 |
The Gerrard Chronicles 2008 |
Art Scene
|
Jason's Scene Things Jason are in are made well ahead of showing, which is the first we see of them. He was in "Wired" (playing a nasty banker in an amazingly relevant series), "Little Dorrit" (Mr. Plornish, a man with many children, like Jason!) & is working on a film provisionally called "Nativity" with Debby isett, with whom he made "Confetti". There are other rôles going on, as he is doing much dashing about the country. |
Ken's Scene
He finished the 2nd String Quartet in time for the New Year's Eve party, where he presented the scores & CDs to the dedicatees, our "Chateau Socialist" friends as a thank-you for being put up. He gave lectures on Mahler to the LBAC & SLT, on "Faust" to the Club 1943. He is currently working on a piano piece for a concert in Vienna: see the Business Column.
AVIS' LECTURES
Avis gave a talk on Van Gogh & Gauguin to the Lilian Baylis Arts Club, Club 1943 & to the Stuart Low Trust.
STUFF TURNS UP...
...including five large and important multi-media paintings that Avis had done in the 60s which we discovered in the storeroom, one of them reproduced on the cover of our card (‘Wall of Trees’). With this one there is also a portfolio of all the lead-up work, interesting in itself, which would make a whole exhibition. The other four were the design-like ‘Cock Crowing’ and ‘Wall of Oceans’ in gouache, ‘Patmos’ in mixed media and an important acrylic painting (Avis' replacement for oil which she loathes) called ‘Towering’.
CONTINUED INTEREST IN WILLIAM DANIELS
In the autumn we were contacted by Jan Marsh, a curator at the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square who had had an enquiry from an owner in Paris about a portrait of a black boxer, called ‘Molineux the Pugilist’ by Avis' great great uncle William Daniels. Jan had found the information we researched in Liverpool a few years ago on our website and on a Monday in November we visited her in the gallery with the book Ken has made about him on acid free paper which is now in their archives. Jan and Avis are keeping in touch about it.
OTHER ARTS ACTIVITIES
Operas:
“Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti. Used the glass harmonica, as specified in the score. Creeeepy.
“The Mikado” by Arthur Sullivan. Took Vicky as Avis too snooty for G&S.
“The Merry Widow” by Franz Lehar. Brilliant.
“Der Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss. Not as good as their previous production.
“Candide” by Leonard Bernstein. Better than the critics said.
"Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky. Very good: used the original version in one long act & Mussorgsky's orchestration.
Plays:
“The Dybbuk” by S. Ansky. Interesting once one had got past the Jewish religion stuff.
“The President’s Holiday” by Penny Gold. Badly acted.
“The Homecoming” by Harold Pinter.
"Fat Christ" by Gavin Davis
“The Sea” by Edward Bond. Good.
“Speed the Plow” by David Mamet. Good.
“Rosmersholm” by Hendrik Ibsen
“Pygmalion” by Bernard Shaw. Well done.“Her Naked Skin” by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
“The Shadowmaster” by Stephanie Sinclaire after “Dear Brutus” by J M Barrie.
We went to all the RA & Tate exhibitions as usual. Ken has listed what he read on this link.
Contact: Ken Baldry or Avis Saltsman, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London N1 8AY +44(0)020 7359 6294 or e-mail him or her
This page's URL: http://www.art-science.com/Xmas2008/artscene.html Last revised 1/12/2008
Copyright: Ken Baldry 2008 All rights reserved but print it off if you want to.