Tuesday, March 14, 2006

It's Just Baaaaaaad

In the latest weekly article [this link may be broken soon as the newspaper regularly deletes old postings; relevant paragraph quoted below] in Haaretz's series "Art of Diplomacy," we visit the home of Dr. Krinka Vidakovic-Petrov, the ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro in Israel, to discuss her art collection. This section got my synchronicitous spider-senses tingling:

Nearby hangs a monochromatic painting of a sheep, almost completely white, which the embassy received as a gift from Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman. "I met Kadishman when we organized an exhibit for a Serbian artist, but even before that I had read about him, seen reproductions of his, and fallen in love with his sculptures. And I wanted to meet him," she says. "One day he invited me to visit his studio, and asked me what I wanted as a gift. I saw the installation of sculptures that he had prepared for the Jewish museum in Berlin a pile of iron heads I saw several heads in his studio, and I told him that I wanted one like that. A symbol of the suffering of the Jewish people. Kadishman replied: 'Of course I'll give it to you, but I'll also show you all my sheep, and you'll choose between them.'" [article written by Dana Gilerman]

Well, that clears up a few things! I've seen Kadishman's sheep paintings in art galleries around Jerusalem, and frankly, I find the full-canvas head-on portraits disturbing, and I would never want one in my home. Note that, as quoted above, Kadishman has to offer and give away sheep art even if someone is interested in something else! I can't be the only one out there who refuses to have the wool pulled over my eyes.

But I didn't know that Kadishman is the same artist who created the sculptures that I do appreciate, like the installation at Yad Vashem I blogged about recently (the "iron heads"). Interestingly, I cannot find a title card or accreditation near Yad Vashem's sculpture, but the artist is now revealed. If you want to see a Kadishman overview and pictures of his work (both sheep and iron heads are featured), then go here. At the bottom of the Wikipedia article are more links to pictures of his sheep obsession. It's shear madness!

Wilde Things

A few notes on films seen recently at the Jerusalem Cinemateque:

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride: Pretty standard Burton fare (beautiful imagery, eerie content, great music by Danny Elfman, plot and characters that aren't too interesting). I imagine Tim put more effort into this "personal project" than the overblown and mostly dull Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which in context now can be seen as a fundraiser. I noticed a cute detail in Corpse Bride: when Victor plays the piano early on as his intended bride Victoria Everglot watches from the shadows, check out the name brand of the piano above the keys. It is "Harryhausen," a reference to Ray Harryhausen, one of the original greats of stop-motion creature animation in film.

Lord of War: Loved it. Very cool and engaging way to present political issues. Has some Jewish humor. And did I hear Mazzy Star in the soundtrack?

Jarhead: Very good. Worth seeing, especially if you liked Three Kings and Full Metal Jacket (both of which I loved). Jamie Foxx puts in a good turn as the Staff Sergeant (maybe he got "military training" from the silly but enjoyable Stealth), and all of the casting was excellent. I'll be sure to keep an eye on Peter Sarsgaard, the sleepy-eyed actor that I remember from Flightplan and Kinsey. If you see Jarhead, stay to the very end of the credits for a short bonus song.

Hana and Alice: A very nice film, part of the Shunji Iwai tribute this month. I love modern Japanese cinema, which often features wonderful kinetic uses of light, color, animation, and cathartic endings. Plus, its just cool to get into a whole different culture and perspectives on life, art, dialogue, locations, and soundscapes (use of space and silence).

A Good Woman: Well, pretty good at least. Based on Oscar Wilde's play, Lady Windermere's Fan. I needed a discussion with Miss S to clarify a few plot lines and express a few opinions on casting, but now I'm delving into the life and works of the amazing Mr. Wilde. Happily, the BBC aired a show about him just this week, making the claim that Wilde was the first post-modern pop star, and we should not forget how shocking his work was at the time of publication.

In Her Shoes: A very good film, covering lots of interesting topics. Not the romantic comedy fluff I was expecting, and that's a good thing. Great cast. Cameron Diaz continues to take roles that don't just capitalize on her looks. Film features Jewish jokes, Florida locations, senior citizen humor, an actor from The Sopranos, great cuisine (made us hungry after viewing), and serious issues like career choices, illiteracy, marriage, and family secrets. Miss S needed the tissues and I almost did too!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Something is Illuminated

Right now I’m reading a book called Perfume, by Patrick Süskind, which I borrowed from Sharon’s bookshelf. The next book I’d like to read is also in her collection: A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, by Julian Barnes. There is an insert in Barnes’ book: a color reproduction of Gericault’s painting, The Raft of the Medusa. This painting was used as the basis for the cover to The Pogues’ second album Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash. The Pogues’ former lead singer Shane MacGowan was used (unknowingly to him, probably) as the physical (and attitudinal?) model for the Irish vampire Cassidy in the Preacher series of graphic novels that I love so much. Cassidy and his friend Jesse Custer influenced the life of another Preacher character, Arseface, a teenage boy who attempted to commit suicide by gun to the head like his hero, Kurt Cobain. Cobain and Nirvana produced a song called "Scentless Apprentice" which appears on their album, In Utero. This song was inspired by the main character in Suskind’s book, Perfume.

Follow me? See how things go round and round? I love coincidences and interconnected relationships like those so beautifully presented on the science documentary series Connections. I used to watch the show with EdGee in Austin.

Another small example would be from last night: After our meeting with Amital, Sharon and I walked around the corner and past an art gallery that contained a small sculpture by the same artist who made a work that is placed next to the education building at Yad Vashem, where I work.