Blog archive October 2017
<< June 2017 / November 2017 >>
13.10.17 / 01 / radiophonic workshop
Tonight I saw the surviving members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in discussion at the British Library, followed by live perfomance in the foyer. The first set was their recent ambient stuff since reforming in 2009, the second set was their TV stuff eg Hitchhikers Guide, and of course the Doctor Who theme as the finale. My photos here.
It was delightful, especially when they demonstrated in detail how Delia Derbyshire had constructed the original Doctor Who theme, track by track.
And they are probably the oldest ‘band’ I have ever seen.
They were actively playing keyboards and laptops. One guy had an electric guitar but I couldn’t quite see what he was doing with it due to the keyboards in front of him. Peter Howell had a futuristic electronic clarinet thing to make melodies of pure tones which could then be manipulated. There was a live drummer who was much younger of course! Their new music is improvised. In spite of their age no-one took a nap.
Of course music now is often a case of playing a few notes on an instrument, then looping or manipulating them in software, so there’s far less visible effort unless you’re an acoustic jazz or folk band.
Essentially they’re doing this for fun in their old age so they’re not jaded. and they don’t perform often enough to find it a dull obligation. It’s interesting to see old people doing new and creative stuff with technology. And because it’s not rock’n’roll they don’t have to put on a pantomime of ‘youth' while doing it (eg the Rolling Stones).
11.10.17 / 01 / basquiat: boom for real
My firm tp bennett had sponsored the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at the Barbican, the first major exhibition of his work in the UK. So we got to do a party for clients with private access to the exhibition and to the conservatory. Of course we had to attend to our clients, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked with the paintings.
The exhibition was remarkable as the first comprehensive show - Basquiat's work was sold piece by piece to individuals in the 80s and not acquired by public institutions, so many collectors had to be persuaded to loan their now incredibly valuable artworks to assemble the exhibition.
I had always been aware of Basquiat, through snippets in places like The Face, but I'd never really looked at his work before. The impact was stunning - he immediately became one of my favourite artists. His painting was very sure-footed - he could get it down first time and quickly. The colours are tremendous. One can get engrossed in puzzling out the words in the paintings, but the meanings are always somewhat obscured so the messages can't be tied down, a tactic also employed in his graffiti. The texts serve the paintings, they do not explain them. I did like the following phrases (from different paintings):
arrested for laughing with a muslim
the battle between carnival and lent
it’s all about who you are on what street
If I had known then how much his work would be worth, I would have done anything to get to New York and buy something - anything - even one of the postcards he just gave away on the street in 1979 or 80. (He made his first sale of a painting to Debbie Harry for $200 - a lot more then, but hardly unattainable.) I know that I would find it almost impossible to part with such a piece, no matter how great the profit.
His early death leaves one wondering what a 50something Basquiat would be painting and saying in 2017, as the world's greatest Black artist. Some say that he did a lifetime's work in his youth, but it was a young man's work.
