‘Equi Voci’: dancing at the Aral Sea

Classical music and art, part two. And unfortunately: a rather short part. I was rather disappointed by Equi Voci, a collaboration between filmmaker/composer Thierry De Mey and the Brussels Philharmonic. Sure, I spent a perfectly wonderful evening at Flagey (Brussels), last week, with some great classical music (Debussy’s La Mer, Ravel’s Ma Mère L’Oye) and beautiful videos by De Mey (he premiered Prélude à La Mer, with dancers Cynthia Loemij and Mark Lorimer, shot at the Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan). But it still was what it has always been: an orchestra accompanying a film. Apparently De Mey was able to adjust the speed of his images, when necessary, to the tempo of the orchestra. But did that make a difference, from a viewer’s point? No. Art and classical music? I’m still waiting for a project that will really blow my mind. (photo credit: Julien Lambert)

Tony Oursler brings King Boudewijn back to life

She’s been declared dead already a few times accidentally by news agencies. Our advice to Queen Fabiola from Belgium is: don’t go anywhere near Baronian Francey. Because otherwise she would maybe really have that fatal heart attack, from seeing and hearing her deceased husband talk. On display: a giant 20 Franc-banknote with a talking Boudewijn. One of five installations by New York-artist Tony Oursler. Once again a Brussels’ gallery is offering the opportunity to discover, by means of a small exhibition, the work of a renowned contemporary artist. Oursler has made a name for himself by projecting images on everything but video screens. (Rock band Sonic Youth have used his videos on stage.) Too bad, though, the acoustics in Baronian Francey are really bad. It’s difficult to understand the voices that accompany the images. For those of you travelling to Austria: there’s a Tony Oursler-exhibition in Kunsthaus Bregenz these days too; info here. (”Pure O”, Baronian Francey, Brussels, until January 9)

Piano keys and video screens: Leif Ove Andsnes tries to link classical music and contemporary art

 

Care to join me on a foray into the world of classical music? I’ve always wondered why there’s so little room for experiment in that stiff, traditional but wonderful world of classical music. And, lo and behold, during two concerts in Brussels this week, classical artists are bending the rules. First up: acclaimed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. At a packed Bozar he played a solo recital, yesterday, surrounded by six video screens. The European premiere of his bold Pictures reframed-project.

The bed’s too big without you (‘Nachtevening’, Inne Goris/LOD)

Boy, being an actor sure is a tricky job, these days. Recently I’ve seen actors having to stay on top of a tilted stage (Ingrid von Wantoch Rekowski), and actors trying to stay on their feet on a revolving stage (Compagnie Cecilia). In Nachtevening (by Ghent-based LOD and director Inne Goris), two actors have to move around on a small bed-sized stage, while the audience is sitting around them. It’s almost as if the actors are gladiators in a tiny Roman arena.

Kate McIntosh in ‘Dark Matter’: a compelling diva clumsily looking for answers

A parallel universe. It’s always nice when a performer succeeds in taking you there. Some silly jokes delivered with a straight face, a couple of scientific experiments going wrong in the best Tommy Cooper-tradition, a leading lady pretending to be in control of everything, and a story taking a few absurd turns. That’s how Kate McIntosh won me over. And of course it always helps to throw in some balloons and twinkling stars too.

Les SlovaKs are a bit too fond of their roots

Les SlovaKs. With such a name, you’d almost think they are a circus act. But no: Les SlovaKs Dance Collective consists of five dancers who have performed with contemporary dance companies such as Rosas, Ultima Vez (Wim Vandekeybus) and Akram Khan Company. As I had missed the first performance of these gifted guys, I was really curious to see their new one, Journey Home. It premiered yesterday at Brussels’ Kaaitheater.

Greta Garbo lives in Lilliput

Taking the kids to that wonderful Erwin Wurm-show at Xavier Hufkens? Do drop by at Brussels’ gallery Taché-Levy as well. They’ll love the miniatures by American artist Tracey Snelling (Oakland, California). Greta Garbo Slept Here is her second show in Brussels. All the tiny houses, hotels and small-scale installations on display are referring to Hollywood; its glamour, intrigues and decadence. By using dim lights and video her miniatures seem to be really inhabited. It’s as if a story is developing right in front of your eyes. It certainly put a smile on my face, and got my imagination going. Or was I thinking too much about all those Märklin-train tracks I built as a kid?  (Taché-Levy, Rue Tenbosch 74, 1050 Brussels, through December 19)

Titus Andronicus gets lost

Why? That was the question that kept on popping up in my head afterwards. Why bring Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus to the stage, if, while playing it, you can’t convince your audience why you’re doing it? It was a pity to see that many people on stage get lost, during that new performance at the KVS, Brussels’ Royal Flemish Theatre.

Two trumpet girls on a swing telling stories

I love minimalism, but sometimes I do wonder: is nothing really enough? Take Triple trooper Trevor trumpet Girl, a new theatre performance by Tine Van Aerschot, Carly Wijs and Tracy Wright. It premiered at Brussels’ Kaaitheater, last week. Two actresses, sitting on a swing, reading out extracts from a diary. Perfectly wonderful, but…

Famous photographers and their pictures: what would you buy?

What would I do, if I had the money? Which paintings and pictures would I buy? What artists would I be interested in? I couldn’t help asking myself that question, while I was visiting the new exhibition at the Museum of Ixelles (Brussels): La photographie n’est pas l’art. All the works on display (black and white-pictures mostly) are taken from the collection of Antwerp diamond merchant and jeweler Sylvio Perlstein. He was a friend of Man Ray (that’s why you’ll see quite a few Man Ray’s in Ixelles), and is obviously fascinated by photography of the 1920’s and 30’s, although there are quite a few pictures from contemporary photographers hanging on the walls too. Lots of big names: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Walker Evans, Edward Steichen, Weegee, Nan Goldin, Andres Serrano, Joël Peter Witkin and Spencer Tunick. So it’s obvious that this is an exhibition worth visiting. But nevertheless I was a bit disappointed. Was it because all those pictures were hung in quite a dull way, resembling any amateur painter’s exhibition? Was it because the six themes introduced by the two curators felt a bit artificial? As if this collection needed some art scholar’s justification? Walking along those walls I couldn’t help wondering what it is that holds this collection together. What’s Perlstein’s vision? And hence: what would I do if I had the money?

Celebrate. This party’s over. I’m going home.

He’s been to a snack bar, a boxing club, an ice rink and a circus ring. This time around, with Apenverdriet, Flemish director Arne Sierens (Compagnie Cecilia), puts his two actresses against the red wooden walls of an apartment. Just that? Of course not. The walls are built on a small, rotating stage. Like a giant revolving door with reddish rooms, and actresses walking from one room to the other. A cunning device.

Hobo’s, question marks and New York: on (re)discovering Justine Kurland, Edward Burtynsky, Richard Learoyd and Olaf Breuning

Sorry to have kept you waiting, but sometimes one really needs a break…  just to find oneself filling that break with art and art again. That’s what happens, of course, when you spend a week in New York. Apart from visiting the big Georgia O’Keeffe and Roni Horn-retrospectives (Whitney Museum), watching Meg Stuart’s improvisational project Auf den Tisch (Performa festival) and seeing lots of familiar faces at the opening of Avec le temps – In time, an exhibition of Belgian contemporary art at the Robert Miller Gallery (curated by Tim Goossens), I was particularly happy to have made,  by chance, a couple of discoveries: Justine Kurland, Edward Burtynsky, Richard Learoyd and Olaf Breuning. Please follow your guide.

‘I DON’T WANT TO MAKE PEOPLE ANGRY’ (Stef Lernous/Abattoir Fermé – The Utopia Parkway Files, part 3)

They’ve made their mark. That’s for sure. There’s absolutely no one like Abattoir Fermé. Director Stef Lernous and the guys from his Flemish theatre company are celebrating their tenth anniversary, these days, with a book and a special theatre marathon: The chaostrilogy. We know about the horror and the flesh, in Abattoir Fermé’s performances, but what about beauty? How strange a concept is that in Lernous’ universe? Part 3 of The Utopia Parkway Files on beauty. ‘Am I selling SM to an audience by means of beauty?’

BOOK OF THE MONTH (1): Sherlock Holmes with a camera in Calabria

Don’t worry, your beloved Utopia Parkway isn’t suffering from some sort of delusion of grandeur and turning into Oprah Winfrey, all of a sudden. But there’s just too many great art books coming out and going unnoticed. From now on, I’ll be picking one favorite amidst all those new releases, every month. I’ll try and steer clear of the obvious and the exhibition catalogues. I’m happy to be getting some expert advice too: the good folks from the wonderful Bozar Shop in Brussels have agreed to help me by staying on the lookout for the really interesting new releases. My pick for November is Libero, an intriguing book by Dutch photographer Petra Stavast about a derelict house in a small Italian village. 

Xavier Hufkens welcomes Chili Peppers’ long lost uncle

Just a little leg, in marble. A gigantic, melting house. A big chocolate-like guy with a big pumpkin instead of a head. A little guy in a purple suit, without a head. And lots of ‘paintings’ with embroidered words. Going to Erwin Wurm’s exhibition at Xavier Hufkens (Brussels) feels like stepping into a fairy tale written by an artist with a tendency towards the absurd. The Austrian artist is mostly known for his ‘one minute sculptures’, for which he lets people pose for one minute with everyday objects in quite a strange way. He just shot Claudia Schiffer with a yellow broom between her legs for the German edition of Vogue (for more of those weird pictures, click here), and the Red Hot Chili Peppers based their video for Can’t stop on his work (Flea calls Wurm his ‘long lost uncle’; for more about that video click here; for the video, click here). Had a busy week? Feeling grumpy? Go and check out Wurm’s lovely Desperate philosophers at Xavier Hufkens (till December 3). Even Swiss rock star Stephan Eicher did, during last night’s opening.

Swimming pools, vaults and bitches: going ‘Underground’ with Johan Simons

Halfway through Underground I had almost screamed ‘STOP!‘. At the end I felt too worn out to applaud. But one day later I thought: wait a minute, was it really thát bad? And I found myself thinking again about Johan Simon’s new play for NTGent & Theater Antigone, based on Elfriede Jelinek’s Die Kontrakte des Kaufmanns.

Boxing gloves and uppercuts: Sam Dillemans shows 230 (!) paintings in Antwerp

A parking lot in Antwerp. Indoors. Jabs and uppercuts everywhere. This is the output of Flemish painter Sam Dillemans: more than 230 paintings; most of them made during the last six years. Portraits, kissing couples and boxers. It’s an impressive display of industriousness. But I’m not sure that I would call myself a fan.