Playing the Changes 1–2 Barbican Maker: Emma Johnson 3–4
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News 1–10 Playing the 1–2 Changes Dec 2017 Barbican Maker: Emma Johnson 3–4 Transpose 5–6 The Caretaker 7–8 Ho Ho Homeware 9–10 Listings 11–44 Art 11–14 Film 15–19 Classical Music 28–36 Contemporary Music 37–38 Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Hand Anatomy) (1982) © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York..tif Theatre & 39–42 Dance Christian Campbell, an influence. Housing Learning 43–44 Trinidadian Akomfrah and Basquiat Bahamian poet, at the same institution Information 22–27 changes the conversation. essayist and cultural Explore 22 critic, considers This is a crucial time to look at the importance of Basquiat again given major Calendar 23–25 global cultural shifts including Basquiat’s work for Booking 27 the rise of more African- today’s audience. American, Caribbean, Latin American and other diaspora Some questions for Boom artists and writers; the rise for Real: what tools, what of ’First World’ discourses language, what new ways on diaspora; the rise of of being together do we intersectional black theories have now that we didn’t (such as black feminist have then with which to read theory, black queer theory, the work of Jean-Michel etc) and new histories of Basquiat? How has the work black expressive cultures; changed (which is also to the rise of critical theory; the ask, how have we changed)? rise of alternative histories And how does the work of conceptualism; the rise read us now? Fortuitously a and increasing visibility of News new commission, Purple, is black immigrants in North currently on show in the Curve America and Europe; the by the ferociously brilliant development of institutional artist John Akomfrah, support for the arts outside of 1 who claims Basquiat as North America and Europe (through museums, festivals, strokes and the cartoon- prizes, biennials, etc); and like squiggles, lines and the endurance and renewal marks that indicate activity, of anti-colonial and black movement, noise. Basquiat’s radical movements that scriptural gesture pleasures Dec 2017 continue to fight institutional in and questions language’s racism in all spheres. Do function as both textual code we now, finally, have more and visual artifact. In a deeply tools with which to see him? multidisciplinary show like Boom for Real which includes It is no surprise then that painting, graffiti, sculpture, in the last few years there drawing, notebooks, music, have been a considerable film and photography, this number of major international art lives in the meanwhile exhibits of Basquiat’s work. between image and text, How can a Caribbean city between temporalities, like London change the way between cultures, between we look at such a major worlds. Perhaps ambiguity Caribbean-American artist? is one significant way to In 2014, the city of Paris think about the larger named a public square mission of Basquiat’s in its 13th arrondissement practice and one way to after Basquiat. In the public approach it. He is never, we mourning and protests of are never, just one thing. the deaths of Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd, Michael Brown, Christian Campbell is a Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Trinidadian Bahamian poet, Walter Scott, Philando Castile, essayist and cultural critic. His Andrew Loku, Mark Duggan dedicated text ‘The Shadows’ and countless others (our features in the Basquiat: Boom terrible litany) by police, for Real exhibition catalogue. Basquiat’s iconic paintings Campbell will be speaking Irony of a Negro Policeman at a special event associated (1981) and The Death of with the exhibition on Thu 11 Michael Stewart (1983) Jan 2018 at Ace Hotel London. continue to be posted again See website for details. and again on social media. Basquiat: Boom for Real ‘This is a crucial time Until 28 Jan to look at Basquiat See page 11 again given major global cultural shifts’ For me, the work is also literally changing. I notice an eye or a word or a line is in a different place than where I remember seeing it years ago. Basquiat’s paintings fidget and vibrate constantly; there’s a pulse. A diagram- News painting like Untitled (Hand Anatomy) (1982) is full of his signature, ‘unprecious’, 2 late-for-the-A-train gestural Playing the Changes Ceramicist Emma Johnson is the latest maker to be showcased in the new Barbican Shop as part of our Barbican Makers Dec 2017 initiative, an open call for emerging talent. Through porcelain and beech, her work celebrates the once called ‘monstrous’ Brutalist architecture, creating minimal and playful designs, on exclusive display at the Barbican until January 2018. Before university I didn’t the architecture. To study the have many opportunities aesthetic elements, I’ve taken to work with clay, but I’d lots of trips to photograph always enjoyed practical Brutalist buildings, mainly lessons at school. In our around London. course we had a chance to My work looks at the try using different materials changing opinions (wood, metal, polymers/ surrounding Brutalist composites, and ceramics) architecture over the years and I was drawn to ceramics (hence the name ‘Atro-city’, as straight away; particularly a bit of a pun on how what slipcasting and mould making. was once seen as ‘atrocious’ by many is now being seen ‘Something which in a new light), so I prefer I think makes to use my film camera as it captures the architecture in good design is a much softer way. Rather timelessness’ than trying to recreate the look of concrete, I chose to I’m automatically drawn to work in porcelain and beech, the precision of architectural as I felt the clean simplicity forms, and really love of these materials allow the the challenge of trying to sharp and rigid forms to be replicate these in ceramics. the main focus. The porcelain Although I like surface has been stained throughout, decoration on other people’s rather than covered with a work, it’s not my strength; coloured glaze, and the rivets I’m a lot more interested in used to attach the beech to exploring form in my work. the porcelain are celebrated That’s partly why I became rather than hidden away. so interested in Brutalism; the lack of adornment along with ‘Ceramics can have a strong and sculptural forms mind of its own, so I fit my interests perfectly. can’t always predict I think of my work as being whether a form will an interchangeable miniature be successful’ architecture, which users can ‘build’ through stacking. When News designing the Atro-city range, Something which I think makes I wanted the pieces to convey good design is timelessness. If a balance between typical an object can surpass trends Brutalist aesthetics and the and fashions and come 3 Maker: Barbican Emma Johnson design notions which lie in into a new era still looking modern, then I think it is a I’m hoping that the simple good design. When designing forms, honest use of materials, my pieces, I referred to Robin and mid-century inspired Hopper’s book Functional colour palette I’ve chosen to Pottery: Form and Aesthetic work with will age well – I’ll Dec 2017 in Pots of Purpose to research have to see in a few years exactly which design details how the pieces have fared! would enhance the function of each piece, and which Read the full interview on were unnecessary. I balanced blog.barbican.org.uk the advice from this book along with my own functional Browse Emma Johnson’s range requirements, (such as on barbican.org.uk/shop wanting all of the pieces to be able to stack together), as well as other elements from Brutalist aesthetics. News 4 Dec 2017 5 Transpose News Following its successful debut at the Barbican last autumn, Transpose guides this year’s audience on an illuminating theatrical journey. Actor, author and singer-songwriter CN Lester takes a brief look at the history of transgender performance. Dec 2017 For nearly six years, Transpose And yet there is still something concert hall, to strip audiences – a cross-genre event intensely powerful about of their identity. In that showcasing trans and queer this association – something moment – safe in anonymity, artists – has focused on film, deep in our history as gender overwhelmed with pleasure spoken word, classical music, outsiders. Sometimes that – we are transformed poetry, comedy and visual history is one of private beyond our sense of self: age, art. But it was only after our performance: the mollies nationality, mode of living. first show at the Barbican in of 18th-century Europe – a Crucially, we are transported 2016 that we realised we’d unique gendered category of outside of our accustomed never really thought about the time – performed secret genders and desires. the theatre of it all – what staged rituals of marriage and happens when a trans person childbirth. There are cases of When trans people take to takes the stage, and what odd mirroring: Victorian music the stage we take with us, by magic that space allows. necessity, all the good and ‘We have the the bad that comes with our A strange oversight? Maybe. chance to share experience of performance, Some of our most visible and performativity and fantasy. But enduring cultural moments lives too often the most extraordinary thing of gender subversion and derided or seen as is that we have the power to queer desire materialise in too complicated to take the audience there with front of an audience: drag us. The power shifts. Empathy stars, pantomime dames, understand’ shifts. In that combination Shakespearean boys, and of experiences, we have the mezzos in trousers making halls, with their drag comedy chance to share lives too love to the soprano; costume, acts and principal boys, were often derided or seen as too make-up and that carnival also home to cross-dressed complicated to understand.