(Queensland Museum, 1 December 2014)
The exhibition’s implicit thesis is that underwear has been shaped by technological advances (nylon, lycra, central heating) and social fads (tango, aerobics), but has shaped nothing but the wearer’s frame. The underwear’s under-appreciated agency undermines the exhibition's artistic legitimacy, thereby relegating the exhibition to an ethnographic display.
An undergarment belongs to an art gallery only to the extend that it has been an element of a vocabulary current in a conversation that has effected social change, which, in turn, has affected the conversation---and with it, the vocabulary. Conversations have protagonists, whose lives intertwine to form a narrative, and who are the ultimate objects of art. Uninhabited, the exhibition is merely an anonymous exhibit of other people's washed laundry.
5 December 2014
20 November 2014
15 November 2014
"The Compass of Pleasure" by David J. Linden (2011)
Individuals differ in their susceptibilities to addiction. An individual with an intense susceptibility will become addicted anyway; his only decision is to choose an addiction. The society can only hope to steer the individual towards a productive addiction by multiplying the choices available to him.
It is unlikely that the technological progress is an aberration that will cease. Individuals have found the same outlet for creativity in technology as used to be available only in art and science. This outlet cannot be lost. It is possible, however, that abundant consumption will subdue the desire to create. It is also possible that technological advances will enable one to administer pleasure directly, without resorting to the exercise of creativity.
The future ushered by such advances would take suburbia to another level. The greatest source of satisfaction is other people. Finding the right kind of other people requires time. Instead of lubricating connexions (e.g., as Facebook does), technology might dispense with connexions altogether. Some (mostly good-looking and intelligent) nonconformists would socialise and work. Others would volunteer to exist in solitude, plugged into machines.
It is unlikely that the technological progress is an aberration that will cease. Individuals have found the same outlet for creativity in technology as used to be available only in art and science. This outlet cannot be lost. It is possible, however, that abundant consumption will subdue the desire to create. It is also possible that technological advances will enable one to administer pleasure directly, without resorting to the exercise of creativity.
The future ushered by such advances would take suburbia to another level. The greatest source of satisfaction is other people. Finding the right kind of other people requires time. Instead of lubricating connexions (e.g., as Facebook does), technology might dispense with connexions altogether. Some (mostly good-looking and intelligent) nonconformists would socialise and work. Others would volunteer to exist in solitude, plugged into machines.
31 October 2014
"10th Anniversary Season" by ProArte Danza
(Harbourfront Centre, 5 October 2014)
Watching a new dance is akin to travelling to a country whose tongue one does not understand. One builds a narrative from one's latent thoughts triggered by the witnessed scenes. One identifies with the detected lives of others. The lack of comprehension prunes the superfluous and deepens the connection.
ProArte Danza celebrate civilisation without diminishing the individual. Civilisation empowers the individual by providing continuity, through conversations and shared beauty.
Watching a new dance is akin to travelling to a country whose tongue one does not understand. One builds a narrative from one's latent thoughts triggered by the witnessed scenes. One identifies with the detected lives of others. The lack of comprehension prunes the superfluous and deepens the connection.
ProArte Danza celebrate civilisation without diminishing the individual. Civilisation empowers the individual by providing continuity, through conversations and shared beauty.
6 September 2014
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
Woody Allen is getting subtler and surer with age. He is also more impatient to derive the truth, without fretting about its ethical consequences. There aren't any.
Mind betrays man. The capacity to change one's mind in the light of evidence betrays youth in a man. Youth and good posture betray youth in a woman. Man worships youth because everything else he can derive.
Mind betrays man. The capacity to change one's mind in the light of evidence betrays youth in a man. Youth and good posture betray youth in a woman. Man worships youth because everything else he can derive.
29 August 2014
Club Villa Malcolm in Córdoba
Stilettos are indispensable for gliding backwards---reluctantly, pointedly, delicately. Long flowing hair does not belong; it suggests gravitation. The function, communication, dictates shape.
Common to both dance and architecture is the principle that what looks better feels better. Dancing is an inherently urban activity. A choreographed ballet is an exercise in urban planning. A social dance is an evolving medieval city. Awareness of, and merging with, others is an urban pursuit.
One experiences oneself through others, who motivate one to be, to change---or to have the others replaced. The gratification from enlisting (with) others merges the selfish and the selfless. It is an evolved stimulus for social learning.
Common to both dance and architecture is the principle that what looks better feels better. Dancing is an inherently urban activity. A choreographed ballet is an exercise in urban planning. A social dance is an evolving medieval city. Awareness of, and merging with, others is an urban pursuit.
One experiences oneself through others, who motivate one to be, to change---or to have the others replaced. The gratification from enlisting (with) others merges the selfish and the selfless. It is an evolved stimulus for social learning.
25 August 2014
Sheldon in Honduras
The music is just a bit too loud. The cigarette smoke is just a bit too thick. The place is just a bit too perfect. One can think in silence, in shorthand, and breathe the pure oxygen of civilisation.
Enveloped in the bossa nova rhythm, the girls kiss, audibly, with a cigarette tucked between two fingers. The lighting is cinematic, the smoke natural, the red deep and soft, the blue distant, the soundtrack muted orange. The patrons traverse; ever polite, the waiters manoeuvre, assist, never serve.
Enveloped in the bossa nova rhythm, the girls kiss, audibly, with a cigarette tucked between two fingers. The lighting is cinematic, the smoke natural, the red deep and soft, the blue distant, the soundtrack muted orange. The patrons traverse; ever polite, the waiters manoeuvre, assist, never serve.
29 July 2014
Rojo Tango
(Faena Hotel, 27 July 2014)
Just like all social dances, tango has evolved to please the dancers, not the audience. To convert such a dance into a show, one must mix it with ballet, which has evolved to please the audience, not the dancers. Lyrical and adaptable to any tempo---within a phrase---tango is uniquely suited for such a cross.
Tango has evolved to court the female spirit, intensely and desperately---not a particular woman. Restrained, tango loses its soul.
Whether created with prostitutes in mind, tango is rather suited for brothels. It can strip the parties of their anonymity or confer upon them anonymising rôles---whichever they choose---thereby elevating the transaction above consensual mutual rape.
Just like all social dances, tango has evolved to please the dancers, not the audience. To convert such a dance into a show, one must mix it with ballet, which has evolved to please the audience, not the dancers. Lyrical and adaptable to any tempo---within a phrase---tango is uniquely suited for such a cross.
Tango has evolved to court the female spirit, intensely and desperately---not a particular woman. Restrained, tango loses its soul.
Whether created with prostitutes in mind, tango is rather suited for brothels. It can strip the parties of their anonymity or confer upon them anonymising rôles---whichever they choose---thereby elevating the transaction above consensual mutual rape.
14 July 2014
The World Cup Final
(Le Pain Quotidian in Armenia, 13 July 2014)
The defeat in the Falklands conflict has put an end to the dictatorship that bet on the success of its military campaign. Lives improved.
The defeat in the World Cup Final is not an analogous blessing in disguise. However much governments may wish to deploy football as the opium of the people, national teams are not government-led. A national team is an enterprise of a couple of dozen of Everyman capable of rallying near-universal support. A national team gives its people the confidence that they are substantial enough to make democracy work.
Football is a zero-sum game most of the time; it indulges the instinct not only to do well, but also to crush others. Art may directly or indirectly cater to the desire to crush in its narrative. If the high from the crush is sought also in art creation, art becomes sport. If a player plays a game that is richer than the one narrowly prescribed by the rules, his sport becomes art. When guided by intelligence and the passion to create---not the mere instinct to crush---a sport acquires a narrative and becomes positive-sum.
Sport is not about learning to lose. Life delivers numerous opportunities to practice that. (Besides, winning is the hard part.) Sport teaches how to take responsibility while the game is still being played.
The defeat in the Falklands conflict has put an end to the dictatorship that bet on the success of its military campaign. Lives improved.
The defeat in the World Cup Final is not an analogous blessing in disguise. However much governments may wish to deploy football as the opium of the people, national teams are not government-led. A national team is an enterprise of a couple of dozen of Everyman capable of rallying near-universal support. A national team gives its people the confidence that they are substantial enough to make democracy work.
Football is a zero-sum game most of the time; it indulges the instinct not only to do well, but also to crush others. Art may directly or indirectly cater to the desire to crush in its narrative. If the high from the crush is sought also in art creation, art becomes sport. If a player plays a game that is richer than the one narrowly prescribed by the rules, his sport becomes art. When guided by intelligence and the passion to create---not the mere instinct to crush---a sport acquires a narrative and becomes positive-sum.
Sport is not about learning to lose. Life delivers numerous opportunities to practice that. (Besides, winning is the hard part.) Sport teaches how to take responsibility while the game is still being played.
7 July 2014
Tango Porteño
(Tango Porteño, 6 July 2014)
Life's autonomy makes living beautiful. One cannot subjugate the events; one is manipulated by them. One is surprised; relieved of responsibility. One learns.
The exercise of basic liberties confirms one's existence. The exercise of power---physical, emotional, intellectual---in various proportions---multiplies this existence. So does trust.
One may seek balance. Or one may assimilate the extremes and tango: not dejected-apparatchik tango, but unleashed ballet-deity tango, as in the blindfold dance, spoken as if one has been given but a single chance to speak. One has.
Life's autonomy makes living beautiful. One cannot subjugate the events; one is manipulated by them. One is surprised; relieved of responsibility. One learns.
The exercise of basic liberties confirms one's existence. The exercise of power---physical, emotional, intellectual---in various proportions---multiplies this existence. So does trust.
One may seek balance. Or one may assimilate the extremes and tango: not dejected-apparatchik tango, but unleashed ballet-deity tango, as in the blindfold dance, spoken as if one has been given but a single chance to speak. One has.
8 June 2014
"Strange Weather in Tokyo" by Hiromi Kawakami (2013)
Tradition has instructed them to play certain characters but has withheld the script. The director has failed to appear. But they cannot leave. Act is all they can do.
They have nothing to talk about. Shared nothingness bonds.
They have nothing to talk about. Shared nothingness bonds.
1 June 2014
The American Bar at Savoy
The American Bar is a lounge for fellow world travellers. It is as inclusive as America is: once you have got in, it is assumed that you deserve to belong there. The treatment is chatty, friendly, informal, with a touch of London class.
31 May 2014
Strada in Trinity St
The ambient noise rises. She touches her hair. Red wine is consumed. She touches her thighs. She sits on her palms. She fidgets. Her face is animated. Her voice is low; it must be low, or else it would have failed to blend with the ambient noise.
The patrons do not rely on the restaurant to make their night special; they arrive confident in their own ability to succeed at the task. Each patron's confidence confers dignity on the restaurant and inspires others.
The town does not change, not outwardly. The undergraduates remain works of art, even when they speak. One measures oneself against what one used to be by gauging the changes in one's reactions to the unchanged environment. The town's lack of outward change invites one to seek changes elsewhere and signals the confidence that such changes will be found. At the same time, the lack of outward change may breed timidity and conformism also in the domains beyond the outward.
The diverse traffic of Strada inoculates against the stasis.
The diverse traffic of Strada inoculates against the stasis.
"One can contribute to the society only if one is sufficiently different from everyone else, n'est-ce pas? But one feels more comfortable where one is more like others. There is a trade-off."
Fatal Attraction
(The Theatre Royal Haymarket, 21 May 2014)
Alex Forrest (played by Natascha McElhone) alternates between sanity and obsession so effortlessly that one wonders what could have betrayed her emotional instability early enough to forewarn Dan Gallagher (played by Jonathan Forbes). He could have been more inquisitive at the dinner interview and hope that Alex would slip up; but he probably hoped she would not. Afterwards, he could have revealed his affair to his wife as soon as he understood he lost control. He did not reveal because he remained curious about someone so alive, if only intermittently.
Jonathan Forbes is appropriate for the part. He is young enough to be curious, to err, and to attract women.
Natascha McElhone may be too good for her part. She controls her insanity instead of being possessed by it. As a result, her character is bigger than its allotted part.
Alex Forrest (played by Natascha McElhone) alternates between sanity and obsession so effortlessly that one wonders what could have betrayed her emotional instability early enough to forewarn Dan Gallagher (played by Jonathan Forbes). He could have been more inquisitive at the dinner interview and hope that Alex would slip up; but he probably hoped she would not. Afterwards, he could have revealed his affair to his wife as soon as he understood he lost control. He did not reveal because he remained curious about someone so alive, if only intermittently.
Jonathan Forbes is appropriate for the part. He is young enough to be curious, to err, and to attract women.
Natascha McElhone may be too good for her part. She controls her insanity instead of being possessed by it. As a result, her character is bigger than its allotted part.
25 May 2014
The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable
(Temple Studios, 22 May 2014)
What one does becomes what one is. One cannot remain oneself without doing what one used to do. With courage, however, one may become someone else---if prodded by circumstances.
In the occupations that permit no accurate measurement of proficiency (e.g., in the movie industry), wasteful rent seeking occurs and dissipates most of the pleasure from future careers in these occupations. In occupations that permit precise measurement of proficiency (e.g., in mathematics), public ranking may extinguish the motivating power of delusion.
There is a hope in the simplicity of the makeshift, in the aspiration to simple luxuries. The set of the "Drowning Man" is imbued with its inhabitants' hopes. In America, where the production is set, one witnesses the extended phenotype of individuals first, and only then---and often less conspicuously---that of the civilisation. In this phenotype, there is more future than past. (There is some past, recent enough to remember or to pretend to remember.) Because there is more commonality in future than past, American narratives appeal broadly.
Masked and ignored, one is first encouraged to observe shamelessly and then is tempted to engage. The world is David-Lynch-esque but not David-Lych-like, dimmed but not dark, peculiar without being perverse.
What one does becomes what one is. One cannot remain oneself without doing what one used to do. With courage, however, one may become someone else---if prodded by circumstances.
In the occupations that permit no accurate measurement of proficiency (e.g., in the movie industry), wasteful rent seeking occurs and dissipates most of the pleasure from future careers in these occupations. In occupations that permit precise measurement of proficiency (e.g., in mathematics), public ranking may extinguish the motivating power of delusion.
There is a hope in the simplicity of the makeshift, in the aspiration to simple luxuries. The set of the "Drowning Man" is imbued with its inhabitants' hopes. In America, where the production is set, one witnesses the extended phenotype of individuals first, and only then---and often less conspicuously---that of the civilisation. In this phenotype, there is more future than past. (There is some past, recent enough to remember or to pretend to remember.) Because there is more commonality in future than past, American narratives appeal broadly.
Most art focuses on the universally accessible themes: work, power, sex, love. The omitted themes may be variations on these universally accessible themes or may be too intricate to quickly engage the audience and hence might be unduly neglected. Alternatively, these universally accessible themes may constitute a universal language and address indirectly the seemingly omitted themes.
The accomplishments of the "Drowned Man" are not in the quality of obstacle dancing, close-range acting, and clockwork crooning. The production is a world that one either wishes to inhabit (and reinhabit) or one does not. On the set, one does not walk among the gods of a National Ballet, but one does walk among those who are quite proficient in expressing themselves. Any slight imperfection in the delivery adds to authenticity.
Masked and ignored, one is first encouraged to observe shamelessly and then is tempted to engage. The world is David-Lynch-esque but not David-Lych-like, dimmed but not dark, peculiar without being perverse.
27 April 2014
"UN/A" by Ballet BC
(The Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 24 April 2014)
When consuming science, one attends to others' questions. To art, one comes with one's own questions, superimposes them onto art, and scans for answers. This superposition works best with art that uses a universal language and is not literal. Because it inflects bodies, dance is the most evocative such language.
Ballet BC are not constrained by the need (actual or perceived) to conform to ancient prejudices as to what ballet ought to be. Hence, they succeed at venturing beyond sport and deal in art. In "UN/A," their vocabulary is apt, but the narrative is mostly shallow, except in “Lost and Seek” (by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano), which praises sociality without succumbing to socialism.
To be appreciated, some art requires formal training. Pure mathematics does. Popular art does not; it relies on common experiences instead. A programme that instructs how one should feel when confronted with ambiguity and what the choreographer would have said in plain English were he not trapped in the contractual obligation to express himself through mute avatars misprizes popular art.
When consuming science, one attends to others' questions. To art, one comes with one's own questions, superimposes them onto art, and scans for answers. This superposition works best with art that uses a universal language and is not literal. Because it inflects bodies, dance is the most evocative such language.
Ballet BC are not constrained by the need (actual or perceived) to conform to ancient prejudices as to what ballet ought to be. Hence, they succeed at venturing beyond sport and deal in art. In "UN/A," their vocabulary is apt, but the narrative is mostly shallow, except in “Lost and Seek” (by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano), which praises sociality without succumbing to socialism.
To be appreciated, some art requires formal training. Pure mathematics does. Popular art does not; it relies on common experiences instead. A programme that instructs how one should feel when confronted with ambiguity and what the choreographer would have said in plain English were he not trapped in the contractual obligation to express himself through mute avatars misprizes popular art.
22 March 2014
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
The realisation that science could be used to satisfy the material needs of the many---not just to intellectually gratify the few---had been a major innovation. Scientists and engineers---not poets or revolutionaries---are called upon to build spacecraft, hospitals, and cities. By contrast, the practice of calling upon experts---in addition to passionate demagogues---in matters of politics and economics has not yet universally caught on. Among the reasons for this omission may be the tyranny of special interests and the popular illusion that passion replaces expertise in matters that (one thinks) one encounters in one's daily life. Passion and empathy may be necessary to lead a social-design team, but they cannot replace expertise.
The motion picture is protracted and schematic. Its protagonists lack the charisma of the figures they are supposed to grow into by the end of their journey.
The motion picture is protracted and schematic. Its protagonists lack the charisma of the figures they are supposed to grow into by the end of their journey.
22 February 2014
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Whatever one chooses to do or be may not work out. When it does not, one gets a chance at another life. Most have just one; for most, one is enough. Multiple lives liberate or ruin the individual; they educate the rest.
One can make up in intensity what one lacks in continuity.
One can make up in intensity what one lacks in continuity.
11 February 2014
Idiot's Delight
(Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 8 February 2014)
The play's protagonist is an idea, not any one person. This idea is the absurdity of national allegiance. The Great American Songbook is identified as a viable alternative to the Internationale. Even though this 1936 play has not caught on, its ideals have.
The play's protagonist is an idea, not any one person. This idea is the absurdity of national allegiance. The Great American Songbook is identified as a viable alternative to the Internationale. Even though this 1936 play has not caught on, its ideals have.
6 February 2014
The Groundhog Day (1993)
Boredom invites to think, change, and correct. In film, it is hard to convey boredom engagingly. The film-maker must compromise. The hundred and one-minutes of "The Groundhog Day" are too few to advance the plot while showing the boredom that leads to despair. The sought monotony of the routine might be convincing on repeated viewings.
Andie MacDowell's acting is restrained---perhaps, to make sure that she does not appear to be out of her suitor's league. Nor does Bill Murray steal any scenes (although he tries). The movie is even, timidly light-hearted.
There is only one world, that which one must change.
Andie MacDowell's acting is restrained---perhaps, to make sure that she does not appear to be out of her suitor's league. Nor does Bill Murray steal any scenes (although he tries). The movie is even, timidly light-hearted.
There is only one world, that which one must change.
27 January 2014
Débora First (2010)
In this fictional vignette, three friends design friendship in a series of café conversations.
25 January 2014
Her (2013)
Among the ideals of equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the last is quintessentially American. An American devours any idea that promises a chance of greater happiness. If this idea fails, undaunted, he moves on to another. The pursuit of happiness has installed the taste for perpetual design into America's DNA.
Liberty cultivates tolerance, which encourages social experimentation. A degree of equality ensures that no life that one can usefully learn from is wasted.
"Her" can be watched without sound (or alternatively, without visuals). The movie's representation of the near future is loyal to the original. The improvements are in interior, sartorial, and urban designs; the make-up is subtler; the manners are milder; the age is post-advertising and the better for it. The movie is set in the America whose success has ushered a post-American era.
Individuals waste their time with pets. The time spent with an OS would at least cary the promise of personal growth. As flight simulators make better pilots, OS friends would make one better at interacting with humans. The menial aspects of psychotherapists' and child psychologists' jobs would be outsourceable to machines. When with other humans, humans would devote themselves to the art, not the predicament, of human communication.
The casting and acting are impeccable. Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson develop characters, not personalities. Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore) is careful (and carefully chosen) not to make his character bigger than his intended part. Rooney Mara is skilfully miscast as Theodore's ex-wife.
Liberty cultivates tolerance, which encourages social experimentation. A degree of equality ensures that no life that one can usefully learn from is wasted.
"Her" can be watched without sound (or alternatively, without visuals). The movie's representation of the near future is loyal to the original. The improvements are in interior, sartorial, and urban designs; the make-up is subtler; the manners are milder; the age is post-advertising and the better for it. The movie is set in the America whose success has ushered a post-American era.
Individuals waste their time with pets. The time spent with an OS would at least cary the promise of personal growth. As flight simulators make better pilots, OS friends would make one better at interacting with humans. The menial aspects of psychotherapists' and child psychologists' jobs would be outsourceable to machines. When with other humans, humans would devote themselves to the art, not the predicament, of human communication.
The casting and acting are impeccable. Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson develop characters, not personalities. Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore) is careful (and carefully chosen) not to make his character bigger than his intended part. Rooney Mara is skilfully miscast as Theodore's ex-wife.
6 January 2014
Ирония Судьбы или с Лёгким Паром (1975)
A successful picture requires a classy female lead and a confident male lead, both worthy of imitation, and a happy ending, which teaches to accentuate the positive, thereby helping moderate the side-effects of self-awareness and foresight, inherently human afflictions. "Ирония Судьбы" goes beyond these requirements. Honed onstage, every line, look, and gesture in the movie have been perfected. The acting retains the intimacy of a theatre production without a trace of theatricality.
Sometimes, in a miscalculated bid to appeal to the masses, actors employ a stereotypical vocabulary of facial expressions and body language. The ensuing delivery is as expressive as mass-produced apartment blocks. By contrast, "Ирония Судьбы" has character innovations that have been edifying generations. British theatre is similarly innovative, and so was American cinema in its Golden Age, except it capitalised on franchises (such as Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, and Fred Astaire), which Soviet cinema rarely did, treating each actor as a character actor.
"Ирония Судьбы" is not a comedy. It has a genre to the extent that a life (when crafted carefully) does. In life, comic situations do not befall stand-up comedians. They befall those who seek novelty, which conflates genres.
Both protagonists, Надя (Barbara Brylska) and Женя (Андрей Мягков), fall in love with each other's character, not personality, which, at least by the age of thirty, is largely derivative of character. In cinema, practical considerations dictate that a woman's character be reflected in her looks, unsurpassed for Barbara Brylska.
The picture is about seizing the moment, about friendship, about the supremacy of love, and about the clarity of vision. It is easy to overlook a potential infatuation, but not potential love, which promptly casts the couple in a play written just for them. The right lines spring up naturally (and are perceived as right also naturally).
Sometimes, in a miscalculated bid to appeal to the masses, actors employ a stereotypical vocabulary of facial expressions and body language. The ensuing delivery is as expressive as mass-produced apartment blocks. By contrast, "Ирония Судьбы" has character innovations that have been edifying generations. British theatre is similarly innovative, and so was American cinema in its Golden Age, except it capitalised on franchises (such as Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, and Fred Astaire), which Soviet cinema rarely did, treating each actor as a character actor.
"Ирония Судьбы" is not a comedy. It has a genre to the extent that a life (when crafted carefully) does. In life, comic situations do not befall stand-up comedians. They befall those who seek novelty, which conflates genres.
The picture is about seizing the moment, about friendship, about the supremacy of love, and about the clarity of vision. It is easy to overlook a potential infatuation, but not potential love, which promptly casts the couple in a play written just for them. The right lines spring up naturally (and are perceived as right also naturally).
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