HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Day 4, Image 4: 361 Images to go White Night 2010 was a magical experience. For one night every corner of Brighton was filled with strange goings on, some artistic, some interactive and some just plain odd. In this photo you can see a sculpture installed into the Open Market, which for this night was endowed with the new name “The Open Sesame Night-time Bazaar" thanks to CompARTment, an organization which aims to transform and fill empty spaces into creative niches which give local emerging artists an area to expand their skills. In this same area was a pop-up cinema showing short clips which people could cosy up on haystacks to watch: We also participated in an interactive installation which involved choosing a piece of card from a wall and decorating it however you pleased. Each piece could then slot onto an ongoing sculpture that was evolving in the middle of the room (needless to say I got competitive/territorial over the materials used, and my piece made it onto the final sculpture despite the sabotage of others). After finishing in this area we went on to explore what else was on offer and fitted as much into our night as we could, from attending an "Earfilm Cinema" in which you were blindfolded and the images you created in your mind came from a talented young man using spoken word as well as instruments to create his narrative, to life drawing at the Friends Meeting House, to following the Carnival-esque procession "Through the Veil: A marriage celebration between Life and Death". Along the way we encountered many impromptu bands of musicians causing ruckus in the street as well as life drawing artists in the go following a fancily dressed young lady who stopped on the street at certain points to allow her followers to capture her image: The only complaints I could make at all about this night was the last minute cancellation of "Eat Street" which we failed to hear about and because of this ended up wandering around for half an hour, tummies grumbling, only to find a fish and chip shop by the sea-front. The layout of the maps provided on the website was also a little confusing as it made it nearly impossible to see the tiny numbered events by lamplight, at two in the morning, after a few drinks. But then again that was partly our own fault (the few drinks part) and there was such an abundance of things to do that there wasn't really a need to stick to a specific schedule. Over-all I had a great time, and it looked like everyone around me was too! I am working on making a video of my experience of the night (as previously mentioned) so I hope to be able to post that soon.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
0 Comments
I am very, very excited to go to White Night 2010 held in Brighton tonight! It is an all night visual arts and cultural festival that starts at 6pm and finishes at 7am. I would recommend everyone to go! Here's a video made by recordings and inputs from the public at last year's event: I'm hoping to collect some great photos and videos of tonight's event for tomorrow's post, so watch this space!
For more information on Brighton's White Night check out http://www.whitenightnuitblanche.com/brighton/ Day 3, Image 3: 362 Images to go
It takes me approximately 50 minutes to walk home from University. That's about 40 minutes of pure, unadulterated motorway. It does seem difficult to see anything worth noting when the main things on your mind are the dreary weather, the dangers of cyclists and the beeping of the odd lecherous van driver (I'm not stereotyping by saying that...I got beeped by a van shortly before I took this photo, and I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or not). But luckily my walk does involve about 10 minutes of absolutely amazing countryside. It is in those 10 minutes that I finally understand why everybody seems to associate Sussex with stunning greenery and rolling hills, as up until recently the only greenery I had seen was the mould growing on the inside of my student digs. I chose this photo because to me it has a look about it similar to the metaphorical forks in the road in films, with the left path being dark, cold and menacing and the right path being sunny, bright, with birdsong resonating in the trees. Unfortunately on my walk home I have to take the left path, past an old, seedy looking bus stop. But it does join onto the country path later on and everything feels crisp and fresh, I'm sure that even the texture of the air changes and feels a little bit purer. In these ten minutes my head feels clearer and everything feels brighter, and it makes my dreary walk home that little bit more worthwhile. If you ever want to experience a little more than 10 minutes of the beautiful scenery Sussex has to offer, I'd reccomend looking at this site which features the best walks, cycles, even archaeology in East Sussex: http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/countryside/ The day I took this picture and the first time I saw this sign were
two completely different days. I took this picture the day after I originally saw it. I was on my way to an exam the first time I saw this, and I immediately stopped and laughed when I did. Not the most usual reaction, but it made me smile because of the sheer surrealistic nature of the sign. It reminded me of a comic strip I saw a little while ago called "the far side", in which one of the characters is seen coming out of a shop named "Happiness". Underneath this picture the quote reads "his few friends had told him he could never buy it, but Mr Crawley surmised that they just didn't know where the store is". When looking at the sign I thought of that comic, and that maybe the slight amount of happiness the sign gave me was a sort of salvation? Maybe I would have found something leading to my salvation down that road it was pointing to? Or maybe the sign originally said "Salvation Army" and someone had cheekily painted over the "Army" part? I don't know. All I did know is that it made me smile that day, and if I didn't keep moving I would be late for my exams. Joel Knuckles If you like Joel's writing and have an interest in keeping up to date with music, as well as getting previews and reviews of up and coming bands then you should definately check out his page: http://theblankstatic.blogspot.com/. Day 1, Image 1: 364 Images to go.
A street performer on the streets of Brighton. There is something intrinsically exciting about street performers; I'm not ashamed to say that I feel about ten years old again whenever I am walking down a street, finishing some mundane, everyday jobs when suddenly there is a crowd forming ahead. There are children laughing and pointing. Passers-by standing and staring in expectation. A hush engulfs the small circle of people, creating a small oasis in the clutter and mess of the street around them. This man at the centre of the circle appears to be about to perform a feat that requires so much skill and poise that I get a flutter of incredulity that it is presented to me here, for free, without any expectations or accolades. The artist, enjoying his moment of control, his minute in the limelight, begins to act out his trick with such skill and charisma that you momentarily forget the difficulty involved in standing on a tightrope. And then it hits you that he is also playing the violin. Not only playing it, but playing it extremely well. This multitalented individual manages the crowd like a true performer, pretending to lose his grip on the rope only to recover at the last minute. Even if the fall was genuine, so was his devil-may-care smile as he balances himself, composure intact. And then it finishes. The crowd disperses and the man disassembles his props and goes on his way with a capful of change. I leave the scene with the feeling that I've just sneaked into the Circus for free, and my ten year old self decides that's what I want to do when I grow up. If you are share my fascination for outdoor performances and surprise street acts, but don't see enough of them around your area then you should seriously consider coming to Brighton for the Fringe Festival. This festival is due to take place in Brighton during the month of May (7th-30th) and is always an explosion of cultural activity and outstanding talent in singing, dancing, comedy and much more. For more information on the 2011 Brighton Fringe Festival or to check out what went on during last year’s activities, take a look at this page: http://www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk/ |
Archives
January 2013
Categories
All
|