Aesthetica Magazine Issue 34

April / May 2010

Much of this issue is about the impact of the creative process, and the ever-important exchange of ideas. Definitions must be broken, the mould must be shattered, and an exploration of new possibilities must take place. It’s important to keep your mind wide open; this becomes the moment of opportunity. It’s a time of great freedom.

In art, we look at non-conformist Soviet art from the 1980s, opening later this month at Haunch of Venison, London. The venerable performance artist, Marina Abramović discusses her new show, The Artist Is Present, which recently opened at MoMa. Stuart Semple looks at popular culture and the aesthetic discourse in his new show, The Happy House. While, in Toronto, CONTACT, the world’s largest festival of photography puts McLuhan’s theories to the test.

In film, Yorgos Lathimos speaks candidly about his provocative new work, Dogtooth and the Artists Cinema Project playfully subverts mainstream cinema. In music, the film soundtrack can take a band to the top, but what’s the overall impact? The Postmarks chat about experimentation through the ultimate musical narrative. Writer, Andrew Porter, tells us why the short story is not dead, while Justine Kilkerr looks at fact and fantasy in her debut, Advice for Strays. And finally, Rufus Wainwright speaks about the decisive crossover from Pop to opera, with Prima Donna opening later this month.

This issue is about experimentation, but within the wider social context. There’s enough creativity flowing from these pages to inspire you for months.

Justine Kilkerr

In Advice for Strays, Kilkerr challenges our perceptions of reality and presents a case study on coping with mental illness.

Without Warning

Napier’s second novel is a terrifying thriller about the consequences of digging up mysterious secrets from the past.

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze

Mengiste’s debut novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze is a fraught and tender portrayal of a land ravaged by revolution.

Sunshine State

A dystopian novel set in the near future, Sunshine State explores the effect of our actions, including the war in Iraq and environmental issues.

Ai Weiwei: So Sorry

Ai Weiwei is one of China’s most controversial contemporary artists. His activism and art has even led him to suffer at the hands of China’s secret police.

Rachel Whiteread: Drawings

Whiteread is well known for her sculpture and for being the first woman to win the Turner Prize, in 1993. She has said: “My drawings are a diary of my work.”

Photography: A Cultural History

Marien traces the steps from daguerreotype to digital with zeal looking at portraiture, documentary, war, mass market, advertising and art photography.

The Daredevil Christopher Wright

The sound is rich in nostalgia, wrapped up tight with representational lyrics. It seems The Daredevil Christopher Wright are writing songs about all our experiences.

Phosphorescent

Here’s to Taking it Easy is filled with laidback folk melodies that move from the ebullient to the soulful, both joyful and emotive.

Ralfe Band

Together, Bunny and the Bull and the Original Soundtrack make com­plete sense. The film, from the director of The Mighty Boosh, is a road movie set entirely in a flat.

jj

jj produce clear-cut songs that have a definitive vision resulting in a sense of calm and clarity. Because of their unique sound, it’s hard to draw comparisons.

Songdog

Lyndon Morgan has several strings to his bow including being an award-winning poet, which shows in the lyrics, exploring love, loss, life and the poignancy of time.

Caribou

Dan Snaith is Caribou, and his aim to create “dance music that sounds like it’s made out of water rather than metallic stuff” has been realised in Swim.

The Postmarks

Striking your eardrums from the word “go”, Memoirs at the End of the World is a cinematic multi-instrumental dream, but with three core band members, how much of this huge sound is a collaboration?

Can a Soundtrack Take a Band to the Top?

Whether it’s a single song from an album, or the creation of an entire score, film soundtracks can have a massive impact on the careers of those involved.

Musical Journeys: from Pop to Opera

Rufus Wainwright’s first opera Prima Donna moved to London in 2010 to begin its international tour at Sadler’s Wells.

Tom Trevor

Having worked as an artist, musician, television producer, lecturer and independent curator, Trevor is well versed in bringing different art forms together.

Artists’ Films Take on Mainstream Cinema

Spring 2010 saw leading visual artists’ work enter UK cinemas in subversive and playful ways, to a diverse audience.

Dogtooth

Lanthimos’ provocative film displays one father’s inexplicable subversion of his children’s world through interrupted story-telling and macabre humour.

Photography & the Pervasive Influence

CONTACT, the world’s largest festival of photography, opened in 2010 in Toronto. 2010’s theme explores how photography is stimulating the unprecedented change in the way we communicate.