THE CULTURAL JACKDAW

Bill Viola

Took Beki to see the Bill Viola exhibition at St. Olave's College in Tower Bridge a few weeks ago and wow, what an exhibition.

It's called Love/death: The Tristan Project and you come away feeling uplifted and dreamy.

The exhibition consists of a number of digital films that cover love and death themes and you lose yourself in the intensity and the detail of each one. I've never looked at pieces of film like this before.

They were breathtakingly beautiful.

Listen to a lecture Bill Viola made at the Tate Modern here.

"all works of art though visible, represent invisible things".

Bill Viola

Growing Influence of Gaming

W+K's new ad for Coke heavily references 'Grand Theft Auto' and its lead character Toni Cipriani. It's a cleverly executed ad that turns Vice City into Nice City.

It never uses the kind of violence that's expected when playing the game, but it gently suggests that you're in the urban ghetto that is Vice Land. The narrative of the ad is simple; the character comes screaming through town, enters a local shop and takes a sip from a bottle of Coke which transforms him into a do-gooder and as a result turns the city into a happy place.

The video game aesthetic is increasingly being used in ads and promoted as a cultural medium in which to target younger consumers. 'Knife City', a mock computer game demo that blends cutting-edge computer generated images (CGI) with real life footage, was distributed on DVD to thousands of unsuspecting teenagers across London during a two week period earlier this year. Copies of 'Knife City' were given out across London by street teams from radio stations including Kiss 100 and Choice FM who worked in partnership with the Met. 'KnifeCity' was also available as a download from the Kiss 100 and Choice FM websites. To coincide with the activity, the radio stations broadcasted anti-knife crime messages which were aimed at younger listeners. All in all a great example of an effective integrated campaign.

Fuerzabruta

Went to see the amazing Fuerzabruta on the 18th July and it blew me away. I've never experienced anything like it before.

It was a full on visual feast and I wanted to post about what made it so great.

So here goes:

There's just so much that goes on in the show; both in the centre and surrounding you that makes you feel totally immersed in the experience and you never lose concentration and comprehension of what's going on.

The fact that you stand in the main space and move around the centre piece whilst the performance is running makes it feel unique; things come down from the ceiling which you can touch and everything feels interactive. The mood of the show flows from darkness to happiness, energy to reflection.

But one of the main reasons it was so impressive was the venue, the new Roundhouse in Camden. It took over the whole space and for most of the show you're looking ahead or above in amazement, transfixed. There's definitely something about looking up in awe (John Grant has written a post about this recently).

The music was pumping and the whole crowd threw their arms in the air and shouted as if they were in a club. It was a night of collective feel good vibes and it's left me with unforgettable and uplifting memories.

I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

It was a space where the boundaries between music, art, dance and theatre blurred and the whole show invited the audience into a powerful experience. Boy was it good.

Go see it.

Idyllic Ibiza

Went to Ibiza last month for a week. It was good to be back.

This was my fourth time on the 'White Island' (named for its salt plains) and Beki's first trip.

Like so many other people who have never been before, Beki had never fancied going because of all the things she thought it stood for e.g. that it'd be full of fighting and vomiting Brits. Understandable really when it's drummed home through shows like 'Ibiza Uncovered' and all those stories of what people get up to in San Antonio's West End.

I really wanted her to see the island as it really is; away from the tourist hot spots it's a place of beautiful scenery and warm, open people. So here's a little taste of what we got up to:

Beaches:

Cala Llonga

Cala Xuclar where we enjoyed a massage for 15 Euros and a great lunch of bread, cheese and salami at a cute little wooden hut run by a lovely couple

Portinax

Benirras which is famous for the bongo sunset parties that used to take place on Sundays

Las Salinas our favourite beach, great lunches at the beach bars whilst listening to good music

Cala d'hort, Cala Vadella and Cala Moli

Cala Mastella where we had a brilliant fish lunch at a little restuarant tucked around the bay. It's only opened at weekends and they have two servings; one at 12pm (grilled fish) and one at 2.30pm (fish stew)

Cafes for lunch:

Guarana on Las Salinas

The Jockey Club on Las Salinas

Cilantro in Santa Gertrudis

Restaurants:

La Paloma in sleepy San Lorenzo does amazing pasta

Atzaro is an amazing setting, but the food is expensive and fussy

La Brasa in Ibiza Town

El Bigotes for a romantic sunset meal overlooking Es Vedra

Bars/clubs:

Base bar Ibiza Town

Rock bar Ibiza Town

Bambuddha Grove

Cabaret at Es Vive hotel

Saw the Editors play at Bar M as part of Ibiza Rocks

Hotels/hostels to stay in for a treat (we didn't stay but had a look for next time):

Los Jardines de Palerm

Hotel Can Talaias

Hostel Cala Moli

So that was it, it was a pretty full on week that felt like a month. You can only really do this much if you hire a car. Here's some more info on stuff to do/read about Ibiza.

Bars/restuarants we didn't go to but I have been before/recommended:

PK2

Blue Marlin

Macau Cafe, Santa Gertrudis

Aura bar from the people who bought us Home in Shoreditch

KM5

This article in the Guardian is well worth taking to the island as a handy reference.

This is a cracking guidebook and finally, a good book to read is Steven Armstrong's history of the island called The White Island.