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Kuba Dąbrowski @ Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Poland


Piotr Drewko drops in on Kuba Dąbrowski’s solo exhibition at Walsaw’s Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Poland.

Kuba Dąbrowski’s exhibition titled A Drama Feature Film of Polish Production is a vibrant attempt to create well-structured visual correspondence based on artist’s long and fruitful escapade with photography. Entering the gallery we are faced with a chaotic, yet pleasurable space filled to capacity with a vast number of snapshots and portraits from Dąbrowski’s past.

Having read the curatorial statement we’re starting to grasp the principle narrative stream, which is a very personal and intimate portrayal of artist’s adolescent experiences, friends, spontaneous situations and palpable borders of now and then. What is emerging from rhythmic visual tensions is a certain diaristic photography. Dąbrowski’s exhibition does not formulate conceptual method, which situates the viewer at the intersection of art, philosophy, semiotics or science. Instead, the material presented is simply fiction-augmented documentary selection of artist’s life experiences, smattered across the white cube.

And while it seems choreographically careless what becomes vital is his ability to effortlessly translate the spirit of experienced situations and events. The viewer does not see anything that is beyond traditional representation but at the same time he becomes hypnotised by on-going dialogue arranged by the artist. We do not see any seeds of revolution in the way he operates the camera – it is rather very conscious and stimulating evolutionary journey through life. Dąbrowski’s work can be described as simply capturing visual coincidences, which happened to occur within his sight. A major facet of Dąbrowski’s practice is the engagement of our memory and collective experience. The sense of superficiality is reduced before the artist presses the shutter, which generates a strong feeling of familiarity in relation to every single depicted situation. By acknowledging that fact we are able to strengthen the relationship with presented images and address ourselves as participants in that particular conversation. Dąbrowski simply changes our positions as viewers: from being a passive audience we’re starting to actively contribute to the story. All the photographs with their synthesis of subjective and objective planes, of past and present articles, of dual and individual creative vision, become an poetic invitation into which new space is created for any individual, who is willing to look. What we see depends on what we look for.

Piotr Drewko

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‘We want to find new writers and film makers’


Reuters Naomi Scott looks at the camera. She has short dark hair, brown eyes and wears neutral makeup.Reuters

Scott played the role of Princess Jasmine in the 2019 live-action Disney film Aladdin

“I didn’t go to drama school, I didn’t get the opportunity to… there may be barriers to entry to that sort of thing,” says east London actress Naomi Scott.

She co-founded production company New Name Entertainment with her husband Jordan Spencer four years ago.

It now has a special fund to help students from working class backgrounds to attend top drama and film schools.

“It’s not just about learning the thing, it’s also about navigating it. That’s something that is really important to us,” she says.

“We set up the New Name fund to put certain students and people through drama school or a National Film and Television School (NFTS) course,” she adds.

“I just think it’s really important.

“When it comes to the idea of barriers to entry, I think that people who are from lower socioeconomic situations or from maybe environments that aren’t supportive of that type of path… you’re not set up to succeed.”

The fund also supports working class students with a programme of mentoring and career development support.

“I think it’s a real blessing to just be able to make things out of curiosity… and lean into that,” Scott says.

“The idea of New Name is because number one, we always want to feel like we are learning.

“We also want to find new voices: new writers, film makers, ideas and stories.”

She adds: “We can’t do everything, but we can do our small bit to maybe help some people have a clearer path to what they want to do.”

Reuters  Naomi Scott attends a premiere for the film Smile 2 in Los AngelesReuters

Scott stars in Smile 2, a horror film sequel released on Thursday

Scott returned to the big screen on Thursday in horror film sequel Smile 2, directed by Parker Finn.

Scott’s last big role was as Princess Jasmine in the 2019 live-action Disney film Aladdin, directed by Londoner Guy Richie.

When not filming, Scott says she enjoys travelling around London.

”I love being in London,” she says. “Best city in the world.

“I do love going on the Tube… it reminds me of being a teenager and the first time of feeling independence.

“I used to always go into London for castings, so I guess there’s something nostalgic about it for me. And it’s great public transport.

“Elizabeth line – love it. Air con – top notch.”



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Composer Max Richter: ‘I’m a low-key raver! I love all kinds of music’ | Classical music


Born in 1966 in Lower Saxony and brought up in Bedford, Max Richter is an award-winning classical composer. Working across live performance, film, dance, art and fashion, he has released nine solo albums, including 2015’s Sleep, an eight-and-a-half-hour work based on the neuroscience of sleeping; 2020’s Voices, inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and In a Landscape, released last month. A new ballet, MaddAddam, a collaboration between Richter and choreographer Wayne McGregor, with Margaret Atwood as a creative consultant, opens at the Royal Opera House on 14 November.

You’ve got a busy autumn ahead. Tell us about In a Landscape first – a more intimate, personal album for you.
It is. It’s an album about polarities, which are all around us in the world, and how we can reconcile them. We live in a time where one of the biggest challenges is that people who have different opinions basically can’t talk to one another any more. This record is a small appeal to try to harmonise these differences, by working with materials that we might think of as in opposition – found sounds and composed music, the human world and the natural world – trying to put these things together in a fruitful relationship.

The premiere of Max Richter’s eight-and-a-half-hour lullaby, Sleep, in Berlin, 2016. Photograph: Stefan Hoederath/Redferns

What extremes do you come across in your day-to-day life?
So much of our media consumption now is driven algorithmically, which is very difficult to avoid. Algorithms are essentially driven by cortisol and dopamine spikes. You know, the more rage, the more clicks. Plus the online space is essentially an advertising space, so this dynamic is everywhere. We’re all surfing on this wave that is mediated by extreme emotions.

How do we resist that?
Everyone needs to develop their own strategies, whether that’s taking time out using systems to mute various apps, or leaving your phone at home, or changing your habits. It’s particularly challenging for parents whose kids have grown up with this environment all around them, where DM-ing one another on a platform is the norm. You’ve just got to encourage the idea that every interaction doesn’t have to be online.

Sleep was your “personal lullaby for a frenetic world – a manifesto for a slower pace of existence”. It’s now the most streamed classical music album of all time. How does streaming sit with you as an artist?
Sleep is 10 years old next year, unbelievably, so we’re going to play some more concerts around it, and doing the concerts is great. As for streaming, the fact that people can explore the musical universe simply by following their affections and curiosity is amazing. As a kid, if I wanted to hear a piece of music I didn’t know, I had to take a risk – make that bus trip, go either to the record library or the shop. Now, of course, it’s just a click. But the economics of streaming are very problematic. It’s put huge pressure on artists in terms of making a living.

You’ve talked before about loving musicians such as techno DJ Jeff Mills and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood working in the classical field. Who else should we listen to?
Sufjan Stevens’s Reflections [from 2023], ballet music written for two pianos, played by Timo Andres and Conor Hanick, is absolutely beautiful. Then again, he’s always been a really interesting artist. [Caribbean-Belgian jazz musician] Nala Sinephro’s new album is great too. She was an artist in residence at our studio a little while ago, so it was brilliant to hear the record she’s made.

You’re also a fan of Chic and played with the Future Sound of London. Are you a secret raver?
I’m a low-key raver! You know, I got into composing music because I love all kinds of music. With Chic, there are so many things about their work that I love. A lot of their songs sound like mantras, full of a rhythmic sort of repetitiveness, which really ties into systems music for me [like the work of Steve Reich and Philip Glass]. It’s also amazingly well played and produced.

Performing in Berlin in 2017. Photograph: Stefan Hoederath/Redferns

I also understand you love Eurovision. Why?
It’s just a perfect evening of craziness, isn’t it? You suspend all notions of genre and taste and it all just kind of… happens. I genuinely love it. It’s multidimensional – you get to experience all sorts of national identities through the music, and ideas of what’s cool in different places, which can be hilarious.

What’s your favourite Eurovision song of all time?
[Abba’s] Waterloo, obviously. It’s a towering masterpiece. Recently, I’m more struck by the staging, like the man playing the grand piano on fire [in the Austrian entry in 2015], plus the guy in that ginormous hamster wheel [in Ukraine’s 2014 entry, Tick-Tock] was a bit of a classic.

What’s it like working with Margaret Atwood?
She was fairly hands-off because we were working with a text that had already existed [her 2013 novel of the same name], but we did have breakfast together, where she told us lots of things about how it was going to be. After that, she basically left Wayne and me alone. We were passing ideas back and forth the whole time – what about this? And what about that? Sometimes it lands very fast, sometimes it takes a bit of time. It’s like ping pong.

Can music have a political impact?
It depends on what we mean by politics. Or let me put it this way: I think music can sort of shift our state of mind, to take us into another mental space separate from the world of the day-to-day. It also gives us evidence about how someone else felt – what it felt like to be them – which is one of the most important things in the social and political sphere. Experiencing somebody else’s perspective, and what feelings might be behind that, is really valuable.

  • MaddAddam is at the Royal Opera House, London WC2, 14-30 November



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✔️This Is Your Strictly Come Dancing 2024 Week 5 Report ✔️


This week on Strictly Come Dancing … missing lemons, a Quekstep & a crab or two.

Strictly Come Dancing Week 5

  • Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe – Couple’s Choice to Skeleton Move by KG, Zanda Zakuza
  • Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez – Viennese Waltz to She’s Always A Woman To Me by Billy Joel
  • Sam Quek MBE and Nikita Kuzmin  – Quickstep to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
  • Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola – Samba to Do It Do It Again by Rafaella Carrà
  • Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec – Tango to Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
  • Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell – Waltz to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers
  • Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas – Paso Doble to Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona
  • JB Gill and Amy Dowden – Jive to Hey Ya! by Outkast
  • Paul Merson and Karen Hauer – Samba to Car Wash by Rose Royce
  • Pete Wicks and Jowitza Przystal – Rumba to Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis
  • Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu – American Smooth to Get Here by Sam Smith
  • Wynne Evans and Katya Jones – Quickstep to Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra
Strictly Come Dancing
Paul Merson & Karen Hauer,BBC Public Service,Guy Levy

Short trip down Strictly Memory Lane, FYI :

Strictly Come Dancing
Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez,BBC Public Service,Guy Levy
Strictly Come Dancing
JB Gill,BBC Public Service,Guy Levy

Don’t miss a Strictly sequin by clicking on the image below!

Strictly Come Dancing



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Spain’s concrete castle: a case of accidental genius? | Architecture


It has been damned as the world’s worst ever restoration, yet another national embarrassment to add to Spain’s inglorious track record of botched conservation projects. The quaintly crumbling ruins of the ninth-century Matrera castle in Cádiz province have been invaded by a white concrete hulk, the precious Moorish stone walls reduced to a thin rind of history, stuck on the front of a big blank box. It is one of the most extreme facadectomies of modern times.

The project has been the subject of derision and disbelief across social media, decried as “absolutely terrible” by national heritage body Hispania Nostra. “No words are needed,” they added, “you just need to look at the photographs.” But look at the photographs and you may well be witnessing a work of accidental genius.

Until local architect Carlos Quevedo got his hands on this protected national monument, in Villamartín, it was just another ruined Andalusian fortress – indistinguishable from those topping practically every hill in the region. Now it has been mutilated into a startling Frankenstein bunker, it has become an international celebrity.

It can also join Spain’s illustrious history of inadvertent masterpieces. When 80-year-old Cecilia Giménez got to work with her pot of paints, the fresco of Jesus in the church of Santuario de la Misericordia, in the small town of Borja, was simply another fresco of Jesus in an unremarkable church. Since her inspired creation of the smeary-faced ape-Christ – instant meme-fodder around the world in 2012 – the village has become a place of pilgrimage, seeing thousands of visitors, a booming novelty T-shirt business and even inspiring a comic opera.

Borja’s Ecce Homo-style fresco of Christ , left and Cecilia Giménez’s ‘restored’ version. Photograph: AP

Whether Quevedo’s neo-brutalist insertion has quite the same comic value as the smeary Jesus of Borja remains to be seen, but the architect is adamant his work is in keeping with the original building’s spirit. It is certainly more forbidding than its original creator, the fearsome Christian anti-Umayyad leader, Umar ibn Hafsun, could ever have hoped.

There were three basic aims, Quevedo told the Guardian. “To structurally consolidate those elements that were at risk; to differentiate new additions from the original structure – thus avoiding the imitative reconstructions that are prohibited by law; and to recover the volume, texture and tonality that the tower would originally have had.”

Squint a bit, and you can sort of see what he was trying to do. His approach follows a recent fashion for restoring ruins with blank additions, rebuilding the general volume of what the original structure might have been, but without any of the detail or decoration. The spirit of the original is revived, in its mineral bulk and heft, so the argument goes, but without pretending to construct an exact replica or resorting to shallow pastiche.

David Chipperfield’s model for a proposed restoration of Castello Sforzesco, Milan – the white areas were to be made of tonally sympathetic materials. Photograph: David Chipperfield Archictects

Perhaps Quevedo had seen David Chipperfield’s model of his proposal for the 15th-century Castello Sforzesco in Milan, in which he planned to fill in the ruined battlements with a solid mass, devoid of texture or decoration. But maybe he didn’t realise that the stark white blocks in the model were intended to be built in brick and stone, of a tone that chimed with the original – not rendered in white concrete, as he has chosen to do.

‘Sensitivity and care’ … the dining room of the restored Astley Castle, Warwickshire. Photograph: Richard Powers/Sydney Living Museums

The Stirling prize-winning Astley Castle, by Witherford Watson Mann, followed a similar logic, inserting sharp blank walls of brick into the burnt-out ruins of an old manor house. Some heritage purists once again decried what they saw as a blunt and disrespectful intervention, but visit the building and you will find a finely wrought collage of old and new, stitched together with unparalleled sensitivity and care.

One of the precedents for Astley was another project in Spain that was met with equal controversy to the Matrera castle when it was unveiled. The Roman theatre in Sagunto, near Valencia – one of the first structures to be declared a national monument, in 1896 – was radically overhauled in the early 1990s by Italian architects Giorgio Grassi and Manuel Portaceli. They smothered the crumbling stone steps with bright white limestone seats and erected a 25-metre high stage front in brick and stone, ignoring a “stop work” order issued halfway through construction.

One again, locals were outraged at the stark imposition, complaining their views were blocked and that national laws had been flouted. Spain’s 1985 Law of Historical Patrimony spells out that conservation, consolidation and rehabilitation of historical monuments “should avoid all efforts at reconstruction unless parts proven to belong to the original are used”.

‘Defiantly intact’ … the new ‘Roman theatre’ at Sagunto, Spain, 2007. Photograph: Alamy

“If one extreme is simple conservation, that is, leaving something to die, this is the other extreme,” Grassi conceded when he showed a visitor around the site. “In this case, out of a Roman theatre, we have created a modern and functioning theatre in the style of the ancient Romans.”

Eight years ago, after almost two decades of legal battles, the supreme court ruled the building should returned to its previously ruined state, but it remains defiantly intact – and visited by architects from around the world who shower praise on its bold originality. With Quevedo’s blunt monolith, Spain has added another landmark to its roster of stubborn anti-monuments that may prove enduring – and perhaps, with time, even endearing.



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Broken Whale | David McDonough’s Art Blog


Earlier this month, I headed west and while there, visited the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC. A Noah’s Ark of dead things, the museum is a creepy, but cool visit.

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Above, is a Blue Whale skeleton as seen at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC. I probably should of spent more time photographing it with the same angles and zoom. Oh well, I can say I did this on purpose (well, not now).

 

 

 

 

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The Internet Might Be Ruining Artists’ Livelihoods


In this conversation, Bill and I explore how the digital landscape has transformed the livelihoods of individual creators, presenting both challenges and opportunities.

Bill shares his insights on the evolution of the artist’s role over the centuries—moving from artisan to bohemian, then to professional, and now to what he calls a ‘producer’ in our modern gig economy.

We delve into the realities artists face today, including discoverability, financial instability, and the ever-growing need to balance creative work with self-promotion and business savvy.

A key theme in our dialogue is the importance of community support among artists. Despite the fierce competition and market pressures that come with this new digital era, Bill emphasizes the necessity of adapting and embracing the opportunities the internet provides.

Being part of a supportive community of like-minded artists, like our Art Biz Connection, can truly help you navigate this landscape.



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Wane and Nero Rocking I Connecticut

Via our friends at  FreshpaintNYC

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Studio Snapshot: Nancie King Mertz’s Studio Is a Place for Painting and Learning


Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! Discover competitions in a variety of media and enter for your chance to win cash prizes, publication in leading art magazines, global exposure, and rewards for your hard work. Plus, gain valuable feedback from renowned jurors. Let your passion shine through – enter an art competition today!

Illinois artist and art instructor Nancie King Mertz has been painting in pastel and oil throughout her life in art, creating paintings that span a range of subjects, lighting conditions, and palettes. A few years ago, after living many years in Chicago, she and her husband, Ron, moved to Rockford, Ill., trading a condo in the city for their “dream home,” and swapping a small workspace off the kitchen for a studio that offers light from three different directions. Her new setup allows her to maintain a framing business and also features a classroom space for workshops. We asked the artist to share some photos and tell us more about her art-making practice.

A historic home in Rockford, Ill., offers space for studio work and home-based workshops that can accommodate lodging for a dozen participants in 3- to 4-day painting retreats.

Tell us about your new space and how it accommodates painting, framing, and teaching.

In this historic home in Rockford, which is located about 80 miles northwest of Chicago, I’m able to have a studio just off the living room that offers light from the south, west, and north. It’s such a treat to create in this space with views of a wooded yard and wildlife. I’ve got room to keep a desk and computer, as well as a set of swinging panels that offer a large selection of frame options, from which I can assist clients in frame selection for their treasures. Framing has been my side gig for 45 years. We sold our gallery/frame shop in Chicago when we moved, and now I do the framing in a large room in our basement.

The wraparound windows in Mertz’s studio offer light from three directions: south, west, and north.

Our goal, when getting ready to make the move, was to find a home that would serve as a learning center, gallery, and frame shop. It has been a long-term dream of mine to have a space to provide immersive pastel and oil instruction. Before the move, my teaching schedule involved traveling every month, sometimes twice a month, and I was ready for a change. Although I continue to do some travel-teaching, my husband and I host four to six workshops here at home. In nice weather, we work en plein air, but in winter months, we host 10 to 12 students at a time who can work in my studio and throughout our home. We’ve hosted painters from across the U.S., and Canada, as well as local students who come daily. With my husband’s assistance, we offer meals to all and can accommodate lodging for up to eight. We’ve been having a great time getting to know so many wonderful people this way.

The artist also offers custom-framing services and keeps a panel of frame options at hand for this purpose.
Mertz reserves a corner area for her computer and office supplies.

What is important to you about your work environment?

It’s important to me to keep my spaces organized, to know where supplies and reference materials are. My studio and frame space are ready at all times to do what I need to do, and that’s the advice I give to my students: to strive for a clean, well-thought out area in which to create. If a daily designated space isn’t an option, I suggest collecting supplies in a bin so that setup is simplified when space to work is available. My complete plein air setup for pastels is always ready to go in the garage, so I can just load it into the car or into the overhead bin of a plane—and go!

Mertz’s easel and pastel palette are positioned in a spot where she can look out onto the wooded backyard. She also has easy access to extra materials and supplies.

Tell us a little about your regular art-making routine.

People often ask me whether I paint every day. I do paint whenever I can, but I also have to make time for marketing, framing, conducting online demos, community involvement, in-person teaching, and maintaining our home and yard. Ron and I work as a team, and we strive to keep the place “visitor-ready” at all times, as we’re open seven days a week by appointment for art and framing needs, and for historic tours of the house. 

Gallery of Artwork

About the Artist

Nancie King Mertz is a Master Pastelist in the Pastel Society of America and an Eminent Pastelist in the International Association of Pastel Societies. She has been a member of The Palette & Chisel of Fine Arts since 1988 and Plein Air Painters since 2003—two groups based in Chicago. In addition to her painting, she teaches numerous workshops in her home studio, and across the U.S. and abroad. Her work, which has appeared in numerous exhibitions, has earned many awards, and has been featured in a number of prestigious art publications. 



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The painter who looks into the eyes of artificial intelligence – Surinenglish.com



The painter who looks into the eyes of artificial intelligence  Surinenglish.com



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Observations on film art : A24: A company of interest


The Zone of Interest (2023)

 

Yes, another entry on A24. I didn’t expect for this topic to continue as a series, but the indie studio keeps doing intriguing and unusual things that most studios wouldn’t try. I first dealt with A24 because I was interested in the phenomenon of “prestige horror.” It was one of the studio most associated with that sub-genre, releasing films by Alex Garland, Roger Eggers, and Ari Aster. I had already written about Eggers’ The Lighthouse, a prestige horror film, though at the time I was more interested in its style than in the company that released it. When Garland’s Men was widely panned by critics who didn’t make much effort to figure it out, I posted an entry defending it and trying to explain its mysteries.

Finally, I dealt with A24 as an “auteur” studio, working its way up with increasingly prestigious releases, with Oscar wins resulting from Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Whale, and The Zone of Interest. It continued to brand itself with an expanding online shop full of cool merchandise. It also expanded thanks to a $225,000,000 investment that boosted the company’s valuation to $2.5 billion.

Now, almost exactly two years later, A24 still expands at a surprising rate.

 

A billion here, a billion there

On June 26, 2024, Variety announced an even larger investment in A24:

Film and TV studio A24 has secured a new round of funding led by Josh Kushner’s investment firm Thrive Capital. […]

Financial details and exact figures were not disclosed by A24 and Thrive Capital, but sources confirm to Variety the investment from Thrive Capital gives it a valuation of about $3.5 billion—a 40% increased since A24’s most recent round of funding in 2022, which was $225 million at a $2.5 billion valuation.

That’s a pretty big jump for a relatively small company. It may squelch the commonly held ideas that A24 is looking to be sold or is in trouble as a result of making quirky money-losing auteur films like Men and Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid. Apparently that’s not enough to scare off a major investment company.

It doesn’t get mentioned much, but A24 also has a television unit which has produced, among others, Euphoria, Ramy, Beef, and The Sympathizer.

Whether the three directors who were at A24 when they made their prestige-horror films will work there again is unclear. Eggers switched to Universal for The Northman and Nosferatu–a prestige horror film if ever there was one. Aster is still with A24, despite the failure of Beau Is Afraid (the international gross of which is only slightly higher than Men‘s.) His western Eddington, now in post-production, is being made by A24.

Garland’s Civil War is now the studio’s second highest grosser, so he has had a genuine hit to follow up the failure of Men. As I mentioned in my entry on the film, just before it’s release Garland had been talking to the press about about giving up directing and going back to script-writing. His current project is the script for 28 Years Later, directed by Danny Boyle, also in post-production. This move may simply be because Garland and Boyle co-wrote the original 28 Days Later (2002, directed by Boyle). This, the third of the “28 Days Later trilogy,” is being made by Columbia, but so far there’s no indication whether Garland will return to directing, with A24 or not.

A24 is still making horror films, but it would seem that they are less essential to the company’s income than they once were. Speaking of which, just this morning I got an email message with a link to the trailer of The Legend of Ochi, which looks a bit like E.T. meets Gremlins.

 

Merching onward

I discussed A24’s branded merchandising in my previous entry. The company has forged ahead, starting a fan subscription group called AAA24. This get the member some tchotchkies and “exclusive merch, early access, zines, member pricing and more” according to the sign-up page.  The member pricing is 10% off items purchased–no small consideration for the faithful A24 following.

Recent additions to the shop include crossword-puzzle books themed for TV and movie fans (above). These can be purchased separately or as a set.

I was pleasantly surprised to see an admirable book aimed at parents and children: Hey Kids, Watch This! Many of the recommendations are films we have DVDs and Blu-rays of sitting on our shelves. This two-page spread includes some films much beloved by David: The Young Girls of Rochefort, Linda Linda Linda, True Stories, and School of Rock. Alongside five American films (though hardly typical ones) are a Japanese and an Australian film, plus an American/Chinese co-production. Another double-page spread gives a quick introduction to Hayao Miyazaki and Ghibli films. Another spread recommends Zhang Yimou’s Hero and gives another quick introduction to the Wuxia genre. (David would have loved it.) Yet another introduces kids to Abbas Kiarostami! It’s not a children’s thin picture book but a solid 288 pages of recommendations, cartoons, and activities. I imagine kids from families who take the advice of this book may grow up to be the Criterion followers of tomorrow.

A24 fans who were disappointed when the Hot Dog Fingers sold out will be glad to know that they are back in stock.

 

Do It Themselves Blu-rays

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among A24’s merchandise are the Blu-rays for some of its own films, sold directly through its online shop rather through outlets like Amazon. I mentioned the director’s cut version of Midsommar in my piece on prestige horror. The Lighthouse was released on Blu-ray through Lionsgate in early 2020. In the spring of 2023, however, A24 put out its own collector’s edition, with lots more extras and available only through their shop. Other collector’s editions available on the same basis are The Green Knight, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Stop Making Sense, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco.

Some A24 releases that are not collectors’ editions are also being released as Blu-rays by A24, again only through their online shop. I Saw the TV Glow and Marcel the Shell are not sold on Amazon.

Of particular interest to David and me was the release of The Zone of Interest. During his illness David was not able to see films in theaters, and I seldom had a chance to do so. We were unable to see The Zone of Interest until it became available on streaming February 20, 2024. It was the last new foreign film David saw before his death on February 29. I was glad that he was able to see it, since we agreed that it was one of the best films we had seen in years.

A24 released the Blu-ray exclusively through its shop (July 26). It has supplements, but not a lot. I wonder if it will become the first foreign film to get the “collector’s edition” treatment. Would the subtitles outweigh the Oscars it won?

It has been somewhat amusing to watch Amazon offering imported Blu-rays when they cannot get them from the domestic makers. (This is not confined to A24 by any means.) Love Lies Bleeding, available through A24, is represented by an Australian import on Amazon. As far as I can see, the only version of Showing Up available on Amazon is a French import, which may be dubbed. (Amazon does not always make it clear that films are dubbed or without subtitles in English or in a region code watchable on standard US players.) You can stream Showing Up if you have Paramount+. For a complete listing of A24’s Blu-ray releases, see here. The Zone of Interest can currently be purchased on Amazon in an imported Australian Blu-ray and a German one which may or may not have English subtitles.

A24 does not put out all of its films in this exclusive fashion. Alex Garland’s Civil War, the studio’s most expensive production to date and currently its second highest grosser after Everything, Everywhere, was again released through Lionsgate and is available on Amazon. I’m not checking every A24 title, but I assume most of their horror and other genre films are given ordinary releases. (Whether Civil War warrants being called an apocalyptic horror film is debatable. See bottom for a scene that might qualify it.)

 

Aiming for prestige

With Oscar nominations and wins, plus a lot more money, A24 has been continuing to acquire prestige films from this year’s festivals.

As the Venice International Film Festival began, A24 picked up the gay drama Queer (starring Daniel Craig and directed by Luca Guadagnino, who made Call Me By Your Name). It subsequently received a nine-minute ovation at its premiere screening. A24 has announced November 27 as the date for the film’s release.

The company also won in a bidding contest for The Brutalist, starring Adrian Brody, which won the Silver Lion (best directing) for Brady Corbet . It is scheduled for a December 20 release. A24 had already acquired distribution rights for the erotic thriller Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman, before it played in competition at Venice; it will be released on December 25. (Its director, Halina Reijn, also made the horror film Bodies Bodies Bodies, distributed by A24 in 2022.)

This little flurry of late-year releases of festival films suggests that A24 thinks they are Oscar-bait, and they well may be. The company has a track record now. (Above, James Wilson and Jonathan Glazer with the best international film Oscar for The Zone of Interest.)

Whether A24 will remain the interesting studio that has inspired these blog entries is yet to be seen.

 


 

Civil War (2024)

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bathtope, a removable fabric bathtub, unfolds at DESIGNART tokyo 2024


Removable fabric bathtub ‘bathtope’ at DEISGNART Tokyo 2024

 

At DESIGNART Tokyo 2024, LIXIL Corporation debuts Bathtope, a removable fabric bathtub for the shower room. The design is inspired by origami, as the material is cut from a single sheet of fabric and then folded. Visitors to the design and art event can see the fabric bathtub between October 18th and 27th in World Kita Aoyama, Japan.

 

Users can fill Bathtope with hot or cold water, and once they’re done, they just fold it up and hang it somewhere. It may be ideal for those who want a bathtub in their space but may not have the means or permission to build one, or if the area is too cramped. Because the removable bathtub is made of fabric, it adapts to the size and form of the space it is in. In this way, users can even sit down cross-legged, even if the shower room is tight.

all images courtesy of LIXIL Corporation, unless stated otherwise

 

 

cut from a single sheet of fabric to lessen risk of leaks

 

The public unveiling of Bathtope takes place at DESIGNART Tokyo 2024. At the event that designboom attended, the product’s description says that the design takes cues from the ‘elegance of kimono’ and origami. The latter unravels through the single sheet of folded fabric, then sewn. The former may arise from the multi-layered fabric that LIXIL Corporation uses to produce the removable bathtub, as well as the lush and singular shades of the object.

 

The corporation adds that they only cut from a single sheet of fabric because it lessens the risk of leaks. If they were to patch parts together, the seams might wear out and tear the fabric apart. For users to hang Bathtope in their shower room, they may need to attach hooks on the walls to suspend the removable fabric bathtub. LIXIL Corporation says it’s launching the removable fabric bathtub starting November 26th, 2024, and the release coincides with the 100th anniversary of its plumbing and tile business.

bathtope removable fabric bathtub
at DESIGNART Tokyo 2024, LIXIL Corporation exhibits Bathtope for the first time

bathtope removable fabric bathtub
the design takes cues from the ‘elegance of kimono’ and origami

view of the removable fabric bathtub at DESIGNART Tokyo | image © designboom
view of the removable fabric bathtub at DESIGNART Tokyo | image © designboom

the users hang it up after use | image © designboom
the users hang it up after use | image © designboom

view of the removable fabric bathub at DESIGNART Tokyo 2024
view of the removable fabric bathub at DESIGNART Tokyo 2024 | image © designboom



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Rabanne Arts Factory 2024: The final 6 artists share their submissions – Dazed



Rabanne Arts Factory 2024: The final 6 artists share their submissions  Dazed



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