not my dog.  She belongs to a guy I work with. 

My iPhone 4 has been problematic in not being able to receive picture messages (MMS).  It's apparently fine sending them, but useless receiving. So every now and then, after lengthy discussions with my service provider, I ambush people mid conversation, and ask them to try sending me a picture to see if it's working yet. It's not. Not 95% of the time anyway.

One of the random successful 5% occurrences is how I came to have the above photo of Molly, and every time I see it I smile.  

This is not my dog either.

Strange but true - one of the other few random successful 5% occurrences (RS5%O) resulted in the acquisition of this equally charming portrait of the beautiful Eve.

So, my phone may not be working, but in the meantime little blessings find their way to it.  

Remember the little blessings life sends you, especially in the face of somewhat larger blast-its.  Every situation is made easier when armed with a smile.

Sarah

Tribute to Don Van Vliet, AKA Captain Beefheart.

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On December 20, Don Van Vliet passed away of Multiple Sclerosis,  age 69.

There has been talk of him being ill for many years now, and so another legend passes.

Don had an unconventional upbringing. He never had to attend school and was considered an oddball. As a child he was equally interested in music, painting and sculpture. It’s quite likely he could have been an artist first but the social climate at the time was centred more on music.

I was quite lucky to discover Don’s music at an early age as I did Frank Zappa’s at an even earlier time of around the age of 15. Don and Frank were teen friends and later Frank produced the classic album “Trout Mask Replica”. They apparently had a patchy relationship over the years and did a live album together called “Bongo Fury” which is a killer album.

I recall an older friend introducing me to Don’s music, I believe it was the “Clear Spot” album which I first heard and is still a favourite. There was also “The Spotlight Kid” which is fantastic. They are more song-based albums which some people believe was Don trying to be more commercial, but I beg to differ as they are masterful.

Most people cite “Trout Mask Replica” and “Strictly Personal” as his best but they are the most experimental and abrasive. They were bold, genre defying and some of the most startling music one can hear.

Don’s lyrics were the most original and creative, almost having a beatnik influence where he would mix similes, metaphors and collide them with unusual imagery.

Take for example the song “Tropical Hotdog Night” -

Tropical hotdog night,

Like two flamingos in a fruit fight

Like stepping out of a triangle into striped light

Striped light striped light

Tropical hotdog night

Everything’s wrong, at the same time it’s right.

He was visually poetic and daring in all aspects.

He retired in 1982 after releasing “Ice Cream for Crow”, focused on his painting and became quite successful. His style was considered abstract expressionism, primitive modern art and outsider art.           

Don Van Vliet’s  influence on music and art is immeasurable, with so many people being influenced by him.

What always struck me about his music is that its so immediate and raw yet so sophisticated… the collision of primal power with such imagination is a powerful combination. It sounds as original today as it did all those years ago and will most likely stay that way.

His influence on me is considerable, although you won’t hear a direct influence, it’s more the attitude of taking risks, finding that path and staying on it…that the creative being has no bounds and should be expressed regardless.

Maybe that is the role of visionary artists, to give others strength and hope in a market-driven world.

Don’s final appearance was on Anton Corbijns 1993 short “That Yo Yo stuff” where he gives his observations on life and art, and anything that popped into his unusual and original mind.

Michael

What You Don't See

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What you don't see from this photograph is the wind - fierce and invisible. Fierce and invincible.

It is screaming and squalling, forcing me to hold on tight to my camera, consciously balancing and leaning against a wall to keep steady.

Somewhere in the distance it slows. Somewhere between me and the calm wisps and puffs of cloud suspended gracefully in a gentle breeze, peaceful against the perfect blue sky.




Sarah

Winter In Sydney

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Well, winter is on its way out so I thought it's time to write about what has been going on in Sydney over that period.

Sydney Opera House lit up with design by Laurie Anderson
Image copyright Daniel Boud  http://boudist.com

Since its inception last year, the Vivid Festival has been quite a success with cultural events around Sydney. Brian Eno was the curator for the first one. I did get a chance to hear him speak and he still thinks in a very lateral way about art, music and climate change. One of his clever ideas from many years ago was to create a deck of cards called Oblique Strategies.  When one got stuck on, say, a project, you pull a card out and act on its suggestion to help find an outcome. So if you're getting blocked, reach for an oblique strategy! 

Oblique Strategies

   

Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed - Press Conference
Image copyright Daniel Boud  http://boudist.com

This year Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed were the curators. I went to see Laurie do a talk about her life and curating the festival. She was the first artist in residence for NASA! She and Lou also did a subsonic symphony for dogs... I didn't attend as I don't have a dog and wouldn't be able to hear it!

Vivid Festival Sydney

There was also the Sydney Biennale going on over at Cockatoo Island and venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Island is quite an experience in itself as there are many buildings and warehouses where the installations are housed. There are also cranes and heavy machinery, which could really be classified as installations themselves. The history of the island is colourful as it was a convict prison, then a ship building yard when the war was on. Now you can camp there and enjoy the sweeping views of Sydney.  

Cockatoo Island        Biennale of Sydney       Museum of Contemporary Art

The other great winter activity was the Art Gallery of NSW having free movies which coincide with their exhibitions. I saw "On The Waterfront" with Marlon Brando's riveting scene with Rod Steiger in the back of a taxi. I also saw "The Sweet Smell of Success" which had Burt Lancaster playing an odious character along with a sensational Tony Curtis. It is Tony Curtis at his best, he just needed a good script. The big studios didn't want to make the film as they thought it was too raw and gritty, so Burt Lancaster's production company picked it up. I'm glad he did, it is a treasure to be enjoyed for all time.   Art Gallery NSW

Michael

enchanted by Francesca

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Tonight I attended the Depot Gallery II for the latest solo exhibition 'enchanted' by the very lovely and extremely talented Francesca Raft.

In her own words, "I am fascinated by the simplicity in light, color and form… the landscape, the essence of nature… the resonating beauty that makes one feel and experience the desire of belonging and possibility… I strive to capture this in paint".

For the past months I have been diligently working every possible moment on the recordings that Aqualash will be releasing in August, and as much as I love music - deeply and truly and passionately and uncompromisingly - it really can be *** hard work and literally an emotional minefield. Taking time out tonight to go and view this exhibition has given me a much-needed shot of inspiration and enthusiasm for the creative spirit!

And now I'm here to let you know, in case you need a booster shot yourself:
if you are in Sydney, Francesca's exhibition is from today, Tuesday 15 June, until 27 June, at Depot Gallery II, 2 Danks Street, Waterloo, Sydney, 2017. Or check out her work at the website: www.francescaraft.com.au

Now, back to the studio…


x Sarah

Life's What You Make It

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Last week at work, a colleague walked in with a cloud of gloom shadowing his eyes, his head and shoulders bent forward under the weight of his foreboding. "I understand, and sometimes I feel the same way about that," I said. "But life's what you make it. Hey, remember the song?"

He didn't, and I couldn't remember which 80s band…. (Talk Talk)

The next day was my birthday. A friend sent me the latest Rowland S. Howard album, "Pop Crimes", as he knows I am a loving fan, and I was devastated to learn that Rowland passed away at the end of last year. And there at track #3 is Rowland's cover of "Life's What You Make It".

Rowland S. Howard has a long musical history from 1978 to 2009, including his two solo releases "Teenage Snuff Film" (2000) - the era I saw him perform live at Newtown RSL in Sydney - and "Pop Crimes" (2009).

Often, I don't know details or histories of music I listen to, and I can definitely be vague about albums and song titles. What I do know is how the music makes me feel, and Rowland S. Howard - from the very first time I heard him - has claimed a piece of my heart.

So, Mr Howard, bon voyage. May your travels be ever musical.


x Sarah