Paddington - design & quality

November 2011

and you thought I had naturally curly hair

© 2011 Anne Bentley (Parramatta Road, Petersham, Sydney Australia)

on the way home

King Street Newtown (Sydney) Australia 30 October 2011

© 2011 Anne Bentley

bodydouble

A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, in shots where the character's body is shown but the face is either not visible or shown indistinctly, or in shots where the image of the credited actor's face is joined, usually by digital image processing, to the image of the body double's body. Body doubles are most often used for shots involving nudity. More specific terms are often used in special cases; a stunt double is used for dangerous or sophisticated sequences. This is in contrast to a stand-in who replaces an actor for non-filming purposes such as scene arrangement and lighting adjustments.
Stunt double or body double can both be used for cases where special skills are needed—anything from playing the piano, to competitive skiing. (text nicked from Wikipedia bodydouble photo by me)

disembodied

© 2011 Anne Bentley

Office Kill

mondayitis for Tuesday.  It's been a holiday weekend just now - bucketed with rain but didn't matter - I ate custard and spent 4 hours reading about obscure serial killers when all that weather was going on
it was nice not to go to work for rent today and here's something for all artists working in that other world: Camilla Jackson as Li'l Cee "I'm a Temp"

A visit to the flicks - previewing The Eye of The Storm

I've just seen the new Australian film by Fred Schepisi, The Eye of the Storm, based on the Patrick While novel with Charlotte Rampling (as Elizabeth Hunter, center), Judy Davis (left), Geoffrey Rush and Alexandra Schepisi.  The later who plays Mrs Hunter's day nurse, Flora, is outstanding in her role but is also the director's daughter and I feel the more seasoned actors were left to themselves during the making of this film while Flora was carefully shaped. 
Judy Davis was splendid as was Charlotte Rampling.  Geoffrey Rush played horrible Basil Hunter perfectly.
If you have not read the book, go and see it, there is some fine acting.  If you have read the book, you may be left wanting.  To not even have Elizabeth speak about the eye of the storm, was a sad omission but with most books made into film, there is not enough time to tell the whole story.  A television series may have suited this better. 
The Eye of the Storm by Patrick White is a large book and not one I am too fussed about but when I read it, I kept thinking it would  be a better movie than book.  While watching the movie, I had to force myself to ignore the book and concentrate on the wonderful actors.  I'm glad I've spent time with both but will not revisit either of them.

Now, the Vivisector... that's another story!  The Solid Mandala - I hope no one even tries to put it on screen, it is a masterpiece on page.

I looked up and felt a song coming on...

© 2011 Anne Bentley

not a movie set

© 2011 Anne Bentley

what's cooking then?

Sunday night - dinnertime and avoiding thinking of Monday
Saturday: Hopped trains & buses over West to Fairfield Museum & Gallery to the Loop Group show and a bit of a look at their museum
Once again, the art of Linda Brescia (in the group show, Loop & at Sheffer Gallery as a part of Peter Fay's Showdown) has confirmed my fandom of her work

(photo - cast iron oven door in recreation of kitchen at Fairfield museum)

sick

been really crook with a cold - unlike one I've had for years... haven't had one for years so this one, bedridden since mid-afternoon last Thursday (not kidding - I slept for 16 hours straight) is total crap
but
finally,
I can almost function for a couple of hours without the urge to lie down, lie down anywhere and sleep another few hours... hoping that pain across my back is merely non-movement caused & not some stupid pleurisy (?? nah)

© 2011 Anne Bentley

new arts magazine site

http://artravelife.com/

Susie Burge, arts writer & Michael McCorry, gallery director (amongst other things - they are a many hat wearing talented duo) have launched a new collaborative website.
Pop over & have a read, get on the list - even do that facethingybook if you are so inclined.
How handy! I just happen to be organising a group show at Sheffer Gallery for April next year... (more to come on that)

Sunday

15 seconds of fame x2

AH & I did that "Your Name in Lights"  by John Baldessari in Sydney (for the festival earlier this year) & at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam - so we've had 30 seconds of fame and we did it global - so there, Mr Warhol!  I forgot about when it was happening but AH waited with her laptop and took this photo with her phone camera as my name came up live-streamed all the way from Amsterdam:

thanks honey!

telling the truth

Balcony, Cactus, Outdoor Lighting

says it all really...

Enmore, Sydney NSW Australia

© 2011 Anne Bentley

Road Trip Yaye!

we went on a mini road trip just before the June long weekend; out to Bathurst, Millthorpe & Orange - mainly to visit the grave of a friend who died almost a year ago.

it was really really cold outside but the little car hired (by friend who drives, who I will call MG) was a little greenhouse

pretty from the car window (a bit bumpy for photography though)

is that pash rash?
Orange cemetery - religion, gum trees and flies & a great-great grandmother & g-g-grandfather buried over yonder.

above - Millthorpe cemetery - top of the hill with my back to our friend's grave is a bunch of flags for people too lazy to pray.

we stayed overnight in Bathurst where it dropped to 0 degrees Celsius.

I burnt a bunch of CDs for the trip - all sorts of music and lots of fun - Nancy's boots were walking and Cher told us all about being gypsies, tramps and theives, Dusty - let us know that You Dont Own Me and got very sophisticated Take Another Little Piece of My Heart (way cooler and more convincing than Janis - to me - there was a minor dispute of who sings the best version but made better with some Patti, Laurie (Anderson) and Nina Hagen).  Top of the chart for me was Hush by Deep Purple, Melting Pot by Blue Mink and Love Grows where my Rosemary goes by Edison Lighthouse but the winner of the trip with the best melodrama and hilarious lyrics was:

A huge hit in Australia - Susan Raye singing LA International Airport - cause you know, in America, it doesn't matter how sad you are, there is always a pilot ready to tell you that you're flying friendly skies!

Leonora Carrington April 6 1917-25 May 2011

It's people like Leonora Carrington that make a case for immortality valid.

A wonderful, inspiring and insightful artist.

Coincidentally, I am reading her novel, The Hearing Trumpet at the moment - it's a small book and I am trying to stretch out the pleasure of being in her story even though it would be easy to read it in one sitting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/may/26/leonora-carrington-obituary

there's a good documentary including an interview with Leonora Carringotn, aged 84 at this vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/10760131
 

back in blogland

was away

but now home - sigh - home and  back in  the machines (& computer)

Off

- like a bucket of prawns in the sun

- back in blogland in about 2 weeks

footpaths after the weekend

After such a long weekend, I wonder what remnants from the nights before I'll see on the Parramatta Road footpath on my way to work.
Sometimes it's simply a couple of beer bottles but last week it looks like margaritas were had:

to find out when the chewing gum landed would need carbon dating

© 2011 Anne Bentley

One for Collectors - an auction item too tempting

yes, that's right, at an opening bid of US$200 - with the Australian $ at parity, take a deep breath and best you sit down because you can be the proud owner of Marlene Dietrich's Valium bottle - empty, I assume - kind of odd, kind of grubby... but, if it had been Garbo's...
Having said that, Julien's Auctions of entertainment industry stuff is great fun; they have up for sale costumes from Planet of the Apes and previously a pedal car from one of those Omen movies along with rock stuff and movie costume design sketches...
Rather than a used jar and for an opening bid of just $100, I'd rather a Japanese Kimono once owned by Gloria Swanson - it's not even the ownership but the bargain price.  If you are not aware of it, kimonos have become more popular and collectable over the last year or so and they are estimating a top price of $300, which is bargain city and, as most kimonos are way too long for me and only being about an inch taller than GS was... hmmm  Here it is:

BUT! having a tad more around the waist than Ms G Swanson, I would be silly to buy it and it would only have me wishing to have been born with other genes (or a dislike of chocolate & pizza) but I do hope someone buys it and loves wearing it because that's what clothes are for.

I am also giving a bidding miss to hair clippings taken from John F Kennedy by his barber - that's just silly!  Oh, unless you want to extract DNA, create a clone cell, grow some babies and make your fortune...

I looked up some previous sales and there are bargains to be had especially if you like dressing up:

http://www.julienslive.com/view-auctions/sales/

Oh no - black cats in the kitchen

time to be totally silly & spooky... spooky in the kitchen

© 2010 Anne Bentley

Sunday night - already!

I feel like I'm walking through knee-high mud - it's Sunday evening and I'm off, out to dinner and then it's the day job on Monday... AGAIN - and nothing productive to show for 3 days except some notes and enjoyable head-space ideas that began to fruit but need that lovely space of hours & tranquility to form in the real, material way.  
Then again, I've read up on some interesting artists this weekend and probably bought too many books.  And I've done a heap of laundry that is sodden on the clothes line and hung through the house - no flash flooding this time but the rain has been bucketing down all weekend.

A collage I put together a few months ago comes to mind when frustration sets in, kick some bugs!

© 2010 Anne Bentley

of course there's probably something deeper here but today, it's just kicking things - ahh, that's better.
wonder what we'll have for dinner...

wrote a bit of a poem last year

I wrote "Choice  - how to vote in Australia" after reading that poet Peter Porter died April 2010 and was inspired by Antoinette Kennedy, the retiring chief judge of the WA District Court speaking on the law report – ABC radio national 20 April 2010 (I listened when it was repeated Sat 24th on news radio).


Antoinette Kennedy: It's becoming an increasing problem. The community has become more frightened of disorder than of tyranny, and the history of the law, and the history of Australia, shows us that in reality there's no reason to be more frightened of disorder than tyranny, and when you frighten people so that they are more frightened of disorder than of tyranny, they're likely to give up the rights that have been fought for since the 13th century, and they're likely to let politicians do whatever they please.



Choice - how to vote in Australia

Disorder or Tyranny

Are there only two choices?

You can

drive your car

They can

pull you over

Lock you up

Don’t argue

You may be shot

It’s in the National Interest

Not tyranny

No, not tyranny

Who said that?

We are keeping you safe

But what is dis

And when does it straddle order

Demanding its fuck

In and out

Out then

Out of order

What is out or order?

The dis-miss-kiss (order) must be put in order

Under the law

Overseen by your tyranny

Only then is our safety absolute

Is it?


24 April 2010 ©Anne Bentley

Joe Morello 1928-2011

I can't think of a more favourite drummer

a good flick & give it the flick

AH bought her & I a treat the other week; a 5 ticket deal the The Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival - it was fun to sit down & choose our sessions from a big line up.  We chose only to go to films screening near home (there were a number of venues) and saw a couple of ok films - enjoyable enough to sit through & be in France & Spain for a while (Gigola & Eloise) , 2 of the worst films I think we may have ever seen (The Owls - dreadful & Room in Rome - dreadful - both were cringe worthy & it's hard to really say which film was the worst).
Film festivals are fun to attend - a bit of  a lucky dip - with the final film we chose being, Howl, we hit the jackpot - an excellent film.
How do you make a feature film out of a poem?
Choose Alan Ginsberg's Howl, cast James Franco & end it with the song Ginsberg wrote after the death of his Father:



I could chat futher about the film, the poem, death of the father, seeking passion, empty, unfullfilling jobs that sap one's creative fire but I'm going to sign off & listen to Ginsberg once more instead.

Busking

band:  Hauschka



http://bandstandbusking.com/

I can see this starting up down the road in Sydney - as good at these people - well, there's the challenge but in Newtown on Thursday night I saw 3 men, all aged about 18 years busking with a slow Jimi Hendrix feel - lounge Hendrix? they were so good I stopped for sometime.  One of the problems I have with people busking is I never know if I'll see them again and there is usually no other way of listening to their music.
Then again, it's like looking at an art show; there for the time I can see it.

Das Alles wär nie passiert - Annett Louisan

All of this would have never happened (without Prosecco*)

she asked a friend about the whereabouts of her bra he replied that he'd seen her bra for sale on Ebay

You don't need to know German to get the gist of this song story (but it helps - thank you AH for taking me through all the lyrics)  - and isn't Annett a treat!

(*Prosecco is a sweet champagne)

http://www.myspace.com/annettlouisan

When your honey is away for a week - there's substitutes to fill in the time

Like:

and:

and maybe a bit of:

Then some:

or happily a bit of (just keeping in practice):

but then it's time to come home cause I'm done playing and it's time to play with you

(photos of chocolate dipped strawberries & books © 2010 Anne Bentley)

It's the weekend - time for fun

and what a good time they had

image: (Harry Whittier Frees (1879–1953)

on a roll

©  2004-2011 Anne Bentley (1/4 of a super-sampler Lomo photo, Hong Kong 2004, Xerox copy scanned)

been procrastinating but productive in my distraction - cleaning walls, saving art from evil city grit/neighbour renovation dust/Sydney mildew etc etc.  They look all shiny & sparkly now.  There were also a bunch of pictures tacked up in the hallway & looking pretty crap after 5 or 6 years so I took them all down, along with some plaster - whoops - including a Xerox copy of some mini photos used in a bicycle-themed show back in 2004.  Got a sore thumb from getting the Blu-tac off - handy that Blu-tac is the best thing to get Blu-tac off.