Verse
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And i'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much i miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
Chorus
And i think it's gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think i am at home
Oh no no no i'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone (x2)
Verse
Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science i don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man
Chorus (x2)
And i think it's gonna be a long long time... (x9)
Saturday, 8 December 2007
Thursday, 6 December 2007
There was a scene in Mad forest which again reminded me of the ‘My Boy Jack’ film I had previously discussed. It is this concept of showing the emotion of the man as a group that I am interested in, this idea hat we are all different aspects of hi.. and the thought process of a human being that is so complex and can be explored but never truly understood as it is individual.. the man.. the mixed emotion of the man.. the intensity of complex hope, realization, and inner turmoil that must be attached to a dream doomed to fail.. the self denial.. the despair.. the freedom to explore something forbidden within the society in which he is living, release.. realisation of his destiny.. acceptance of what is to come.. the characteristics of this process portrayed by us all, each though that must have run through his mind a thousand a second on the moment of flight (death) , is he reaching , searching, or in complete desperation ending.. Is he blinded by hope, fooling himself in the belief that the contraption will work.. that he will fly to a new world.. (is he sacrificing himself it to the world of God.. although to do this in a religious context he would only be condemning himself to hell, )
Is his feeling that death controlled and performed by himself is less painful.. physically and emotionally than death under oppression, is he aware of all these emotions in his workings out, are they an exploration of the emotion attached to suicide.. the contraption will never work the contraption is the end.. the hypothesis is desperation within the confides of oppression the experiment is a search fro strength to conclude in the only way that is possible.. the result is revolt in self sacrifice?
Is his feeling that death controlled and performed by himself is less painful.. physically and emotionally than death under oppression, is he aware of all these emotions in his workings out, are they an exploration of the emotion attached to suicide.. the contraption will never work the contraption is the end.. the hypothesis is desperation within the confides of oppression the experiment is a search fro strength to conclude in the only way that is possible.. the result is revolt in self sacrifice?
Naked transcript and musings...
Transcript - Naked - Mike Leigh
A - Why are they sending all those satalites and shuttles into the cosmos, what do they think they're gonna find up there that they can't find down here? They think that if they piss high enough they're gonna find the monkey with the beard and the crap ideas and its like... oh there you are... are you busy captain cause i've got a few fundamental questions for you? You with me?
B - Yeah let's face it, I mean what are rockets? They're just big metal Pricks. The Bastard's aren't satisfied with fucking the earth they have to fuck space as well.
This is the transcript from 'Naked', this got me thinking about the bigger picture. The why?? and the reasons why we as a species are so desperate to know why, like all of life's questions will be answered when we find this illusive why. This is a simalar idea to those present in Marlowe's 'Dr Faustus'. ' His waxen wings did melt beyond his reach' The original over reacher Iccarus also quoted in Faustus. Both are characterised by this fatal flaw - thier urge to live outside of the realms of possibilty, longing for immortality. Is this misguided ideal the force behind the great escape of The man who flew into space from his apartment? Does he wish to escape purley for selfish personal reasons, does he wish to be a martyr and live forever in the memories of those who shared his beliefs? Does he wish for an elabourate experience before he inevitably plummets to his death? Does he believe that he can cheat death by breaking into somekind of mythical realm above the earths atmosphere? Is this some sort of heaven?
A - Why are they sending all those satalites and shuttles into the cosmos, what do they think they're gonna find up there that they can't find down here? They think that if they piss high enough they're gonna find the monkey with the beard and the crap ideas and its like... oh there you are... are you busy captain cause i've got a few fundamental questions for you? You with me?
B - Yeah let's face it, I mean what are rockets? They're just big metal Pricks. The Bastard's aren't satisfied with fucking the earth they have to fuck space as well.
This is the transcript from 'Naked', this got me thinking about the bigger picture. The why?? and the reasons why we as a species are so desperate to know why, like all of life's questions will be answered when we find this illusive why. This is a simalar idea to those present in Marlowe's 'Dr Faustus'. ' His waxen wings did melt beyond his reach' The original over reacher Iccarus also quoted in Faustus. Both are characterised by this fatal flaw - thier urge to live outside of the realms of possibilty, longing for immortality. Is this misguided ideal the force behind the great escape of The man who flew into space from his apartment? Does he wish to escape purley for selfish personal reasons, does he wish to be a martyr and live forever in the memories of those who shared his beliefs? Does he wish for an elabourate experience before he inevitably plummets to his death? Does he believe that he can cheat death by breaking into somekind of mythical realm above the earths atmosphere? Is this some sort of heaven?
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
The Creator ...
The creator of the man.
the creator of war, death
reason and opinion.
The creator of fighting,
dissagreement, and argument.
The creator of the person that can change the country
The creator of the idea that can change the world!
The creator of the person that can change the world!
Was the man a creation of the state,
Was the man behind the man a creation of the state.
An idea can change anything, people, the state, the country,
An idea can change the world.
One man with an idea, a truth, an honesty,
is more powerfull that a thousand men with promises,
pretense, wishes and false hope,
they all piss in the same pot!
the creator of war, death
reason and opinion.
The creator of fighting,
dissagreement, and argument.
The creator of the person that can change the country
The creator of the idea that can change the world!
The creator of the person that can change the world!
Was the man a creation of the state,
Was the man behind the man a creation of the state.
An idea can change anything, people, the state, the country,
An idea can change the world.
One man with an idea, a truth, an honesty,
is more powerfull that a thousand men with promises,
pretense, wishes and false hope,
they all piss in the same pot!
Entrances and Exits!
'Entrances and Exits confuse me'
(from a passer by)
What does this mean?
It could me nothing,
Or it could have a world of meanings.
It is what it is!
(from a passer by)
What does this mean?
It could me nothing,
Or it could have a world of meanings.
It is what it is!
Monday, 3 December 2007
Some text I came up with when thinking about the man. 2 versions.
v1
Fear takes hold, black void. In essence very empty. The watchers say all the visible matter, this room and its contents, buildings, people, stars, planets, asteroids, nebulae, comets and so on, make up only a small piece of the bigger picture, 5% of the universe, of everything. The rest is invisible, or black, the watchers call it dark matter and dark energy, not understood, not yet. I am now so conscious of my heart raging, its beat, its pump, like my ribs are about to be cracked and twisted, splitting as it surfaces into this place, as I see the open space in front of me, feel the eyes and lies burrowing in to parts of me where there are no pores, digging and cutting into my very being.
They paint you, when their confronted, as a cutter in a forest of industry, usurping, upturning. Got to be weary as a straight jacket dreamer, I wish away my gravity.
v2
Fear takes hold, black void. In essence very empty. All the visible matter, this room and its contents, buildings, people, stars, planets, asteroids, mountains, nebulae, lakes, comets and so on, together hold a small piece of a bigger puzzle, 5% of everything. The rest is invisible. The watchers call it dark matter a matter of energy, does anyone understand it? I am now so conscious of my heart raging, its beat, its pump, like my ribs are ready to be cracked and twisted, fragmented as it surfaces into this black place. I see it open in front of me, feel the eyes and lies burrowing in to parts of me where there are no pores.
They paint you, digging and cutting into your very being. When they are confronted, like a cutter in a forest of industry, usurping, upturning. Got to be weary as a straight jacket dreamer, I wish away my gravity.
Fear takes hold, black void. In essence very empty. The watchers say all the visible matter, this room and its contents, buildings, people, stars, planets, asteroids, nebulae, comets and so on, make up only a small piece of the bigger picture, 5% of the universe, of everything. The rest is invisible, or black, the watchers call it dark matter and dark energy, not understood, not yet. I am now so conscious of my heart raging, its beat, its pump, like my ribs are about to be cracked and twisted, splitting as it surfaces into this place, as I see the open space in front of me, feel the eyes and lies burrowing in to parts of me where there are no pores, digging and cutting into my very being.
They paint you, when their confronted, as a cutter in a forest of industry, usurping, upturning. Got to be weary as a straight jacket dreamer, I wish away my gravity.
v2
Fear takes hold, black void. In essence very empty. All the visible matter, this room and its contents, buildings, people, stars, planets, asteroids, mountains, nebulae, lakes, comets and so on, together hold a small piece of a bigger puzzle, 5% of everything. The rest is invisible. The watchers call it dark matter a matter of energy, does anyone understand it? I am now so conscious of my heart raging, its beat, its pump, like my ribs are ready to be cracked and twisted, fragmented as it surfaces into this black place. I see it open in front of me, feel the eyes and lies burrowing in to parts of me where there are no pores.
They paint you, digging and cutting into your very being. When they are confronted, like a cutter in a forest of industry, usurping, upturning. Got to be weary as a straight jacket dreamer, I wish away my gravity.
Chagall's Work
The painting below is one of Marc Chagall's, more information below painting. Notice the background ... is the bride and the violin playing goat flying/floating through space?? ... and does this maybe have a connection with Chagall living in France after being exciled from Russia?? ... also could it have a connection with the paintings of Ilya Kabakov and the stimulus for his work?? hmmm i deffinetely think so!!
The Atist 'Mark Chagall'
'The Russian Jew Mark Shagal who lived in France for a long period of time depicted his hometown of Vitebsk where he spent his childhood and youth. "Dreams of Exile" is the first ever play in Russia dedicated to Mark Shagal and his works. Asked why he chose this very painter, director Ginkas said: "It happened by chance, I had to stage a play about exile for demonstrating in Paris. Shagal long lived in exile. I thought his pictures could tell much about the emigration. Besides they speak of love, parting, joys of life, pain, death, childhood and motherland . . . Like Shagal's pictures the play is about searches for the God in each of the painter's picture, whether it features clouds, people or a yard behind a Vitebsk shoemaker's house. The play is full of an array of symbols coming from Shagal's canvases.'
(www.vor.ru/culture/cultard254_eng.html)
Kama Ginkas the director of Russian Theatre Company 'The Moscow Young Spectators' talks above about their play based on exile for demonstrating in paris, which was dedicated to Mark Chagall's work. Alot of Chagall's paintings are based around animals, people or objects floating or flying, including the painting of the goat flying into space playing a violin. With his work influenced by him living in Russia and him being exiled from his own country, gave me ideas about his story and his work relating to Ilya Kabakov's, especially from the quote above, speaking about Chagall's paintings bein about love, parting, joys of life, pain, death, childhood and most specifically the 'motherland'! which is spoken about in the Russian national anthem which is in our piece. Also his work is influenced by searching for god, which could be seen as a close relation to Ilya Kabakov's work, being about freedom, excape, in search of a better place, which seems very similar ideas in Mark Chagall's work!
(www.vor.ru/culture/cultard254_eng.html)
Kama Ginkas the director of Russian Theatre Company 'The Moscow Young Spectators' talks above about their play based on exile for demonstrating in paris, which was dedicated to Mark Chagall's work. Alot of Chagall's paintings are based around animals, people or objects floating or flying, including the painting of the goat flying into space playing a violin. With his work influenced by him living in Russia and him being exiled from his own country, gave me ideas about his story and his work relating to Ilya Kabakov's, especially from the quote above, speaking about Chagall's paintings bein about love, parting, joys of life, pain, death, childhood and most specifically the 'motherland'! which is spoken about in the Russian national anthem which is in our piece. Also his work is influenced by searching for god, which could be seen as a close relation to Ilya Kabakov's work, being about freedom, excape, in search of a better place, which seems very similar ideas in Mark Chagall's work!
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Questions
Instead of elastic could torches be used and shone on the ceiling/floor for the constellation scene?
Could these torches be used by people off stage in the scene taken from the film which describes space? (Stuart, Liz, Charmaine and myself)
How do we introduce 'The Man' as the main character to the audience?
Do we give 'The Man' a name?
Could we introduce him via the first diary entry?
Are we taking anough risks? or are we still in our comfort zones?
Do we need to gather all our texts together as one script?
Can the video diaries introduce each scene? e.g. "I went outside tonight looked up and saw the stars they were beautiful, they make me feel so peaceful, I cant wait to be up there... (next scene the constellations)
Could these torches be used by people off stage in the scene taken from the film which describes space? (Stuart, Liz, Charmaine and myself)
How do we introduce 'The Man' as the main character to the audience?
Do we give 'The Man' a name?
Could we introduce him via the first diary entry?
Are we taking anough risks? or are we still in our comfort zones?
Do we need to gather all our texts together as one script?
Can the video diaries introduce each scene? e.g. "I went outside tonight looked up and saw the stars they were beautiful, they make me feel so peaceful, I cant wait to be up there... (next scene the constellations)
Similiraties between 'The man who flew...' and Leonardo Da vinci's work
Fig 1 (Leonardo Da vinci: Helicopter and Lifting wing)
Fig 2 (Leonardo Da vinci : Vitruvian Man)
Fig 3 (Leonardo Da vinci : The study of graduations of shadows on spheres)
.jpg)
Fig 4 (Ilya Kabakov: The man who flew into space from his apartment)
Kabakovs installation 'the man who...' (fig 4) When trying to think of 'the mans' mind set whilst inventing, I became interested in the doodles/drawings he has above the diorama on the left handside of the photo, one in particular conjured up the image of Leonardo Da vinci's Vitruvian man (fig 2)
Leonardo Da vinci is not only a known artist but also inventor, engineer and scientist.
Leonardo's Journals
Leonardo's Journals
'Leonardo's studies in science and engineering are as impressive and innovative as his artistic work, recorded in notebooks comprising some 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, which fuse art and natural philosophy (the forerunner of modern science). These notes were made and maintained daily throughout Leonardo's life and travels, as he made continual observations of the world around him.
The journals are mostly written in mirror-image cursive. The reason may have been more a practical expediency than for reasons of secrecy as is often suggested. Since Leonardo wrote with his left hand, it is probable that it was easier for him to write from right to left'
The images in fig 1,2 and 3 are taken from Da vinci's journals and show some of his experiments including his project which looked like a helicopter (fig 1) which has angles/shape similar to 'the mans' contraption.
Kabakovs installation and Da vinci's Journal drawings (fig 1,2 & 3) all have recurring symetrical angles, these are strongly reflected in the drawings on 'the mans' wall, with Da vinci's journals and love for inventing, engineering and flying machines/contraptions, are these similarities just a coincidence?
Thursday, 29 November 2007
Russian National Anthem
National Anthems Lyrics (Post 2000)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1. O Russia, for ever you're strong sacred country!
O Russia, for ever the land that we love!
The glory that's great and the will that is mighty -
So be they thy virtue for ages to come.
CHORUS
Praised be the Fatherland, cherishing home of ours -
Cent'ries-old union of peoples in free,
Popular wisdom given us by forefathers.
Praised be our country! And we're proud of thee!
2. From seas in the South and up to polar border
Our woods and our meadows have stretched far away.
Alone in the whole world, you stand one and only!
By God saved as ever our dear native land.
CHORUS
3. For generous dreaming, for living and longing
The years approaching give us ample scope.
With faith in our Homeland we are getting stronger.
It was so, it is so and it will be so!
USSR National Anthem Lyrics
English:
The Hymn of the Soviet Union
Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics,
Great Russia has welded forever to stand.
Created in struggle by will of the people,
United and mighty, our Soviet land!
Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us,
Along the new path where great Lenin did lead.
To a righteous cause he raised up the peoples,
Inspired them to labor and valorous deed.
[Or, the old way:
Be true to the people, thus Stalin has reared us,
Inspire us to labor and valorous deed!]
Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
In the vict'ry of Communism's deathless ideal,
We see the future of our dear land.
And to her fluttering scarlet banner,
Selflessly true we always shall stand!
http://david.national-anthems.net/ru.htm
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/nationalanthemslyrics/ussrnationalanthemlyrics.html
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1. O Russia, for ever you're strong sacred country!
O Russia, for ever the land that we love!
The glory that's great and the will that is mighty -
So be they thy virtue for ages to come.
CHORUS
Praised be the Fatherland, cherishing home of ours -
Cent'ries-old union of peoples in free,
Popular wisdom given us by forefathers.
Praised be our country! And we're proud of thee!
2. From seas in the South and up to polar border
Our woods and our meadows have stretched far away.
Alone in the whole world, you stand one and only!
By God saved as ever our dear native land.
CHORUS
3. For generous dreaming, for living and longing
The years approaching give us ample scope.
With faith in our Homeland we are getting stronger.
It was so, it is so and it will be so!
USSR National Anthem Lyrics
English:
The Hymn of the Soviet Union
Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics,
Great Russia has welded forever to stand.
Created in struggle by will of the people,
United and mighty, our Soviet land!
Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us,
Along the new path where great Lenin did lead.
To a righteous cause he raised up the peoples,
Inspired them to labor and valorous deed.
[Or, the old way:
Be true to the people, thus Stalin has reared us,
Inspire us to labor and valorous deed!]
Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
In the vict'ry of Communism's deathless ideal,
We see the future of our dear land.
And to her fluttering scarlet banner,
Selflessly true we always shall stand!
http://david.national-anthems.net/ru.htm
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/nationalanthemslyrics/ussrnationalanthemlyrics.html
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Running Order/Scene List
- this is space
- goodbye lenin
- tower block characters
- nik and stu describing room
- human typewriter
- typewriter from dictaphone
- swivel chairs
- interrogation scene
- describing space
- invenstigators
- shoes
- cabaret
- jess flying text swoosh movement
- dues
- workers
- aquarium?
- video diary
- stu in space
Possible new scenes
- the creator of 'the man...'-his life
- shagal
- 'entrances and exits confuse me'
- new zealand milky way (used today in workers scene)
New Zealand Milkyway
Looking up into space,
a thick line of mist stretched accross the sky
like a line of cigarette smoke exiting someone's mouth.
At either side the mist fades away,
no deffinite straight lines.
down the centre line of this mist,
millions if stars clustered together.
gradually the stars get less and less,
as the sky spreads.
a jetstream, a chute, a slide maybe.
its beautifull,
the word amazing to describe it,
is an understatement.
a picture no one could ever paint of draw,
a sight like no other,
the milky in our universe.
a natural beauty, the art of nature,
a phenomina!!
i wish you could have seen it!!
- goodbye lenin
- tower block characters
- nik and stu describing room
- human typewriter
- typewriter from dictaphone
- swivel chairs
- interrogation scene
- describing space
- invenstigators
- shoes
- cabaret
- jess flying text swoosh movement
- dues
- workers
- aquarium?
- video diary
- stu in space
Possible new scenes
- the creator of 'the man...'-his life
- shagal
- 'entrances and exits confuse me'
- new zealand milky way (used today in workers scene)
New Zealand Milkyway
Looking up into space,
a thick line of mist stretched accross the sky
like a line of cigarette smoke exiting someone's mouth.
At either side the mist fades away,
no deffinite straight lines.
down the centre line of this mist,
millions if stars clustered together.
gradually the stars get less and less,
as the sky spreads.
a jetstream, a chute, a slide maybe.
its beautifull,
the word amazing to describe it,
is an understatement.
a picture no one could ever paint of draw,
a sight like no other,
the milky in our universe.
a natural beauty, the art of nature,
a phenomina!!
i wish you could have seen it!!
The Motherland Hears
It was April the 12th when Gagarin at the age of 27 left the earth.
In 1961 the Soviet spaceship-sputnik was put in orbit around the Earth with him on board. As the cosmonaut mentioned after his trip "...there was a good view of the Earth which had a very distinct and pretty blue halo. It had a smooth transition from pale blue, blue, dark blue, violet and absolutely black. It was a magnificent picture." [Gagarin in his official statement after the flight, April 15, 1961.] During his flight in the Soviet spaceship/satellite Vostok 1, Gagarin whistled the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows". The first two lines of the song are: "The Motherland hears, the Motherland knows/Where her son flies in the sky".The song which is supposed to be ultra –patriotic was written by Dmitri Shostakovich (opus 86) ten years before..
Monday, 26 November 2007
Oppression
What I liked about 1984 was the reference to the TV screens.. I really think we should use this.. and have a play with it’s uses with in the piece.. The idea of using it to
show what is going on the stage is a good one and I think makes reference to how we are always being watched.. and perhaps gives a sense of oppression prominent of the time..
Perhaps this is another avenues we can explore.. oppression.. we have started to explore it with the working scene and the lack of language in the corridor,, and I had a idea about the dance bit,.. I thought if it was really over the top cheesy smiles (you know when we were discussing what our expressions should be like) then perhaps we are portraying the manipulation of the media.. like the posters and the paintings that are telling every one all is well and that life is good.. an advert for the camp?.. if we could play with it coming after the working scene or something similar this might be interesting, and perhaps show the oppression, in a different way?
I think what I mainly took from the film was the sense of oppression..
"Oppression that cannot be overcome does not give rise to revolt but to submission."
http://www.123helpme.com/assets/5876.html - has some interesting points
as does this.. http://www.sedhe.net/dystopia/language.php - I liked this one better so if your only going look at one look at this.. it’s food for thought, and ooks at the whole language thing. And those black quotes..
show what is going on the stage is a good one and I think makes reference to how we are always being watched.. and perhaps gives a sense of oppression prominent of the time..
Perhaps this is another avenues we can explore.. oppression.. we have started to explore it with the working scene and the lack of language in the corridor,, and I had a idea about the dance bit,.. I thought if it was really over the top cheesy smiles (you know when we were discussing what our expressions should be like) then perhaps we are portraying the manipulation of the media.. like the posters and the paintings that are telling every one all is well and that life is good.. an advert for the camp?.. if we could play with it coming after the working scene or something similar this might be interesting, and perhaps show the oppression, in a different way?
I think what I mainly took from the film was the sense of oppression..
"Oppression that cannot be overcome does not give rise to revolt but to submission."
http://www.123helpme.com/assets/5876.html - has some interesting points
as does this.. http://www.sedhe.net/dystopia/language.php - I liked this one better so if your only going look at one look at this.. it’s food for thought, and ooks at the whole language thing. And those black quotes..
Oppression
What I liked about 1984 was the reference to the TV screens.. I really think we should use this.. and have a play with it’s uses with in the piece.. The idea of using it to
show what is going on the stage is a good one and I think makes reference to how we are always being watched.. and perhaps gives a sense of oppression prominent of the time..
Perhaps this is another avenues we can explore.. oppression.. we have started to explore it with the working scene and the lack of language in the corridor,, and I had a idea about the dance bit,.. I thought if it was really over the top cheesy smiles (you know when we were discussing what our expressions should be like) then perhaps we are portraying the manipulation of the media.. like the posters and the paintings that are telling every one all is well and that life is good.. an advert for the camp?.. if we could play with it coming after the working scene or something similar this might be interesting, and perhaps show the oppression, in a different way?
I think what I mainly took from the film was the sense of oppression..
"Oppression that cannot be overcome does not give rise to revolt but to submission."
http://www.123helpme.com/assets/5876.html - has some interesting points
as does this.. http://www.sedhe.net/dystopia/language.php - I liked this one better so if your only going look at one look at this.. it’s food for thought, and ooks at the whole language thing. And those black quotes..
show what is going on the stage is a good one and I think makes reference to how we are always being watched.. and perhaps gives a sense of oppression prominent of the time..
Perhaps this is another avenues we can explore.. oppression.. we have started to explore it with the working scene and the lack of language in the corridor,, and I had a idea about the dance bit,.. I thought if it was really over the top cheesy smiles (you know when we were discussing what our expressions should be like) then perhaps we are portraying the manipulation of the media.. like the posters and the paintings that are telling every one all is well and that life is good.. an advert for the camp?.. if we could play with it coming after the working scene or something similar this might be interesting, and perhaps show the oppression, in a different way?
I think what I mainly took from the film was the sense of oppression..
"Oppression that cannot be overcome does not give rise to revolt but to submission."
http://www.123helpme.com/assets/5876.html - has some interesting points
as does this.. http://www.sedhe.net/dystopia/language.php - I liked this one better so if your only going look at one look at this.. it’s food for thought, and ooks at the whole language thing. And those black quotes..
Constellations
I wondered if we could create these using elastic or chalk with people as stars - perhaps when we are delivering our 'space' texts to the camera. So by the end of the piece the stage is littered with the drawings of our solar system. As we say 'In this space we have constellations.'
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
kabakov's inspiration-
Throughout his forty-year plus career, Kabakov has produced a wide range of paintings, drawings, installations, and theoretical texts — not to mention extensive memoirs that track his life from his childhood to the early 1980s. In recent years, he has created installations that evoked the visual culture of the Soviet Union, though this theme has never been the exclusive focus of his work. Unlike some underground Soviet artists, Kabakov joined the Union of Soviet Artists in 1959, and became a full-member in 1965. This was a prestigious position in the USSR and it brought with it substantial material benefits. In general, Kabakov illustrated children's books for 3–6 months each year and then spent the remainder of his time on his own projects.
By using fictional biographies, many inspired by his own experiences, Kabakov has attempted to explain the birth and death of the Soviet Union, which he claims to be the first modern society to disappear. In the Soviet Union, Kabakov discovers elements common to every modern society, and in doing so he examines the rift between capitalism and communism. Rather than depict the Soviet Union as a failed Socialist project defeated by Western economics, Kabakov describes it as one utopian project among many, capitalism included. By reexamining historical narratives and perspectives, Kabakov delivers a message that every project, whether public or private, important or trivial, has the potential to fail due to the potentially authoritarian will to power.
By using fictional biographies, many inspired by his own experiences, Kabakov has attempted to explain the birth and death of the Soviet Union, which he claims to be the first modern society to disappear. In the Soviet Union, Kabakov discovers elements common to every modern society, and in doing so he examines the rift between capitalism and communism. Rather than depict the Soviet Union as a failed Socialist project defeated by Western economics, Kabakov describes it as one utopian project among many, capitalism included. By reexamining historical narratives and perspectives, Kabakov delivers a message that every project, whether public or private, important or trivial, has the potential to fail due to the potentially authoritarian will to power.
Freedom Call- related lyrics
Freedom Call (lyrics)
Over the Rainbow-
Sounds of revolution, calling everywhere
It' s time, to leave the past behind
Roaming through the shadows
Crossing seven seas
Deep inside, the inner flame is alive
Running for an odysee, far away
Hiding from our shame
To the gate of no return
Running faster, running high
A million miles away
We believe in destiny
Never stop for anything, never walk alone
Sleepwalking on endless seas,
misery and thorns
Star rise and lead me home
Powerful kingdom of happiness
Challenging the fortune, a fascination rises
Deep inside, with clarity in mind
Creeping through the emptiness
Dangerous - try to hold us back
And break the stairway down
Never stop for anything, never walk alone
In our dreams and fantasies - and my dreams are
fading
Bound to be reborn - light in the darkness
Star rise and lead me home
Powerful kingdom of happiness
Over the rainbow we' re touching the sky
Ride into distance we' ll find our way
Over the rainbow we fly to survive
Glide on illusions of better days
Demon shadows, master of sorrow
Try to catch our soul
Salvation is on the way
Never stop for anything, never walk alone
Keep our faith in prophecy -
my dreams are fading
The power of the crown - hold the crown
Star rise and lead me home
Powerful kingdom of happiness
Tears Falling-
Tonight - before the day begins another game
It's time for us to break away from shame
All these false illusions everywhere
In dreams we' re loosing our despair
We have to search for new horizons
Curios - Voices talk to us
Telling tales too us
Let us fly
All the roads that lead to nowhere
In circles we run around
Madness we have found
And we' re running
out of clarity
All these things that seem to be
We have turn away this nightmare
Furious - Freedom calls for us
Rising more in us
For our life
When tears are falling - strangers calling
They will take us somewhere far from time
When tears are falling - strangers calling
See the sun will rise for us again
So I close my eyes to ease the pain
I realize that I' m not insane
And will fly away forever
Glorious - Pain has has gone from us
Peace for all of us
In our minds
Over the Rainbow-
Sounds of revolution, calling everywhere
It' s time, to leave the past behind
Roaming through the shadows
Crossing seven seas
Deep inside, the inner flame is alive
Running for an odysee, far away
Hiding from our shame
To the gate of no return
Running faster, running high
A million miles away
We believe in destiny
Never stop for anything, never walk alone
Sleepwalking on endless seas,
misery and thorns
Star rise and lead me home
Powerful kingdom of happiness
Challenging the fortune, a fascination rises
Deep inside, with clarity in mind
Creeping through the emptiness
Dangerous - try to hold us back
And break the stairway down
Never stop for anything, never walk alone
In our dreams and fantasies - and my dreams are
fading
Bound to be reborn - light in the darkness
Star rise and lead me home
Powerful kingdom of happiness
Over the rainbow we' re touching the sky
Ride into distance we' ll find our way
Over the rainbow we fly to survive
Glide on illusions of better days
Demon shadows, master of sorrow
Try to catch our soul
Salvation is on the way
Never stop for anything, never walk alone
Keep our faith in prophecy -
my dreams are fading
The power of the crown - hold the crown
Star rise and lead me home
Powerful kingdom of happiness
Tears Falling-
Tonight - before the day begins another game
It's time for us to break away from shame
All these false illusions everywhere
In dreams we' re loosing our despair
We have to search for new horizons
Curios - Voices talk to us
Telling tales too us
Let us fly
All the roads that lead to nowhere
In circles we run around
Madness we have found
And we' re running
out of clarity
All these things that seem to be
We have turn away this nightmare
Furious - Freedom calls for us
Rising more in us
For our life
When tears are falling - strangers calling
They will take us somewhere far from time
When tears are falling - strangers calling
See the sun will rise for us again
So I close my eyes to ease the pain
I realize that I' m not insane
And will fly away forever
Glorious - Pain has has gone from us
Peace for all of us
In our minds
Saturday, 17 November 2007
Galaxy Song
Whenever life gets you down, Mrs. Brown,
And things seem hard or tough,
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft,
And you feel that you've had quite eno-o-o-o-o-ough...
Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour,
That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned,
A sun that is the source of all our power.
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,
Of the galaxy we call the "Milky Way".
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars.
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side.
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick,
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide.
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point.
We go 'round every two hundred million years,
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.
(Animated calliope interlude)
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
What is missing?
Characters
What characters are we and when? Do we want the piece to be based around 'The Man' or to be random scenes based on exploring the idea of space? or possibly both as it is now?
The Arch
Are we sticking with the idea of the arch? if so what is the high point in the middle? an intense scene such as the chair swivel/interogation scene? or the humorous cabaret?
(I mention these as they seem to be scenes which contain high energy at the moment)
Humour
Before this mornings class I was concerned that the piece may be too flat/serious and needed moments of humour which the cabaret scene provides but do we need anymore humourous scenes?
The tv's
If we have screens we need to think about what is being shown on them during each scene and how this may affect the feel of the piece
Audience
We have lost track of what we are wanting to convey to the audience? What type of peformance are they witnessing? What parts of the piece should make them think? what parts should be obvious?
Transitions
Not a big worry yet, can be left until the last minute but are worth thinking about as they can be useful in determining order of scenes e.g. who has white suits and when? when do we get hats and canes? e.t.c
Staging
What do we want on stage? where will it be when it is off stage?
What characters are we and when? Do we want the piece to be based around 'The Man' or to be random scenes based on exploring the idea of space? or possibly both as it is now?
The Arch
Are we sticking with the idea of the arch? if so what is the high point in the middle? an intense scene such as the chair swivel/interogation scene? or the humorous cabaret?
(I mention these as they seem to be scenes which contain high energy at the moment)
Humour
Before this mornings class I was concerned that the piece may be too flat/serious and needed moments of humour which the cabaret scene provides but do we need anymore humourous scenes?
The tv's
If we have screens we need to think about what is being shown on them during each scene and how this may affect the feel of the piece
Audience
We have lost track of what we are wanting to convey to the audience? What type of peformance are they witnessing? What parts of the piece should make them think? what parts should be obvious?
Transitions
Not a big worry yet, can be left until the last minute but are worth thinking about as they can be useful in determining order of scenes e.g. who has white suits and when? when do we get hats and canes? e.t.c
Staging
What do we want on stage? where will it be when it is off stage?
Scenes so far...
This is space
Goodbye Lenin
Tower block (The Ten characters rooms)
Swivel chair dance (Interogation scene)
Investigators in 'The Mans room'(White suits, Kirsties model)
Duets
Shoes (Rocketman on chairs)
Cabaret (Hats and sticks)
Stuart in space (Cossack lullaby?)
Movements to Jess's flying text
video diary?
Elastic?
Aquarium?
Feel free to add any scenes I may have forgotten
Goodbye Lenin
Tower block (The Ten characters rooms)
Swivel chair dance (Interogation scene)
Investigators in 'The Mans room'(White suits, Kirsties model)
Duets
Shoes (Rocketman on chairs)
Cabaret (Hats and sticks)
Stuart in space (Cossack lullaby?)
Movements to Jess's flying text
video diary?
Elastic?
Aquarium?
Feel free to add any scenes I may have forgotten
George Orwells 1984
Antithesis
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
MINISTRY OF PEACE - Concerns itself with war
MINISTRY OF TRUTH - Lies
MINISTRY OF LOVE - 'Tortures and eventually kills anybody whom it deams a threat'
MINISTRY OF PLENTY - Starvation
'WHO CONTROLS THE PAST CONTROLS THE FUTURE
WHO CONTROLS THE PRESENT CONTROLS THE PAST'
The Telescreens 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU'
'An enormous face... the face of a man about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features'
(TOWER BLOCK)'on each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall, it was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.'
This image staring from the telescreens and posters all over this distopian land is believed to be the likeness of Stalin. 'Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan.'
'The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that winston made... would be picked up by it, moreover so long as he remained in the field of vision... he could be seen aswell.'
'Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed - no escape.nothing was yours except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.
Speaking without speaking
'He was a lonely ghost, uttering a truth nobody would ever hear'
Room 101
'You asked me once what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in room 101 is the worst thing in the world'
Orwell,G.(2003)1984.London:Penguin books
Pages:3,4,19,32,118,246
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
MINISTRY OF PEACE - Concerns itself with war
MINISTRY OF TRUTH - Lies
MINISTRY OF LOVE - 'Tortures and eventually kills anybody whom it deams a threat'
MINISTRY OF PLENTY - Starvation
'WHO CONTROLS THE PAST CONTROLS THE FUTURE
WHO CONTROLS THE PRESENT CONTROLS THE PAST'
The Telescreens 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU'
'An enormous face... the face of a man about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features'
(TOWER BLOCK)'on each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall, it was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.'
This image staring from the telescreens and posters all over this distopian land is believed to be the likeness of Stalin. 'Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan.'
'The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that winston made... would be picked up by it, moreover so long as he remained in the field of vision... he could be seen aswell.'
'Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed - no escape.nothing was yours except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.
Speaking without speaking
'He was a lonely ghost, uttering a truth nobody would ever hear'
Room 101
'You asked me once what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in room 101 is the worst thing in the world'
Orwell,G.(2003)1984.London:Penguin books
Pages:3,4,19,32,118,246
Monday, 12 November 2007
Russian 1980's space stamps
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Russia-1980-1990-VF-UM-Space-Related-Stamps-Space_W0QQitemZ120179926620QQihZ002QQcategoryZ3495QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
The short man
The Short Man (The Bookbinder)
Installation: eight paneled screens on paper
of various dimensions
Room dimensions: 96 x 127 x 117 inches
www.feldmangallery.com/.../exhsolo/exhkab88.html
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Starship lyrics
These are the lyrics to a Turin Brakes song called Starship, seemed quite appropriate.
Starship myself to an island paradise
Guided by the stars
Given the chance I would leave this place
On a rocket ship for mars
Take away your room back
And your cowboy lies
My refil bottle of sky
'Cos I'm sick and I'm twisted
Like a Sunday massacre
Stop me for I die
Starship myself to an island paradise
Guided by the stars
Given the chance I would leave this place
On a rocket ship for mars
Take away your room back
And your cowboy lies
My refil bottle of sky
'Cos I'm sick and I'm twisted
Like a Sunday massacre
Stop me for I die
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
In the Closet
Kabakov’s In the Closet of 2000 was another installation shown at the Venice Biennale in the Utopia Station pavilion, a group show without allegiance to any country, composed of a diverse collection of artworks. In the Closet resembles a simple wooden armoire crammed with decorations and belongings that suggest it was being used for someone’s living space. The closet is dreary and drab, similar to the burrows in the communal apartments Kabakov had previously recreated, but with far fewer imaginative devices; even more notable is that nothing refers to the former Soviet Union, and it is only the knowledge of Kabakov’s previous installations that lends itself to comparison. The diminutive installation does not offer text to further explain the closet, but the concept behind the group show, utopia, informs the viewer what is being addressed. In the Closet effectively updates Kabakov’s earlier installations of the Soviet era communal living spaces by conflating the idea of privacy with a phrase, ‘in the closet’, that is almost universally defined as a hidden deviance from the norm. Thus, Kabakov finds the idea of utopia, a recurring interest of his, in anything but the average and everyday. More significantly, perhaps, is the artist’s preference for a private utopia, rather than a colossal public project.
Where is our Place?
Since emigrating to the West, Kabakov’s work has slowly and cautiously taken on new meaning. His installation at the 2003 Venice Biennale was an independent exhibition, rather than in the Russian or American pavilions. Kabakov’s Where is Our Place? is a literal question posed to viewers. A gallery is decorated with an exhibition of modern art, specifically small black-and-white photographs surrounded by white mats and black frames. Above the modern art hang the bottom portions of oversized, antiquated gold-leaf frames of 19th century paintings. The frames are cut off by the ceiling, as are two pairs of giant legs garbed in 19th century attire, the only visible portions of the oversized exhibition. With the works Where is Our Place? and The Artist’s Despair, Kabakov has moved from Soviet era conceptualism concerned with readdressing historical narratives to Western postmodernism that deals ironically with art for art’s sake. His oeuvre, however, continues to evolve as some of his former motifs are altered to address new issues.
The Artist's Despair
The Artist’s Despair, or the Conspiracy of the Untalented of 1994 tells the story of an exhibition. The text informs the viewer that the three paintings, which are part of the work, are chosen for an exhibition. The night after the opening the artist returns and damages the artworks. An influential art critic then convinces the gallerists to add some props and call it an installation, which they do. Kabakov’s text offers the criticism from a fictional artist, who denounces the series of events as a conspiracy. The final imaginary statement is from an art historian who accepts “the naturalness of this process.” The story is meant to be ironic, and maybe even critical, of the way in which the art world can work at times. Through the voice of the art historian everything from the creation to destruction and subsequent rebirth of the artwork is justified. The message is left ambiguous, just as the very title allows the viewer to be the final judge of, and contributor to, the artwork.
Looking Up, Reading the Words
The concept of the sky as a route to escape is used repeatedly by Kabakov. Looking Up, Reading the Words is a public project that was installed in 1997 for the Skulptur.Projekte in Münster, Germany. The sculpture resembles a 50 foot tall radio antenna. At the top, aerials protrude horizontally creating an oblong shape. The aerials form lines on notebook paper and there are words made from metal letters sandwiched between, with the sky used as a backdrop. The words, written in German, read:
The text simultaneously directs the viewer’s gaze to the sky and obstructs his view. Furthermore, as Iwona Blazwick points out, the transmission from the text crackles with irony: “Why was such an exquisite piece of new technology devoted to something so simple as a handwritten text? We had come here (to the park) to escape but, with his tender irony, Kabakov had reconnected us with the pains and the neglected pleasures of reality.”
My Dear One! When you are lying in the grass, with your head thrown back, there is no one around you, and only the sound of the wind can be heard and you look up into the open sky—there, up above, is the blue sky and the clouds floating by—perhaps this is the very best thing that you have ever done or seen in your life.
The text simultaneously directs the viewer’s gaze to the sky and obstructs his view. Furthermore, as Iwona Blazwick points out, the transmission from the text crackles with irony: “Why was such an exquisite piece of new technology devoted to something so simple as a handwritten text? We had come here (to the park) to escape but, with his tender irony, Kabakov had reconnected us with the pains and the neglected pleasures of reality.”
Monument to a Lost Civilization
Monument to a Lost Civilization is at once the most comprehensive retrospective to date and Kabakov’s grandest statement. Originally exhibited in Palermo, Italy, in 1999, the monument includes 38 installations out of a self-declared oeuvre of 140 artworks. The installations within Monument were chosen because they all reference the Soviet Union, or the lost civilization. The monument serves as a reminder to the Sicilians in Palermo who hope to create a new society. Emilia Kabakov warns, “Don’t repeat our mistakes, look at your dreams clearly, but don’t sacrifice the people in the name of ideology.” According to Kabakov’s plans, Monument to a Lost Civilization is to exist below ground in a space without any windows, which might allow the viewer to find solace through the sight of the sky. The space was to be designed like a cavernous lair impossible to navigate where visitors will get lost. They will ask directions to the garden and be told they must find the final room, only to discover the door to the garden, which the artist equate with paradise, locked. In part due to the monument’s enormous size, viewers would enter and forget where the exit is, but never forget what is outside as they begin to feel an atmosphere resembling the Soviet Union, giving “an idea of totalitarianism.”
Monument to a Lost Glove
The concept of the monument is a motif used throughout Kabakov’s oeuvre. Monument to a Lost Glove was a public project created in 1996 for Lyon, France to coincide with the G7 summit. Later in the year it was placed on the corner of Broadway and 23rd Street in New York. A red plastic woman’s glove is attached to the ground and around it is placed a semicircle of nine metal music stands, each engraved with a text from a different imaginary character and written in poetic form. The texts, written in four languages (French, English, German and Russian), are recollections of the woman inspired by the dropped glove. In a text separate from, but pertaining to, the public project, Kabakov explains his focus of attention for Monument to a Lost Glove. From the 17th through the 19th centuries, the ability to create a sonnet, eulogy, or epigraph was highly valued. By the end of the “iron twentieth century” the literary tradition had been lost. “To resurrect it is the goal of our project”, the artist declares. Therefore, the glove symbolizes the lost tradition of poetic verse and the ability to “shroud…thoughts in poetic form.”
The Palace of Projects
The Palace of Projects is an installation that was originally conceived in 1998 for Roundhouse, an art space in London. Mimicking the building’s structure and perfectly placed within a central ring of columns is a smaller enclosure in the shape of a spiral, glowing from within and illuminating the otherwise dim interior of the Roundhouse. Built of wood, steel and fabric, the structure resembles Tatlin’s Monument to the Third International. Kabakov’s building was ironically designed with less ambition than Tatlin’s but is far more functional. The text provided states, “the installation displays and examines a seemingly commonly known and even trivial truth: the world consists of a multitude of projects, realized ones, half-realized ones, and ones not realized at all.” Thus, despite the immediate reference to the Soviet Union’s utopian project, the viewer is told that this installation refers to the entire world. The text continues and promises the viewer that within the palace are over 60 projects, some complete, many not, but one that, perhaps, is the viewer’s own and which will give meaning and significance to his life. The text insists that a life is worth living only if it has a project of some sort.
The Toilet
The Toilet is an installation that was erected in 1992 for Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany. Visitors entered a small building to find a public restroom containing six toilet stalls. The room, however, was filled with furniture and appeared to have been used as a living space with a bed, crib, dresser, nightstand and a table that looks as if it were in the midst of being set for dinner. There was more clutter left about and some of the toilet stalls became storage closets. As in many of Kabakov’s installations, the viewer was left with the impression that the inhabitant had just stepped out and might return at any moment.
Red Wagon
Red Wagon was exhibited in 1991 at the Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf, Germany. Compared to other installations, Red Wagon is rather simple. Entering a large gallery with a high ceiling, the viewer finds an unfinished wooden ramp and a series of ladders and platforms. Able to explore the construction, the viewer discovers the final ladder is directed upwards diagonally but does not lead anywhere. Moving past the unpainted wooden construction, the viewer enters what might appear to an American to be a trailer home but which is modeled on a Russian wagon, which at one time could have been used as a railroad car. The exterior is decorated with Socialist Realist paintings. Music emanates from the wagon’s darkened interior, and, upon crossing the threshold, the viewer finds a mural depicting an idyllic Soviet city, peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous, with a blue sky filled not with clouds but apparently with an airshow of biplanes, hot-air balloons, and zeppelins. Benches are placed opposite the mural, allowing the viewer to rest and take in the music and imaginary scenery. At the rear of the wagon a final door takes the viewer to a room strewn with piles of garbage, but, unlike most of Kabakov’s other installations, a narrative is not offered to clarify setting.
The Man Who Never Threw Anything Away
Another character, The Man Who Never Threw Anything Away collects and treasures ordinary and discarded items. The walls are adorned with Three Green Paintings along with another of Kabakov’s artworks; also called The Ropes, strings are tied in rows several feet above the floor, from one wall to the other. Countless items hang from the strings and below each item a small piece of paper explains its origin. The character writes about garbage, lamenting that the world that surrounds him is a dump and wondering if every other country is likewise covered with garbage. He points out that the land, owned by no one, has become a dump and looms threateningly beyond the walls, submerging the apartment.
The Untalented Artist
In this room, three large canvases rest on the floor against the walls. Each canvas is divided in half horizontally and depicts various scenes, including a soccer match, a drawing class in an art academy, a group of workers, and three views of the countryside with assorted landmarks or industrial settings. The narrative of The Untalented Artist describes the man as 50 years old (approximately Kabakov’s age when he created this work), who took some art classes when he was younger and now works for the state. The paintings resemble the crude works created for propaganda, agitation and advertisements for official events. The narrative suggests the works are “a dreadful mixture of hack-work, simple lack of skill.”
Monday, 5 November 2007
Space: Unlimited expanse in which all objects exist and move, interval black proportion unoccupied area. The universe beyond the earths atmosphere.
Spacious- Having a large capacity of area.
Limiting our performance space, what would happen, could this represent Oppression. (like we do when we draw or rooms)
Spaceship – vehicle for travel beyond the earths atmosphere:
Like the devise of our man or the journey of the audience.
Space Shuttle – manned reusable vehicle for repeated space flight.
(Which lead me to think of the revolution- after reading the blogg and the possibility of all characters representing a sense of moving on, and up leaving there shoes behind, following in his foot prints??)
Space suit –Sealed pressurised suit warn by an astronaut.
(or our investigation team)
Star- hot gaseous mass in space, visible to the night shy as a point of light, star-shaped mark used to indicate excellence, astrological forecast- horoscope.
“It’s written in the starts”
Planet- A large body of space that revolves around the sun or another star:
Our stage, this is why I particularly like the idea of the acting space having four sides of audience and the sense of the goodbye Lenin scene revolving, perhaps a concept we could go back to.. Perhaps the story is a cycle.. with no definitive end??
Planetarium – Building where the movements of the stars, planets etc are shown by projected light on the inside.
This lead to thoughts on the aesthetics of the piece, lights, and projection.
Auditorium – Planetarium
Alien – Foreign, repugnant. From another world.
Though of the line “it’s alien to me”
Alienation- to Alienate- to become hostile.
Our man has alienated himself,
Spacious- Having a large capacity of area.
Limiting our performance space, what would happen, could this represent Oppression. (like we do when we draw or rooms)
Spaceship – vehicle for travel beyond the earths atmosphere:
Like the devise of our man or the journey of the audience.
Space Shuttle – manned reusable vehicle for repeated space flight.
(Which lead me to think of the revolution- after reading the blogg and the possibility of all characters representing a sense of moving on, and up leaving there shoes behind, following in his foot prints??)
Space suit –Sealed pressurised suit warn by an astronaut.
(or our investigation team)
Star- hot gaseous mass in space, visible to the night shy as a point of light, star-shaped mark used to indicate excellence, astrological forecast- horoscope.
“It’s written in the starts”
Planet- A large body of space that revolves around the sun or another star:
Our stage, this is why I particularly like the idea of the acting space having four sides of audience and the sense of the goodbye Lenin scene revolving, perhaps a concept we could go back to.. Perhaps the story is a cycle.. with no definitive end??
Planetarium – Building where the movements of the stars, planets etc are shown by projected light on the inside.
This lead to thoughts on the aesthetics of the piece, lights, and projection.
Auditorium – Planetarium
Alien – Foreign, repugnant. From another world.
Though of the line “it’s alien to me”
Alienation- to Alienate- to become hostile.
Our man has alienated himself,
Revolution...
I have been developing an idea for some time now about the idea of revolution and its relation to the piece. I feel that the man who flew to space from his apartment is almost a microcosmic example of revolution. He whiles away in his apartment getting closer and closer by day to this goal of escape and freedom. In my mind this is an example of a great revolutionary, influencing his comrades and inspiring them to feel the same. This is fairly evident in the ways which we are showing the neighbour becoming more and more intrigued by the sounds we hear coming from the mans apartment although it is subtle he is gaining a following simply through the intrigue that he is creating.
rev•o•lu•tion ˌrɛv əˈlu ʃən - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rev-uh-loo-shuh n] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.
2. Sociology. a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, esp. one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence. Compare SOCIAL EVOLUTION.
3. a sudden, complete or marked change in something: the present revolution in church architecture.
4. a procedure or course, as if in a circuit, back to a starting point.
5. a single turn of this kind.
6. Mechanics.
a. a turning round or rotating, as on an axis.
b. a moving in a circular or curving course, as about a central point.
c. a single cycle in such a course.
7. Astronomy.
a. (not in technical use) ROTATION (def. 2).
b. the orbiting of one heavenly body around another.
c. a single course of such movement.
8. a round or cycle of events in time or a recurring period of time.
9. Geology. a time of worldwide orogeny and mountain-building
1. a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving;
In the case of the man who flew to space from his apartment he is over reaching he knows that this act of desperation will lead to certain death yet he does it anyway, maybe as an act of martyrdom to save those others in the apartment block or maybe just a selfish act which in the long run will condemn his neighbours. Just like a modern day Iccarus he chooses to ignore common sense and aims to reach that un-attainable goal. It could represent capitalism and the inevitable greed that is associated with it, one man will have his glory regardless of everyone else or of course it could be the exact opposite that is the beauty of it.
This is the synopsis of The Edukators a film that has been linked to the project in my head for a while I feel that some of the points raised in the film are similar to those in the installation.
Jan, Peter and Jule are living out their rebellious youth. They are united by their passion to change the state of the world. Jan channels his anger into causes. His hip roommate Peter shares the same ideals, but he’s much more relaxed. Peter's girlfriend Jule has just moved in because she can't make ends meet on her waitress' salary.
Unknown to Jule, Jan and Peter are the ‘Edukators’, mysterious perpetrators of creative, non-violent warnings to the local yacht club members that their "days of plenty are numbered." As it happens, Jule has a secret of her own: an accident in an uninsured vehicle has left her with a lifetime of monthly payments to a rich businessman named Hardenberg. While Peter is away on holiday, Jan and Jules recklessly break into Hardenberg's villa for some "edukating." They also give in to the feelings that have been growing between them.
When Jan and Jule are forced to return to the villa to retrieve a forgotten cell phone, they are caught in the act by Hardenberg. They have no choice but to call Peter for help, at the risk of his finding out about their hidden romance. When the trio makes the rash decision to kidnap the rich entrepreneur and retreat to a relative's mountain cabin, the young idealists find themselves face-to-face with the values of the generation in power...
Tagline:
Every heart is a revolutionary cell…Your days of plenty are numbered…
rev•o•lu•tion ˌrɛv əˈlu ʃən - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rev-uh-loo-shuh n] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.
2. Sociology. a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, esp. one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence. Compare SOCIAL EVOLUTION.
3. a sudden, complete or marked change in something: the present revolution in church architecture.
4. a procedure or course, as if in a circuit, back to a starting point.
5. a single turn of this kind.
6. Mechanics.
a. a turning round or rotating, as on an axis.
b. a moving in a circular or curving course, as about a central point.
c. a single cycle in such a course.
7. Astronomy.
a. (not in technical use) ROTATION (def. 2).
b. the orbiting of one heavenly body around another.
c. a single course of such movement.
8. a round or cycle of events in time or a recurring period of time.
9. Geology. a time of worldwide orogeny and mountain-building
1. a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving;
In the case of the man who flew to space from his apartment he is over reaching he knows that this act of desperation will lead to certain death yet he does it anyway, maybe as an act of martyrdom to save those others in the apartment block or maybe just a selfish act which in the long run will condemn his neighbours. Just like a modern day Iccarus he chooses to ignore common sense and aims to reach that un-attainable goal. It could represent capitalism and the inevitable greed that is associated with it, one man will have his glory regardless of everyone else or of course it could be the exact opposite that is the beauty of it.
This is the synopsis of The Edukators a film that has been linked to the project in my head for a while I feel that some of the points raised in the film are similar to those in the installation.
Jan, Peter and Jule are living out their rebellious youth. They are united by their passion to change the state of the world. Jan channels his anger into causes. His hip roommate Peter shares the same ideals, but he’s much more relaxed. Peter's girlfriend Jule has just moved in because she can't make ends meet on her waitress' salary.
Unknown to Jule, Jan and Peter are the ‘Edukators’, mysterious perpetrators of creative, non-violent warnings to the local yacht club members that their "days of plenty are numbered." As it happens, Jule has a secret of her own: an accident in an uninsured vehicle has left her with a lifetime of monthly payments to a rich businessman named Hardenberg. While Peter is away on holiday, Jan and Jules recklessly break into Hardenberg's villa for some "edukating." They also give in to the feelings that have been growing between them.
When Jan and Jule are forced to return to the villa to retrieve a forgotten cell phone, they are caught in the act by Hardenberg. They have no choice but to call Peter for help, at the risk of his finding out about their hidden romance. When the trio makes the rash decision to kidnap the rich entrepreneur and retreat to a relative's mountain cabin, the young idealists find themselves face-to-face with the values of the generation in power...
Tagline:
Every heart is a revolutionary cell…Your days of plenty are numbered…
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
In this space
In this space we have stars
In this space we have atmosphere
In this space we have darkness
In this space we have light
In this space we have objects
In this space we have planets orbiting each other
In this space we are matter
In this space we have no edge
In this space we have synchronisation
In this space we have relationships
In this space we hear sounds
In this space we see signs of life
In this space we are observers
In this space you are astronomers
In this space we are always being watched
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Create a space
Peggy Phelan 'Long commitment not to' (Certain fragments)
Exploration – Illuminating – Discover – Transmissions – Investigate – Ignite - Witnesses (Audience) - ‘Ignite the conscience of an ethical observer’ – Makers – Escapist - ‘Traffics in Fiction’ - ‘Echoes of the real world’ – Operates - Map. ‘Structuring metaphor’ – Places – Tour – Sites – Strange – Reflecting – City – Layers - ‘Individual Residents’ - ‘The challenger space shuttle had blown up in Manchester in 1985’ - Spectator’s - consciousness ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ - Crashed – Company - Witness - ‘Mapping space time in this manner transforms history (and travel) into an actively composed set of personal stories and not a passively experienced set of external events and locations’ – Group -‘Events of the rest of the world comes to them sizzling across fibre-optic cables, electronic pixels, wire services, and satellite dishes’ ‘These events go whizzing by’ - ‘Processed by some reading-machine’ ‘Decipher these codes’ - ‘This reading-machine is both technological and affective, both collective and personal’ - ‘The territory between the real and the phantasmatic’ - ‘Like a net flung floating across two continents’ – Generations – Capture - ‘the fusion that allows a mechanical pump to keep our otherwise irregular hearts beating’ - ‘become witness to events that you may only encounter here on the pages of this book’ - Encountering Reanimates - ‘we rediscover their force in our ongoing present’ -Snap shots - ‘To solicit an ethical witness in a theatre event requires one to trust that the border of the performance exceeds its spatial and temporal boundaries’ - ‘in the process of becoming’
Excerpts and words taken from 'Performing Questions, Producing Witness' by Peggy Phelan featured in Tim Etchells book Certain Fragments.
Scanning the page I drew out words and sentences I felt related to our piece.
Exploration – Illuminating – Discover – Transmissions – Investigate – Ignite - Witnesses (Audience) - ‘Ignite the conscience of an ethical observer’ – Makers – Escapist - ‘Traffics in Fiction’ - ‘Echoes of the real world’ – Operates - Map. ‘Structuring metaphor’ – Places – Tour – Sites – Strange – Reflecting – City – Layers - ‘Individual Residents’ - ‘The challenger space shuttle had blown up in Manchester in 1985’ - Spectator’s - consciousness ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ - Crashed – Company - Witness - ‘Mapping space time in this manner transforms history (and travel) into an actively composed set of personal stories and not a passively experienced set of external events and locations’ – Group -‘Events of the rest of the world comes to them sizzling across fibre-optic cables, electronic pixels, wire services, and satellite dishes’ ‘These events go whizzing by’ - ‘Processed by some reading-machine’ ‘Decipher these codes’ - ‘This reading-machine is both technological and affective, both collective and personal’ - ‘The territory between the real and the phantasmatic’ - ‘Like a net flung floating across two continents’ – Generations – Capture - ‘the fusion that allows a mechanical pump to keep our otherwise irregular hearts beating’ - ‘become witness to events that you may only encounter here on the pages of this book’ - Encountering Reanimates - ‘we rediscover their force in our ongoing present’ -Snap shots - ‘To solicit an ethical witness in a theatre event requires one to trust that the border of the performance exceeds its spatial and temporal boundaries’ - ‘in the process of becoming’
Excerpts and words taken from 'Performing Questions, Producing Witness' by Peggy Phelan featured in Tim Etchells book Certain Fragments.
Scanning the page I drew out words and sentences I felt related to our piece.
Thursday, 18 October 2007
On August 16, 1960, Joseph Kittinger surpassed the altitude record set by Major David Simons, who had climbed to 101,516 feet (30,942 meters) in 1957 in his Man-High II balloon. Kittinger floated to 102,800 feet (31,333 meters) in Excelsior III, an open gondola adorned with a paper license plate that his five-year-old son had cut out of a cereal box. Protected against the subzero temperatures by layers of clothes and a pressure suit--he experienced air temperatures as low as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius)--and loaded down with gear that almost doubled his weight, he climbed to his maximum altitude in one hour and 31 minutes even though at 43,000 feet (13,106 meters) he began experiencing severe pain in his right hand caused by a failure in his pressure glove and could have scrubbed the mission. He remained at peak altitude for about 12 minutes; then he stepped out of his gondola into the darkness of space. After falling for 13 seconds, his six-foot (1.8-meter) canopy parachute opened and stabilized his fall, preventing the flat spin that could have killed him. Only four minutes and 36 seconds more were needed to bring him down to about 17,500 feet (5,334 meters) where his regular 28-foot (8.5-meter) parachute opened, allowing him to float the rest of the way to Earth. His descent set another record for the longest parachute freefall.
During his descent, he reached speeds up to 614 miles per hour, approaching the speed of sound without the protection of an aircraft or space vehicle. But, he said, he "had absolutely no sense of the speed." His flight and parachute jump demonstrated that, properly protected, it was possible to put a person into near-space and that airmen could exit their aircraft at extremely high altitudes and free fall back into the Earth's atmosphere without dangerous consequences.
This article is about Joseph Kittinger a former pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. The way in which he climbed high into the atmosphere without 'rocket power' as similarities to 'The Man Who Flew into Space from His Apartment'. This article also gives some facts on the reality of such a journey.
During his descent, he reached speeds up to 614 miles per hour, approaching the speed of sound without the protection of an aircraft or space vehicle. But, he said, he "had absolutely no sense of the speed." His flight and parachute jump demonstrated that, properly protected, it was possible to put a person into near-space and that airmen could exit their aircraft at extremely high altitudes and free fall back into the Earth's atmosphere without dangerous consequences.
This article is about Joseph Kittinger a former pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. The way in which he climbed high into the atmosphere without 'rocket power' as similarities to 'The Man Who Flew into Space from His Apartment'. This article also gives some facts on the reality of such a journey.
Words:
“It is not frivolous to challenge the hard logic of biology or material facts with the sot and multiple logics of play – play with it’s transformations, it’s power reversals, its illogic’s, it’s joys, it’s potential escapes.. It’s not frivolous to insist that, even as we die we’re creatures of fiction and pretending, that we’re not simply ‘facts’ or biology, that we may not be contained by either. I don’t think it is frivolous to insist that, even as one dies, one is multiple, playful, partial, strategic and indeed fictional”
I felt it may go with the feeling of escape?
I felt it may go with the feeling of escape?
Russian warm up words
Hello! = zzdrast wi tyeh Здравствуйте
1 = a-din один
2 = d-va два
3 = tri три
http://listen2russian.com/lesson02/a/index.html
http://listen2russian.com/lesson04/a/index.html
1 = a-din один
2 = d-va два
3 = tri три
http://listen2russian.com/lesson02/a/index.html
http://listen2russian.com/lesson04/a/index.html
Cossack lullaby English/Russian
Cossack lullaby
Russian
Spi mladyenets, moi prekrasný,
bayushki bayu
tikho smotrit myesyats yasný
f kolýbyel tvayu.
English
Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,
bayushki bayu
quietly the moon is looking
into your cradle
Казачья Колыбельная Песня
Спи, младенец мой прекрасный,
Баюшки-баю.
Тихо смотрит месяц ясный
В колыбель твою.
Mikhaïl Iourievitch Lermontov
(1814-1841)
http://www.kaikracht.de/balalaika/english/songs/spim_not.htm
Russian
Spi mladyenets, moi prekrasný,
bayushki bayu
tikho smotrit myesyats yasný
f kolýbyel tvayu.
English
Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,
bayushki bayu
quietly the moon is looking
into your cradle
Казачья Колыбельная Песня
Спи, младенец мой прекрасный,
Баюшки-баю.
Тихо смотрит месяц ясный
В колыбель твою.
Mikhaïl Iourievitch Lermontov
(1814-1841)
http://www.kaikracht.de/balalaika/english/songs/spim_not.htm
Monday, 15 October 2007
Stage Asthetics. Left Wing / Right Wing - Stage Left/ Stage Right
Is there a scene in which the stage can be split in two, one side representing the Leftwing the other the Rightwing and inbetween?
In a Directing class last year we looked at the difference between action on the stage. The result of this was to find that action on stage right was easier too look at than action on the left. If stage right represents 'the norm' aand left 'the strange' with most political parties trying to balance between the left and right it would be interesting to see how this dynamic might work on stage.
In a Directing class last year we looked at the difference between action on the stage. The result of this was to find that action on stage right was easier too look at than action on the left. If stage right represents 'the norm' aand left 'the strange' with most political parties trying to balance between the left and right it would be interesting to see how this dynamic might work on stage.
Words:
Da, krazy komrade
There's a little side room here, an installation piece by some Soviet nutcase, Ilya Kabakov. "The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment." Dumpy cold-water flat with pinko-prop posters and infantile space doodles on the wall, a jerry-rigged slingshot contraption and a hole in the roof. "Represents homo sovieticus trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams," says the placard. Some fool nonsense about planets in conjunction and cosmic energy streams, suggesting that Kabakov wasn't that crazy. He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn't?
I loved the way this was written, “Trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams” Perhaps another view point on the room. “He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn’t?” “Some fool nonsence.” I felt it illustrates the owner of the room as a crazed man, but a man who could be felt for.. Is this the thought of an on looker to our man?
Are these cosmic energy streams the ones drawn on the box, it sounds so crazed it could be true, I imagine the man talking passionately and enthusiastically about his idea.. crazy as it sounds.. his whole life focused on it.. excited with hope.
There's a little side room here, an installation piece by some Soviet nutcase, Ilya Kabakov. "The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment." Dumpy cold-water flat with pinko-prop posters and infantile space doodles on the wall, a jerry-rigged slingshot contraption and a hole in the roof. "Represents homo sovieticus trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams," says the placard. Some fool nonsense about planets in conjunction and cosmic energy streams, suggesting that Kabakov wasn't that crazy. He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn't?
I loved the way this was written, “Trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams” Perhaps another view point on the room. “He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn’t?” “Some fool nonsence.” I felt it illustrates the owner of the room as a crazed man, but a man who could be felt for.. Is this the thought of an on looker to our man?
Are these cosmic energy streams the ones drawn on the box, it sounds so crazed it could be true, I imagine the man talking passionately and enthusiastically about his idea.. crazy as it sounds.. his whole life focused on it.. excited with hope.
Da Krazy Komrade
Da, krazy komrade
There's a little side room here, an installation piece by some Soviet nutcase, Ilya Kabakov. "The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment." Dumpy cold-water flat with pinko-prop posters and infantile space doodles on the wall, a jerry-rigged slingshot contraption and a hole in the roof. "Represents homo sovieticus trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams," says the placard. Some fool nonsense about planets in conjunction and cosmic energy streams, suggesting that Kabakov wasn't that crazy. He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn't?
I loved the way this was written, “Trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams” Perhaps another view point on the room. (found text?) “He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn’t?” “Some fool nonsence.” It illustrates the owner of the room as a crazed man, but a man who could be felt for..
There's a little side room here, an installation piece by some Soviet nutcase, Ilya Kabakov. "The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment." Dumpy cold-water flat with pinko-prop posters and infantile space doodles on the wall, a jerry-rigged slingshot contraption and a hole in the roof. "Represents homo sovieticus trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams," says the placard. Some fool nonsense about planets in conjunction and cosmic energy streams, suggesting that Kabakov wasn't that crazy. He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn't?
I loved the way this was written, “Trapped between material poverty and idealistic dreams” Perhaps another view point on the room. (found text?) “He just wanted to get the hell outta red Russia. Who wouldn’t?” “Some fool nonsence.” It illustrates the owner of the room as a crazed man, but a man who could be felt for..
Thomas Pynchon talks about George Orwell (1984 intro pg VII)
Orwell, G (2003 edition) 1984. London. Penguin books.
'More or less conciously, he found an analogy between British Labour and the Communist Party under Stalin - both, he felt, were movements professing the fight for the working classes against capitalism but in reality concerned only with establishing and perpetuating their own power.'
'More or less conciously, he found an analogy between British Labour and the Communist Party under Stalin - both, he felt, were movements professing the fight for the working classes against capitalism but in reality concerned only with establishing and perpetuating their own power.'
Taken from improvisation on the type writer
Taken from improvisation on the type writer.
• Has been untouched since about 1976
• It was my grandmother - novelist
• She didn’t have a life
• When I was younger, there was an old lady down the street.
• I remember the sound of it
• The movement of it
• I don’t remember seeing it
• Maybe you wonder what she wrote about it
• It seemed a bit of a friend to me
• Press down hard to get.. on it
• You can’t use the ‘s’ no more
• Been over 20 years since they used this
• Brings it all back you see, the inadequacy
• Write randomness and listen to it type
• And if you take it apart you could see words on the ribbon
• Has been untouched since about 1976
• It was my grandmother - novelist
• She didn’t have a life
• When I was younger, there was an old lady down the street.
• I remember the sound of it
• The movement of it
• I don’t remember seeing it
• Maybe you wonder what she wrote about it
• It seemed a bit of a friend to me
• Press down hard to get.. on it
• You can’t use the ‘s’ no more
• Been over 20 years since they used this
• Brings it all back you see, the inadequacy
• Write randomness and listen to it type
• And if you take it apart you could see words on the ribbon
Thoughts on what happened after the man who flew into space from is apartment, flew into space (from his apartment). Stimulus: The sound of the air conditioning:
In a room, there coming
Well they might be,
Is that them I’m going,
Up, away, free,
I didn’t believe any more
I here the air pushing past me,
This is what it’s like to be free
Exhilaration, taking over, overwhelmingly,
I’m flying!
I’m dieing!
I didn’t believe any more.
It’s worth it all worth it,
One moment of freedom, success,
One moment where I was me,
That moment where I knew best,
The air is pushing up around my body as I fall,
Is that them?
I didn’t believe any more!
In a room, there coming
Well they might be,
Is that them I’m going,
Up, away, free,
I didn’t believe any more
I here the air pushing past me,
This is what it’s like to be free
Exhilaration, taking over, overwhelmingly,
I’m flying!
I’m dieing!
I didn’t believe any more.
It’s worth it all worth it,
One moment of freedom, success,
One moment where I was me,
That moment where I knew best,
The air is pushing up around my body as I fall,
Is that them?
I didn’t believe any more!
Russian politics today
'Village of fools' BBC4 10pm 8th October 2007
Sergei Nikolaevich (The vice speaker of the Russian parliament)
Commentator
'He is convinced that the west want to launch a new cold war against Russia.'
'He is a Nationalist.'
'He stands for a great Russia, a super power like the Soviet Union was, A country that inspires fear and commands respect.'
Sergei Nikolaevich
"Gorbachev opened the floodgates during perestroika when freedom of speech was raised level of complete irresponsibility. And now that permissiveness is disappearing. Today the state controls television and radio. Now we are happy."
"Our party ‘The peoples will’ stands for the ordinary man and for imperial Russia"
"There is a new force in Russia. It could really become one of the global centres of power again"
Sergei Nikolaevich (The vice speaker of the Russian parliament)
Commentator
'He is convinced that the west want to launch a new cold war against Russia.'
'He is a Nationalist.'
'He stands for a great Russia, a super power like the Soviet Union was, A country that inspires fear and commands respect.'
Sergei Nikolaevich
"Gorbachev opened the floodgates during perestroika when freedom of speech was raised level of complete irresponsibility. And now that permissiveness is disappearing. Today the state controls television and radio. Now we are happy."
"Our party ‘The peoples will’ stands for the ordinary man and for imperial Russia"
"There is a new force in Russia. It could really become one of the global centres of power again"
I'm ready to fall (The Rocketman)
Wind blowing through my hair, face , shoulders.
I'm a bullet,a bullet waiting for impact...
...Explosion, Light, blast, sparks, heat.
Particles in the atmosphere.
I'm a firework, a rocket. Rocketman
'Fly me to the moon Alice'
I don't care where I fall
Nobody else can feel this - suspension
Realisation - this is it
no more birthdays
no more christmas, fairgrounds, children, love, happiness.
Not for me...
... I dont need, want, have, desire.
I'm ready to fall.
I dont believe anymore.
I'm a bullet,a bullet waiting for impact...
...Explosion, Light, blast, sparks, heat.
Particles in the atmosphere.
I'm a firework, a rocket. Rocketman
'Fly me to the moon Alice'
I don't care where I fall
Nobody else can feel this - suspension
Realisation - this is it
no more birthdays
no more christmas, fairgrounds, children, love, happiness.
Not for me...
... I dont need, want, have, desire.
I'm ready to fall.
I dont believe anymore.
picture 1
Artist Unknown.
Rot Front! (Red Front! Freedom to the prisoners of Fascism), 1939
picture 2
Zvorykin, B.
The Struggle of the Red Knight with the Dark Force, 1919
picture 3
Moor, Dimitri.
1st of May - A Festival of Labor, 1920
picture 4
Moor, Dimitri.
The Last Decisive Battle, 1920
picture 5
Moor, Dimitri.
Be on Guard!, 1921
Collecting Soviet Posters
Soviet posters are a relatively new area of collecting. Virtually unavailable in the West until Perestroika, they were thoroughly researched by Stephen White in his 1988 monograph The Bolshevik Poster. With the decline of Communism, there is more interest than ever in the images from this bold social experiment.
Although most Soviet posters were issued in editions of 5,000 to 50,000, they are extremely rare today. The primary reason is that most posters - as intended - were posted, and survived only weeks or months. The remainder were generally not recognized as valuable historical documents or collectibles at the time they were printed. They usually were recycled or lost due to the ravages of war or neglect. Others were destroyed for political reasons (it was dangerous to keep images of Trotsky after 1928, for example).
The mid-'80s saw a steady trickle of images out of Russia, but that trickle has slowed, and many of the highest quality pieces are already unavailable. The works of Rodchenko, Lissitsky and Klutsis can reach into the tens of thousands, but many museum caliber pieces from before World War II are available at $300 to $1500. The Bolshevik period is particularly filled with collecting opportunities. Post WWII images can be found at less cost, but still are fascinating and valuable as collectibles.
this research shows that in order for ilya kabakov to plaster the walls of his installation in these posters he must have had some great demination and will power to find these things.
did the posters provoke some kind of reaction for him to go adhead with the build of his idea?
picture number 1 espically pay's reference to the feeling of escape.
if the man who flew to space had this particular poster would it have given him the reason to "escape" his life and build the contraption?
maybe these pictures and posters were his inspiration and his spur to help finish his dream??????
the unreachable dream
As I fly threw the air I start to think of what I’ve left behind, not just my family and friends, but my belongings and the rest of my ideas. What will happen to them? Will they ever be discovered? And if so, who by? Will someone test them out? I know I’m not going to be able to, but I did leave them in a good place to be rediscovered.
Now I’m falling. How is it that there are always a few seconds in between the transition from flying to falling, but the second seems to linger as if I’ve just lived another lifetime.
The speed is picking up now. I can feel the cold air against my skin as the gravity pulls me down hard and fast. Now I know how it feels to fly, how free and alive it can be, but I’ll never have anyone to share it with. No one to compare the feelings or the state of mind that I’m in.
I feel that I’ve really lived my life now. I really pursued this idea to the full and made it spring out of the paper and the scrolls and the models to make this a reality. No regrets.
As I crash to the earth again the sounds around me start to fade and I begin to lose myself.
That’s when I stopped believing.
Now I’m falling. How is it that there are always a few seconds in between the transition from flying to falling, but the second seems to linger as if I’ve just lived another lifetime.
The speed is picking up now. I can feel the cold air against my skin as the gravity pulls me down hard and fast. Now I know how it feels to fly, how free and alive it can be, but I’ll never have anyone to share it with. No one to compare the feelings or the state of mind that I’m in.
I feel that I’ve really lived my life now. I really pursued this idea to the full and made it spring out of the paper and the scrolls and the models to make this a reality. No regrets.
As I crash to the earth again the sounds around me start to fade and I begin to lose myself.
That’s when I stopped believing.
the aquarium
This is my aquarium ticket. I keep this because it’s the first aquarium that I ever went to. I remember this because I went with my family, but that was the only time. Really what I mean to say is that each one I’ve been to since I have always gone on my own. This particular aquarium I remember was really run down and there were not many type of fish in it. I mean you get your basic fish and everything, but I always remember that there was a little turtle and I think this is what made me like turtles so much.
I do think its so strange though. I go to aquariums to escape and feel free, but all the fish are locked up inside massive tanks. They always look so sad like they want to escape. I remember thought that the first aquarium I went to had this one tiny tank with five huge silver fish in it. They were just swimming around bumping into each other, not a very nice situation to be in. most of the fish that live in the tanks have probably never been free in the ocean, they’ve all been bred in captivity. They must be so sad knowing that. I feel so sorry for them. I think about setting them free sometimes but I’d never get away with it. I’d have to plan it so much and then I’d never be able to do it alone. Look at them, don’t they look like they’re saying ‘help’. ‘Help me, get me out of here. Help me be free, please…just help me…help!’
I do think its so strange though. I go to aquariums to escape and feel free, but all the fish are locked up inside massive tanks. They always look so sad like they want to escape. I remember thought that the first aquarium I went to had this one tiny tank with five huge silver fish in it. They were just swimming around bumping into each other, not a very nice situation to be in. most of the fish that live in the tanks have probably never been free in the ocean, they’ve all been bred in captivity. They must be so sad knowing that. I feel so sorry for them. I think about setting them free sometimes but I’d never get away with it. I’d have to plan it so much and then I’d never be able to do it alone. Look at them, don’t they look like they’re saying ‘help’. ‘Help me, get me out of here. Help me be free, please…just help me…help!’
space
Looking for Life
How do we search for life in the Universe?
From sending probes to the planets to discovering new worlds, find out how we are looking for alien life.
In this section:
Life in the Solar System?
Planet hunting
SETI looks for life
IS THERE LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
Over the next few years, space probes will be visiting alien worlds looking for life. Our first contact with extraterrestrials could be just around the corner
The main candidates in the Solar System to harbour life are Mars, Europa and Titan
Many astronomers now believe that life has a good chance of evolving wherever the conditions are right. So our Solar System could be teeming with living creatures!
Join us as we take a voyage around the Sun's family looking for life...
How do we search for life in the Universe?
From sending probes to the planets to discovering new worlds, find out how we are looking for alien life.
In this section:
Life in the Solar System?
Planet hunting
SETI looks for life
IS THERE LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
Over the next few years, space probes will be visiting alien worlds looking for life. Our first contact with extraterrestrials could be just around the corner
The main candidates in the Solar System to harbour life are Mars, Europa and Titan
Many astronomers now believe that life has a good chance of evolving wherever the conditions are right. So our Solar System could be teeming with living creatures!
Join us as we take a voyage around the Sun's family looking for life...
monologues
Stu’s monologue
First monologue on his own (/ = unable to make out)
I can see erm, on the wall are my plans to sort of get out of this place, loads of posters and pictures representing the time that I’m in, I suppose, / claustrophobia. I’m feeling that’s why, this is like my workshop space, it’s very tight. So, so I need to obviously escape / . er I have to be here a lot so I’ve sorta got a bed, it’s not much of a bed, with sorta springs and a bit of a blanket / but it’s a bed. And this, this is the actual device I’m working on, it’s a sort of contraption. I’ll just take you over here first because this is the table with the plans on. Can you see, that? So you got… this is the city, a river, right, I’m planning to shoot up. In that, can you believe it? In that, to get out of here. Erm of course I have to do a lot of work on this so I got my own bench, two chairs and a piece of wood, right, little jar full of stuff, erm whatever I’m using at the time, I suppose, and a lot of debris, it looks quite messy because we, we did have, well I did have a failed attempt of trying to get out. I sorta smashed in to the ceiling, needs a bit of improvement. So er, that’s my workshop.
Nic’s monologue
I can see a bed with a blanket on it,
I can see a portrait of a man,
I can see posters and pictures, a bench, a plank of wood resting on two chairs to make a bench, a leather belt,
I can see plaster on the floor, a teapot and a jug, a jar of seeds, a lamp, an open box,
I can see a spring and I can see rope,
I can see designs,
I can see a river and I can see clouds, that is what I see.
MP: can you see anything above your head?
I see a hole, and some more clouds , I see the sky.
Nic and Stu, first run together. Stu =black Nic = pink
-So erm this is er my workshop, here we go, got em loads of stuff on the walls, proberbly feels claustaphobic, abit cluttered at the moment, got loadsa plans for this erm contraption that I’m making.
-I see designs
-So very important to get things right, coz this is going to catapult me through this /, you can see a hole already in the ceiling, erm that’s the debris that’s from the thing, attempt that I had not long ago.
-I see a large spring.
-Over here you can see, erm, I use it as my bed. Just some springs and a rusty blanket erm, it’s not amazing but it’s good to get my head down from time to time.
-I see a bed and a blanket.
-erm so you’ve seen the contraption, over here we got more of a specific plan, got this table and on it a diagram of the city I live in, erm, the river, and marked out my workshop, got it planned here.
-I see an open box, with clouds and a river.
-I suppose when I have clouds on / / I was being optimistic because it often stays quite dull round here, but you know, positive, on the day we do need a clear sky. You can see me shooting out, tragection, get up there.
-I see a bright light, a lamp.
-And over here we’ve got erm two chairs and a piece of wood, coz erm, I coundn’t really find a bench, quite pricey, so I thought make do with what you got, er a little jar with things in it, it helps me //
-I see a plank of wood on two chairs, a bench, a belt and a jar with seeds in it.
-Sometimes keep seeds in a jar…. we’ve got my shoes which er are always there, just ready to pop em on, I just like to get in them, I suppose.
-I see a pair of shoes.
Nic and Stu 2nd run together (in the same space)
-So, er this is my workshop space, ok, all over the walls you can see there’s a lot of plans, a lot of stuff. I’m basically planning an escape, erm, on this contraptopn, err, hopefully it’s going to shoot me up. I had a failed attempt already which is why there’s so much debris on the floor.
-I see a big spring in the centre of the room
-I do spend a lot of hours in this workshop, about seventeen hours a day, so I’ve got my own bed, my own space, you know, and a blanket there, not great, not too comfortable but it will do.
-on the right hand wall, pushed up against the wall, I see a small camp bed and a blanket.
-Over here you can see we got a sort of , a diagram with what I’m planning to do, you can see this is the city, erm, the river, and hopfully this device when it’s working properly is going to shoot me out of the city. Of course you can’t just walk out of the city // you / also have to disappear over the wall or you will get stopped///.
-In the corner of the room I see an open box with clouds and a river painted inside.
-Here I got a bench, well a make shift bench, it’s er, I planned to do it that way, it don’t cost that much, I got my two chairs and a plank of wood, a jar, bits and bobs and stuff// contraption.
-In the centre of the room I see a large plank of wood, two chairs which the plank of wood is rested on, a big clear empty jar, with seeds in it.
-Of course there are my shoes, coz, when you use the device you can’t have any shoes on, so yea / I take them off.
-I see a pair of shoes surrounded in plaster in the centre of the room.
First monologue on his own (/ = unable to make out)
I can see erm, on the wall are my plans to sort of get out of this place, loads of posters and pictures representing the time that I’m in, I suppose, / claustrophobia. I’m feeling that’s why, this is like my workshop space, it’s very tight. So, so I need to obviously escape / . er I have to be here a lot so I’ve sorta got a bed, it’s not much of a bed, with sorta springs and a bit of a blanket / but it’s a bed. And this, this is the actual device I’m working on, it’s a sort of contraption. I’ll just take you over here first because this is the table with the plans on. Can you see, that? So you got… this is the city, a river, right, I’m planning to shoot up. In that, can you believe it? In that, to get out of here. Erm of course I have to do a lot of work on this so I got my own bench, two chairs and a piece of wood, right, little jar full of stuff, erm whatever I’m using at the time, I suppose, and a lot of debris, it looks quite messy because we, we did have, well I did have a failed attempt of trying to get out. I sorta smashed in to the ceiling, needs a bit of improvement. So er, that’s my workshop.
Nic’s monologue
I can see a bed with a blanket on it,
I can see a portrait of a man,
I can see posters and pictures, a bench, a plank of wood resting on two chairs to make a bench, a leather belt,
I can see plaster on the floor, a teapot and a jug, a jar of seeds, a lamp, an open box,
I can see a spring and I can see rope,
I can see designs,
I can see a river and I can see clouds, that is what I see.
MP: can you see anything above your head?
I see a hole, and some more clouds , I see the sky.
Nic and Stu, first run together. Stu =black Nic = pink
-So erm this is er my workshop, here we go, got em loads of stuff on the walls, proberbly feels claustaphobic, abit cluttered at the moment, got loadsa plans for this erm contraption that I’m making.
-I see designs
-So very important to get things right, coz this is going to catapult me through this /, you can see a hole already in the ceiling, erm that’s the debris that’s from the thing, attempt that I had not long ago.
-I see a large spring.
-Over here you can see, erm, I use it as my bed. Just some springs and a rusty blanket erm, it’s not amazing but it’s good to get my head down from time to time.
-I see a bed and a blanket.
-erm so you’ve seen the contraption, over here we got more of a specific plan, got this table and on it a diagram of the city I live in, erm, the river, and marked out my workshop, got it planned here.
-I see an open box, with clouds and a river.
-I suppose when I have clouds on / / I was being optimistic because it often stays quite dull round here, but you know, positive, on the day we do need a clear sky. You can see me shooting out, tragection, get up there.
-I see a bright light, a lamp.
-And over here we’ve got erm two chairs and a piece of wood, coz erm, I coundn’t really find a bench, quite pricey, so I thought make do with what you got, er a little jar with things in it, it helps me //
-I see a plank of wood on two chairs, a bench, a belt and a jar with seeds in it.
-Sometimes keep seeds in a jar…. we’ve got my shoes which er are always there, just ready to pop em on, I just like to get in them, I suppose.
-I see a pair of shoes.
Nic and Stu 2nd run together (in the same space)
-So, er this is my workshop space, ok, all over the walls you can see there’s a lot of plans, a lot of stuff. I’m basically planning an escape, erm, on this contraptopn, err, hopefully it’s going to shoot me up. I had a failed attempt already which is why there’s so much debris on the floor.
-I see a big spring in the centre of the room
-I do spend a lot of hours in this workshop, about seventeen hours a day, so I’ve got my own bed, my own space, you know, and a blanket there, not great, not too comfortable but it will do.
-on the right hand wall, pushed up against the wall, I see a small camp bed and a blanket.
-Over here you can see we got a sort of , a diagram with what I’m planning to do, you can see this is the city, erm, the river, and hopfully this device when it’s working properly is going to shoot me out of the city. Of course you can’t just walk out of the city // you / also have to disappear over the wall or you will get stopped///.
-In the corner of the room I see an open box with clouds and a river painted inside.
-Here I got a bench, well a make shift bench, it’s er, I planned to do it that way, it don’t cost that much, I got my two chairs and a plank of wood, a jar, bits and bobs and stuff// contraption.
-In the centre of the room I see a large plank of wood, two chairs which the plank of wood is rested on, a big clear empty jar, with seeds in it.
-Of course there are my shoes, coz, when you use the device you can’t have any shoes on, so yea / I take them off.
-I see a pair of shoes surrounded in plaster in the centre of the room.
Sunday, 14 October 2007
writing exercise
Pushing through the cracks in the ceiling the polystyrene tiles shatter into a thousand pieces, dusting my head like snow. The force of my make-shift machine propells me through the earths atmosphere into a world beyond beauty and nature, an unknown feeling grabbed hold of me for this was completely new, no-one besides me had ever felt this way but...... I don't believe.....I don't believe. It's true what they say in space no-one can hear you scream; There is no atmosphere, my throat starts to tighten, like someone has their hands clasped tightly around my neck. I am being smothered. I gasp for breath, clawing for just one last breath before the oxygen is slowly sucked from my being. I'm hot but there is no air, no not hot nor cold, this is the strangest, feeling my eyes become heavy there is no fear for I have felt what no-one else could ever feel, the liberation of a reckless act which launched my frail body into the abyss. As my body melts back into the earths shell, at the speed of light...my eyes are dying now... who will remember the man who flew to space from his apartment.........................................
Dystopia
A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia,[1] kakotopia or anti-utopia) is a fictional society that is the antithesis of utopia. It is usually characterized by an oppressive social control, such as an authoritarian or totalitarian government. In other words, a Dystopia has the opposite of what one would expect in a Utopian society.
Some academic circles distinguish between anti-utopia and dystopia. As in George Orwell's 1984,and Yevgeny Zamyatin's "We", a dystopia does not pretend to be good, while an anti-utopia appears to be utopian or was intended to be so (e.g. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World or Andrew Ryan's Rapture in BioShock), but a fatal flaw or other factor has destroyed or twisted the intended utopian world or concept.[2]
Common traits of a dystopian society
The only trait common to all dystopias is that they are negative and undesirable societies, but many commonalities are found across dystopian societies.
In general, dystopias are seen as visions of "dangerous and alienating future societies," often criticizing current trends in culture.[5]
It is a culture where the condition of life is "extremely bad," as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.[6]
[edit] Counter-utopia
Many dystopias, found in fictional and artistic works, can be described as an utopian society with at least one fatal flaw.[7] Whereas a utopian society is founded on perfectionism and fullfilment, a dystopian society’s dreams of improvement are overshadowed by stimulating fears of the “ugly consequences of present-day behavior”.[8]
[edit] Society
Most dystopias impose severe social restrictions on the characters' lives.
This can take the form of social stratification, where social class is strictly defined and enforced, and social mobility is non-existent (see caste system). For example, the novel Brave New World's class system is prenatally designated in terms of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons, who lack the very ability to advance.
Another, often related form of restriction lies in the requirement of strict conformity among citizens, with a general assumption that dissent and individuality are bad. In the novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, people are permitted to live out of public view for only an hour a day. They are not only referred to by numbers instead of names, but are neither "citizens" nor "people", but "numbers." In the lower castes, in Brave New World, single embryos are "bokanovskified", so that they produce between eight and ninety-six identical twins, making the citizens as uniform as possible.[9]
Some dystopian works emphasize the pressure to conform in terms of the requirement to not excel. In these works, the society is ruthlessly egalitarian, in which ability and accomplishment, or even competence, are suppressed or stigmatized as forms of inequality, as in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron". Similarly, in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the dystopia represses the intellectuals with particular force, because most people are willing to accept it, and the resistance to it consists mostly of intellectuals.[10]
In a typical dystopia, there is a total absence of any social group besides the state, as in We, or such social groups being subdivisions of the state, under government control, for example, the Junior Anti-Sex League in 1984.
Among social groups, independent religions are notable by their absence. In Brave New World, the establishment of the state including lopping off the tops of all crosses (as symbols of Christianity) to make them "T"s, (as symbols of Henry Ford's Model T).[11] The state may stage, instead, a personality cult, with quasi-religious rituals about a central figure, usually a head of state or an oligarchy of some sort, such as Big Brother in 1984, or the Well-Doer of We. In explicitly theocratic dystopias, such as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the religion is the state, and is enforced with the same vigor as any secular dystopia's rule; it does not provide social bonds outside the state.
Even more than religion, family is attacked by dystopian societies. In some societies, it has been completely eradicated, but clearly at great effort, and continuing efforts are deployed to keep it down, as in Brave New World, where children are reproduced artificially, where the concept of a "mother" or "father" is obscene. In others, the institution of the family exists but great efforts are deployed to keep it in service of the state, as in 1984, where children are organized to spy on their parents. In We, the escape of a pregnant woman from the United State is a revolt; the hostility of the state to motherhood is a particularly common trait.[12]
The dystopia often must contain human sexuality in order to prevent its disrupting society. The disruption often springs from the social bonds that sexual activity foments rather than sexual activity itself, as when Ayn Rand's Anthem features a hero and heroine whose revolt stems from a wish to form a human connection and express personal love.[13] Therefore, some dystopias are depicted as containing it through encouraging promiscuous sexuality and lack of ideals of romantic love, so that the characters do not impute importance to the activity.[14] In Brave New World, Lenina Crowne confesses to having sexual intercourse with only one man and is encouraged by her friend to be more promiscuous, and in We, "numbers" (people) are allowed sexual intercourse with any other number by registering for access. Alternatively, antisexualism is also prevalent as a way of social control (the Junior Anti-Sex League in 1984), where the state controls so heavily the lives of its citizens that sexual activity is often an act of rebellion.[15]
The society frequently isolates the characters from all contact with the natural world. Dystopias are commonly urban,[16] and generally avoid nature, as when walks are regarded as dangerously anti-social in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.
Some academic circles distinguish between anti-utopia and dystopia. As in George Orwell's 1984,and Yevgeny Zamyatin's "We", a dystopia does not pretend to be good, while an anti-utopia appears to be utopian or was intended to be so (e.g. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World or Andrew Ryan's Rapture in BioShock), but a fatal flaw or other factor has destroyed or twisted the intended utopian world or concept.[2]
Common traits of a dystopian society
The only trait common to all dystopias is that they are negative and undesirable societies, but many commonalities are found across dystopian societies.
In general, dystopias are seen as visions of "dangerous and alienating future societies," often criticizing current trends in culture.[5]
It is a culture where the condition of life is "extremely bad," as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.[6]
[edit] Counter-utopia
Many dystopias, found in fictional and artistic works, can be described as an utopian society with at least one fatal flaw.[7] Whereas a utopian society is founded on perfectionism and fullfilment, a dystopian society’s dreams of improvement are overshadowed by stimulating fears of the “ugly consequences of present-day behavior”.[8]
[edit] Society
Most dystopias impose severe social restrictions on the characters' lives.
This can take the form of social stratification, where social class is strictly defined and enforced, and social mobility is non-existent (see caste system). For example, the novel Brave New World's class system is prenatally designated in terms of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons, who lack the very ability to advance.
Another, often related form of restriction lies in the requirement of strict conformity among citizens, with a general assumption that dissent and individuality are bad. In the novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, people are permitted to live out of public view for only an hour a day. They are not only referred to by numbers instead of names, but are neither "citizens" nor "people", but "numbers." In the lower castes, in Brave New World, single embryos are "bokanovskified", so that they produce between eight and ninety-six identical twins, making the citizens as uniform as possible.[9]
Some dystopian works emphasize the pressure to conform in terms of the requirement to not excel. In these works, the society is ruthlessly egalitarian, in which ability and accomplishment, or even competence, are suppressed or stigmatized as forms of inequality, as in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron". Similarly, in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the dystopia represses the intellectuals with particular force, because most people are willing to accept it, and the resistance to it consists mostly of intellectuals.[10]
In a typical dystopia, there is a total absence of any social group besides the state, as in We, or such social groups being subdivisions of the state, under government control, for example, the Junior Anti-Sex League in 1984.
Among social groups, independent religions are notable by their absence. In Brave New World, the establishment of the state including lopping off the tops of all crosses (as symbols of Christianity) to make them "T"s, (as symbols of Henry Ford's Model T).[11] The state may stage, instead, a personality cult, with quasi-religious rituals about a central figure, usually a head of state or an oligarchy of some sort, such as Big Brother in 1984, or the Well-Doer of We. In explicitly theocratic dystopias, such as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the religion is the state, and is enforced with the same vigor as any secular dystopia's rule; it does not provide social bonds outside the state.
Even more than religion, family is attacked by dystopian societies. In some societies, it has been completely eradicated, but clearly at great effort, and continuing efforts are deployed to keep it down, as in Brave New World, where children are reproduced artificially, where the concept of a "mother" or "father" is obscene. In others, the institution of the family exists but great efforts are deployed to keep it in service of the state, as in 1984, where children are organized to spy on their parents. In We, the escape of a pregnant woman from the United State is a revolt; the hostility of the state to motherhood is a particularly common trait.[12]
The dystopia often must contain human sexuality in order to prevent its disrupting society. The disruption often springs from the social bonds that sexual activity foments rather than sexual activity itself, as when Ayn Rand's Anthem features a hero and heroine whose revolt stems from a wish to form a human connection and express personal love.[13] Therefore, some dystopias are depicted as containing it through encouraging promiscuous sexuality and lack of ideals of romantic love, so that the characters do not impute importance to the activity.[14] In Brave New World, Lenina Crowne confesses to having sexual intercourse with only one man and is encouraged by her friend to be more promiscuous, and in We, "numbers" (people) are allowed sexual intercourse with any other number by registering for access. Alternatively, antisexualism is also prevalent as a way of social control (the Junior Anti-Sex League in 1984), where the state controls so heavily the lives of its citizens that sexual activity is often an act of rebellion.[15]
The society frequently isolates the characters from all contact with the natural world. Dystopias are commonly urban,[16] and generally avoid nature, as when walks are regarded as dangerously anti-social in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Goodbye lenin synopsis
The film is set in the East Berlin of 1989 . Alexander Kerner's mother, Christiane Kerner, an ardent supporter of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, suffers a heart attack when she sees Alex being arrested in an anti-government demonstration and falls into a coma shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall. After eight months she awakes, but is severely weakened both physically and mentally, and doctors say that any shock may cause another, possibly fatal, attack. Alex realises that her discovery of recent events would be too much for her to bear, and so sets out to maintain the illusion that things are as normal in the German Democratic Republic. To this end, he and his family revert the flat to its previous drab decor, dress in their old clothes, and feed the bed-ridden Christiane new, Western produce from old labeled jars. For a time the deception works, but gradually becomes increasingly complicated and elaborate. Despite everything, Christiane occasionally witnesses strange occurrences, such as a gigantic Coca-Cola advertisement banner unfurling on a building outside the apartment. Alexander and a friend with film-making ambitions edit old tapes of news broadcasts and create their own fake special reports to explain them away.
In one scene, Christiane wanders outside the flat while Alex is asleep, and sees all her neighbours' old furniture piled up in the street for garbage collection, a car dealer selling BMWs instead of Trabants and advertisements for such Western corporations as IKEA. Then, a huge military helicopter flies past carrying the upper half of an enormous statue of Lenin, which at an angle appears to be offering Christiane his hand. Alex and his sister find her and take her back to the flat. Alex and his friend create a fake special report stating that East Germany is accepting refugees from the West.
A subplot involves the earlier defection to the West of Alexander's father when Alexander was a child, an event which apparently drove his mother temporarily insane, and which prompted her ardent support of the party. Later it is revealed that the defection was planned by them both, but she bailed out to protect her children. Alexander's sister Ariane, now working in a Burger King drive-through, one day sees her father with a new family. Christiane later admits the deception and Alexander goes to find his father, partly for himself and his sister, and partly to honour Christiane's dying wish that she see him one last time. On the way, Alex meets a taxi driver who looks just like his childhood hero, Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space.
Christiane relapses, and is once again taken to the hospital. Under pressure to reveal the truth about the fall of the East, Alexander creates one final fake film segment. Alexander convinces the taxi driver to identify himself as Sigmund Jähn, who in the segment becomes the new leader of East Germany, and gives a speech promising to make a better future by opening the borders to the West. Christiane is very impressed by the "broadcast," but in fact already knows the truth, as Alexander's girlfriend revealed everything when Alexander was not around. The tables are turned completely, and it is Alex who is being protected from reality. Christiane dies soon afterwards, and Alex never knows that she did, in the end, know the truth.
In one scene, Christiane wanders outside the flat while Alex is asleep, and sees all her neighbours' old furniture piled up in the street for garbage collection, a car dealer selling BMWs instead of Trabants and advertisements for such Western corporations as IKEA. Then, a huge military helicopter flies past carrying the upper half of an enormous statue of Lenin, which at an angle appears to be offering Christiane his hand. Alex and his sister find her and take her back to the flat. Alex and his friend create a fake special report stating that East Germany is accepting refugees from the West.
A subplot involves the earlier defection to the West of Alexander's father when Alexander was a child, an event which apparently drove his mother temporarily insane, and which prompted her ardent support of the party. Later it is revealed that the defection was planned by them both, but she bailed out to protect her children. Alexander's sister Ariane, now working in a Burger King drive-through, one day sees her father with a new family. Christiane later admits the deception and Alexander goes to find his father, partly for himself and his sister, and partly to honour Christiane's dying wish that she see him one last time. On the way, Alex meets a taxi driver who looks just like his childhood hero, Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space.
Christiane relapses, and is once again taken to the hospital. Under pressure to reveal the truth about the fall of the East, Alexander creates one final fake film segment. Alexander convinces the taxi driver to identify himself as Sigmund Jähn, who in the segment becomes the new leader of East Germany, and gives a speech promising to make a better future by opening the borders to the West. Christiane is very impressed by the "broadcast," but in fact already knows the truth, as Alexander's girlfriend revealed everything when Alexander was not around. The tables are turned completely, and it is Alex who is being protected from reality. Christiane dies soon afterwards, and Alex never knows that she did, in the end, know the truth.
The Utopian Project
Utopia
'Any real or imaginary society, place, or state considered to be perfect or ideal.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Kabakov
'Rather than depict the Soviet Union as a failed Socialist project defeated by Western economics, Kabakov describes it as one utopian project among many, capitalism included. By reexamining historical narratives and perspectives, Kabakov delivers a message that every project, whether public or private, important or trivial, has the potential to fail due to the potentially authoritarian will to power.'
Does 'The man who flew into space' show Kabakovs view? With the authorative figures represented on the posters does the boxed diorama in the bottom left corner represent the 'Utopian Project' the place in which 'the man' wishes to escape from before the inevitable fall?
Sherrie
'Any real or imaginary society, place, or state considered to be perfect or ideal.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Kabakov
'Rather than depict the Soviet Union as a failed Socialist project defeated by Western economics, Kabakov describes it as one utopian project among many, capitalism included. By reexamining historical narratives and perspectives, Kabakov delivers a message that every project, whether public or private, important or trivial, has the potential to fail due to the potentially authoritarian will to power.'
Does 'The man who flew into space' show Kabakovs view? With the authorative figures represented on the posters does the boxed diorama in the bottom left corner represent the 'Utopian Project' the place in which 'the man' wishes to escape from before the inevitable fall?
Sherrie
Animal Farm
Animal farm
Just thought I'd add some info on animal farm, looking at the book being probably the most successful satirical take on soviet politics. Written around the time of Stalin the book explores the catalyst for the politics that influenced the Ilya Kabakov instalation. The seven commandments of animalism are of particular interest to myself, maybe in connection with the conformity and monotony of the swivel chair scene. For example the commandments read as a chant over the sounds of typing along with the abstract movement could give the scene the sense of rigidity that I feel we are looking for.
The Seven Commandments
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
* "Though it resembles the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, it is more meaningfully an anatomy of all political revolutions, where the revolutionary ideals of justice, equality, and fraternity shatter in the event. Orwell paints a grim picture of the political 20th century, a time he believed marked the end of the very concept of human freedom. "
* Animal Farm begins by introducing Mr. Jones, the master of the farm, who is too drunk to shut the popholes in the henhouse. The owner of Manor Farm also forgets to milk the cows, a biologically-serious omission, and is irresponsible toward the rest of his animals. (Later yet, the pigs will also forget the milking, an ironic parallel that reveals the subsequent corruption of the revolution.) One of the cows breaks into the store shed and Mr. Jones and his helpers try to fight off the hungry animals. "A minute later all five of them were in full flight down the cart track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in triumph." Then, "almost before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully carried through - Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs." Yet with the revolution secured, there are graver dangers than the threat of invasion and counter-revolution. The ultimate corruption of the revolution is presaged immediately:
"They raced back to the farm building to wipe out the last traces of Jones' hated reign... the reins, the halters, the degrading nosebags, were thrown onto the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips." Their reaction is understandable, but the desciption of the inevitable and immediate violence foreshadows the fate of the rebellion: reactionary cruelty, the search for the scapegoat, and the perversion of the ideals of the revolution.
*"Throughout the middle and towards the end of the book, when the pigs are becoming ever more like humans, the 7 commandments are broken during the struggle to gain power. For example, Old Major represents Lenin who followed the beliefs of Karl Marx, and like Old Major inspired his people with his ideas of rebellion, but died before he saw his vision completed. ‘The perfect society’ would always end up with a leader, and there was never a case where all of the citizens were happy. He explains to the animals, in less than kind words, that unless they rebel they are going to be killed to feed the enemy - humans. They also broke the rules that they had fought for. ue as an animal story, or on a deeper level – as the story of the Russian revolution, revealing the ugly reality of communism. "
* "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act"
* "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."
JESS
Just thought I'd add some info on animal farm, looking at the book being probably the most successful satirical take on soviet politics. Written around the time of Stalin the book explores the catalyst for the politics that influenced the Ilya Kabakov instalation. The seven commandments of animalism are of particular interest to myself, maybe in connection with the conformity and monotony of the swivel chair scene. For example the commandments read as a chant over the sounds of typing along with the abstract movement could give the scene the sense of rigidity that I feel we are looking for.
The Seven Commandments
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
* "Though it resembles the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, it is more meaningfully an anatomy of all political revolutions, where the revolutionary ideals of justice, equality, and fraternity shatter in the event. Orwell paints a grim picture of the political 20th century, a time he believed marked the end of the very concept of human freedom. "
* Animal Farm begins by introducing Mr. Jones, the master of the farm, who is too drunk to shut the popholes in the henhouse. The owner of Manor Farm also forgets to milk the cows, a biologically-serious omission, and is irresponsible toward the rest of his animals. (Later yet, the pigs will also forget the milking, an ironic parallel that reveals the subsequent corruption of the revolution.) One of the cows breaks into the store shed and Mr. Jones and his helpers try to fight off the hungry animals. "A minute later all five of them were in full flight down the cart track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in triumph." Then, "almost before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully carried through - Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs." Yet with the revolution secured, there are graver dangers than the threat of invasion and counter-revolution. The ultimate corruption of the revolution is presaged immediately:
"They raced back to the farm building to wipe out the last traces of Jones' hated reign... the reins, the halters, the degrading nosebags, were thrown onto the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips." Their reaction is understandable, but the desciption of the inevitable and immediate violence foreshadows the fate of the rebellion: reactionary cruelty, the search for the scapegoat, and the perversion of the ideals of the revolution.
*"Throughout the middle and towards the end of the book, when the pigs are becoming ever more like humans, the 7 commandments are broken during the struggle to gain power. For example, Old Major represents Lenin who followed the beliefs of Karl Marx, and like Old Major inspired his people with his ideas of rebellion, but died before he saw his vision completed. ‘The perfect society’ would always end up with a leader, and there was never a case where all of the citizens were happy. He explains to the animals, in less than kind words, that unless they rebel they are going to be killed to feed the enemy - humans. They also broke the rules that they had fought for. ue as an animal story, or on a deeper level – as the story of the Russian revolution, revealing the ugly reality of communism. "
* "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act"
* "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."
JESS
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