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theculturedmarxist · 3 years ago

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In 2019, after a decade of theatrical releases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) reached new heights of box office success with the release of Avengers: Endgame, the second-highest-grossing film of all time. Earning just under $2.8 billion globally, it’s little surprise that Disney (the home of the MCU) and Sony Pictures (which holds the film rights to Spider-Man) decided to join forces in order to engineer another such cultural event.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland leads his third stand-alone film as the web-slinger, but this time the filmmakers have ported in characters from Sony’s two previous Spider-Man franchises, where Tobey Maguire and then Andrew Garfield donned the iconic red-and-blue suit. The storyline allows Holland’s Spider-Man to get some much-needed distance from the Avengers — though Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) plays a supporting role — and it provides an opportunity to contrast his version of the character with those past portrayals.

A Working-Class Hero

In the beginning of director Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man, Uncle Ben and Aunt May are in the kitchen of their working-class home in Queens discussing their finances. After thirty-five years, Ben has been laid off from his job as a senior electrician because, as he says, “the corporation is downsizing the people and upsizing their profits.” May reminds him they’ve had tough financial patches in the past, and they’ll get through this one too.

This scene roots the story of Spider-Man in a working-class household, and it’s a constant feature in his life and the lives of those he cares about. Maguire’s Peter Parker does all manner of jobs to make a bit of money, such as participating in a wrestling match, selling photos of himself as Spider-Man, and even delivering pizza in the second film. Meanwhile, his neighbor (and longtime crush) Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) has to wait tables at a diner as she tries to become a stage actress.

They’re not rich people, and their finances shape their stories throughout Raimi’s trilogy. Raimi shows us how Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson bullies Peter into accepting meager pay for his Spider-Man photos while Mary Jane’s boss berates her after her shift. At home, Peter’s landlord snatches the $20 his aunt gave him for his birthday right out of his hands, citing back rent, while the bank refuses to do anything to help Aunt May refinance her home, forcing her to move out. But while the “good” characters are under the foot of capitalists, the same can’t be said for the first villain of Raimi’s trilogy.

Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) is an incredibly wealthy man who runs Oscorp, a chemical company and military contractor. He’s also the father of Peter’s best friend, Harry, and while he initially presents himself as someone Peter can trust, he becomes Spider-Man’s chief adversary when he inhales a performance-enhancing chemical and becomes the Green Goblin. After trying to kill Peter and threatening the lives of Mary Jane and Aunt May, Osborn eventually kills himself after miscalculating an attack on Spider-Man.

Here in Raimi’s original trilogy, the wealthy CEO is no hero and Peter pays a heavy price for his proximity to the billionaire Osborn. It’s a far cry from how Marvel’s Kevin Feige frames the story of Holland’s Spider-Man and his mentor, the charismatic superhero billionaire Tony Stark (aka Iron Man).

The Billionaire’s Apprentice

When the MCU’s first stand-alone Spidey film, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), introduces its lead, the audience for once doesn’t get an origin story for the character. Instead, we’re treated to a video log catching us up on the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), when Spider-Man appears at a battle in Berlin after being recruited by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr). This introduction limits the ability of Holland’s Spider-Man to develop his own non-Avenger identity, especially when paired with the influence Stark has in shaping who he becomes.

When he’s not suited up as Iron Man, Tony Stark plays various roles at Stark Industries, an arms manufacturer whose weapons are used to wreak havoc around the world while making Stark himself fabulously wealthy. In Raimi’s Spider-Man, the rich man is the bad guy, but in Homecoming and the films that follow, he’s the hero that Peter looks up to. Peter’s association with Stark also alleviates his financial worries, to the point that if he ever comments about not having much money, it’s hard for the audience to take seriously.

To illustrate that contrast, Homecoming’s villain is the Vulture, also known as Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton). Toomes isn’t a billionaire playboy; he runs a salvage business that aids in the cleanup of New York City after it was wrecked in The Avengers (2012). Despite making the investments necessary to fulfill a salvage contract, the project is taken over by the Department of Damage Control, a joint initiative between Stark Industries and the US government, and Toomes’s salvage business goes under. When his livelihood is taken from him by the same billionaire that helped destroy his city, he turns to arms trafficking to provide for his family and keep his crew employed.

Instead of capitalists oppressing Peter and those he cares about, as in Sony’s first Spider-Man trilogy, in the MCU, a billionaire is to be worshipped, while the people he’s harmed are the enemies. In the second film, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), the villain and his team are once again people who’ve been mistreated by Stark and his company, while murals are erected to honor the deceased Iron Man. Unlike in Raimi’s trilogy, where the villains are troubled figures being pulled between good and evil, Feige does not allow Spider-Man’s adversaries the same nuance, despite their legitimate grievances.

The Corrupting Force of Technology

In Disney’s MCU, wealth isn’t the only concept whose representation is reshaped to align with ideas that serve powerful interests — even the costumes have transitioned from cheap spandex to something out of a Northrop Grumman catalog.

Take Tony Stark, a billionaire who has no real superpower of his own. Instead, he has the ultra-expensive gadgetry built into his Iron Man suit — tech he gives to Holland’s Spider-Man. As a result, the audience gets a very different picture of technology, its consequences, and its military applications than in Raimi’s films.

In Homecoming, Spider-Man’s suit has a dizzying array of advanced weaponry built into it, along with an AI assistant and a connection to Stark Industries’ military surveillance network. Once its restrictions are removed, Spider-Man has access to facial recognition, tracking capabilities, taser webs, and many more invasive and deadly options. In Far From Home, those capabilities are enhanced after Stark leaves him a pair of connected sunglasses (he accidentally calls a precision strike on one of his classmates while wearing them). In a world of NSA surveillance and drone warfare, superheroes gain those capabilities — in Spider-Man’s case, often for comedic effect — to normalize the actions of the US military. (The Pentagon has long shaped the portrayal of the military in Disney’s MCU, including in the Iron Man movies.)

Conversely, Raimi’s trilogy takes a much more critical approach to technology. And when the military shows up, it works with Oscorp, not Spider-Man. In those films, Spider-Man’s powers are biological, to the point that his body produces its own webs. (Holland’s Spider-Man uses web cartridges.) In Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004), Dr Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) wants to create a mini-sun to power the world and builds a set of mechanical arms equipped with an AI to help manage the fusion reaction.

But when he loses control of the energy, it fries the chip that keeps him in command of the arms and the AI turns him into Doctor Octopus — a villain driven to complete the project at any cost. These technologies, just like the Green Goblin’s sled and suit in the 2002 Spider-Man, are corruptions for their characters, not enhancements. Yet for Amy Pascal, the producer who oversees Spider-Man at Sony, a hero that was connected to Iron Man and “rooted more in technological innovation” felt “much more modern,” even as it robbed the character of its soul.

What Future for Spider-Man?

As part of the MCU, Holland’s Spider-Man has little time for the people of New York City. He travels around the world and even into outer space to fulfill his duties. And when he is in New York, he’s more of a nuisance than a help.

But Raimi’s working-class Spider-Man is rooted in his city. In Spider-Man 2, after an iconic sequence where Spider-Man stops a subway train from running off the tracks, the passengers catch him as he falls, then pull him into the train and promise to keep his identity a secret when he reawakens. For them, Spider-Man is not a superhero, he’s one of them — another working-class, outer-borough New Yorker.

In that movie, Aunt May explains that “there’s a hero in all of us.” She isn’t trying to say that everyone can be an Avenger, but that everyone has a part of themselves that strives to do the right thing, just as parents sacrifice for their kids and residents work to better their communities every single day. It’s those actions that allow people “to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most, even our dreams.” Maguire’s Peter Parker isn’t an outlier; he’s just doing that in his own way, reflecting his circumstances.

As an Avenger, Holland’s Spider-Man is too busy trying to live up to Iron Man to settle into the role of a friendly neighborhood hero, but No Way Home leaves the door open to a new life for the character. To send the heroes and villains from the previous Spider-Man franchises back to their own timelines — spoiler alert — Holland’s Peter has to make a sacrifice of his own: everyone who’s ever known him has to forget who he is. After Doctor Strange casts the spell, the film ends with Peter moving into a dated studio apartment with no friends, no Avengers, and no money. He’s finally able to chart his own path.

No Way Home had the third-biggest global opening weekend ever, pulling in more than $600 million even without a release in China, so it’s no surprise that Sony and Disney want to continue their lucrative partnership. Holland is set to return for another trilogy of Spider-Man films, but it’s not clear which path his story will take.

The studios could take the easy route of having him find a way to bring everything back to normal, then step into Iron Man’s shoes and wield his impressive array of military technologies. But they could also take a more daring approach.

By resetting Peter’s relationships, a more mature version of Holland’s character could return to his roots and become the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man he was meant to be. Even more crucially, he could reassess his relationship with Tony Stark — recognizing the billionaire arms manufacturer who conscripted a teenager into a paramilitary force was maybe a villain all along. It would be a compelling storyline and one that would challenge the MCU’s devout fanbase.

But allowing the space for critical reflection might also jeopardize Iron Man’s status as a reliable cash cow. Since Disney has led the charge to reorient cinema around bland, action-packed blockbusters, the choice between taking a risk on a bankable property or continuing to rely on its successful formula is an easy one. Disney will take the money.

#spider man no way home #capitalism #marvel mcu #class warfare

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dutch-and-flemish-painters · 3 years ago

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Abraham Vinck - Portrait of Johannes Hochedaeus a Vinea, pastor of the Walloon Church in Amsterdam -

Abraham Vinck or Abraham Willemsz. Vinck (Antwerp, 1574/1575 – Amsterdam, 1619) was a Flemish painter and art dealer who spent most of his life and career outside of Flanders, including in Hamburg, Naples and Amsterdam. He is mainly known as a portrait painter but also practised in many other genres including history painting, mythological scenes, fruit and fish still lifes and market scenes. He was also a copyist who created copies after the great masters. He is now mainly known for being the co-owner together with his Flemish colleague and business partner Louis Finson of two paintings by Caravaggio.

Vinck was born in Antwerp in 1574 or 1575 near the St Dominic Convent as son of the merchant Willem Vinck (died before 1602) and Catarina Buichi (died 1602). In the past it was believed that he was born in Hamburg. Recent research has shown that he was born in Antwerp. He had a younger brother called Cornelis.

It is not clear with whom or whether he studied art in Antwerp as he is not mentioned in the records of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. He travelled in 1589 to Hamburg with his younger brother Cornelis. Here they soon met the prominent Dutch painter Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburg. He travelled to Naples around 1598. Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburg had already taken up residence in Naples around 1596. In Naples Abraham married Vittoria Obbekens Albartsdr (also referred to as Victoria Obbekens, Obekinck or Obis) on 29 January 1602. Although his wife was born in Maddaloni, Italy, her family name indicates that she was of Flemish descent. Her father was called Albert Obekinck. Witnesses at the wedding were Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburgh and Abraham's brother Cornelis. A daughter Margaritha (or Margriet) was born from this marriage in 1602 or 1603.

Archival records reveal that in Naples he received commissions from prominent patrons between 1600 and 1608. None of his works from his period of activity have been located. In a letter written to Antonio Ruffo dated 1673, the art dealer Giacomo de Castro mentions that Vinck was a famous portrait painter residing in Naples who was Flemish and a very close friend of Caravaggio ('amicissimo di Caravaggio'). Abraham Vinck was in Naples also a friend and business partner of Louis Finson, a Flemish painter and art dealer from Bruges. Together with Louis Finson he owned two works of Caravaggio: the Virgin of the Rosary (now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) and a painting of Judith beheading Holofernes which certain scholars believe to be the work that was discovered in the attic of a private home in Toulouse in 2014.

By 1609 Vinck had left Naples and was recorded in Amsterdam. His son Abraham was baptized on 30 May 1610 in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. This makes clear that despite his stay in Italy and marriage to an Italian bride, he was of the Calvinist faith. The witness at the baptism was Anna de Morimont, originally from Antwerp and wife of Charles Coorne, originally from Ghent.

Art historian Marijke Osnabrugge believes that Abraham Vinck briefly returned to Naples in 1615 and again between 1617 and 1618. However, the Italian art historian Giuseppe Porzio has pointed out that another painter also named Abraham Vinck (or Vinx), who was somewhat younger, worked in Napels in the 1610s. This painter created an altarpiece for the Seminario Arcivescovile in Aversa which he signed.

On 4 September 1616, Vinck was a witness at the baptism of Thomas van Nieulandt, a son of the painter Adriaen van Nieulandt. He was the landlord of Louis Finson in 1616–1617 who rented from him a residence on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam, which the artists may have shared. This shows that the artist had become wealthy. Another proof of his wealth is his later place of residence in Amsterdam. In 1619 he lived on the Fluweelenburgwal near the Varkenssluis, which was traditionally one of the elegant canals.

He died in Amsterdam where he was buried on 28 October 1619.

#Abraham Vinck #golden age #antwerpen #Amsterdam #Italy #portrait #history

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guardianreadersofthegalaxy · 2 years ago

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My July ‘21 - July’22 film ranking:

1. Last Night In Soho (AKA ‘The Great British Stabbing Bee’) – A young medium moves to London to study fashion but experiences disturbing visions from the 60s. I’m mad at myself for being so on the lookout for foreshadowing. It spoiled some of the reveals, but that’s not Edgar Wright’s fault. The director makes the Soho setting enticing and then increasingly terrifying, with flourishes that are creative but not obnoxiously so. Tomasin McKenzie’s Elouise could have just been an audience avatar, but she’s great in her own right – by turns naïve, driven and damaged.

2. Dune (AKA ‘Spice World’) – In the far future, the powerful house Atreides are sent by the Emperor to plunder the desert planet Arrakis. Dune is sort of like Game Of Thrones in space, complete with just-about-comprehensible lore and sudden twists where things go very bad very fast. And, like ‘GOT’, Dune is at its best when awing you with its staggering special effects and production design. Director Denis Villeneuve does most of the heavy lifting, creating an intoxicating sandbox for the simple yet vivid characters to play in. The third act does feel a bit like the first act of a sequel but I’m sure it’ll all balance out in part 2.

3. The Lost Daughter (AKA ‘Mamma Mia! But Sad’) – While on a solo holiday to Greece, Leda meets a young mother who reminds her of her own struggles as a parent. This could have been a slow burn, but an early reckless choice by the protagonist infuses the film with simmering tension. It’s a great character study, and director Maggie Gyllenhaal gets brilliant performances from Buckley and Colman as the quietly abrasive Leda, who’s unpredictable without seeming inconsistent. I like Gyllenhaal’s use of quick edits and closeups to deliberately disorient the viewer, as well as Dickon Hinchliffe’s score which swings from melancholy to surprisingly upbeat, ensuring things never get dull.

4. Ali & Ava (AKA ‘Disc-eo & Folk-iet) – An EDM-loving landlord and a folk-loving teaching assistant find common ground. For every film where a man and a woman bond over their love of music, I always hope it won’t muddy the waters by having them get together. Never mind. Director Clio Barnard finds magic in the drizzle and concrete of the urban North. There’s some great use of symbolism: a glance at a rocking chair or a pair of boots can tell you everything you need to know about a character. Barnard’s script deals with a lot of different issues (a few too many), and maybe should have zeroed in on the themes of mental health and the power of music.

5. Spiderman: No Way Home (AKA ‘Arachnids Assemble’) – Peter Parker meets friends and foes from other dimensions. While recent instalments have gone a bit too easy on him, ‘No Way Home’ puts Peter Parker through the wringer right from the get-go and gives him real lasting consequences at the end. His insistence on rehabilitating villains at any cost makes him easy to root for and gets to the core of why people love the character. Standout performances by Tom Holland and Willem Dafoe.

6. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (AKA ‘The Power Of The Doc) – A sorcerer has his ex-girlfriend’s wedding interrupted by a multiversal war. This was really entertaining! The action was occasionally hard to follow and the plot, while coherent, was little more than a vehicle for increasingly bizarre set pieces. But what set pieces! I know MCU directors often feel handicapped by studio interfering but, in this case, it seemed like Sam Raimi was able to make the film his own by leaning into the goofy soft-horror he’s best known for. And the, now obligatory, fan-service cameos were wisely confined to one scene.

7. Everything Everywhere All At Once (AKA ‘Racocoonie’) – A laundry owner has her tax audit appointment interrupted by a multiversal war. Co-directors ‘Daniels’ should be applauded for their boundless creativity, though I do have notes. There’s an incredible 100 minute film in there somewhere, but many moments dragged out for way too long. EEAAO rises above other Matrix knockoffs by remembering to have fun, with plenty of ‘Rick & Morty’-style comedy to complement the competently handled emotional story. By turns surreal, hilarious, tedious, and genuinely moving. And too long.

8. The House (AKA ‘There’s A Moose Loose Aboot The Hoose!’) – Three generations of cats, mice, and humans try their best to settle into ‘the house’. I mean, I just love stop motion so maybe this had an unfair advantage. Design and direction are both on point to make ‘The House’ as beautiful as it is unsettling. Thematically though, it suffers from ‘French Dispatch syndrome’: with neither the variety of an anthology miniseries like ‘Inside Number Nine’, or the coherence of a standard 90-minute film. The first and last parts had decent messages, but I never felt like Jarvis Cocker’s mouse estate agent was getting his just deserts.

9. The Power Of The Dog (AKA ‘Doctor ‘Straight’ In The Closet Of Sadness’) – A macho cattle-rancher takes against his brother’s new wife and her aloof teenage son. I thought Jessie Plemons’ understated performance was the highlight. His tearful relief at finding an alternative to his bullying brother really struck a chord, and it’s a shame that he faded into the background later on. The actors convey a lot through physicality, like Dunst’s shaking hands as she sits at the piano, or Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee’s gait as they respectively strut and mince around the farm. Dialogue schmialogue.

10. RRR (AKA ‘Rajamouli’s Ridiculous Romp’) – Sparks fly in 1920s India when officer A. Rama Raju meets the revolutionary Komaram Bheem. They don’t make films like this in the West any more, and I think that’s a shame. RRR is camp and earnest, always somewhere between ‘so bad it’s good’ and just genuinely good. While there were literally hundreds of moments of unintentional comedy, I couldn’t help but get swept up in the epic drama and spectacle.

11. Don’t Look Up (AKA ‘Leostorm’) – Two astronomers desperately attempt to warn the world’s governments about an approaching comet. This was a really tense watch. It felt like a modern update of ‘Dr Strangelove’, where the people with the power to avert Armageddon are too inept to do so. There’s a hefty dose of Black Mirror in there too, with humanity’s stupidity on full display. That being said, I didn’t leave feeling like we deserve annihilation, which might have been some consolation. Instead, I was angry that we put our lives in the hands of the Musks and de Pfeffel Johnsons of the world, and that’s not as cathartic.

12. Turning Red (AKA ‘Meilin, Wailin’ & Big Fluffy Tailin’) – A thirteen year old girl turns into a giant red panda. I feel like, as with the MCU, Pixar films have somewhat reached a point of competent homogeneity. I could copy and paste most of this from my last two Pixar reviews: the animation’s beautiful; good insights are made about the human condition; the message is hindered by over-specific lore. And that’s fine, I guess.

13. Pig (AKA ‘They Took My Peeerg’) – A former expert chef turned lonely truffle hunter searches for his stolen truffle pig. I felt like there could have been something profound going on in 'Pig'. The juxtaposition of a dirty, bleeding man sat in a fancy restaurant probably signifies… something. But there were just too many off-putting elements, like the random fight club scene, for me to grasp what it was all about. Cage does your standard 'Sadman McDeadwife' performance, but I much preferred Alex Wolff's nervous yuppie. The scene of him trying to psych himself up in the mirror only to be cut off by the editor was the highlight of the film.

14. Shang Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings (AKA ‘The Lord Of The Rings’) – A former assassin reunites with his family and returns to China to confront the man who trained him. Though I didn’t care for the mystical mumbo jumbo or tai chi air-bending, I was pleasantly surprised by ‘SCATLOTTR’. The story wasn’t that compelling but Marvel did a good job with the design of the film’s world, costumes and CGI creatures. Awkwafina was a delight, the martial arts were great and, unlike ‘Black Widow’, sincere moments weren’t undercut by jokes.

15. Black Widow (AKA ‘The Marvel Cinematic Pugh-niverse’) – A former assassin reunites with her family and returns to Russia to confront the man who trained her. Well, I came for Pugh, and I definitely got some quality Pugh. Also a few really exciting action scenes and creative flourishes, courtesy of director Cate Shortland. However, even at 135 mins, it feels rushed. Ray Winstone’s short changed and, though Harbour & Weisz get plenty of screen time, it’s all setup for character arcs that don’t pay off. Meanwhile Johansson’s Natasha treads water between Avengers films. But like I said, Pugh!

16. The Batman (AKA ‘Twi-knight’) – Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler. Director Matt Reeves draws on the serial killer films of David Fincher, emulating their tone but unfortunately also their three-hour runtimes. I’m afraid I found The Batman to be heavy on plot and light on theme, leaving me with little idea of what it was ‘all about’. Paul Dano’s a brilliant actor but he’s only really given one scene and, sadly, I think he botched it. Still, I enjoyed the action, the cinematography and Michael Giacchino’s already iconic score.

17. Eternals (AKA ‘Zhou-er Rangers’) – A team of immortal heroes reunites to protect Earth from the predatory Deviants. Better than I expected. The dialogue was godawful, I cringed every time they stood in a line, and the characterisation, while present, is spread veeeeery thin. But, to its credit, Eternals raises some interesting issues about when and when not to challenge the status quo. And for a franchise often accused of visual homogeny, Chloe Zhou did bring a distinctive style that I, if not loved, at least liked. And the jungle fight was cool.

18. Kate (AKA ‘I’ve Been Poisoned By The Japanese… I Really Think So!”) – After she’s fatally poisoned, a ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge. Honestly, I doubt I’ll remember ‘Kate’. It’s a pretty by the numbers Netflix film with a very predictable plot. That being said, there were a few moments of action that were so fantastically violent I sat up, went “Oh!” and rewound to watch them again, and that’s definitely worth something.

19. The Green Knight (AKA ‘It Was A Joke, Gawain. It Was A Christmas Joke’) – The young Gawain seals his own fate when he rashly beheads the fabled Green Knight. I liked the music, design, and some of the performances, but otherwise TGK is waaaay too arty farty for its own good. The overuse of montage and slow motion made David Lowry look like a hipster Zach Snyder. You could maybe enjoy it on the level of a music video, but one that's two hours and ten minutes long.

20. Ennio (AKA ‘The Good, The Bad & The Long) – A documentary celebrating the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Honestly, I love Morricone but after two and a half hours I was sick of the old codger. Insights are made into the great man’s process but they’re drops in an ocean of runtime. I wish, instead of trying to cover every film Morricone ever composed, director Giuseppe Tornatore had just picked a few ‘greatest hits’. Or at least devoted more than 60 seconds to the scoring his own ‘Cinema Paradiso’.

21. The French Dispatch (AKA ‘Les Newsies’) – A French-American newspaper publishes three stories concerning an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef. Anderson delivers all his usual Anderson-isms and doesn’t demand the audience invest too much in these stories… perhaps he should have. Structurally, making an anthology film of three forty-minute segments is an unfortunate choice, as I think it’s long enough to bore you but not long enough to tell a satisfying story. Also, the random use of black & white hurt my eyes.

22. The Worst Person In The World (AKA ‘Nor-way Home’) – I’m sorry, so little happens in this film that I’m not sure that I can summarise it. My favourite part was finding out, to my relief, that my wife didn’t like it either. Perhaps I shouldn’t have had a couple of drinks before watching something where I’d have to read both subtitles and actors’ facial expressions. Either way, I mentally checked out after the first hour. TWPITW uses a prologue to establish Julie’s personality before instantly contradicting it, introduces numerous disparate plot elements that didn’t go anywhere (drugs, families, offensive cartoons) and has basically nothing happen for two hours.

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heavyarethecrowns · 4 years ago

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I didn’t know Kate has also worked on a yacht…

SUBMITTED

Yes during her Gap Year, she kept on getting told off because she had a habit of standing over the clear glass on the top deck and those blue shorts didn’t cover everything so she would give everyone on the lower deck a full view.

That was also the job she met her Gap Year boyfriend at, after her stint there she and this boy went on holiday together. They broke up before she got to Uni. It is a boyfriend many forget about. They skip from Willem Marx to Rupert Finch missing this Gap Year boyfriend as well as her other school boyfriend and the boy she dated before Rupert at Uni.

Oh and for future reference when she first went to Uni she worked at a pub/bar for a few months and she got a reputation there too! There were stories on that many years ago but it got brought up again when they were on tour in Ireland and she said it was giving her flashbacks when pulling a pint in a pub there. She was not a bartender though she was more of a waitress from what the Landlord said when he spoke about it back when we first found out about the job.

I loved that when she mentioned she was a server when in Ireland and all the press talked about it being a secret job and we just found out and I am sitting here thinking, you reported that 15 years ago, there is even an interview with the Landlord back then. That is not secret!

I will see if I can find articles about both of these things.

#duchess of cambridge #kate middleton #royal #question #submission

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randomrichards · 4 years ago

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BEST MOVIES OF 2020

10) BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

It’s a miracle Sacha Baron Cohen could pull off his guerilla comedy style considering how iconic his character is (especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic). Just as surprising is how uncompromising it is with its political commentary and how it never backs away from its deliciously inappropriate humour.

As everyone’s favourite anti-Semitic, misogynist dim bulb reporter (Sacha Baron Cohen) becomes a pariah in his home country, Borat tries to sell his daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) to Michael Pence (then later Rudy Giuliani). The result is an endless array of side splitting, cringy moments from convincing a baker to write an anti-Semitic slogan on a cake to Borat attempted disguises to avoid detection.

Not since Buster Keaton has a comic actor pulled such dangerous stunts for a laugh. Cohen puts himself in such risky situations for the sake of his comedy when he hangs around with Qanon nutjobs or barges into a Republican convention dressed as “McDonald Trump.” [1] Well, it’s not just for laughs. As with his earlier works, Cohen uses his guerilla comedy style to expose the ugly side of humanity and America’s complicity in said ugly behavior. A notable theme is the consequences of misinformation. Borat is an instigator and willful idiot for his home country’s propaganda, which makes him an easy target for conspiracy theories. It all comes to a hilarious head when his daughter becomes a rightwing pundit and breaks his heart with holocaust denial.

Maria Bakalova is the film’s breakout star. An unknown actress from Bulgaria, Bakalova matches him every step of the way as the gullible, degraded young woman. She shines in her own hilarious moments when she’s ballroom dancing with a bloody dress or cheering about the joys of masturbating in front of a Republican Meeting. She also gives the movie a heart as Borat bonds with his daughter and forces him to reevaluate his beliefs.

It’s impossible for the film to reach the same level of impact as the first Borat considering what a surprise phenomenon the original was. But it’s still surprising the sequel was as good as it was without sacrificing its inappropriate humour.

9) HIS HOUSE

Writer/Director Remi Weekes brings another great addition to the metaphorror genre with His House; a creepy horror flick about a Sudanese refugee couple who find their lives in Britain threatened by the literal demons of their past.

Dilapidated rooms with peeling wallpaper, decaying floors, and malfunctioning lights are a perfect atmosphere for horror, Weekes and his cinematographer Jo Willems takes full advantage of this environment to unsettle the audience. Bol Majur (Sope Dirisu) and his wife Rial Majur (Wunmi Mosaku) find themselves tormented by voices in the walls, and mysterious figures peaking through the crawl spaces. It’s clear these supernatural figures are the manifestations of their trauma.

Weeks contrast the supernatural horror with the real horror they face, which takes the form of an uncaring bureaucracy that sticks them in a dilapidated home in a crumbling neighbourhood with some hostile, indifferent neighbours. It shows how finding a doctor’s office in an unfamiliar land can be as scary as facing ghosts.

You care a lot about these two thanks to Dirisu and Mosaku, who bring a lot of quiet humanity and heart to their characters. You pray for them as they fight for their right to live with dignity after what they’ve been put through.

8) WOLFWALKERS

British girl/wannabee warrior) Robyn (voiced by Honor Kneafsey) joins her father (Sean Bean) on a trip to a remote Irish village where she encounters Mebh (Evan Whittaker), a wild red-haired girl with the ability to control a pack of wolves. With her father tasked with killing Mebh’s pack, Robyn must find Mebh’s mother and protect the pack from the tyrannical religious fanatic Lord Protector (Simon McBurney) in Tomm Moore’s conclusion to his Irish Folklore trilogy.

The animation is just as gorgeous as Moore’s earlier films The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea with his trademark storybook-like animation style. A noticeable difference between the earlier is how deliberately rough the animation looks. There are moments you can see lines and circles that are usually erased when drawing characters. It fits with the wild energy of the characters.

There’re the clear environmental themes of humans encroaching on animal lives and the need to respect nature. Lord Protector believes he needs to dominate the wilderness and the wolves. The villagers in contrast have more respect for the environment but can’t do much under Protector’s rule. So, the wolves are forced to find a new home.

Another theme of this film is the importance of questioning authority and not blindly conforming to social norms. Robyn’s father expects her to train to be a chambermaid while he’s blindly follows Lord Protector’s orders. They keep saying it’s “for the greater good,” but that “greater good” involves the destruction of a wilderness and a denial of one’s true self. It just leaves everyone miserable. And all for a religious fanatic.

It’s a shame Moore’s films don’t get more attention because they have that rare sense of wonder.

7) NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS & UNPREGNANT (tie)

I’m putting these two films together on the list because they have the same premise of two teen girls travelling across state lines so one of them can get an abortion. What sets them apart is how different they are in styles.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a grounded drama about Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) a teenage girl from Pennsylvania who secretly travels with her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) to New York to get an abortion without their parents knowing. Writer/director Eliza Hittman avoids melodrama in favour of grounded realism. Flanigan and Ryder keep their performances at a lowkey level to reinforce the realism. Hittman also avoids political moralizing in favour of just presenting a slice of life showcase as the cousins travel to New York, try to find the appropriate procedure for her circumstance, then tries to find the money to get back home. In a way, it makes the little moments more meaningful when Autumn is forced to watch anti-abortion propaganda or when she and Skylar plays at an arcade.

While the former goes for grounded drama, Haley Lu Richardson’s Unpregnant bears a closer resemblance to comedic road movies like National Lampoon’s Vacation and Planes, Trains & Automobiles. This time, popular teen Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson) enlists the help (and the car) of social outcast/former friend Bailey (Barbie Ferreira) to drive from Missouri to Albuquerque to get the procedure without her parents knowing. The result is a chaotic road trip with the two crashing a few cars and meeting a few colourful characters along the way. This film has quite a set of cameos including Breckin Meyer, Betty Who and Giancarlo Esposito. This film has the John Hughes blend of broad humour and recognizable heart. This film gets its point across by showcasing the absurdity of how teen girls are treated. One notable example is Veronica’s boyfriend; a stage 5 clinger who lives under the “nice guy” mindset.

Both films celebrate teen girls helping each other out.

6) THE VAST OF NIGHT

Switchboard operator (Sierra McCormick) and DJ Everett Sloan (Jake Horowitz) search for the source of a mysterious sound in The Vast of Night; a gripping and visual dazzling sci fi flick that captures the feel of the Twilight Zone.

Director Andrew Patterson and co-writer Craig W. Sanger wrote a tightly knit story the follows our heroes over the course of a night as they play detective in a 1950s New Mexico town. Never does a second feel wasted. Plus, it’s fun to see stereotypical 1950s nerds being the heroes in a story like this.

What truly makes this film stand out is its visual styles. From the Twilight Zone-esque opens plays on an old tv, cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz has you under his spell. His camerawork is always gorgeous in both the way he is zooming into a 1950s high school basketball game and shining omniscient light from the night sky. There are also some unusual moments when the film will suddenly play on 1950s tv. This may either further the intrigue or take some viewers out of the movie.

The result is a unique experience for sci-fi fans.

5) KAJILLIONNAIRE

Emotionally distant young woman Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) and her small-time con artist parents (Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) find their lives turned upside down when a perky stranger named Melanie (Gina Rodriguez) joins in their schemes.

Some audiences may be put off by July’s stylized approach to filmmaking, especially Wood’s unusual deep voice. But for those into lighthearted, quirky comedies will be enchanted by the little visual oddities of the family stooping (or in Old Dolio’s case, leaning back) to avoid their landlord or the pink suds always flowing down their apartment walls.

Kajillionnaire fits into July’s celebration of the timid and the outsiders. But July surprises us with a dark side to the outsider. The parents reject the unfulfilling, debt filled conventional life, but they aren’t particularly good at their cons and struggle to make ends meet. It has also made their daughter emotionally distant and with severe trust issues. It takes Melanie to give Old Dolio the human connection she never had.

I can’t say much beyond that because it takes many unexpected twists and turns. What I can say is this colourful dramedy offers an assurance of human connection.

4) SMALL AXE

Ok, I may be cheating on this one since it’s five films (two of them just barely over an hour), but director Steve McQueen’s anthology complement each other perfectly with their unflinching examinations of systemic racism inflicted on lives of West Indie Brits during 1960s and the 1980s. The films are also connected by their celebration of people who celebrate life despite overwhelming odds stacked against them.

MANGROVE centers on the title Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill. Owner Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes) just wants to serve customers and be left alone, but his business is a constant target of harassment by racist cops. It all comes to a head with a 1970 protest, which leads to Frank and 8 others falsely accused of inciting a riot.

The trial demonstrates how Police can brutalize protesters, then turn around and accuse the protesters of inciting violence. It also shows how the justice system is complicity by blindly taking the word of the police over civilians. Not helping is a prosecuting attorney who peddles in racist dog whistles, a defense attorney naïve about the justice system’s treatment of black people and an indifferent judge. But the defendants stand strong as they use the trial as a platform to expose racial profiling while poking holes in cop’s testimony.

The two standouts in the film are Parkes and Letitia Wright as British Black Panther Co-Founder Altheia Jones. Parkes brings a lot of sympathy as a desperate man who just wants to live his life but grows to become an activist due to circumstances outside of his control. In contrast, Wright is a powerhouse of righteous anger as she fights for dignity.

LOVERS ROCK takes us through a night at a house party, where two strangers (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward) fall in love. There’s isn’t much plot in this one, its mostly just people dancing and playing music. But as the camera lingers on the DJ playing records and the guests dancing and enjoying each other’s company, this film enchants you with its celebration of music, dancing, and the joy of company. It feels like a much-needed break from the uncomfortable racism we see in the other movies.

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE Is probably the most heartbreaking. John Boyega portrays Leroy Logan, a young man who enrolls in the Metropolitan Police in hopes of reforming it from the inside. He underestimates the racism he’ll face during training or how the system enables the racism. What makes it worst is how his own community would turn against him, especially his father (Steve Toussaint).

Boyega gives a powerful performance as a determined and smart guy who fails to understand how in over his head he is. You feel his fury when Leroy berates his fellow officers for putting his life in danger by not answering his call for backup. Toussaint is just as powerful as a man who feels betrayed when his son joins the very people who have brutalized him for years.

ALEX WHEATIE tells the true-life story of a young man (Sheyi Cole) who would go on to become an award-winning writer after being jailed during the Brixton Uprising of 1981. We follow him from his childhood growing up in uncaring white institutional care homes to finding a sense of community in Brixton, where he develops a passion for music. Through his attempts to pursue a DJing career and his run ins with the law that he confronts his past and begins a journey to healing.

We conclude with Education, a coming-of-age story of Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy), a 12-year-old boy who was singled out as “disruptive” and sent to special classes for the “subnormal”. This film looks at an unofficial segregated system that dismissed black kids and discarded them in classes for people with mental disability. It’s clear Kingsley is a smart kid with interest in rockets and space, but he shows signs of dyslexia. But neither his headmaster nor are the special classes helpful, especially when the teacher cares more about play his guitar and teaching the kids anything useful. His parents are even less helpful when they dismiss his concerns (when they’re not working two jobs.) It leads to a sad moment when Kingsley hides inside a bus to avoid seeing his friends.

This film also shows the power of black women. You see it through Kingsley’s sister Stephanie (Tamara Lawrence) whose empathy makes her realize somethings up. You see through Lydia Thomas (Josette Simon) activism as she investigates these school conditions. You especially see it through Kingsley’s mom (Sharlene Whyte), not just from working to jobs to provide for her family but her ability to grow and learn. She goes through a journey as Lydia teaches her about the systemic racism in the education system, forcing her to realize how she’s dismissed her son’s concerns. Near the end, we see how children like Kingsley can be helped by those willing to understand his problem.

3) FIRST COW

Timid forager Cookie (John Magaro) feels out of place among the hunters and fur traders in the Oregon Territory. Then along comes King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant with big dreams. Together, they swipe milk from the only cow in the area to cook and sell pastries to the locals in the area. As their little business grows, so does the bond between these outsiders. But their success comes under threat when they attract the attention of a wealthy landowner (Toby Jones) who owns the cow.

A premise like this does not sound like the type of film that attracts major audience attention, especially with Co-writer/Director Kelly Reichart’s minimalist style. But when it comes to Reichart, less is more. Reichart takes her time to take in the muted colours and natural beauty of Christopher Blauvelt’s cinematography and allow the relationships to develop naturally. It’s helped by the low-key yet engaging performances. Lee showcased the enthusiastic determination of a born entrepreneur. But it’s Magaro who shines brightest with the most nuanced performance of the year, revealing Cookie’s humanity through the subtlest gestures.

Reichart’s subtle, patient storytelling isn’t for everyone, but through her gentlest touch she enchants the audience with a haunting tale of unlikely friendships and the achievements of outsiders.

2) UNCUT GEMS

I know this is a film was released in 2019, but It didn’t come to our theatre until 2020 and It’s too damn good not to talk about.

This film is a cinematic panic attack. Never once do the Safdie brothers give you a moment to relax as fast-talking Jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) dodges pissed off debt collectors while plotting for the biggest bet he can get. The result is an experience that keeps you on edge from opening credits to end credits. In lesser hands this would be an unpleasant experience, but the Safdie brothers uses this to create a compelling, intense portrayal of a man who gets off on standing on the edge of a cliff.

One reason it works is because beauty and ugliness make strange bedfellows in their movies. Nowhere is this more perfectly summed up than in the opening scenes where cinematographer Darius Khondji travels through an inside of a gem. The colours and lights make you feel like you’ve ascended to a magical world, but this scene happens in between scenes of African Miners being exploited and the inside of Howard’s colon. Just as beautiful is Daniel Lopatin’s new wave musical score. On its own, the music lulls you into a beautiful sense of peace. But this music often plays over uncomfortable scenes of characters screaming over each other. Somehow these two elevate the cinematic experience.

But the true strength of the film is Howard himself, which is astounding considering how unlikeable the character is. Throughout the film, he keeps digging himself into a deeper hole as he gambles even more recklessly, which makes it worst when he starts putting other’s people lives at risk. But he’s too complicated to hate. He shares a close bond with his kids and his coworkers. The film makes it clear he’s excellent at predicting Basketball games with near perfect accuracy, which gives you hope he will win. But then again, you don’t end up with over a hundred thousand dollars in debt without making terrible life decisions. He would be impossible to watch without Adam Sandler’s performance. He blends a smooth-talking charm and panic desperation to his character every time he tries to fast talk his way out of his circumstance. You can see why people like having him around.

When the credits roll, you’re relieved it’s over and were glad to experience the thrill.

1) THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN

The real-life trial of seven protesters and Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale feels more like an SNL skit than a courtroom drama. From the Merry Prankster duo Abby Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong)’s tweaking the nose at the buffoon judge Hoffman (Frank Langella) to the Judge bounding and gagging Seale, this trial was so contrived it can only come from real life. And writer/director Aaron Sorkin exposes the absurdity of this story in The Trial of the Chicago Seven.

It’s funny how a film about a trial from the late 60s can capture the mood of 2020. But with brutal images of Police attacking protesters and Judge Hoffman’s horrific treatment of Seale, this film feels like it came at the perfect time.[2] The trial itself showcases how the Justice system works to silence discourse and smears protestors. Sorkin further emphasizes how the system attacks anyone by showcasing the contrasting beliefs of the protestors from the radical anarchism of Hoffman and quiet dignity of Seale to the moderate ideals of student protestor Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and the unapologetic pacifism of suburban dad David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch).

Sorkin does all this while keeping the film gripping and entertaining from start to finish. He brings his sharp wit to his dialogue whether it’s Hoffman’s political speeches or the Marx-brother’s esque exchanges between the Judge and the increasingly frustrated defense attorney William Kunstler. Matching his writing are the endless great performances from the actors including Joseph Gordon-Levitt as reluctant prosecuting attorney Richard Schultz and Strong bringing out his inner Tommy Chong. But it’s Cohen who steals the whole film bringing out the uncompromising radicalism of Hoffman, who seems to have a better understanding of the situation than most of the protestors.

The result is a film that perfectly captures the political feel of 2020.

[1] At one point, he was almost attacked by protesters.

[2] Which is ironic considering it took Sorkin over a decade to get the film made.

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nuncaestarassolo · 5 years ago

Photo

View of “Absentee Landlord,” 2011. From left: Donald Moffett, Lot 091195.03, 1995/2003; Jack Pierson, Silver Jackie with Pink Spot, 1991; Jess Von der Ahe, Helmut Berger as Ludwig II, 2006; Willem de Kooning, Woman, ca. 1952.

MINNEAPOLIS

“Absentee Landlord”

WALKER ART CENTER 725 Vineland Place June 11, 2011–March 7, 2012

If we consider the title “Absentee Landlord,” we might get the suspicion that this exhibition foregrounds its curator, John Waters. And in many ways it does. Invited by the Walker to rearrange its permanent collection, Waters works from the premise that “the entire museum-going experience is in need of intervention.”

The conceit of the show is that Waters is the landlord, the galleries are rental apartments, and the eighty or so artworks are the tenants. As a whole it stands as a witty iteration of institutional critique; the curatorial structuring is reflexive, and the architectural interventions are site-specific. Visitors who dial up the audio tour can listen to Waters describe the works on view in pig latin—his comic riposte to the obscurity of critical jargon. Such considered irreverence, the curator’s signature, is repeated throughout the exhibition in a series of low blows, as in the glory hole he drilled in the men’s bathroom, or in his decision to hang de Kooning’s Woman, ca. 1952, just inches off the ground. Above and to the left of it, at eye level, is the small painting by Jess von der Ahe titled Helmut Berger as Ludwig II, 2006, which depicts a passive-looking man, swooning in bed. The artist painted it with her own menstrual blood. Shot, reverse shot.

Counterpoints like this predominate, often with the display of works by Waters himself. As he does in his films, here too as an artist-curator he activates the low as a space from which to sully the profundity of others, to give us pause, to make us laugh. Posing saucy juxtapositions and offbeat questions, he encourages us to think about art history in novel ways, and leaves us with the provocation: “Can artworks sexually attract each other? Does Minimalism make Pop horny?”

— Jonathan Thomas

#john waters #jack pierson #art #arte

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atlanticcanada · 8 years ago

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Halifax author Kris Bertin wins $10,000 Danuta Gleed Literary Award

VANCOUVER -- Halifax writer Kris Bertin has won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award.

Bertin was awarded the $10,000 grand prize for his debut "Bad Things Happen" (Biblioasis) at the OnWords Conference in Vancouver on Saturday night.

The short-story collection centres around a variety of characters -- professors, janitors, webcam models, small-time criminals -- in between pivotal stages of their lives.

Bertin offers an introduction to the individuals at the moment before everything within their world changes -- for better or for worse.

Now in its 20th year, the Danuta Gleed Award recognizes the best first collection of short fiction by a Canadian author published in English. The prize was named for the late Danuta Gleed, whose short fiction won several awards before her death in December 1996.

Runner-up prizes of $500 apiece were awarded to Kerry Lee Powell for "Willem de Kooning's Paintbrush (HarperCollins) and Laura Trunkey for "Double Dutch" (Astoria).

Lyse Champagne for "The Light that Remains" (Enfield & Wizenty) and Andre Narbonne for "Twelve Miles to Midnight" (Black Moss Press) were the other finalists.

This year's prize jury included authors Caroline Adderson, Judy Fong Bates and David Bergen.

They said the stories in "Bad Things Happen" "come at you like the rounds of a heavyweight match."

"They are tough and bloodied and pure. And yet, beneath the surface there is revealed a surprising softness, as when a mother gathers her damaged adult son to her chest and says, 'It's alright, and it's all over,"' the jury wrote in its citation.

"Bertin knows place and he knows language and he knows his characters -- the garbage collectors, the overweight landlords, the petty thieves. And then, oh my, there are the children. What a beautiful book."

from CTV News - Atlantic http://ift.tt/2ryDb9T

#new brunswick #prince edward island #nova scotia #news #politics #canada #CTVAtlantic

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autolykiss · 5 months ago

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Diamonds and Guns

Ted Raimi as Willem (the Landlord) (1/2)

I really loved this movie!! renée was soo cute in it. and Ted's scene is just amazing as usual.

#ted raimi #ted raimi gifs #ted raimi 2008 #diamonds and guns #diamonds and guns gifs #willem the landlord #willem the landlord gifs #ted raimi willem the landlord #renée o'connor

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prleaguebib · 5 years ago

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Bright boost as Coventry-born playmaker joins Birmingham City - Coventry Telegraph

Bright boost as Coventry-born playmaker joins Birmingham City – Coventry Telegraph

Coventry-born Dan Crowley and completed a move to Birmingham City.

And Coventry City fans are hoping that the playmaker’s move from Dutch top flight side Willem II means Championship Blues are no longer interested in Bright Enobakhare .

The Sky Blues’ number one summer transfer target has been linked with interest from City’s groundshare landlords but the signing of former Aston Villa and…

View On WordPress

#epl #football #molineux #premierleague #wearewolves #westmidlands #wolverhampton #wolverhamptonwanderers #wolves #wolvesaywe #wolvesfc #wwfc

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tvdmmedia · 6 years ago

Video

vimeo

Nassaudag 2019 from Ton van de Merwe on Vimeo.

For a number of years now, the Nassaudag has been held on the second day of Pentecost to commemorate the connection between Breda and the Nassau's. This year it was again the 11th episode of the Nassuadag.

The bond between the Nassau House and the Netherlands came into being in 1403. Count Engelbrecht I of Nassau married Johanna van Polanen, wife of Breda, in that year. Due to their growing family ownership, Bredase Nassaus quickly became one of the highest nobles in our country. They were also given increasingly important functions by the Dukes of Burgundy and Habsburg, which ruled large parts of the Netherlands as landlords. Count Henry III of Nassau (1483-1538), for example, held high civil and military offices. He was also involved in the education of Emperor Charles V. The Nassaus lived for one hundred and fifty years at the Castle of Breda. In this period they provided the impetus for Breda's prosperity and brought the city to development. The nobility who lived on the Castle of Breda worked as a magnet on the art sector, jewellery, design and architecture.

If you think of the Nassaus, you think of the royal house. The House of Orange-Nassau was first mentioned in 1544. William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (1533-1584) - better known as William of Orange or William of Silence - then inherited the Southern French principality of Orange from his nephew René of Chalon (officially René Count of Nassau and Prince of Chalon-Orange). As Prince William he is the ancestor of the House of Orange-Nassau. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

De Nassaudag wordt sinds een aantal jaren op tweede pinksterdag gehouden om de band tussen Breda en de Nassau's te herdenken. Dit jaar was het alweer de 11e aflevering van de Nassuadag.

De band tussen het Huis Nassau en Nederland ontstond in 1403. Graaf Engelbrecht I van Nassau trouwde in dat jaar met Johanna van Polanen, vrouwe van Breda. Door hun groeiend familiebezit behoorden de Bredase Nassaus al snel tot de hoogste edelen van ons land. Zij kregen ook steeds belangrijkere functies toebedeeld van de Bourgondische en Habsburgse hertogen, die grote delen van de Nederlanden als landheren bestuurden. Zo bekleedde Graaf Hendrik III van Nassau (1483-1538) hoge burgerlijke en militaire ambten. Ook was hij betrokken bij de opvoeding van Keizer Karel V. De Nassaus woonden honderdvijftig jaar lang op het Kasteel van Breda. In deze periode gaven zij de aanzet voor de welvaart van Breda en brachten zij de stad tot ontwikkeling. De adel die op het Kasteel van Breda woonde, werkte als een magneet op de kunstsector, edelsmederij, design en architectuur.

Wie aan de Nassaus denkt, denkt aan het koningshuis. Het Huis Oranje-Nassau werd voor het eerst genoemd in 1544. Willem I, graaf van Nassau-Dillenburg (1533-1584) – beter bekend als Willem van Oranje of Willem de Zwijger – erfde toen het Zuid-Franse prinsdom Orange van zijn neef René van Chalon (officieel René graaf van Nassau en prins van Chalon-Oranje). Als prins Willem is hij de stamvader van het Huis Oranje-Nassau.

Sound Tracks 1: Cooly's Reel 2: Halls of Stone by Martin H. Emes 3: Knight of my Dreams by Andco Smith.

Gear Used: DJI Osmo Pocket recorded in 4k and Cinelike D profile

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caveartfair · 7 years ago

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The Legendary Bars Where Famous Artists Drank, Debated, and Made Art History

Anton Perich, Olivero Toscani and Donna Jordan at Max's Kansas City, ca. 1970. Courtesy of the artist and Steven Kasher Gallery, New York.

On a recent weekday evening at the Lower East Side bar Beverly’s, a neon pink glow enveloped a young crowd downing cheap cans of Modelo. In the long, narrow venue, patrons ate chips and guacamole from a takeout joint, while drinkers’ sartorial choices—white sneakers, fitted sweatpants—suggested the bar’s dominant mode: effortlessly hip.

Yet small details, such as the gold, stuffed pistol above the bar mirror and the video art playing behind a booth, signaled the bar’s divergence from your average Manhattan dive. These are artworks by predominantly emerging artists, and are part of a series of rotating exhibitions at Beverly’s, which have featured sculptor Rose Nestler, online-dating-inspired photographer Sean Fader, ceramicist Roxanne Jackson, and many more. Its owners are artists themselves.

Beverly’s continues a long tradition of bars that not only cater to creative people, but often prove crucial to their conversations and careers. In New York, London, and Paris in particular, certain watering holes have hosted legendary conflicts, philosophical debates, and networking opportunities. They became boozy safe spaces (at least for those who knew their limits).

In Paris, bars aided the emergence of modernism. In his book Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World, Miles J. Unger describes La Closerie des Lilas in Montparnasse as “an essential stop on the itinerary of anyone interested in contemporary art.” On Tuesday evenings at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, writers (Arthur Rimbaud, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein), artists (Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Man Ray), and patrons met to drink and discuss the merits of alternative philosophies and styles. Along with standard brasserie fare, visitors could sink into the sumptuous leather banquettes as they listened to live piano.

Courtesy of Beverly's, New York.

At the Café de Flore on Boulevard Saint-Germain (with its Art Deco features and flowers above a wide awning), figures like Apollinaire and André Breton established the tenets of Surrealism in the 1910s. (Years later, musician Serge Gainsbourg would become partial to the establishment’s double pastis.) Across the street, Les Deux Magots—light and cheery, with ample outdoor seating for sipping coffee—similarly united the city’s intellectuals and contributed to their often torrid romances. Dora Maar met Picasso there in 1936 and subsequently became his muse and mistress (as well as an artist in her own right).

Open until 4 a.m., the nearby Le Tabou jazz club served as a late-night meeting point for the existentialists. Cultural worlds collided at the underground bar. According to Lewis MacAdams, author of Birth of the Cool: Beat, Bebop, and the American Avant Garde, the novelist Boris Vian introduced musician Charlie Parker and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre here.

Yet during the 1940s and ’50s—just after World War II forever altered Paris and the rest of Europe—the rise of Abstract Expressionism in New York created a new center for the art world. Its practitioners began congregating, fighting, and philosophizing at the Cedar Tavern on University Place. Jackson Pollock kicked down the men’s room door. Willem de Kooning threatened to punch critic Clement Greenberg in the face following a theoretical dispute (he may have followed through, depending on who you ask).

The tavern closed in 2013, though nostalgia protected the actual bar from destruction: The Texan restaurant Eberly bought, dismantled, and pieced it back together for its own southern crowd. Its operations manager, Tom Maitland, who is a former New Yorker, used to drink at the Cedar Tavern in the ’90s after it became, in his parlance, “basically an NYU frat bar.” (Other hip hotspots have suffered similar fates, long after the art crowd passes on. Café de Flore, La Closerie des Lilas, and Les Deux Magots are all still open in Paris, though they’re now major destinations for tourists and other non-bohemians.)

If the Abstract Expressionists gained a reputation for their brooding, aggressive natures, the Pop art movement that followed in New York was more extroverted. Along with bright ben-day dots and an emphasis on everyday objects, celebrity culture (and partying) became integral to the era. The Cedar Tavern was notoriously unfriendly to queer men (Pollock once yelled homosexual slurs at Larry Rivers and Frank O’Hara); in reaction, Andy Warhol and his Factory compatriots established an alternative art world outpost at Max’s Kansas City. From 1965 through 1981, the Park Avenue South restaurant and nightclub welcomed personalities from Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith to Debbie Harry (now better known as the frontwoman of Blondie, she also worked there as a waitress).

La Closerie des Lilas, Le Café de la Société Artistique et Littéraire Française et Etrangère, 171, Boulevard de Montparnasse, Paris, 1909. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

The Max’s Kansas City period coincided with the heyday of glamorous, extravagant New York nightclubs. Opened in 1977, Studio 54 became emblematic of the era, a high-profile melting pot where artists, musicians, movie stars, and socialites all came to drink, socialize, and, in Bianca Jagger’s case, ride around on a white horse. In 1978, the Mudd Club opened in a Tribeca building owned by artist Ross Bleckner, attracting a guest list that included Jeff Koons and David Bowie. (A filmmaker once quipped that it “was a dysfunctional circus that functioned.”) From 1983 through 1987, the nightclub Area hosted a series of rotating art installations. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Barbara Kruger all showed work there, blurring the lines between art and interior decoration, gallery space and entertainment venue.

Across the Atlantic, London’s Colony Room Club offered a similarly accepting atmosphere. The Soho bar operated from 1948 through 2008, tending to six decades of thirsty artists. Owner Muriel Belcher was known for her obscenities and aphorisms, the best-known of which may have been: “Don’t be dull and fucking boring.” While she claimed to know “fuck all about art,” Francis Bacon was one of her first—and most loyal—patrons. He painted her portrait and acted as an unofficial promoter for the bar (Belcher paid him to bring in new clients). Over the years, Lucian Freud and the Young British Artist cohort joined the club’s drinking community.

In the ’70s, the East London neighborhoods of Shoreditch and Hoxton had become punk destinations, and the creative scene began to shift away from Soho. By the early 1990s, the Young British Artists had infiltrated the neighborhood, particularly the Bricklayers Arms bar. At a 1993 party in Hoxton, Tracey Emin read palms while Damien Hirst dressed up as a clown and set up a spin-painting apparatus (passersby could quickly create their own artworks for one pound, and he’d sign them).

Punk had likewise altered the creative landscape of late-1970s New York. Artist Ulli Rimkus landed a job as a bartender at Times Square’s Tin Pan Alley bar, where photographer Nan Goldin was a customer and part-time employee. Kiki Smith, with whom Rimkus also collaborated artistically, was another co-worker. Goldin met and shot some of her best-known subjects here, including downtown personality Cookie Mueller.

Ronald Bladen, Max's Kansas City, 213 Park Avenue South, c. 1972, Courtesy of the Ronald Bladen Estate and Loretta Howard Gallery, NY.

In 1989, Rimkus opened her own bar, Max Fish, on the Lower East Side. Artists followed, including Tom Otterness. He helped finance the operation, and eventually donated a bronze sculpture of a rat dressed as a cop that had been turned down as part of a public commission. Rimkus hosted monthly art shows and events until rent increases forced her out in 2013. The following year, she opened a new iteration nearby. “The whole neighborhood has changed,” she tells Artsy. “You just have to roll with it. Nothing stays the same. Our clientele is pretty eclectic still.” Her neighbors, she says, are all being evicted or taken to court by landlords. High-end hotels continue to move in. But Max Fish is preserving a bohemian spirit while real estate skyrockets.

Down the street, Beverly’s preserves that same energy for a younger generation (and perhaps resurrects the aura of gallerist Gavin Brown’s Chelsea bar, Passerby, which shuttered in the late aughts). Owner Leah Dixon, an artist herself, notes the political tenor of conversations at her bar—along with a high volume of mezcal and tequila orders. The staff, the DJs they hire, and the artists they show are all in their twenties and thirties. “These are probably the people who are on the forefront of creating the conversation in our country about how to talk about inequality,” she says. Dixon notes how Beverly’s itself serves as a means of upward mobility. She and her co-workers offer artists a platform to show their work, and a venue for meeting other members of the Lower East Side scene.

Dixon and her co-owners also face some flattering competition from hopeful upstarts. “Let’s just say, small neon bars named after a woman have been very popular since we opened,” she avers. Like all the best artists, the best art bars take inspiration from their predecessors while creating spaces for radical new conversations. If these newcomers can encourage creativity and community in striking, novel ways—cheers to them.

Meanwhile, artists have long been migrating from Manhattan to Brooklyn en masse. In 1992, as Williamsburg was becoming a creative outpost, New York magazine writer Brad Gooch designated Kings County as the “New Bohemia” (not without pushback—one commenter noted how the article glamorized crime-ridden streets). Now filled with more bankers than struggling artists, the neighborhood maintains at least one oasis for artists: Soft Spot still serves sub-$6 drinks before 8 p.m.

Other than that, you’re more likely to find creatives patronizing Bushwick bars farther east, where rent is (relatively) reasonable. At Honey’s, bartenders pull drafts from beer taps designed by Whitney biennial artist Jessi Reaves. It’s also a quick trip from two of the borough’s best galleries: Signal and Clearing. Further south, on the border of Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant, the art space Secret Project Robot features a bar called Cuckoo. Here, visitors can drink after—or before—they view exhibitions and performances. Proceeds fund the gallery, and you can find parties nearly every night (past themes have included “super prom,” “goth,” and “flea market”). What happens when real estate developers inevitably push all of the patrons out of this area, too? If history is any indication, New York will always offer somewhere for artists to drink and commiserate.

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Hyperallergic: Art Movements

John Baldessari, “NUMAN’S MORTUARY MEYER Your big ideas bug me.” (2017), varnished inkjet print on canvas with acrylic paint, 62 1/2 x 54 x 1 1/2 in (© John Baldessari, courtesy the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprueth Magers; photo by Joshua White)

Art Movements is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world. Subscribe to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.

Knight Landesman resigned as co-publisher of Artforum hours after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of groping and sexually harassing nine women. Amanda Schmitt, a curator and the director of programming and development for the UNTITLED art fair, filed a claim for $500,000 in damages with the State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday morning. In an earlier report published by artnet, several men and women voiced complaints “regarding unwanted touching, groping, and other inappropriate behavior, including requests for massages.” The same report indicated that a former employee had filed a claim for damages with Artforum. In response, Artforum stated that the former employee’s “close friendship” with Landesman “took place well after she left Artforum in 2012,” a claim that is directly contradicted by Schmitt’s subsequent lawsuit, which alleges that Landesman’s harassment first began after she was hired as a circulation assistant in 2009. On Wednesday evening, Artnews reported that Michelle Kuo, Artforum‘s editor-in-chief, had handed in her resignation a week prior on October 18.

A local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy sued the city of San Antonio and several City Council members over the removal of a statue memorializing Confederate soldiers in Travis Park.

A 1908 bust of Napoleon by Rodin is to go on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, three years after Mallory Mortillaro, a then newly hired archivist at the borough hall of Madison, New Jersey, noticed it in a meeting room and correctly attributed it to the artist.

In an internal email, Condé Nast International, the publisher of titles including Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Glamour, announced that it will no longer commission work from Terry Richardson. The photographer, who is known for his lurid and sexually explicit work, has faced a stream of allegations regarding sexual misconduct and exploitation since the early 2000s.

The Nordic Museum in Stockholm began collecting stories of sexual harassment and abuse shared online with the viral hashtag #MeToo.

John Baldessari‘s second solo show with Sprüth Magers opened at the gallery’s Los Angeles location. The exhibition includes the artist’s emoji paintings, a new series of inkjet prints in which emojis are juxtaposed with snippets of seemingly random film dialogue.

Thomas Vonier, the president of the American Institute of Architects, issued a statement urging the US to continue working with UNESCO.

Auguste Rodin, A bust of Napoleon Bonaparte, engraved “Napoleon enveloppé dans ses réves” (“Napoleon wrapped in his dreams”) (via Flickr/enalnomis)

A group calling itself the Monument Removal Brigade claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Theodore Roosevelt monument outside the American Museum of Natural History.

Following a public hearing, the Pittsburgh Art Commission recommended the public removal of Giuseppe Moretti’s controversial statue of American songwriter Stephen Foster. The sculpture is to be relocated to a private and “properly contextualized” location.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a proposal to overhaul the city’s Loft Law.

Mayor de Blasio’s Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers launched an online public survey to review possible public symbols of hate across the five boroughs.

Two members and one former member of the Berkshire Museum filed a lawsuit against the museum’s decision to deaccession works from its collection. Earlier in the week the museum announced that Van Shields, the museum’s executive director, would undergo surgery for an undisclosed health issue, transferring leadership to co-directors Nina Garlington and Craig Langlois. Twenty-one of the 40 collection works consigned to Sotheby’s have been deleted from the auction’s online catalogue.

Herman Leonard’s black-and-white photograph of Dizzy Gillespie went on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to mark the centennial of the jazz musician’s birth.

The Mugrabi family sued Mana Contemporary, alleging that the company damaged works from the family’s art collection while also withholding access to 1,389 works of art. The suit centers on a dispute over a storage bill for $500,000. The Mugrabi family claims that the art center agreed to store its collection for free.

A petition was launched calling for the preservation of the Cinema Museum in London. In a Facebook post, the museum revealed that its landlord, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, is planning the sell the building on the open market.

Michelangelo Pistoletto will roll a new version of “Sfera di Giornali (Newspaper Sphere)” along the streets of Cold Spring, New York on Saturday, November 4. The event is a recreation of the artist’s 1967 performance in Turin, Italy.

Transactions

Marcel Dunchamp “L.H.O.O.Q.” (1964), pencil and white gouache over a color reproduction of the Mona Lisa, moustache and goatee added in pencil, edition 25/35, 11 7/8 x 9 in (courtesy Sotheby’s/Art Digital Studio)

A print from the 1964 edition of Marcel Duchamp’s “L.H.O.O.Q” was sold at Sotheby’s for €631,500 (~$743,162).

Britain announced that it will transfer ownership of the wrecks of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror — the ships of the ill-fated Franklin expedition — to Canada.

The Gambrell Foundation donated a $10 million lead gift toward a major renovation of the Queens University of Charlotte’s fine arts building.

The Seattle Art Museum received a $3.5 million challenge grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The gift will be used to establish and endow the museum’s Asian Paintings Conservation Center.

The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art received a bequest of $2.5 million from the late Gerald E. Buck through the Buck Family Trust. The gift will endow the Archives’ collecting program on the West Coast.

The J.M. Smucker Company donated $1.1 million to the Akron Art Museum.

The Block Museum of Art acquired a suite of works by photographer Tseng Kwong Chi (1950–1990).

Crozier acquired the Los Angeles-based art shippers Fine Art Shipping.

The Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library received a $215,800 federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

A black marker drawing of the Empire State building by Donald Trump was sold at Julien’s Auctions for $16,000.

Bhupen Khakhar’s “De-luxe Tailors” (1972) was sold at Sotheby’s for £1,112,750 (~$1,468,719), a record for the artist at auction.

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin acquired the Dean F. Echenberg War Poetry Collection.

Saul Leiter’s “Waiter, Paris” (1959) was sold for $25,000 at Swann Auction Galleries, a record for the work.

Saul Leiter, “Waiter, Paris” (1959, printed 1990s), chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2×13 in (courtesy Swann Auction Galleries)

Transitions

Jan Willem Sieburgh was appointed interim business director of the Stedelijk Museum following the resignation of Beatrix Ruf.

Nato Thompson was appointed artistic director of the Philadelphia Contemporary.

Ido Bruno was appointed director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Heidi Reitmaier was appointed executive director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada.

Gabriel de Guzman was appointed curator and director of exhibitions at Smack Mellon.

Tracy Bonfitto was appointed curator of art at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Rozalia Jovanovic was appointed director of New York’s Collective Design fair.

The Boca Raton Museum announced plans for a $1.5 million renovation.

Aspect/Ratio will reopen at its new space at 864 North Ashland in Chicago on November 3.

Gallery Wendi Morris will relocate to 8 Octavia Street in San Francisco later this year [via email announcement].

Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Enoura Observatory was opened to the public in Odawara, Japan.

Adjaye Associates, Ron Arad Architects, and landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman were selected to design the UK’s new Holocaust memorial and learning centre in London.

The Norton Museum of Art revealed its plans for a new public garden designed by Lord Norman Foster. Bloomberg‘s new £1 billion (~$1.3 billion) London headquarters, designed by Foster + Partners, opened on Tuesday.

The Pamela and Robert B. Goergen Garden, as seen from the west, Norton Museum of Art, designed by Foster + Partners (courtesy Foster + Partners)

Accolades

Agnieszka Polska was awarded Germany’s National Gallery Prize for young artists.

Emanulee Outspoken Bean, Eepi Chaad, and Phillip Pyle were appointed the resident artists of Houston’s Resident Artist Program.

The Saint Louis Art Museum and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis selected Jennifer Bornstein as their 2017–18 Teaching Fellow.

Ursula Johnson was awarded the 2017 Sobey Art Award.

Ursula Johnson, “Hot Looking” (2014), durational performance-based installation with delegated performer and looped audio, variable dimensions (photo by Michael Wasnidge)

Obituaries

Fats Domino (1928–2017), singer, songwriter, and pianist.

Al Hurricane (1936–2017), balladeer.

Rita Henley Jensen (1947–2017), journalist. Founder of Women’s eNews.

Hugh Kearney (1924–2017), historian. Best known for The British Isles: A History of Four Nations (1989).

Walter Lassally (1926–2017), cinematographer. Awarded an Oscar for his work on Zorba the Greek (1964).

Iona Opie (1923–2017), folklorist.

Paul Vogt (1926–2017), art historian. Former director of the Museum Folkwang.

Dennis Wayne (1945–2017), dancer.

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