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.
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.
Daniel Gordon: The Green Line, Los Angeles
The Green Line is Daniel Gordon’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, and from 18 May until 29 June his colourful and striking works will adorn the walls of M+B. The exhibition title is a nod to Matisse’s well-known 1905 portrait of the artist’s wife and is visually referenced in several of Gordon’s works including large scale still lifes and portraits, along with a selection of smaller works operating as isolated studies. Available at the gallery will also be Gordon’s fourth monograph titled Still Lifes, Portraits & Parts, published by Mörel in conjunction with the exhibition.
Interview with Emilie Pugh
Natural Perception was an art show recently curated by Aretha Campbell at 68 Dean Street, a Georgian House in Soho. The apt and stunning venue showcased the work of eight artists including Henry Hudson, Mat Chivers, Emilie Pugh, Nancy Fouts, Dr. Victor Schroeder, Guy Archard, Phoebe Dickinson, Adeline de Monseignat, Sam Pelly, Yun-Kyung Jeongs and Camilla Emson amidst the wooden beams and cobwebs. The show was a take on Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection. Emilie Pugh, whose work consists of a gentle union between the permanence of ink and the volatility of burning incense-marks into paper, was one of the artists. Emilie has recently secured an artist residency in Berlin to begin this year, and Aesthetica speaks to Emilie about her work.
Leslie Thornton: Luna, New York
For the second time, New York artist Leslie Thornton returns to the Winkleman Gallery, New York, to exhibit an inspiring new work. Luna is a detailed examination of nature and technology, utilisng the interplay of place, memory, and abstraction to produce a piece glittering with colour and character. Running, 11 May to 22 June, Thornton’s practice crosses the borders of cinema, video, digital media and installation.
Annegret Soltau: ZeitErfahrung L’esperienza del tempo, Brescia
German artist Annegret Soltau’s current solo show, ZeitErfahrung L’esperienza del tempo, at Maurer Zilioli Gallery Brescia, is described as somewhat of a “mini retrospective.” Upon entering the gallery, the viewer is immediately transfixed by the numerous photographs of body parts sewn together and reassembled on to other bodies. Large silver framed photographs display what are acknowledged as her family members, the images depict individuals and groups posed carefree and relaxed.
Safwan Dahoul: Repetitive Dreams, London
For the first time Syrian painter Safwan Dahoul exhibits his work in the United Kingdom at Ayyam Gallery, London. Runing 9 May until 15 June, Repetitive Dreams includes the first series of paintings Dahoul has created since leaving Damascus for Dubai last year. The exhibition in London coincides with an exhibition of large-scale works by the artists as Edge of Arabia, London, from 8 May until 15 June.
Essential Film Festivals this May
To celebrate the final month of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) call for entries, Aesthetica presents the essential film festivals to follow or attend this May. The deadline to submit a short film is the 31 May, and the final selection will be screened in York, 7 – 10 November. Covering the genres of drama, documentary, animation, comedy, music video, thriller, experimental and artists’ film, the festival showcases the films across 15 distinct and historic locations in the city of York. Here are our top film festivals this month.