The recently spruced up Pump House Gallery has begun to get use again. Last Friday there was a jazz performance and on Tuesday evening there were two short films. Both events were free. The audience brought coolers, blankets, and lawn chairs to make the outdoor entertainment more comfortable. No food is available for purchase at the Pump House Gallery, though its location in Bushnell Park makes for a quick and easy walk to any number of restaurants.
Last week Cinema City closed at its Brainard Road location and reopened as a wing inside of the Palace 17 & Odyssey Theater complex on New Park Avenue. When Bow Tie was opening in Blue Back Square, they promised to play art films and backed out of that promise, sticking to mainstream blockbusters. There has been concern that something similar will occur to Cinema City at its new site, that the art films its known for will be phased out in favor of popular moneymakers. Most of us know this part of the story.
Homefront provides another perspective about what has been lost by the decision to close the Brainard Road cinema, as well as some photos taken on the last night it was open.
The description of this film was utterly unappealing to me. Anything involving “mystery” or a “punk computer hacker” threatens to lull me to sleep.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo turned out to be one of the most compelling films I have ever seen. It’s in Swedish with subtitles; I have enjoyed a fair number of subtitled films in the past, but this was the first that I was drawn into so quickly that I forgot I was having to read anything.
It is a disturbing film. This is not apparent in the description, but needs to be mentioned. It’s graphic. There are brutal rape scenes. With that said, the film also has one of the strongest female leads. Without giving away too much, there are no attempts to rescue her and she needs nobody’s help anyway.
This film will be playing tonight and Tuesday night at Cinestudio.
The Wadsworth Atheneum is temporarily housing a time machine; Werewolf Karaoke is a portal to Justin Lowe’s interpretation of 1960s-1970s counterculture.
Walking around a room tiled with paperback books feels sacrilegious. Visitors are encouraged to take off their shoes to have an enhanced sensory experience. What does it feel like? Unstable. The “gallery” is like a carnival fun house complete with tinted windows, distorting mirrors, and brightly colored prints on the walls. A derivative of Werewolves on Wheels plays on a television.
Another room in the MATRIX 159 was inspired by the bathroom in CBGB. If you’ve never seen it, do an image search to get an idea. It’s dark and grimy –quite the contrast to the other rooms. Graffiti covers everything. Most people seemed to enter the exhibit through the faux bathroom, but I made this my last stop each time I walked through. When I return, I’ll try reversing my path to see if that changes my perception of the artwork.
In past exhibitions, Justin Lowe has created “gallery-lounge” installments in the shape of an ice cream trucks and bodega, to name a few.
Werewolf Karaoke will be viewable until September 5th.
After the Red Carpet segment, I have always just shut the television off because the award portion of the Oscars felt pointless. The types of films I see in the theatre tend not to be the blockbusters that everyone talks about or nominates for awards. This year, I could have reason to pay attention to at least one category.
On Saturday I got to see the animated short films that have been either nominated or given praise. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen the Real Art Ways theatre this full. Having kids in the audience (quite the change from the typical demographic there) was fun. During Matter of Loaf and Death there is a reference to Ghost, which everyone was laughing at, but the child behind me blurted out, loudly, ‘What is so funny? Why’s everyone laughin’?” which provoked more laughter, since there were amazingly people on the planet whose brains were not wired to associate a pottery wheel and “Unchained Melody” with anything. Only one of the films, the last, was dubbed to be not child-friendly, and I feel for the loss of the parents who missed out on the experience due to having to shuffle their innocent progeny out the door before obscenity could rain upon the little ones’ ears. Continue reading 'Animated Shorts at Real Art Ways'»
Free events that feature family activities make the Wadsworth Atheneum buzz with life. The museum was a good kind of busy. It was not silent like it usually is when I go mid-week. That’s uncomfortable, to be the only person on a floor, to have five security guards able to follow me at any given time. It was also not as busy as the larger museums in New York City that make the experience deafening and stressful. I don’t mind waiting for a few people to observe a painting and then move on, but I never want to wait in a line to catch a glimpse of something. Today’s WAMA population was a happy medium.
For the kids, there were hands-on art projects, like postcard creation. Maybe my timing was perfect, but while I was there, I was not forced to endure the screaming or crying of any kids (or their parents). The children seemed amused by the museum and the activities.
After checking out the Digging Deeper exhibit for the billionth time, I wandered off to explore the rest of the museum. I noticed that the mummy was moved. Not only was he removed, but his exhibit left some small holes in the floor. I was disappointed, mostly because it’s a tradition of mine to visit him and marvel at how the henna dye in his hair lasted thousands of years, but if I go to the salon and dye my hair, it disappears in weeks.
Crude, a documentary, will finish its run at Real Art Ways tomorrow evening. It’s worth seeing, if for no other reason than that it does not fixate on Iraq, hybrid cars, or George W. Bush. The film documents the long, arduous, and frustrating class action lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco for allegedly contaminating the drinking water of indigenous Ecuadorians.
The online Hartford Courant published a wacky news item that at first I thought had to be part of an April Fool’s edition:
Keney Park Bust Nets 35 Summonses, 4 Pounds Of Pot
12:01 p.m. EST, November 3, 2009
HARTFORD — - Halloween night, officers with the Hartford police northeast conditions unit shagged trespassers at Keney Park. They issued 35 summons to people or being in the park after it was closed.
In the process, they seized 4.1 pounds of marijuana that had been stashed in places on the cricket field at the park, said Sgt. Christene Mertes, a police spokeswoman. The marijuana was hidden and would be retrieved by sellers for people buying it, Mertes said.
“We do get a lot of complaints about that area,” Mertes said, referring to the Tower Avenue/Barbour Street side of the park. “It’s a big area to patrol. They went in and hit it.”
— David Owens
For fun, count the typos. For extra fun, think about how it is possible that someone might have never heard of the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
Despite not being a fan of Sol Lewitt’s works — Cleve Gray is more my speed — I can’t think of a more appropriate place within the walls of the Wadsworth Atheneum for the monthly First Thursday cocktail event to be held in view of. “Wall Drawing #1131, Whirls and Twirls” is a visual echo of the frenetic chattering that characterizes gatherings of artists and art aficionados. There will be an interactive art activity inspired by this mural; this will involve t-shirts and movement, and will be both filmed and photographed.
When my friend David told me he’d secured a reservation for a trip to the top of the Travelers’ Tower, I had no choice but to invite myself along. This would bring me downtown in the late morning, and since I had plans to be less than a block from there later in the afternoon, I figured I would just spend the time in between downtown.
At eleven we zoomed to the 21st floor. I did not think about the logistics of this. After having walked 2.5 miles to get downtown, the three flights of stairs did not seem so fun. The view was worth the panting. From the street, the tower does not look like it can hold more than two people. We had six people up there, and there was plenty of room for more. I had no luck locating my apartment.
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The recently spruced up Pump House Gallery has begun to get use again. Last Friday there was a jazz performance and on Tuesday evening there were two short films. Both events were free. The audience brought coolers, blankets, and lawn chairs to make the outdoor entertainment more comfortable. No food is available for purchase at the Pump House Gallery, though its location in Bushnell Park makes for a quick and easy walk to any number of restaurants.
The Wadsworth Atheneum is temporarily housing a time machine; Werewolf Karaoke is a portal to Justin Lowe’s interpretation of 1960s-1970s counterculture.
Free events that feature family activities make the Wadsworth Atheneum buzz with life. The museum was a good kind of busy. It was not silent like it usually is when I go mid-week. That’s uncomfortable, to be the only person on a floor, to have five security guards able to follow me at any given time. It was also not as busy as the larger museums in New York City that make the experience deafening and stressful. I don’t mind waiting for a few people to observe a painting and then move on, but I never want to wait in a line to catch a glimpse of something. Today’s WAMA population was a happy medium.
