Starring Lesley Sharp and Shaun Dooley, Debbie Howard’s achingly tender drama Peekaboo follows a couple whose world is torn apart after three pregnancies tragically end in stillbirth. The film focuses on the pair’s subsequent struggle to come to terms with their devastating loss, and the cruel test of their relationship. Screened at various venues across the city of York during last year’s Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF), Peekaboo has also featured in a number of other events internationally since its production in May 2012, including LA Women’s Film Festival and Buffalo Niagara Film Festival.
Review of Frieze New York
A larger-than-life balloon dog by Paul McCarthy, almost identical to Jeff Koons’, marks the north entrance to Frieze NY on Randall’s Island. Clearly an eye-catcher, the piece indicated the wealth of art to be seen once inside. For its sophomore year in New York, over 180 galleries from 40 nations representing over 1,000 artists exhibited, presenting only contemporary art and works made by living artists. The event ran 10 – 13 May.
Review of Francisco de Corcuera:The Impossible Existence of a Mathematician at Rosenfeld Porcini, London
Entitled The Impossible Existence of a Mathematician, Rosenfeld Porcini’s latest exhibition presents a selection of recent works by the Chilean artist Francisco de Corcuera. At just over life-size, the imposing works command the visitors’ attention and induce a contemplative mood. Throughout the works on display de Corcuera, who comes from a strong Catholic background, may be seen to explore the seemingly irreconcilable duality between the spiritual and dogmatic aspects of religious life.
Review of Oat Montien’s Ex-Libris at The Book Club, London
The enchanting nature of books is a childhood gift experienced long before we are able to understand the words on a page. This experience is something artist Oat Montien successfully evokes through his first solo show in London. The Book Club, based in London’s east end, plays host to the innovative Ex-Libris collection and sees the natural collaboration of books in The Book Club. Each work reflects the comforting retreat books offered in our early years.
Interview with Director of PULSE New York, Cornell DeWitt
Marking its eight edition, PULSE New York took over the city last weekend to present 60 national and international galleries, exhibiting a mix of emerging and established artists. Covering a variety of media, photography, painting, sculpture, performance, installation and video art, the fair celebrates artistic practice and a range of talent . PULSE Contemporary Art Fair Director Cornell DeWitt speaks to Aesthetica about why PULSE is an antidote to the institutionalized art fair and is at the heart of the New York art scene.
Prince Hamlet is on a journey to England. While making plans for revenge on his father’s murder, he is caught between his hybris and insanity. The murderer, Hamlet’s uncle who has taken his father’s place on the throne of Denmark, now wants to kill him. Finally, Hamlet knows he has to escape death through transformation. The film has five episodes referring to the classical Hamlet’s five-act structure, with excerpts of original dialogue remixed with sounds and music. Scenes are shot in the UK, France, Germany, Finland and Norway. This production featured in Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) 2012 as part of the Experimental Films series. There is still chance to submit a short film for ASFF 2013, which runs 7 – 10 November across the city of York. The final deadline for submissions is 31 May.Hamlet’s Hybris (A Remix), Short Film from ASFF
LOOK/13, Liverpool
For the 2013 edition of Liverpool’s International Photography Festival, LOOK/13 has collated the outstanding works of photographers such as, August Sander, Rankin, Weegee, Martin Parr, Tom Wood, Charles Fréger, Eva Stenram, Kurt Tong and many others. As one of the UK’s leading photography events, the festival unites established photographers with international emerging talent. LOOK/13 will invite its dynamic line-up of artists to explore the idea of subjectivity and selfhood, summing up its central theme in the question, “who do you think you are?” Opening in Liverpool on 16 May for a packed weekend of festivities, the highlights include Redeye’s sixth National Photography Symposium (16-17 May) and PULSE (18 May), an afternoon of presentations by some of the UK’s most influential photographers.
Theaster Gates: 13th Ballad at MCA Chicago
13th Ballad, an installation by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, is an extension of the artist’s 12 Ballads for Huguenot House, which was co-produced by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago for dOCUMENTA (13). For 13th Ballad, Gates creates a new large-scale installation in the MCA’s Kovler Atrium that comprises objects and materials from the Huguenot House, along with a monumental double cross sculpture and carved wooden pews which create an ecclesiastical ambience to suggest that art museums, like churches, are sites of pilgrimage and thoughtful contemplation. 13th Ballad is accompanied at the MCA by a series of collaborative performances and is on view from 18 May to 6 October.
Emotionally tense, Hostage is a gritty tale of a woman taken hostage by a man who does not speak English, and how they manage to connect beyond the limitations of language. The short directorial debut of emerging Canadian filmmaker Joanna Jang screened at over 10 festivals prior to its appearance in the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) November 2012. Dark and dramatic, Hostage was a popular feature in the ASFF 2012 Thriller line up. There is still chance to submit a short film for ASFF 2013, which runs 7-10 November across the city of York. The final deadline for submissions is 31 May.Hostage, Short Film from ASFF
Linder Sterling: The Ultimate Form, Wakefield
This weekend Linder Sterling presented her UK premiere of The Ultimate Form, a physical collage that combined dance, costume, music and her provocative prints. Set in the gardens of The Hepworth Gallery, seven dancers from the Northern Ballet wound their way across the stage, demonstrating strength and poise in time to Stuart McCallum’s impressive score. Referred to as a “living collage”, Sterling’s works literally moved as they adorned Richard Nicoll’s carefully crafted costumes. Already presenting The Ultimate Form at her retrospective in Paris at the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris earlier this year, the performance will next appear at the Tate St Ives early in 2014.
Interview with Kate Lindsey of Ariadne auf Naxos
The 2013 edition of Britain’s best-loved opera festival, Glyndebourne, opens in style on 18 May with a new production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Directed by Katharina Thoma, and under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski in his final season as Glyndebourne’s Music Director, the production also sees many operatic talents making their Glyndebourne debuts. Mezzo soprano Kate Lindsey, who takes on the role of the Composer, is one such artist, and Aesthetica speaks to her about this exciting new experience and what audiences can expect.
Christopher Williams: For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 18)
Christopher Williams opens For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 18) at David Zwirner, London, this Friday. Running 17 May until 15 June, the exhibition is a critical investigation into the medium of photography and the nature of industrial culture. Williams studied at the California Institute of the Arts under the first wave of West Coast conceptual artists, including John Baldessari and Douglas Huebler, only to become one of his generation’s leading conceptualists.