On Friday I went with some friends to the first of the Re-Enchantment Readings events in London, which, despite being cut short by a disruption halfway through, sending us out onto the pavement with paper cups and half-emptied bottles of wine, was a good night.
If art in all its forms is going to rewire the collective brain of humanity for good, it needs to be enmeshed in everyday life. I can't stand elitist and capitalist attitudes to art. Thank you for giving me food for thought.
Macmillian’s quote is spot on, but I think it can be broadened: any piece of great art must interrogate the art form itself. So, a great film is often about what film “is” and where the boundary between film and real life is, a great text likewise....Fantastic essay as usual.
Another thoughtful piece. I was struck by 'Why is everyone pretending to be someone else?” - a friend of mine has often struggled with this, to the point that it has sometimes stripped his enjoyment of drama in any form. He just can't get through that block. When he raised it with me, I was puzzled, it had not occurred to me before.
I have always readily invested myself in the story, not the mechanics so much around it. I feel lucky for that.
As for the Barbican tunnel - I agree! How magical would it be to have it as some transitional space where artists could perform some new experimental piece that gently brings us back into the world outside?
I really like this piece. I’ve just been listening to Mahler’s orchestrated version of Schubert’s Death & The Maiden and wondered if it might have been related to Schiele’s painting of the same name. I think Schubert’s work came first. That walk through the tunnel after seeing something at the Barbican always seems incongruous. High art followed by functional architecture. It’s always fun to see the pianos and double basses being loaded up though!
If art in all its forms is going to rewire the collective brain of humanity for good, it needs to be enmeshed in everyday life. I can't stand elitist and capitalist attitudes to art. Thank you for giving me food for thought.
Macmillian’s quote is spot on, but I think it can be broadened: any piece of great art must interrogate the art form itself. So, a great film is often about what film “is” and where the boundary between film and real life is, a great text likewise....Fantastic essay as usual.
Another thoughtful piece. I was struck by 'Why is everyone pretending to be someone else?” - a friend of mine has often struggled with this, to the point that it has sometimes stripped his enjoyment of drama in any form. He just can't get through that block. When he raised it with me, I was puzzled, it had not occurred to me before.
I have always readily invested myself in the story, not the mechanics so much around it. I feel lucky for that.
As for the Barbican tunnel - I agree! How magical would it be to have it as some transitional space where artists could perform some new experimental piece that gently brings us back into the world outside?
I really like this piece. I’ve just been listening to Mahler’s orchestrated version of Schubert’s Death & The Maiden and wondered if it might have been related to Schiele’s painting of the same name. I think Schubert’s work came first. That walk through the tunnel after seeing something at the Barbican always seems incongruous. High art followed by functional architecture. It’s always fun to see the pianos and double basses being loaded up though!