Wednesday 27 January 2016

Le, Mendelsohn and Mark @ Ikon Galleries Reviewed


The Ikon currently has three new exhibitions: The Colony by Dinh Q. Le, Varna Road by Janet Mendelsohn and 108 Leyton Ave by Kelly Mark. The former takes up the first floor of the gallery and the latter two the second floor and Tower respectively. All three exhibitions run from today (27th Jan) to 3rd April 2016.
The Colony is a set of films about the Chincha Islands which are based in the South China Sea and are rich in Guano, a bird manure of particular high quality. Upon first sight these films appear another twist on the theme of area of natural beauty which is blighted by now disused factories. The films are shot partly by drone and one gets the feeling that the artist is seeking to use the strategy of subversion in their work. You understand this when in some of the footage you see the drone at work.

It is a clever piece of art, but to me a distant piece. It had the feel of a documentary that you were removed from but one where you appreciated the work of the cameraman and editor. It has an associated event on 17th March, (as part of the Arts and Science Festival 2016), when Dr. Frank Uekotter, Reader in Environmental Humanities at the University of Birmingham is going to be looking at The Legacy of Guano.

It was unfortunate as I started to make my way around the second floor of the exhibition that the fire alarm went off. It was preview night and the building was full. Whilst the staff were very professional and calm in dealing with the emergency it did take some time to empty. I must admit it left me slightly perturbed. If there had been a real fire and it had taken hold would I have made it out? Yet I know this level of activity in the gallery is not the norm. This was preview night and normally the Ikon is less packed.

When I made it back to the second floor I entered the Janet Mendelsohn Varna Road exhibition. This is a piece of social history made up of black and white photographs which is well curated and presented. In addition to the main Exhibition Guide there is a sheet outlining the title (and subject matter of each photo). It is an exhibition of works lent by the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham.

Wandering round one was struck by the images of the period. Images one would not have been surprised to see in films such as Cathy Come Home. That is perhaps not surprising as that film was produced in the mid-1960s and these photographs were taken between 1967 and 1969 when Mendelsohn was a student at the University of Birmingham. She was studying within the renowned Centre of Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) with its neo-Marxist focus on cultural analysis.

Her photo essay of this area of Balsall Heath and particularly the life of a sex worker she befriended are a clear exploration of the connections between ethnicity, class and location.  They do not seek to romanticise rather they seek to make the viewer question both their own assumptions and what they are seeing.
There is an associated People's Archive Event on 12th and 13th March where people are invited to come in and share their memories, stories, photos and memorabilia of this former red light district which was so much more than that as Mendelsohn shows us.

I really enjoyed this exhibition with its focus on social history and cultural studies. That of course is in a large part because it hit on my own area of interest, (in a way that the 1st floor exhibition hadn’t). I also was interested to see how, again, the legacy of the late Stuart Hall lives on in the work of the Ikon. I hope at some point they may consider a full exhibition dedicated to him and his influence.
 
The third and smallest exhibition was more of a traditional piece of art and less of an inter-disciplinary exploration. It was a film which was very cleverly put together by the artist. This film by the Canadian Artist is built upon clichés which relate to the concepts of “everything” and “nothing”. Kelly Mark uses split screen projection to have a conversation with herself which looks like it might be twins bickering.

In addition to being very clever in production it is also clever in that it is based upon a deceiving simplicity. I found myself connecting with this film much more easily than the Dinh Q. Le films because whilst it challenged me to think it was easy to connect with.

So an exhibition with three parts over two floors. All are worth a look and this is an exhibition that is definitely worth giving time to. With the films making up a large percentage of the work on display you need to allow time to watch a good chunk of each.

This is not the only art in the building though. On the way out I noticed a glass ear trumpet which I had not seen there before.  This piece enabled one to listen to the outside world in a mediated way and was fascinating.

Then there was the temporary unintentional art left by people who had either left in a hurry or deposited glasses and guide during the fire alarm. I am a great believer in keeping your eyes open because you often find art in the everyday, not just in the work produced by great artists as are on display here.



Sunday 17 January 2016

Indie Girls taking it back to the 90's


Every so often you sit there listening to BBC Six Music whilst you’re getting on with the rest of life and you will hear something new and think, “yup, I like that”. For me it happened recently with Bruising. I heard it and whilst I didn’t think wow this is something amazing I did smile to myself and think, I really like this, it reminds me of a lot of stuff from the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s.

With the jangly guitars and distinctive female vocals I guess the two bands from that period Bruising most remind me of are Bleach and Sleeper. So there sound isn’t new, but how much is these days? What they are doing well is recapturing the sound of the previous generation.

Another new indie group I’m enjoying listening to is Spanish indie girl group Hinds who play the Hare and Hounds on 23rdFebruary. This gig is one they’re doing supporting the release of their new album Leave Me Alone which is out now. Hinds are a bit less jangly and bit more hippy trippy in places but they’re still fun to listen to. I think this interview and live set on Seattle based radio station KEXP via YouTube is good in showcasing their talent and giving some more info about them.

So that’s two recommendations for you this week both bands I think are worth checking out.

Thursday 7 January 2016

The Autistic Librarian Mixtape from True Mendous


I didn’t expect to buy True Mendous’s CD The AutisticLibrarian today. In fact this week I had expected to be buying David Bowie’s 25th album Blackstar when it comes out tomorrow. However heading back to New Street Station today I encountered a busker whose poetry disrupted this week’s purchasing plan.

Hurrying along I caught the sound of a female rapper and she had my attention. I was ready to go and throw down a few coins when I saw she had a couple of CD’s for sale. I had no idea which to go for but listening to her as I hovered I decided either would make an interesting listen. As it happens I went for the debut mixtape, released in 2014, and left the most recent release the Whormonal Moodswings EP (which is available on i-tunes).

True Mendous is another of the talented young black female rappers I am discovering make up an important part of the Birmingham music scene. The vocals on this mixtape are as beautiful as the lyrics are hard. Her poetry tackles subjects such as the sex trade, child abuse, drug use, same sex relationships, unrequited love and teenage pregnancy in a head on way. Listening to this you realise you are encountering a hard core, urban, twenty-first century, feminist text.  

It’s not an easy listen but at the same time it is one which captures your attention. The story that unfolds within the 17 tracks is shocking and challenging. It has the same power that Eminem’s Stan did in that sense. Thus, in some ways there is a retro feel to this, yet in other ways it is fresh and different.

Now that freshness might be because since coming to Birmingham I have been rediscovering hip hop through artists such as True Mendous and Lady Sanity. However, I think that it is something else breaking through. In a world where there is so much debate about feminism and what it is and in a world where white middle class feminist narratives have tended to dominate this music gives something different. It shows how there is a new wave of young black feminism breaking through. This is the feminism/ womanism which comes not so much from the academy as from the street.  

So do I recommend it? Yes, get hold of her music and be challenged by it.  Oh and if you are wondering about the Bowie CD, I may still get it but not this week. I'm enjoying discovering truly new music too much.

Saturday 2 January 2016

Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron Reviewed


Chasing Francis : A Pilgrims Tale by Ian Morgan Cron is an interesting book which is put forward as a novel, but has a study guide at the back (which is significantly different to thoughts for a book group). The reviewer will reach different conclusions depending on how they view this book. If you see it primarily as a novel you will think it is mediocre and not detailed enough to be a decent novel. However, if you regard it as a Christian teaching book it scores extremely highly.

It focuses around an evangelical pastor who experiences a crisis of faith and ends up in Italy learning about St. Francis of Assisi and exploring how his teaching may be lived out today.

I personally found it an interesting and challenging book. It was interesting in how it put forward some ideas regarding what faith in a late/ post-modern world might look like and because of how it used narrative to explore these ideas. It was challenging because however comfortable one might be with the theological ideas underpinning what was being said it was clear that few of us, apart from a few exceptional individuals, are living this stuff out.

I was challenged about how out of line my life is with the faith I profess as a result of reading this book and I am sure that is where the study guide comes in useful. There is also a useful bibliography at the end of the book making clear that any pretence this is a novel in the normal sense should be abandoned.

Am I glad I have read it and would I recommend it? Yes, certainly especially to those who are weary with faith or wondering what on earth God is calling them into as Christians in 2016. I’d also recommend it to those who might want to be exploring Christian spirituality who have a cynicism about the church. It shows that there is another way possible and in small pockets people are seeking that vision and living it out.
This blog acts as my review blog. I do have another which is more spiritually based and more personal. I am going to be working through the study material from this book on that in due course and I invite anybody who wishes to follow my thoughts on that or better still who wishes to read the book and join in a discussion on the book with me to use my review on that blog.

Friday 1 January 2016

The Danish Girl Film Reviewed

Happy New Year to all my readers.

The Danish Girl, released today, is a film inspired by the relationship Lili Elbe (played by Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander). It’s directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper. The focus of many of the descriptions of the film and of the discussion around it has been the fact that Lili was a trans pioneer being one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

This is true but the film focuses not only on Lili, but as I have said Gerda. It is the story of a couple going through the journey together. This film shows what the journey is like for the spouse or partner of the trans person as well as the person itself. This is important because in all the discussions of trans this year the story of partners, particularly those who stand by the person who is transitioning has been largely silent.

There has been discussion around whether the lead should have been played by a trans women. I think that Redmayne played the part well and sensitively and that it worked. His performance was excellent as was Gerda Wegener’s who captured the experience of partners excellently. My husband was particularly impressed by how well Redmayne was able to portray feelings of gender dysphoria.

The cinematography in this film, which at times looked like an advert for the Danish tourist office was excellent and there was a great deal of beauty in it.

Going back to the central relationship between Lili and Gerda there are several things which I want to highlight which were in the film which I have not previously seen accurately depicted in portrayals of the partners of trans people.

The first is the way in which the partner may be the first to challenge the partner about “is there something I should know?” and the awkwardness in that moment. The tension which results in that question, which may be asked jokingly is something hard to explain, yet it was well captured in this film.

The second aspect which the film accurately caught was the way in which the partner may initially be dealing, somewhat confusingly, with a variety of characters whilst the trans person is finding ways to express their true gender. The partner is trying to work out what is being expressed and how to react to the personalities, probably initially privately, whilst the trans person is seeking to navigate their partners feelings and their own presentation.

Then there is that point at which the trans person decides to ditch all reference to their previous self (i.e. the self which was being presented in the wrong gender). This causes feelings of bereavement and loss to the partner as well as giving rise to questioning their own identity. The former aspect was particularly well shown within one scene in this moving portrayal.

The film also caught so well the way in which the partner of the trans person can become a support to them in seeking to convince others of what the trans person has made them so sure. If you live with somebody who is taking the decision to transition and go through all that involves you know that this is not done on a whim or as an easy choice. They know they are at risk of losing you and of the angst which they are causing you as a partner as you seek to reconcile everything going on yet they have to do this.

Whilst the situation of trans people has improved over the last century there are still aspects of partners being excluded from the trans persons encounters with the psychiatrists who will determine whether they are to be determined as having gender dysphoria. The contrast between then and now and the parallels which still exist were a really interesting aspect for me as I watched the film.    

As I watched I was also struck, as I so often am, by the society which existed during the first part of the twentieth century in so many parts of Europe. I continue to wonder how many of the freedoms we have today would not have been possible if that generation had not made courageous stands and decisions.

There have been criticisms made of Lili’s stereotypical femininity. However, I think this is very likely to have been accurate. The trans person who is seeking to pass yet has not gone through adolescent mistake making fall into strong gendered stereotypes.

As you can tell I highly recommend the film which is intelligent and I believe well portrayed. Whilst every story and experience (of partners as well as trans people) differs this is a realistic portrayal which I, as wife of a trans man, could believe and even in places identify with.