Sh*t art world people say

More Pina

AnOther take on Pina

Pina was unequivocally Leg of Lamb’s top film of 2011.  Director Wim Wenders’ homage to the late German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch (who died suddenly, two days before filming commenced) is an exuberant celebration of the artist’s life and practice.  In the film, members of the Pina Bausch dance company (the Tanztheater Wuppertal) perform excerpts from some of the choreographer’s key pieces in and around her home town.  Bausch embraced the big themes – love, joy, despair – with a disarming degree of sensitivity and humour, and the film is a moving testament to the dancer and her legacy.  The same can’t be said of a more recent tribute.

Late last year, AnOther Magazine commissioned a short film (above) featuring Rachel Weisz to coincide with the launch of their Winter issue.  Directed by Craig McDean, Weisz’s series of ‘non-narrative micro performances’ were directly inspired by Pina.  But let’s face it, whacking on some lippie and staggering around in a pretty dress just isn’t going to cut it…

Looking Forward – Yvonne Todd

Opening at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, 404 George Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, on Thursday February 9th at 6pm, all welcome!  (And yes, Ervon will be present).

Hot Photo Friday – Wei Liu

Wei Liu, 'It Looks Like a Landscape', 2004

The End of an Era

The interior of Parsons Bookshop, Auckland

New Zealand’s best art bookshop Parsons is closing its doors after 36 years in business. Keen to (semi) retire, owners Roger and Helen Parsons have been unable to find an interested  buyer and will instead run ‘Parsons Library Supply’ – a special order service for hard to find New Zealand, Pacific and Maori titles – from their garden shed in Ponsonby.  A victim of the rise of online stores like Amazon and Book Depository, Parsons’ closure is a sad loss for Auckland.

The humble art sandwich

Mondrian sandwich

Rothko sandwich

Christo sandwich

Cheese and marmite not cutting it?  Why not try an ‘art sandwich’… (made by Brittany Powell in collaboration with Tae Kitakata).

Rob McHaffie vs. Peter Peryer

Rob McHaffie, 'Untitled', 2012

Peter Peryer, 'Kereru', 2006

Gagosian Sued

Roy Lichtenstein, 'Girl in Mirror', 1964

Art dealer Larry Gagosian is being sued by elderly collector Joan Cowles for selling a Roy Lichtenstein painting without her consent.  Cowles claims that her son Charles offered the 1964 painting ‘Girl in Mirror’ to Gagosian without gaining her permission to do so.  Asserting that the painting was damaged, the dealer sold the work to an unnamed collector for $ 2 million (far less than its market value) and took a $ 1 million commission in the process.

The $10 million suit accuses Gagosian of “such wanton dishonesty as to imply criminal indifference to civil obligations, with reckless disregard of Cowles’s rights”.  In response, Gagosian has described the accusations as “outrageous and baseless,” stating that the fault lies with Charles Cowles, who failed to disclose that he had no authority to sell the painting in the first place.

Hot Photo Friday – Urs Lüthi

Urs Lüthi, 'Self Portrait', 1970