The Arts in our Lives

   Do you like penguins with colourfully painted and decorated bodies? These penguins are from a public art project called ‘Go Penguins’, which took place in Liverpool, St Helens and Wirral, in Merseyside, from 22 November 2009 to 10 January 2010.

   Arts deeply root in people’s life throughout the world. It is pretty interesting that all human races have the same sort of arts, including paintings, music and theatre performance, although the style is different. Therefore you might be able to say arts have been essential to human life for some reason. It may be very difficult or even impossible to discuss what is exactly an art, but you still can consider about what arts do in our society.

   Go Penguins are really good example of a public art exhibition which combines various roles of arts to communities. The event was organised by Wild in Art in conjunction with Liverpool City Council and consisted of over 235 models of penguins with a story to tell. ‘Go Penguins needed to be more than artistic and fun; it needed to talk to people about climate change without them switching off, while being a unique platform for the creative wealth of the region. The event needed to be accessible, educational and inspirational.’*

   For instance, this art event helped the local tourism and economy, as it is supposed that many people visited Liverpool and strolled through the city to see those penguins. It also supported the local and young artists by giving opportunities for displaying their penguin works in the public space. Go Penguins emphasised the great culture of Liverpool; some of the penguin models were named like ‘I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND’ and ‘I AM THE WALRUS’, or actually got the paintings of the Beatles, and Liverpool FC/ Everton FC. In addition, the project held an educational aspect. 98 schools (almost half of all the schools in Liverpool) have participated in Go Penguins so pupils could learn about the issue of climate change in a fun, creative and engaging way. Overall, it could be said that the community became richer because of arts. (I did not see the actual event, but visited Liverpool last February and found the official books were still left at the tourist information. Actually everybody will enjoy the book because it contains the photos of all the penguin models.)

   Go Penguins was actually a very large project for the whole city of Liverpool, but if you look at the arts in our lives, you will notice there are surprising number of smaller and easier energetic projects for communities, especially in educational fields. This point is one of the major things I learned from the module Arts Within Society. Through the conversations of the lecturers from various fields of arts, I realised that there are many different ways of life participating in arts – not only making an smash-hit album, or a film impress people all over the world. Although the impacts for the whole society are smaller, the lecturers’ activities may move a child’s/student’s heart, and then the boy/girl, in the future, will possibly take part in an art project like Go Penguins or in education of arts. Perhaps it is a great cycle, and the society will be richer because of this.

*Go Penguins – A Cerebration Of Creativity In Merseyside, The Official Book (2009) UK: Peppered Sprout Limited/ Wild in Art Limited

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguins-Official-Coffee-Table-Book/dp/0955166012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273105471&sr=8-1 

Theatre - Hairspray 05/05/2010 2:30pm

   On 5th of May 2010, I went to an award wining musical ‘Hairspray’ at the Clyde Auditorium, SECC. I actually had seen the musical in London like two years ago and it was absolutely brilliant, so I was really glad to hear that Hairspray would be coming to Glasgow, and immediately decided to see it. There are quite a few empty seats, especially in the side seats, Rear Circle and Gallery (balcony), probably as it was a matinee. I bought the cheapest balcony ticket, but in consequence of this situation, I enjoyed an unexpected benefit that I could upgrade my seat to stalls for free! A live orchestra performed the music. It was pretty remarkable for me because Japanese theatres, especially in the provinces, often use the recorded music, which I do not prefer.

   Hairspray is originally from Broadway. I am not sure whether there are big differences or not, between the American version and the West End one. The production is currently on the UK tour and coming to Glasgow from 28th April to 8th May 2010, with featuring Michael Ball, the British leading theatre star!

Here is the brief story of Hairspray from the official website.

   ‘In Hairspray, it's 1962, the '50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion – to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance programme, 'The Corny Collins Show' and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the programme's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do? Only in Hairspray! Welcome to the '60s!’

   The musical was highly effectively directed. For instance, the announcement before the show said something like ‘Please switch off your mobile phone because you are in 1962!’ The costumes represent the old American fashion; Presley-like suits and psychedelic cloths, such as bright orange/green/pink shirts. The songs are basically consisted of American blues or rock n roll, but I felt that black characters sang serious heavier blues in contrast with the whites sang lighter fashionable ones. It might be one of the compositional directions. Also, it can be said that the cheap-looking stage sets, such as comic-like houses and a girl’s pinky room, did a great job to emphasis the time setting, which is 1962.

   Hairspray is less spectacular than productions like Les Miserable, The Phantom Of The Opera and Wicked, but an absolutely funnier and amazingly brighter musical with colourful costumes and funky shiny hairstyles. Although it deals a heavy theme of racism, Hairspray makes everyone happy and is magic. I consider that it is the most musical-like musical I have ever seen, and Hairspray has been one of my most favourite show since the first time I watched it in London. I think what is notable is the fact that the stage of Hairspray is far from our daily life. The narrative itself is kind of Cinderella story, which is unrealistic, and the performer’s costumes and hairstyles are different from today’s fashion. In addition, a male actor plays the main character’s mother. Perhaps these elements take you to the world of 1962, and also the world of entertainment!

Art - Musee d'Orsay

   Paris, the city of arts, is one of my favourite places and has an amazing atmosphere. It always provide you something stimulating, such as the French music, fine arts, architectures, foods, heritages, lovely small items and so on. Why not visit some of numerous museums there when you travel to Paris? You will experience a great variety of arts there, but if you are especially interested in drawings and paintings, the Musee d’Orsay, which is probably the next largest and most famous Paris museum after the Louvre, is the place to go. You will make a good few hours of your day out at the Musee d’Orsay as it is located in the city centre of Paris, and so close to some other well known attractions including the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde and Notre-Dame Cathedral.

   According to the Paris guidebook I have, Musee d’Orsay is a museum, which specialises in the arts from the nineteenth century. Especially its extensive collection of the paintings of great Impressionist, including Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Manet, Gauguin, Rousseau, Degas and Millet, is internationally famous. You will find a number of paintings you must have seen somewhere like in your school textbooks and TV shows.

   The building of Musee d’Orsay, which is built in 1900 and one of the greatest architectures in Paris, has an interesting background. It was a train station building at first, but remodelled and opened as a museum in 1986. A lot of traces of its train station period can be seen throughout the museum, such as the big clocks, which is known today as the trademark of Musee d’Orsay. Although the museum has not so much history, it has a fine presence of the centre of arts and established itself as a main sight of Paris.

   I visited Musee d’Orsay last month as part of my short trip to Paris. It is a large museum but the internal structure is quite simple – the most of the paintings are on ground floor and the other kinds of arts, such as sculptures and crafts are basically on the first floor. I personally like its way of displaying works, which is by artists. The Musee d’Orsay does not tire your eyes because many of the paintings there are Impressionist ones which have got lighter and softer textures than the others like Classical and Modern paintings. The museum seems to have very open atmosphere with very high ceilings as it used to be a train station. I visited the Musee d’Orsay with my brother and he became tired to walk around because it is very large. However, there are shop, café and a lot of benches so you can have a sit and rest whenever you want, and take your time (It is important facility for museums I think).

   There is no regular route in the Musee d’Orsay and it is easy to move around the museum. This is the point because you will enjoy your visit as you like. For instance, art-lovers may thoroughly appreciate the whole collections and normal tourist can see only the most notable works. Thus the Musee d’Orsay can be an example of good museums, though the admission fee is required (€8, €5.50 for concessions).

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

Music - BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra - Maestro's Choice, Thursday 18 March 2010

   Perhaps the first image of Glasgow’s music scene can be either popular music or the Scottish traditional music as typified in Celtic Connection. However you also can experience some stunning classical music here, as Glasgow is the home of two world-class orchestras - the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Both are very good orchestras with great venues, but this time let us look at the BBC one, which has been getting more publicity since the Scottish maestro Donald Runnicles became its chief conductor last September.

   On the Thursday 18^th of March, I went to see Maestro’s Choice, one of the main BBS Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s programme this year, at Grand Hall of the Glasgow City Hall. (The hall has its famous acoustic that is absolutely amazing, and this can be one of the huge advantages of the BBC orchestra.) The programme started with ‘Overture And Venusberg Music From “Tannhauser” / Wargner’. Then the orchestra hosted an American soprano Christine Brewer and played ‘Song’ / Richard Strauss. The climax of the night, after the 15 minutes interval, was Symphony No.7 / Beethoven. Donald Runnicles conducted throughout the programme and the venue was almost full.

   Runnicles’ music sounds as he looks like – wise and having bold presence, but also very graceful – you may feel the orchestra gets deeper sound when he conducts. (This can be said from my experience of some BBC SSO’s performance with different conductors.) In terms of that night, I thought the Tannhauser Overture was especially admirable. I would even say that it was the highlight of the concert. ‘The international reputation of Donald Runnicles as a Wagner conductor has been forged in the world’s leading opera houses from Vienna, Berlin and Bayreuth to New York.’ (extract from the concert programme book 18/03/2010) While I was listening to Runnicles’ Tannhauser, one word, which briefly describes the characteristic of his Wagner, came to my mind, ‘the sea’. It was vast, deep and varied as the waves that break on the shore and retreat. It is needless to say that there was a thunderous clapping of hands when the tune ended. Many audiences around me were talking how good Runnicles’ Tannhauser was.

   Richard Strauss’s ‘Song’ and the Beethoven’s masterpiece ‘Symphony No.7’ were also superb so I guess everybody there did enjoyed the performance. Although I would like to talk about these two works, I will now move on to the conclusion of this article.

   It can be said music is an art of theory and emotion. However, perhaps music should not let us aware of this point when it is used in our community. ‘The music that does not interfere with your brain’s work’* – this may be nice word to explain my view. Function (or wedding) bands are good example of this. No audience wonders about the meaning of lyrics and the compositional process when they are dancing. Also, in terms of classical music, who knows the real backgrounds and feelings of composers, who lived hundreds years ago? Music performances provide you a comfortable moment so that you will be slightly happier than usual and have a good sleep. This is everything I want from the music in the community.

*Yoro, T (anatomist), Hisaishi, J (composer) (2009) ‘Mimi De Kangaeru (thinking with your ears)’ Tokyo: Kadokawa Group Publishing, translated by Ryutaro Kikuta

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