CASTOR ET POLLUX Gramophone DVD Ofthe Month - September - 2009 O 18 Poorhouse
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“Either I’ll be famous or notorious!” OTTO DiX INTERNATIONAL Poorhouse THE PAiNTER iS THE EYES OF THE WORLD Newsletter No18 A documentary to commemorate the April - September 2009 40th anniversary of the painter’s death CASTOR ET POLLUX (JEAN-PHiLiPPE RAMEAU) Classic FM (January 2009) Gramophone DVD of the Month (February 2009) 2 rm creative written & directed by Reiner Moritz OTTO DiX THE PAiNTER produced by RM Creative running iS THE EYES OF THE WORLD time: 58’ Shot on 35mm film The painter is the eyes of the world – a dictum After the end of the war, Dix was accepted into liberation from the oppressive control of the Nazis. to which Otto Dix remained true his entire life. Otto Gussmann’s master class in Dresden. In 1927 With his concrete, figurative visions, Dix found it The painter was born in Untermhaus, a town close he became Gussmann’s successor in this post. His impossible to re-establish himself. He died in 1969. to Gera, in 1891. His talent for drawing became wartime impressions were portrayed in a series Reiner Moritz’ portrait is an attempt to explore evident while he was still at school, and he was of etchings, which themselves stand comparison the various stages of Dix’ life and to present his encouraged to develop it. Dix had a cousin who with Goya’s Desastres de la Guerra, and also in the most important works. Eyewitnesses from his close was a painter, and he occasionally asked the boy to triptych Der Krieg (The war, 1932) and the painting circle of acquaintances serve to fill out this portrait model for him. Dix was later to say that the smell Flandern (Flanders, 1934-36). Like Goya, Dix was of the paint had an irresistible appeal for him. He shocked by what he had seen and made a statement realized at an early age that he wanted to become a about it. The provocative paintings of the debauched painter. Since Dix came from a poor family, he was Weimar Republic caused him to be charged with sent to be an apprentice with a decorative painter. obscenity. The Nazis dismissed him from his post This was followed by four years at the Dresden as professor due to alleged Wehrkraftzersetzung School of Arts & Crafts. In 1912, a Van Gogh (undermining military morale), and also banned exhibition in Dresden made a deep impression him exhibiting his works. Dix went into internal on the young Dix, who was experimenting with exile in the town of Hemmenhofen, beside Lake various styles at the time. He eventually found his Constance. After all his gruelling experiences during métier in a realism after the manner of the early the First World War, he refused to participate in Renaissance artists. His first self-portraits date from the new-found enthusiasm and glorification of war this time. Time and again, Dix subjected himself to under the Third Reich. In fact he had painted his critical appraisal, and over the course of the years wartime pictures in order to provide a warning and he painted or drew around 160 self-portraits. The to show war in its true colours. „All art is a form of portrait was to play an important role in Dix’s work exorcism“, he once said. of one of the most important German painters, as a whole, and he considered it a far superior form In Hemmenhofen Dix began painting landscapes. who demanded of himself to be the eyes of the to photography. Der Judenfriedhof (The Jewish cemetery) of 1935 world. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Dix volunteered and the various versions of Christophorus (Saint PHI is re-issuing this very successful to join up and was sent to train as a machine Christopher, 1938-41) were his way of protesting. documentary to commemorate the 40th gunner. Like Ernst Jünger, he at first saw the war Just before the devastating bombings of 1942, he anniversary of the painter’s death. as an adventure and a natural spectacle. His painted the Ansicht von Bautzen (View of Bautzen), impressions of trench warfare and the war of showing the painter as a seer and admonisher. In attrition on the Western Front are preserved in his 1945 he was however called up to serve in the diary, from which we frequently quote. Drawings, Volkssturm (last ditch defense) and was later taken watercolours, and postcards from the Front provide prisoner by the French. a vivid testimony to how deeply these experiences After the end of the Second World War, affected the young painter. In a montage using Dix could not find a way to access the new art images from the film Westfront (Comrades) we movements. Abstract painting had become the attempt to bring these experiences to life. dominant style because it was interpreted as PoorhouseinternationalNewsletter No18 lato sensu 3 THE ARCHiTECTS OF CHANGE In Brazil, Canada and Kenya, three Architects of trees have been replanted. Even if this isn’t enough Poorhouse International Change are involved in projects that could short to completely stop the deforestation’s cycle, it term change the situation and reintroduce man has enabled many Kenyans to remain in their is very happy to present into his natural environment, without calling into villages and significantly improved their life. This is question the fundamental rights of people to live concretely what we’ll see in sharing the daily life the completely finished decently and prosper. of Julius and Mama Judy, just at the foot of Mount first episode of this In Brazil, Dener José Giovanini founded Kenya. Far from any ecological philosophy, these RENCTAS. This network has initiated a collective farmers have realized what a tree could mean to important series at awareness in the country which holds the largest their 3 children, including an important income reserve of biodiversity on the planet: Amazonia. supplement. MipDoc as well as Mip: Trafficking in wildlife and bio-piracy is the third These three Architects of Change have largest illegal trade after drugs and weapons. In succeeded to convince governments, people Brazil, the cost of the irrational exploitation of the from all social strata, that Biodiversity is a strong biological heritage costs hundreds of million dollars economic tool. A way that can only succeed if THE NEED FOR each year … smoothly and simply implemented. The solutions However, things are changing and alternatives are shown in our documentary are very pragmatic, free BiODiVERSiTY possible, especially for those who live on this illegal of commercial or political intentions. They meet a traffic. One just has to get across the right message, common need of mankind, because these Architects The Architects of Change: to give clear explanations what Biodiversity is. of Change share the same point of view: one species Dener José, Brazil In Canada, Johanne Lalumière runs the Granby’s on the planet is particularly endangered, and it Zoo. At first glance, this is a typical American one: could be ours … Wangari Maathaï, Nobel Prize, stands of drinks, snacks, staff with uniforms, noisy Kenya animations ... However, behind the scene, this directed by Sylvain Braun produced Johanne Lalumière, Canada zoo is part of a global network that establishes and implements programs for the conservation by Lato Sensu running time: 52’ and the reintroduction of endangered species. Recorded in High Definition How could the disappearance All profits are systematically reinvested in such programs. Totally green as far as the facilities are of wildlife in Brazil involve a concerned (geothermal energy, recycling, waste resident of a major European water management ...), this zoo looks like a modern Noah's Ark. It became the sanctuary of wild species city? that haven’t got any territory yet and which would inevitably be doomed to extinction. For some of them, there are only a few genetic samples stored in Why protect some animals liquid nitrogen, but it’s enough to keep up hope. while serious economic and Today, visitors going to these accredited AZA zoos (10% of the zoos in the world) equal the social problems are affecting a public filling the arenas of the five major sports in the USA. A very specific place to spread messages, large part of humanity? particularly among the young people. Kenya is one of the driest countries in the world. Forests only represent about 1.7 % of the Is it not too late anyway territory. The first reason for this deforestation is to repair the impact of our an economic one: 80% of the energy consumed by people comes from firewood. Professor Wangari industrial civilization on the Maathaï, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, succeeded in environment? raising awareness amongst the poorest people that a tree could resolve a lot of their problems. After 20 years of struggle, more than 20 million Can we really focus on nature conservation at the expense of the survival of certain populations? PoorhouseApril - September 2009 international 4 opus arte & nps CASTOR ET POLLUX (JEAN-PHiLiPPE RAMEAU) Jean-Philippe Rameau was no unknown composer. The first performance caused as much composer but was already well on the way to of a to-do in Paris as Stravinsky’s Sacre du printemps becoming ‘le grand Rameau’, France’s premier was to cause in 1913. As musicologist Sylvie CASTOR ET POLLUX composer, when Castor et Pollux was first Bouissou put it, Jean-Baptiste Lully, who had died performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on in 1687, ‘no longer had a monopoly of the genre’; cast 24 October 1737. He had come somewhat late to this was tragédie en musique, that most French of Télaïre Anna Maria Panzarella opera after eventually gaining a foothold in Paris.