Federico Fellini is renown for being one of the most image-defining masters of post-war Italian cinema, creating hits such as La strada, La dolce vita and 8½ . Fellini – The Exhibition expands the influential filmmakers universe and uncovers the sources of his fertile imagination. 20 years after his death, EYE, Amsterdam opens this exhibition on 30 June bringing Fellini’s powerful work under the spotlight. Featured within Fellini are large projected film fragments, photographs, archive documents and posters – from the EYE collection among others.
Venice Biennale Report: Russian Pavilion
Focusing on the Greek myth of Danaë in which Zeus impregnates the imprisoned daughter of King Acrisius by appearing to her as a shower of golden rain, Vadim Zakharov’s Danaë at the Venice Biennale represents the first time in the history of the Russian pavilion that the upper and lower storeys have been combined into a single installation.
Interview with the director of Secret Cinema, Fabien Riggall
Taking cinema out of the safe confines of the movie theatre has long been a catalyst of excitement and wonder. From the humble drive-in to the invention of the VHS, which catapulted film in to the domestic sphere, interpreting and living with film in the individual’s context of choice inspires, informs and challenges differently from a prescribed outing to the cinema. The sense of pride that is received from owning an experience of film is tangible, and it seems to mean just a bit more. Hauling this feeling one step further, and recreating the world of fiction and fantasy imprinted previously only on reel, has long been of interest. From the high-octane popularity of Universal Studios, where a mechanical Jaws oh-so nearly bites the screaming revellers, it was only a matter of time, and wherewithal, until a directorial Dr Frankenstein of cinema concocted a living, theatrical, experiential masterpiece elaborated from our favourite films.
Interview with Brian Griffiths, 3rd Year Tutor at the Royal Academy Schools, London
The RA Schools Show, the annual exhibition of works by final year students, opens tomorrow at the iconic Royal Academy Schools. Held in the historic studio spaces of the Schools, situated in Burlington Gardens the exhibition invites students to show works developed over a three-year period of study, providing visitors with a rare opportunity to view and buy exceptional pieces from an aspiring generation of international artists. The RA Schools support a broad range of contemporary art practice, and visitors can expect to see work that includes painting, sculpture, performance, video and digital media.
Aesthetica spoke to Brian Griffiths, 3rd year tutor at the RA Schools to discover more about the Schools unique course programme and the works on display at this year’s exhibition.
Review of Haroon Mirza, The Hepworth Wakefield
Renowned for his multi-media works, Haroon Mirza has taken over the adjacent Galleries 1 and 10 at The Hepworth Wakefield. He brings together and assembles works constructed of sound, image and objects. In 2010, he was winner of the Northern Art Prize and the Silver Lion Award at the 54th Venice Biennale for such assemblages. In the rooms the viewer finds a new body of previously unseen work. It addresses the conventional and cultural rules of gallery space. This is executed with no hint of irony in a way that is refreshing. Contextually, the work refers to the modern and ancient past. It refers to art employed as part of a religious ritual or ceremony where sound was also a fundamental component. However, it does so in general form only, with contemporary innovation in the content. The very body and contained space of The Hepworth, along with its immediate environment, is echoed, reflected and translated in and between the works exhibited.
Review of Sixto Rodriguez at the Hammersmith Apollo, London
The 66th British Academy Film Awards ceremony on February 10, 2013 announced Searching for Sugar Man as the Best Documentary of the Year. It is a touching and highly-emotional documentary directed by Malik Bendjelloul about the search for the man famed for his song Sugar Man. Sixto Rodriguez, now 70, is the personification of a kind, hard-working, politically aware, brilliant song writer. He only produced two albums (Cold Fact (1970) and Coming from Reality (1971)) but his personality conquered the hearts of South Africans during the socially and politically difficult apartheid years, Cold Fact in particular. The album became a political and social testimony of the people; it vocalised their struggles and burdens in a way no other album of the time did.
Venice Biennale Report: Icelandic Pavillion
Situated away from the main exhibition space of the Giardini and Arsenale, the Icelandic pavilion sits in the tranquil gardens of Palazzo Zenobio along a quiet canal-front street at the Venice Biennale. The installation, entitled Foundation is placed in the Palazzo’s old Lavanderia, or laundry, a seemingly unusual space for a country that one would assume would be exhibiting in the Giardini with its Nordic neighbours. The rapid expansion of the biennale forced Iceland’s pavilion out into the heart of Venice in 2007, and this theme is touched upon in the work. The artist, Katrín Sigurdardóttir, has created a sculptural piece that plays with the idea of scale. The Baroque tile design reaches out past the confines of the Lavanderia building much like the biennale itself stretching past the limits of the Giardini.
René Burri, International Centre of Photography, Verona
Below the sleepy streets of Verona, amongst a network of archaeological ruins, sits the International Centre of Photography, Verona. It is here where a breath taking transcendental retrospective of René Burri is revealed. The lesser portrayed side of Burri’s work is harder to pin down in terms of theme or aesthetics. Yet one quality that is apparent is the depiction of a relationship either physically or through the framing of subjects in the picture.
Khaled Jarrar: Whole in the Wall, Ayyam Gallery, London
Whole in the Wall is the first UK solo exhibition by Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar. Running from 20 June until 3 August at Ayyam Gallery London, the showcase of work includes a new site-specific participatory installation. Taking everyday events and experiences as his starting point, Jarrar’s practice incorporates performance, video, photography and sculpture to document his observations on life in an occupied Palestine. The restrictions imposed on him and his fellow citizens have become the catalyst and subject of his occasionally satirical artistic output.
Interview with Royal College of Art Graduate: Jonny Briggs
Jonny Briggs graduated from the Royal College of Art several years ago and has since gone on to feature in numerous solo and group exhibitions. An artist in search of his lost childhood, Briggs speaks to Aesthetica about the influence the RCA had on him and his perception of his artistic practice. This year the RCA graduate show runs 20 – 30 June across six different venues.
Venice Biennale Report: Danish Pavilion
The Danish pavilion at the Venice Biennale stands as a rather desolate figure among the well-tended buildings surrounding it. The apparent entrance is a door that stands permanently shut and unattended, while the moss-covered “classical” sculptures that flank the edifice suggest years of neglect. The true entrance is at the end of a concealed passageway and having faced such adversity merely to enter the building, the audience are left wondering what we will encounter inside.
Paper Weight Genre-defining Magazines 2000 to Now, Munich
Paper Weight Genre-defining Magazines 2000 to Now takes a refreshing look at independent publishing in the 21st century. Opening today and running until 27 October at Haus der Kunst, Munich, the exhibition is curated by Felix Burrichter, the editor and creative director of New York-based PIN-UP magazine. Consequently, the works on display expose an insider’s perspective on the independent publishing world, while also exploring the larger cultural significance of these niche magazines’ editorial and design perspectives.