in the loop – july 12
from organisation to institution
Like the Performance Space in Sydney several years ago, Performance Space 122 in New York is experiencing growing pains. But whereas its namesake chose relocation, PS122 chose renovation. In the meantime, however, it will be a bit like a government in exile, presenting performances in London as well as co-presenting work with Crossing the Line, an innovative interdisciplinary festival in New York. The new building comes not long after PS122’s 30th anniversary, adding to the sense of a shift from being a mere venue or organisation to something of an institution. Indeed, the list of participants at the anniversary party reads like a roll-call for the avant-garde: The Wooster Group, Split Britches, Mabou Mines, Philip Glass, Big Dance Theater, Elevator Repair Service etc. It will be interesting to see how artistic director Vallejo Gantner balances this inheritance with the need for innovation and experimentation. For more information, see Claudia La Rocco’s article in the New York Times. PS122, www.ps122.org
The Carousel, Soda_Jerk
video still courtesy the artists
The Carousel, Soda_Jerk
remix: the remake
You’ve seen the sequel (RT83), now see the director’s cut! The Sydney-bred, Berlin-based sisters of Soda_Jerk (Dominique and Dan Angeloro) will be premiering Pixel Pirate 2: The Director’s Cut (2011) at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival on July 22. Billed as a work that “reimagines the role of cinema, the function of entertainment and lays down the gauntlet for all who want to uphold traditional notions of image and sound” (website), it will appear alongside four short films by Tony Lawrence, including Goldtop Mountain, Girl on Fire, Monsignor Blood and From Water. Both Soda_Jerk and Lawrence will be in attendance for a Q&A afterwards. Soda_Jerk will also appear at the Fremantle Arts Centre where they will be debuting The Carousel, a “dark and compelling presentation that is part lecture, part video performance…Navigating their way through an elaborate matrix of film samples, the artists will unearth a hidden history of cinema that traces the capacity for recorded media to seemingly reanimate the dead” (website). Soda_Jerk, The Carousel, Fremantle Arts Centre, July 21, www.fac.org.au; Soda_Jerk vs Tony Lawrence, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, July 22, www.revelationfilmfest.org
Ian de Gruchy, Gertrude Hotel
photo Bernie Phelan
Ian de Gruchy, Gertrude Hotel
the real fitzroyalty
There will be a similar combination of the live and the mediatised at this year’s Gertrude Street Projection Festival, on from July 22 to 31 (keep an eye out for Kate Warren’s review in our September 5 e-dition). On the evening of July 27, you can go to the Atherton Gardens Estate to hear Stories Around the Fire: The Hidden History of Aboriginal Fitzroy, which features “the memories, cultural knowledge and stories of our real Fitzroyalty: the Traditional Owners, Elders and respected Aboriginal community members of Fitzroy” (website). Later in the week, there is a walking tour of the site, where you can learn more about the locations and the artists, including Olaf Meyer (RT76, RT86, RT86), Ian de Gruchy (RT64), Kit Webster (whose projections were seen at Dance Massive), Arika Waulu, Yandell Walton (RT85), Nick Azidis, Lindsay Cox, Salote Tawale, Rowena Martinich and Greg Giannis. On the final Friday there is Sensory Overload, a night of music and projected art at the Workers Club. Gertrude Projection Festival 2011, July 22-31; www.thegertrudeassociation.com
I Wish I Knew
full of film
Still in Melbourne, and still on screens, it’s time for the Melbourne International Film Festival. The opening night features The Fairy, a Belgium-French-Canadian-Australia collaboration which “pays homage to Chaplin, Keaton and Jacques Tati [with] a few added contemporary socio-political twists” (press release). Other highlights include the world premiere of Fred Schepisi’s (RT87) The Eye of the Storm, which is based on the Patrick White novel and features Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis and Charlotte Rampling. Other Australian films include David Bradbury’s (RT71) documentary about Paul Cox (RT48, RT50, RT51) On Borrowed Time, Michael Rymer’s Face to Face and Jon Hewitt’s X. International films worth investigating include Alexei Balabanov’s (RT92) A Stoker and Jia Zhang-ke’s I Wish I Knew (see Dan Edwards’ appraisal of his work in our Contemporary Chinese Cinema archive highlight) as well as Dreileben, a triple-bill of 90-minute movies made by German writer-directors Christian Petzold (RT79), Dominik Graf and Christoph Hochhäusler. Dreileben is part of a new program called Prime Time, which focuses on works made for television by directors best know for their cinema—an interesting and important idea in an era when Martin Scorsese is directing episodes of Boardwalk Empire for HBO. Primetime will also premiere the first two episodes of the ABC TV series The Slap, based on Christos Tsiolkas’ novel. Melbourne International Film Festival, July 21-August 7; www.miff.com.au
Side to One
photo Chris Herzfeld
Side to One
side to one
Last seen in Tanja Liedtke’s construct (RT83), Lisa Griffiths (RT49) is about to debut her own work Side to One. Choreographed in collaboration with ADT regular Craig Bary (who also danced for Liedtke, see RT61), the piece “follows two individuals destined to connect, attracted like magnets they are never static but constantly evolving” (website). Side to One will premiere in Adelaide, at the Festival Centre, before travelling north to Parramatta Riverside, where it will form part of a season of dance, alongside Martin Del Amo and Ahil Ratnamohan’s Mountains Never Meet (read Gail Priest’s interview with Del Amo in RT103). Side to One, Adelaide Festival Centre, July 27-30, www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au; Parramatta Riverside, Aug 10-13, www.riversideparramatta.com.au
RealTime issue #103 June-July 2011 pg. web
