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Day: 27 November 2013

Noise and Signal

Written by Jasper Llewellyn on . Posted in Arts.

Daksha Patel has been making work for a number of years now across the North West, regularly displaying pieces across Manchester and Liverpool in galleries including The Cornerhouse in Manchester and FACT in Liverpool. The overarching point of focus throughout Patel’s career so far has been, what she describes as, ‘medical visualisation technologies’ and yes, it seems like a somewhat unorthodoxly scientific interest for such a visual artist, however, after five minutes looking at/with/in her work, it all somehow seems to make complete sense.

‘Would you like to see your body rhythms as part of a piece of artwork? ‘– This is the premise of Patel’s latest work, entitled ‘Noise and Signal’ which ran unfortunately for only 4 hours last weekend at the Cornerhouse. Using sensors monitoring the subtlest heat changes on the end of your index and middle fingers, Patel aimed to map participants’ responses to other pieces of artwork within the Cornerhouse by undertaking live drawing as the readings coming from the sensor were projected on to the wall of Cornerhouse’s ‘Annexe’ space, a room often devoted to live and installation art. Glimpses of abstract grid-like formations appeared on the wall with random frequency as participants ventured out into the main Cornerhouse gallery and bar area, complete with skin sensor and a wireless pack which sent readings back to the Annexe where they were combined with readings from Patel’s own body and then run through an assortment of programs before appearing physically as blueprint-esque projections. This is where Patel’s skill with a pen came into play as she keenly focused on the movements of the projections, drawing over the projected image and often personalising it with small touches of her own. I thought this was a fantastic piece, which raised some really interesting questions about how we view art on a sub-conscious level, and I’d really recommend keeping an eye out on what she does next. Check out her ‘Fat Drawings’ if you’re interested.

 

The Royal Opera House

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Arts.

Situated in Covent Garden and home to two of the most famous opera and ballet companies in the world, it’s a shame that many believe it to be a posh place where only old people go. I first attended the Royal Opera House when I was thirteen, and it has been a big part of my life ever since.  I grew up watching videos of ballet stars performing but watching it live and being in such a grand place is a completely different experience. The building was originally built in 1732, however most of what is seen nowadays was built in the 1990s. Before then, guests would have had to enter through a different entrance if they had cheaper seats in the amphitheatre. Now, people enter together, whether they’re in suit and tie or jeans, to be settled in one of over 2,200 places to watch a fantastic performance.

So how did I end up working for the one of the leading companies in the arts sector? Well when I first heard of the Student Ambassador scheme, I never actually thought I’d get a place on it. I hadn’t danced for a number of years and had never seen an opera, and yet something I said at the interview managed to work.

The Student Ambassador scheme was new last season; devotion to student interest is clearly a priority for the Royal Opera House. With the average age of visitors at over 55, it is crucial to bring in new people, particularly students. That is where the Student Ambassadors come into play. We have meetings where we discuss the new ways to involve students with productions on the various stages and with the Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season. The general conclusion of our last meeting was that the cheaper something is, the more likely a student will go and see it.

It’s not all boring meetings. As we are all either part of team-ballet or team-opera, there are treats for us all. So far, I have wandered around the backstage of the Royal Opera House (including standing on the main stage), listened to a speech from Kasper Holten, Director of The Royal Opera, and witnessed a rehearsal for The Royal Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. So far, I’ve been to two Student Amphitheatre performances  – a ballet, Don Quixote, and my first ever opera, Wozzeck.

The Student amphitheatre performances are just one way in which students have the opportunity to see a ballet or opera. These are specified performances in which the entire amphitheatre is reserved for students, at prices between £2 and £20. There are also allocations of 20 tickets for every single main stage performance that students can buy before the general public. Finally, if you, are willing to drop anything to go see something, then there are also £10 standby tickets (which is where the name for the Student Standby Scheme comes from!), which is for any unsold seats up to 24 hours before a performance. If it’s difficult to get down to London, then you can always see a live cinema screening, where you can even see what goes on backstage in the interval breaks.

So there you have it. Ballet and opera is for normal people too. It’s not all elitist, and it’s definitely not all about fat people singing, or men in tights and women in tutus. Though trust me, the man in tights isn’t such a bad look. You never know, the rousing music and drama might be something for you.

Sign up for free at www.roh.org.uk/studentstandby to get access to great low price tickets at the Royal Opera House. To find live opera or ballet in a cinema near you visit www.roh.org.uk/cinema

Fashion, beauty and … technology?

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Image: www.shop.cutecircuit.comWith the increase of new technological channels such as blogging, social networking and the e-commerce explosion, it is no wonder that new technology has fused with fashion – and in such exceptional ways. Take for example Hussein Chalayan, one of the most innovative fashion designers in the world, who integrates fashion with architecture and technology to create extraordinary pieces of art that can also be worn. His catwalk shows are often perceived as performances due to his use of music, cinema and installation. In 2008, Chalayan designed a collection of LED dresses in collaboration with Swarovski – his work was on display at the Design Museum in London, 2009. Another incredible example of his fashion fusion with technology -Chalayan designed a living room where each object was created with the purpose of being worn or disguised. For example, the clothes were disguised as chair covers with suitcases as the chairs. A women’s skirt was also converted into a wooden coffee table. You can see all these incredible images on Chalayan’s website: www.chalayan.com/afterwords/Image: www.shop.cutecircuit.com

“Technology touches every part of our lives and is becoming increasingly prevalent in fashion in terms of fabric and design.” – Little Miss Geek founder Belinda Parmar. Other amazing examples of technology within fashion lie with Cute Circuit, whose ‘Ready to Wear’ collection was the “first ever micro-technology infused fashion collection on the market and continues to lead the way in interactive RTW.” (Cutecircuit.com 2010) The brand was endorsed by celebrities, such as Katy Perry who wore a light pink gown adorned with LED lights. Nicole Scherzinger also wore the world’s first ‘Haute Couture Twitter Dress’ which included the latest technology in LED lighting showing animations and realtime tweets. By using the hashtag #tweetthedress, fans could see their messages flash over the dress. See the video at: www.cutecircuit.com/collections/twitter-dress/. If you would like to get your hands on one of these extraordinary designs, the ‘K’ dress from CuteCircuit was inspired by the one worn by Katy Perry and would set you back £1,500.00. The LED lights can be set to whatever colour and pattern you choose via a controller and can charged using a USB right off your laptop!

New technology is not only being featured in Fashion, but also in Beauty…NASA technology for your skin? Yes please! This new ‘Youth Booster’ moisturiser by IOMA is boasting to use the same MEMS technology “found in the Curiosity robot currently investigating Mars as part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission.” (Vogue) The MEMS sensor cap lets you test your skins hydration, by counting the number of LED lights that appear to tell you how many times to apply the cream. – Exclusively at Harrods: Priced at £149.