Sunshine

High stakes wonder; good. Effective soundtrack helps, as does a charismatic cast including Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh and Hiroyuki Sanada (aka the actor who always plays the noble Japanese guy in western movies ... at which he is very good).

(last time)

"Jan Senbergs: Observation-Imagination" (NGVA)

I hadn't come across Senbergs before, and this extensive retrospective of his work was a reminder of art's endless abundance, as a whole (one never more than scratches the surface of all that's out there) and in individual works (likewise, for any particular artwork, never mind artist, movement, etc), as well as a very pleasurable experience in its own right - discovering and enjoying someone new.

Senbergs was born in the late 30s I think, and the earliest pieces are from the 60s; as the exhibition notes say, the influence of Max Beckmann is visible especially in those dark-hued early-career pieces. I was drawn to the ones a bit later on that were seemingly touched by surrealism (often via screenprinted elements), like "Column and still objects 1" (1968):

By the 1970s, he'd hit a vein of post-industrial cityscapes, devoid of human presence, often playing tricks with perspective, and powerfully symbolic without being explicit as to exactly what was in play with the symbolism ("Garden plan with short path", 1973, was my favourite of these)...it makes sense that he lists Barthelme and Borges as influences.

Come the 80s and there's a series of pieces from a trip to Antarctica (compelling but gaining a lot from their subject, obviously) - like "Mawson" (1987), as in Mawson station:

And man-made structures planted in the wide open spaces of both America (Pennsylvania) and Western Australia, as in "Blue angel of Wittenoom" (1988):

Plus some impressive pastel drawings (the artist quoted as describing "the direct and primitive black mark on a wall" as the "omnipotent" expression of creativity), and then circling back to where it started, via some striking renditions of Black Saturday, with a series of imaginatively cartographic pieces ... capriccio - "an architectural fantasy where buildings and other architectural elements and places come together in imaginary settings" - "Melbourne capriccio 3" (2009):

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

I had low expectations which were then exceeded - Batman v Superman isn't complex, but it's good in that unremittingly dark, kinetically exciting, lucky-there's-no-time-to-think kind of way. Ben Affleck doesn't demonstrate a lot of range as Batman, but maybe that's partly the point with this version, and he convinces anyway; Amy Adams a bonus as Lois Lane.

(w/ Andreas, Laura M and Peter B - at imax)

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell

Plaintive, pretty and stripped-back but neither precious nor bare, Carrie & Lowell hits the mark. In arrangement and level of orchestration, it's quite the contrast from the last - and only previous - Sufjan that I've listened to, Illinois (more than a decade ago, wow), but there's plenty of continuity too. High points are sprinkled throughout, "Should Have Known Better", "All of Me Wants All of You", "Eugene", "Fourth of July", "The Only Thing"...

"Paris Underground" (Doncaster Playhouse)

Very safe, gentle 'Parisian' cabaret - suitably, given that the average audience age for this Friday night show was probably upwards of 60 - taking in song, tap, magic, burlesque/dance, and Cyr ring. But didn't take itself too seriously, and fun. (*)

(w/ mum and Serena)

Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

Been listening to this for a few months, on and off; it's terrific for a whole bunch of reasons, and likewise familiar on at least two levels (musically, and in the lyrical references). Very enjoyable.

Veronica Mars season 3

In many ways, that this one takes place in college rather than high school makes surprisingly little difference, with a lot of the elements basically transplanted to the new setting (one important one, which might be by drift as much as setting, is that social class is much less prominent as a theme than in seasons 1 and 2) - though with less of both Wallace and Weevil, both of whom I missed, though that was somewhat offset by the enjoyable greater prominence of Dick Casablancas. Anyhow, pretty great maybe though not quite as perfectly mixed as the first two seasons. Unresolved ending came abruptly; lucky I'm so late to this one so that the kickstarted film's already out there!

"Picnic at Hanging Rock" (Malthouse)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it was successful; the framing via the five contemporary schoolgirls worked, and the first half or so of the play in particular was effective in rendering the post-colonial hauntedness of the Australian bush, sticking closely to the events of the film and achieving both a sustained mood and some moments that are genuinely unsettling through good use of lighting and other tricks - I don't think I've ever seen even elements of horror attempted on stage before in this way (the only sort-of example I can think of is the schlocky The Rabble take on "Frankenstein" from a couple of years ago). There are a few mis-steps in the later stages - the trampoline is incongruous, the hysterical swarming of Irma didn't hit quite the right tone - but this was still a very sound production that I enjoyed a lot.

Chairlift - Moth

Chirrupingly bouncy, mixing tightly funky moments of finessed indie like "Show U Off" and more straight-ahead whirls like "Romeo"; "Ch-Ching" is kind of both. The third album in a row from Chairlift that I've liked well enough without getting really into.

(Does You Inspire You; Something)

Hanya Yanagihara - A Little Life

Extracts from correspondence:

"I just got up to the bit where Jude does the horrible imitation of himself in front of the mirror - alone, after cutting himself - and I actually had to put the book down and stop reading for a bit (hence this email). This book is brutal. A few chapters ago I thought fleetingly about not even reading any further at all - at least not just now, maybe coming back in a few months time - because I could feel it upsetting me in the ways that it was calling to mind, even through only faint echoes, people from my own life."


"The book is just not playing around - it means to destroy you. It has some of the most intense passages I've ever read.  Do take care with it."


"I need a bit more processing time - it is definitely a book that has a huge impact ... but I'm still not sure if it's actually any good. (I think the answer is 'yes, with reservations, but maybe the reservations don't matter'.)"

"Turn everything off just to turn it back on" (2015 cd)

Last year's soundtrack (compiled in January but it's taken me this long to get round to noting it here):

1. Really Wanna See You - Lydia Loveless
(Somewhere Else; Bloodshot, 2014)

2. You & I (Forever) - Jessie Ware
(Tough Love; Universal, 2014)

3. My Baby Don't Understand Me - Natalie Prass
(Natalie Prass; Spacebomb, 2015)

4. Learn To Say No - Lydia Loveless
(Indestructible Machine; Bloodshot, 2011)

5. Miles From The Sea - Calexico
(Edge of the Sun; Anti, 2015)

6. All Your Yeahs - Beach House
(Thank Your Lucky Stars; Mistletone, 2015)

7. Leave A Trace - Chvrches
(Every Open Eye; Glassnote, 2015)

8. Shine A Different Way - Patty Griffin
(Servant of Love; PGM, 2015)

9. Vez Primera - Carla Morrison
(Amor Supremo; Cosmica, 2015)

10. Shake Sugaree - Rhiannon Giddens
(Tomorrow Is My Turn; Nonesuch, 2015)

"Hard Edge: Abstract Sculpture 1960s-70s" (NGVA)

Late afternoon Saturday wander. Pleasing: Tony Coleing's "Frondescence" (1968), the little wooden maquette (model) for "Vault" from when its design was first submitted to the City of Melbourne, other angularly colourful pieces.

(w/ Meribah)

"Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei" (NGV)

The staging of these two artists' work and careers in conversation with - and reflection of - each others' is convincing, taking in shared preoccupations and approaches (like the duality between their desire to obscure the stylistic and authorial elements of the individual artist and the centrality of their own personality to the reception of their work) as well as subjects (cultural objects; Mao!), common well-springs (eg Duchamp) and overt dialogue and influence.

I guess both are conceptual artists par excellence, which means that their art is foremost about ideas. One of the things I've always found irritating about Warhol is that it's the same idea monotonously over and over (although admittedly the moments when he captures the genuinely iconic have a real charge, like his Elvis and the "Screen Tests" which here included Dylan, Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Nico and more); Ai Weiwei, by contrast, appeals to me because of his sense of humour and political forcefulness, even though it turns out that, while he has many ideas, it tends to be only one per work.

Asides:
1. This exhibition seems to be in the process of being super popular - this was the third time I'd visited the gallery with the intent of seeing it and the queue for tickets was as long as on the previous occasions when I'd decided against it.
2. Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull were there at the same time as us (this was last weekend), their sighting apt given Warhol's fascination with celebrity.

(w/ Alex)