
So. The much delayed return of 300 words from London. I have been
suffering a kind of cultural log jam. So much seen, so little energy
left to write about it. Therefore this is a summary of what I would
have been writing about if I'd shaken off the lethargy.
Rock Video -
Deciphering the art jokes in the excellent new Franz Ferdinand video.
So what if the song reminds me of My Sharona by the Knack. And - The
Arctic Monkeys I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor video being
a perfect pastiche of an 80s Old Grey Whistle Test performance but
would that have been cool back in 1984 if The Jesus And Mary Chain had
dressed up as The Dave Clark 5 in a pastiche of Ready Steady Go...
Video Art -
A somewhat underwhelming show at the Serpentine by Oliver Payne &
Nick Relph. The film title Sonic The Warhol was by far the best thing
there. Just the title, not the film. Better stuff at Kate MacGarry
where Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard presented their Walking After
Acconci featuring a superb performance by UK MC Plan B. Then at
Tate Modern the staggeringly pretentious but very entertaining Dictio
Pii by Markus Schinwald.
Art -
William Burroughs and his Shot Sheriff doodles at Riflemaker. I missed
the first night opening and went to the second night where I didn't
know anybody. I like the two night private view idea and the drinks
were exceptional for a gallery (vodka and elderflower instead of warm
beer). As I didn't have anybody to talk to I couldn't shake the
terrible Eric Clapton soundtrack my head had somehow conjured up. Nice
space though (as the saying goes) and more from there later for sure.
Outsider Art -
on the road
reports; searching for Salvation Mountain in California and the Coral
Castle in Florida. Neither of them turned out to be too hard to find.
Film -
My hunt for the house
from the first Hellraiser film which is a half-mile from where I'm
sitting now and lead me to the birthplace of the computer and Winston
Churchill's WW2 bunker.
And that's not to mention.but for now, my 300 words are up.
Kirk Lake is a writer, musician and filmmaker. His published books include Mickey The Mimic (2015) and The Last Night of the Leamington Licker (2018). His films include the feature films Piercing Brightness (2014) and The World We Knew (2020) and a number of award winning shorts.
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