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Day: 27 February 2013

With 1/5 Mancunians living in poverty, it’s time we looked beyond the Oxford Road Corridor

Written by Maya Oppenheim on . Posted in News.

A world away from the purple hoodies of Oxford Road, increasing numbers of Mancunians are living in conditions of extreme poverty. Last Wednesday the ‘Campaign to End Poverty’ published figures which revealed that Manchester Central has the highest levels of child poverty in the whole of the UK, with nearly half (47%) of children experiencing severe poverty. This news follows the shocking findings published by ‘Greater Manchester Poverty Commission’ last month. The commission revealed that over one in five residents in Greater Manchester lives in conditions of ‘extreme poverty’. Bishop McCulloch, the chair of the report, classed ‘extreme poverty’ as an income of less than £12,000 a year. In revealing that one in five Mancunians lives in the 10% most severely deprived areas in the country, the report exposed the stark reality of unemployment, low income and public sector neglect in Manchester. Furthermore, the commission warned that if economic conditions worsen and welfare services further diminish, then up to 1.6 million, half of Manchester’s population, will risk falling into poverty. With rising unemployment rates and dwindling public services, the gulf between South and North Manchester has never felt greater.

Nevertheless, as a student, it is easy to remain isolated from the deprivation which lies beyond the impermeable bubble of Oxford Road. In between the anxious wait for exam results and the dread of impending deadlines, it is inexcusably easy to become detached from the wider city in which we live. Surrounded by an abundance of academic, consumer and entertainment facilities, the majority of students limit themselves to the Oxford Road corridor and seldom venture beyond either Fallowfield or Picadilly. For this reason, the extreme deprivation of the surrounding areas often goes unnoticed. Whilst, we impatiently reload our student portals in desperate anticipation for exam results, the decision between hunger, heating and transport remains a real choice for many Manchester residents. Furthermore, while we fail to notice the daily privileges of our bus-pass or internet access, not to mention our monopoly-sized loans, many young people in Manchester have highly limited access to basic transport and technology facilities. If poverty is defined as a lack of choice – not being able to choose how you spend your time, where you live, what you buy, who you meet and where you go – then ‘studenthood’ is its very antithesis. Whilst the student life is characterised by a wealth of free time and a sociable lifestyle, for many Mancunians poverty permeates everyday life and the threat of being laid off, having benefits cut or houses repossessed remains a reality for many.

As the largest student city in Western Europe, it seems ironic that Manchester is also home to the highest levels of child poverty and property repossession in the whole of the UK. In this highly polarised city, the student population remains a world apart from its surrounding areas of deprivation. Nevertheless, students inability to detect the poverty which surrounds them is neither the result of apathy or social exclusion, rather it is because students have no reason or desire to visit the parts of Manchester hit hardest by destitution. Real deprivation has no place in ‘student ghettoes’. Furthermore, ‘studentification’ has led to minimal interaction between students and local communities. The inherently transient, cyclical nature of student life – many of us come for three years and then leave – has meant that students often have little commitment to the past or future of the city of Manchester, instead they remain involved in the perpetual present.

It is not enough to accept the disparity between our beloved Russell Group university and the wider city in which it is situated. The University and those within it must play a greater role in shaping the fabric of adjacent neighbourhoods surrounding campus. Rather than turning a blind eye to Moss Side, which is half a mile to the East of John Rylands or Longsight which is half a mile to the West of University Place, the University must take responsibility for the wider community in which it is located. By delivering provision for the community and widening participation from under-represented groups, the University would be able to expand its role within the wider city. Moreover, in expanding student placements in the community and increasing funding to groups like ‘Student Action’, who have a long legacy of a remarkable work in the community, Manchester would become increasingly integrated into the wider community. In congruence with the recommendations of the recent report, we must address the gross disparities in wealth and improve practical solutions for those living in poverty.  As ‘Mancunions’, we hold a responsibility to the wider city in which we live.

Surviving Supper: Cubism

Written by Lucy Johnson on . Posted in Arts.

Background

It is commonly thought that Cubism was spawned when Picasso came back to Paris from Spain in 1907. He painted Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon which although not considered a Cubist painting itself, is considered key in the development of Cubism as is the influence of Cézanne and ‘primitive art’. Picasso and Braque like ‘mountaineers roped together’ developed a new way of depicting reality in painting that was simultaneously representational and non-naturalistic. Cubism came close to total abstraction but always retained some element of our visual world within the composition. Braque and Picasso rejected the traditions of perspective and representation and instead, ‘painted forms as they think them, not as they see them’ – Picasso. They treated nature in terms of geometrical shapes and often represented several angels at once in order to re-invent traditional subject matter. It is important to remember how shocking this new style would’ve appeared for the art audience in 1907 when all the conventions of painting were dropped.

Style

Flat multi-faceted surface made up of geometric shapes

Seemingly floating planes with sharp interpenetrating angles

Monochromatic colour schemes generally of browns and blacks

Few recognisable forms and often lettering was incorporated both to emphasise the flatness of the canvas while at the same time adding an element of reality

Use of multiple viewpoints

There were in fact two different forms of Cubism: Analytical and Synthetic. Both phases have the same principles as listed above. The main difference was the increase both in colour and decorative elements in Synthetic Cubism which was also more visually simplistic. Another key development when we consider Synthetic Cubism is the addition of collage and ‘ready-mades’ which displaced the skill of the artist being central to the work of art and can be seen as the beginnings of the Conceptual art we are surrounded by now.

Key Players

Pablo Picasso – co-founder of Cubism

Georges Braque – co-founder of Cubism

Juan Gris – pioneer of Synthetic Cubism

Paintings to Know

Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon – Pablo Picasso 1907 (MoMA, New York)

The Portuguese – Georges Braque 1911 (Kunstmuseum, Basel)

Still Life With Chair Caning – Pablo Picasso 1912 (Musée Picasso)

The Sunblind – Juan Gris 1914 (Tate, London)

‘Improdigy’ at Frog and Bucket brings laughs, but not plenty of them

Written by Grace Williams on . Posted in Arts, Theatre.

The rather oddly named Frog and Bucket is a comedy club situated at the scruffy end of Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter. Established comedy acts have been road testing new material over the past couple of weeks, the improvised comedy troupe Improdigy being one of them.

The troupe is made up of four rather over-excitable theatre types, game to make you laugh at any cost.  As an improvised comedy virgin I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turns out audience participation is the name of the game. Results range from great spontaneous gags, to some awkward sideways glances amongst audience members, to agonising silences across the room, when no-one on stage can think of anything witty.

The dodgy compere warmed up the stage for the main act. In terms of sheer effort, the troupe deserved a pat on the back, but it was clear to all they needed to keep practicing.  Two hours later and after a fair few seriously unimaginative suggestions from the crowd, predictably along the lines of sex, paedophilia and genitals, I was all improv-ed out, but had had many laughs along the way.

The venue itself is dimly lit and dingy in a tacky but charming way. The faces of big name acts who had once started out here adorn the walls and give the feeling that you could be in the presence of the next big thing.

Improdigy probably aren’t it. However, if you fancy a cheap evening out, and can be bothered to trek out to the Northern Quarter on a Wednesday evening, you can’t go far wrong with some improvised comedy at the Frog and Bucket. Although be sure to have a few bevvies beforehand (the drinks at the bar are pretty overpriced) to loosen the tongue for some serious heckling.

Check out their website for more nights www.frogandbucket.com.

Editor’s note: The original image used for this post, of the Slap and Giggle comedians, has been removed. Slap and Giggle are not connected to the Improdigy troupe and the editor apologises for suggesting this through the use of the photograph.

‘Four’ at Cornerhouse: The Curation

Written by Sarah Jones on . Posted in Arts.

Whilst browsing the interesting installations and original sculptural pieces of Cornerhouse’s latest exhibition, ‘Four’, several questions came to mind.  To shed light on these, I spoke to one of the three young curators who worked on this exhibition, Elizabeth Gibson, to find out her main aims for the exhibition, how the team went about the selection process and why she thinks Cornerhouse, once again, managed to hit the nail on the head.

 

What drew you to the work of the artists you chose to include in the exhibition, and did you want it to embody a particular theme?
We had written out a brief for artists to respond to, so we were looking for applications for work that we felt fitted the criteria we had set out, which included originality, creative use of media and accessibility to a wide audience. We didn’t have a definite theme in mind; we simply wanted to pick the best works and see if a theme started to emerge. In the end several did, such as colour and texture.

 

What made you decide to include solely British artists in ‘Four’?
The brief was open to artists anywhere in the world, and indeed we got submissions from all over the globe (over 600 in total!). We would happily have included international artists in the exhibition; it just happened that the four we picked were British. It wasn’t a conscious choice to only have British artists.

 

Did you encounter any problems during the curation process, considering your age and experience?
Not really; the hardest thing was narrowing down so many good applications to just four. I don’t think our age or inexperience was a hindrance; I think it’s a good idea to have Young Curators at galleries like Cornerhouse as we often have different ideas to older and more established curators, and this can lead to greater variety in the exhibitions a gallery puts on.

 

Can you give one piece of advice to any young curators hoping to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion – I am known for being quite a quiet person but when you are working with a group of people who all have different ideas, communication is key. Make sure your ideas are heard. If there is one piece of work you think would really work in an exhibition, fight its cause! In both exhibitions (Lost is Found – at Cornerhouse in 2012 – and Four) there was a piece I felt strongly about that I managed to “sell” to the others by describing clearly why I thought it would work. Both times the piece made it into the final exhibition. So don’t be afraid to speak out!

 

How did you feel when you were chosen to take part in curating an exhibition for Cornerhouse?
Very excited; I had previously been on the curation team for Lost is Found and it was an amazing experience. I hoped curating Four would be as enjoyable; it turned out to be even more so.

 

What do you think makes Cornerhouse unique in comparison to other galleries across Manchester and the UK?
The fact that it is quite small I think gives it a more intimate feel than in some other galleries. In addition, it is accessible straight from the street which means that you can pop in whenever you like and spend a short time there, or you can go for a whole evening and incorporate a meal and a film. It’s a lovely place to be. And they do amazing hot chocolate.

 

How do you think the exhibition was received by the viewing public, and if you could go back and change anything, would you?
We had lots of visitors on our opening night, and lots of positive comments, so I think it was well-received. I don’t think I would change anything; I really like the way it turned out. All the artists have excelled themselves, and the work is brilliant.

Elizabeth’s responses provide us with a rare insight into the finer details of the curation process, and could certainly be said to drum up more appreciation for the time and effort that goes into organising such a thought-provoking and entertaining exhibition. Giving some great nuggets of advice, Elizabeth demonstrates why she and other young curators should be granted the highest praise for their contribution to the city’s culture.

See Sarah’s original review here: https://mancunion.com/2013/02/05/four-at-cornerhouse/

Preview: Iron Man 3

Written by Robbie Davidson on . Posted in Film.

After saving New York from alien invaders last summer (with a little help from some friends) you would expect Tony Stark, and his alter ego Iron Man, to be looking for time off. But the movies don’t work that way, or rather the studio coffers don’t when The Avengers amassed over a billion dollars globally, and so Iron Man returns for his next solo outing.

But after the massive superhero team-up of last summer, will audiences be satisfied with just one superhero to save the day when you could have half a dozen? The answer from the film’s producers seems to be not to try and go bigger but to do ‘deeper’, or as is obligatory in Hollywood these days, ‘darker’. Indeed if the trailers are anything to go by we may see less of the wise-cracking Tony Stark from the past two films and instead see a more serious Stark grappling with the inner dilemma of “Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?”.

It certainly seems like an interesting direction to take the franchise in and after the disappointment of Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios clearly wants to take Iron Man back to basics: Tony’s world is destroyed by the evil Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and as he finds himself with nothing but his genius to fight back with and no Thor or Captain America on speed dial, we’ll likely be seeing a darker, grittier Iron Man, more in the vein of the first film. How his love interest Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and best bud and fellow metal fan, Rhodey (Don Cheadle) fit in with this is yet to be seen.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Iron Man 3 is new director, Shane Black. Black, who directed Downey, Jr. in the fantastic Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, replaces Jon Favreau in a move which will hopefully inject some of his trademark dark wit into proceedings. He’s also added an excellent supporting cast including Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall to take on Stark in some verbal (and physical) sparring.

But how will this all fit in with the wider Marvel Universe? We already know that both Thor and Captain America are returning for their next individual adventures and that the Avengers are re-assembling in 2015. By planning the next group reunion so far in advance, Marvel risks removing the suspense of whether these characters will survive their next mission as we already know we’ll be seeing them in a few years time again. Or maybe this is a ploy. Maybe Iron Man is soon to be scrap metal? Only time (and box office receipts) will tell.   

It’s a small world: comic book movies in the age of shared continuity

Written by Andrew Home on . Posted in Film.

It should never have happened. To suggest that, back when it was first announced in 2008, Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) would have been the runaway success that it was seems slightly delusional. On the face of it, it has all the makings of a blockbuster hit: big action and bigger characters. However The Avengers required something from audiences which action movies are not particularly famed for: investment. The movie wasn’t designed to introduce you to the characters (that had already been done) rather it simply tried to tell an engaging story.

However, rather than balk at the idea of needing to know preliminary information, audiences embraced the thing which has been making comic books enjoyable since their inception: familiar characters that progress over years, even decades. Comic book movie audiences now want to see what would happen when all these heroes’ paths cross.

The story doesn’t stop with the end of Avengers however. This has merely been the first phase of Marvel’s (and parent company Disney’s) master plan. Phase two is already around the corner with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World coming later this year and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Ant Man and Avengers 2 all in various stages of production. These movies promise a wealth of new stories for fans, and many zeroes added to Disney’s bank account.

If Marvel’s Iron Man (2008) was the beginning of a new, more colourful type of superhero movie, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) from main competitor DC Comics was completely the opposite. A dark, gritty, grounded world which didn’t make room for any of the other superheroes in DC’s pantheon. As successful and critically acclaimed as the Nolan Batman trilogy was, it is now over and leaves DC with the very difficult question of where do we go from here. Seeing the box office figures for The Avengers and their ilk it’s little wonder that DC are trying their hand at the shared universe concept with a new Superman reboot imminent (Zack Snyder’s The Man Of Steel) and the possibility of a Justice League movie (most likely featuring The Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and, of course, Batman) tentatively scheduled for 2015.

Pessimistic as one is inclined to be about the success of a Justice League movie (2 years is not a lot of time to complete such a giant endeavour), it’s hard not to admire DC and Marvel for their dedication to the shared universe concept. Comic book movies have, up until now, been plagued by reboot after reboot (case in point the atrocious Amazing Spider-Man from last year, made a mere five years after Spider-Man 3). One of the best things about shared universes (if they’re successful) is that we can grant ourselves the luxury of getting used to a character, of not having to trawl through the origin story ad infinitum. This is what The Avengers and the Justice League movie represent: a chance for us to have a consistent set of characters, ones that we’re comfortable enough with to not want them to be deleted and started afresh every five years.

It’s gotten to the point where we all know how Superman got his cape, how Batman got his cowl, how Spidey got his webslingers etc. It’s time that we got some new stories from our favourite heroes and if DC and Marvel continue on the path they’ve set out for themselves, that looks like exactly what we’re going to get. It’s an old cliché in comic books that no one ever stays dead. Let’s hope that comic book movies can continue to keep the characters we love, alive.

Review: Cloud Atlas

Written by Jim Johnstone on . Posted in Film.

Cloud Atlas follows individuals connected throughout the past, present and future whose actions ‘echo through time’. Helmed by The Wachowski’s and Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer, and boasting an all-star cast including Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, I had nothing but high expectations when I sat down to watch Cloud Atlas.

The scene is set under a starry cosmos with a scarred and grizzly Tom Hanks musing over ancestral stories, which are all ‘tied up into one.’ We’re then thrust into the six tales that make up Cloud Atlas. In 1849 a lawyer helps liberate a tortured slave. Next in 1926, in England, a young composer seeks fame and fortune by aiding an older one. In 70’s San Francisco, a tough journalist is on the trail of corruption in a Nuclear power plant. A publisher is confined against his will in a nursing home in modern day England. Then in 2144, a clone in Neo-Seoul endeavours to expose her society’s dark secrets. Lastly, in a post-apocalyptic world a tribesman battles his personal demons to help a beautiful and idealistic ‘off-worlder’.

The leading cast members each play four or five different roles throughout the film. Tom Hanks gives an interesting range of performances, from an eccentric nineteenth century doctor to a psychopathic Irish gangster turned author. His most impressive role is as the tribesman Zachry, who is haunted by a demonic spectre on his quest towards redemption and love. But it’s Ben Whishaw, who recently assumed the title of Q in Skyfall, that stands out. As Robert Frobisher, he’s hired as an assistant to an aging, legendary composer. Forced to hide his love for another man in 1920’s English society, his tragic tale is the most poignant and captivating – definitely an actor to keep your eye on in the coming years.

The attempt to transform Jim Sturgess into a Korean man, and Halle Berry and Doona Bae into Caucasians was a questionable choice. Also the make-up department left Hugo Weaving, in his role as the sadistic Nurse Noakes, looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger on his way to a costume party as Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Needless to say, Cloud Atlas is grand and overly ambitious. Initially the fast pace and constant switching between narratives leaves you inquisitive and eager to know more. But the film soon plateaus when you realise that each story is as predictable as the next, and with such loose connections between them, you end up feeling like you’re watching 172 minutes of similar-looking trailers.

As all six tales progress, the notion that these characters are connected and that life transcends time, place and death is excessively stressed, through the philosophical rhetoric. This leaves you hoping for a revelatory climax, which sadly never comes. The stories are left scattered like the canvas of stars that open and close this epic, leaving the audience to contend with the highfalutin philosophy of the film, which is essentially one slack idea: if you screw up in one life, you can redeem yourself in the next as a futuristic Korean freedom-fighter or Tom Hanks looking like he’s just wandered off the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Top 5: Anti-rom-coms

Written by Parizad Mangi on . Posted in Film.

5.  Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012)

Jesse and Celeste are getting divorced but still spend almost every minute of the day together. After realising that this arrangement may be stalling their love lives they decide to give each other more space, resulting in a tale of how hard it can be to let go and accept circumstances.

4.  Annie Hall (1977)

Woody Allen directs, writes and stars in what may be the archetypal anti-rom-com. If you’re looking for a movie that holds the ethos of whatever may be anti-romance, then this is it.

3.  War Of The Roses (1989)

Divorce battles can be ugly, but it’s taken to a violently sinister level in this black comedy. After several years of marriage, things fall apart for Oliver and Barbara Rose and a cacophony of hurling plates, smashing statues and abuse ensues. No wonder it’s named after an historic bloodshed.

2.  Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

Haven’t we all wished we could erase the memory of a certain someone to start anew? Eternal Sunshine makes this idea a reality. Jim Carrey’s Joel takes this step following the information that his ex Clementine has done the same; we get to chase along with Joel as he changes his mind mid-process and fights to keep every moment spent with her.

1.  500 Days Of Summer (2009)

“This is not a love story, this is a story about love”, we are told at the beginning of the movie. This indie flick is a delightful chronicle of how seldom our expectations match up with reality in the matters of the heart, making it the ultimate anti-rom-com.

Toasties and ‘little bits of the Real’

Written by Everyday Analysis on . Posted in Arts.

Theodor W. Adorno uses the word ‘culinary’ to designate something of an unanalytic and self-satisfied attitude, so cookery advice might be the last thing you’d expect of us, but…

There are three Lacanian orders: the Imaginary, the Symbolic and the Real. If the Imaginary registers the split in subjectivity (the gap between what we know as ourselves and what we see in the mirror, for example), then the Real is that very split itself. The Symbolic is the realm of language and of knowledge, and the Real in relation to the Symbolic is as that which is unsymbolisable, inassimilable; all that which we cannot know, the magnitude of which can never be subsumed. The Real is also that which breaks into our lives as trauma, the first symbolic impressions of which we repress and later articulate in symptoms. Lacan says the best we can ever perceive of the Real is only ‘little bits’.

Some, such as James Joyce, might welcome such ‘little bits of the Real’, and try their best to re-present them as ‘real’ (i.e., bring them into the Symbolic order), despite knowing the actual (Real) impossibility of such an endeavour; as he said of Finnegans Wake in a self-critical moment: ‘isn’t it arbitrary to pretend to express the nocturnal life by means of conscious work?’ (Portraits of the Artist is Exile,p.213).

Most of us, however, might prefer to dispel these ‘little bits of the Real’ from our Symbolic universe; and how better to do this than to convert them into symbolic entities? The following is thus of necessity a metaphor: but if we take a loaf of bread, and we don’t want curly hair, we might be prone to leaving the crusts, prone to – in a very small way – being slightly traumatised by there being crusts at all. All we need is a toastie maker. Putting the filling on the crust side and buttering the bread side, squashing the sandwich until it’s sealed toasted, we get the end result of a toastie which looks and tastes like any other made of two middle slices, despite it containing a little bit of the Real. The efficacy of the toastie maker may then be a fitting metaphor for the efficacy of our own Symbolic orders.

‘An Exhibition’ at the Holden Gallery

Written by Peter Lane on . Posted in Arts.

My first impression of An Exhibition was the stark emptiness of the space – though what else should I have expected, considering two of the main contributing artists, Lawrence Weiner and Stefan Brüggemann, are known for their minimal intervention when creating works. Weiner, founder of the postminimalist movement, and Brüggemann whose installations are characterized by his minimal intrusion, are exhibited alongside MMU trained Carey Young and works by the Itinerant Texts Art Collective.

An Exhibition seeks to question what the components of an exhibition are. Beneath the title An Exhibition three criteria are set out:

1) a space that must be filled

2) an interaction between artist, curator, audience and the gallery

3) a conversation about the use of language and communication through the display of art.

As one might guess, instead of following these conventional exhibition rules, the show attempts to questions them, with each piece only satisfying the basic criteria, and going no further. What results is a set of images which tick the necessary boxes for it to qualify as ‘an exhibition’, but without actually creating anything more than a set of images. What seems to be being explored here is the gap between the exhibition criteria and what makes for a coherent exhibition experience, and the artistic possibilities which emerge from that gap.

The central space in the gallery is filled by 4 temporary walls with 1560 possible names of exhibitions that enshrine a 2×2 cube of cardboard boxes each with NOTHING scrawled across them, the epitome of a non-piece, an artwork in denial of being a work of art. Here, questions of what makes a work of art, and what qualifies as art, as ‘an exhibition’, are probed intelligently and interestingly.

You are guided around the room by a mind-map of comments such as ‘aha’ and  ‘nice idea’ towards the first piece, where, printed on the wall in strong block capitals are the words: A TRANSLATION FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER. Ironically nothing has been translated – the words are the same as they would be on a page – but now on a wall in an exhibition it has become a ‘work of art’. Painted on the remaining walls are AS LONG AS IT LASTS, (THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE) and finally I CANT EXPLAIN AND I WONT EVEN TRY each following a similar self-contradictory trend.

An Exhibition stands as a witty satire of the art industry, and, as we have seen, raises important questions of what is an exhibition and what is a work of art.