Wednesday 14 October 2015

FRIEZE ME and KEEP ME

I feel I have no feelings left for love. Oh yes I have, but Tinder has just managed to nearly kill them off along with other sites like Guardian Soulmates. I feel that falling in love across a crowded room has been forgotten and exchanged for a cross to the left and a dash to the right. I have even got women applying which makes me laugh, and no I am not gay.
As Syria is being bombed to death and refugees collected in Hummers we humans live on a diet of surreal words from sad people that are desperate and lonely. Personally I am ready to change my life completely. Apart from the fact that Google Alert has just told me that one of the loves of my life has a new girlfriend.  I am not interested in meeting men in fields and woods for quickies. I like real things and thank goodness I have a fabulous memory of meeting a man in a train, and being made loved to in a cupboard and a lift. If I had to live on a diet of shredded wheat and  Tinder I would slit my wrists. The good thing though is there is one for exclusive coupling called Raya. At the moment I am crossing off the riff raff on Tinder. Guardian soulmates is full of left wing Mr Corbyn's so be careful if you are right wing and like a shirt and tie.

The Cocktail Party by Tom Friedman


The art world is also a reflection this year of the world. There were padlocked cages with bottles for the incontinent, balloons, neons, sparkly painting and plenty of images of destruction and death. My favourite was a Bathroom suite, depicting the body in its various forms by Ann Agee in blue and white tiles that she had created. Look carefully and you will notice bodily functions from washing to mobiles painted delicately.  Fed up with destruction and realising Glenn Brown 's drawings were about the best thing at Frieze, but the originals cheaper and prettier, delightful as they were,  I looked for Simon Lee's stand and he had the clever idea of changing artists daily, today was Toby Zieglar. There's a reason to go back?. There was plenty of opportunity for selfies against art that you would not buy. Huge pieces of mirror, some drums with skulls, and people at a Cocktail Party. Fun but not really liveable with. With about a thousand people arriving all at once promptly at 11am, contemporary art as we all know has hit the big time.


There are incredible shows at Sothebys including Alfred Taubman's collection on sale; Anita Zabludowicz's Gallery; Gagosian Gallery showing LA talent Jonah Woods;Patrick Senguin's gallery highlighting Prouve's architecture at Claridges, The Liberatum opening of Robert Indiana's work at 105 New Bond Street; art is now more exciting than ever. There was the show at Phillips too. The true brilliance however was at Frieze Masters where I could have bought nearly everything I saw. I fell in love with a Klimt drawing of a nude and a Schiele drawing; the story of the Dubuffet stand which was so stunning and so much more. From good to bad there is art for somebody and it is definitely the week to be in London. Now that fashion wants to follow the game The Saatchi Gallery threw its doors open to Chanel's history, Madmoiselle Prive and last week Louis Vuitton were offering cars to view their show and so on. With everything so watchable and the traffic so bad, there are not enough hours in a day.  PAD for furniture and the stunning I loved the butterflies that as you touched them, flew off by Dominic Harris, birds flew and flowers changed. Genius technology.   LA performance artist Millie Brown.. She swung from the ceiling with drops of crystals hanging from her. There were hundreds of people on the pavement causing a traffic jam on Dover Street. Living between Los Angeles and London, she creates artwork from her bodily secretions normally.

Millie Brown swinging from the ceiling.



BY ARTIST ANN AGEE BEST IN SHOW


Then there is the @BFI @London Film Festival, where work like The Lobster, another love story,  is being made. Terrible, horrendous and brilliant. This an horrific thought as there was nothing positive about the film at all. No pleasure in watching it for certain. Moments of brilliance were needed in order not to walk out and complain. Who will actually view and understand this film other than pseudo intellectuals? Was it clever or was it crass? Bordering on the insane the cast had no answers either. Rachel Weiss clearly said she did not have a clue. The director having won prizes already at Venice Yorgos Lanthimos did not have an answer. So for me there was no depth, no hope yet...there was. The "Lovies" like only positive reviews but this cast opened the net. Sure it will win prizes, but will the public like the film, like the one last year that won Venice,  for me it's like The pigeon who sat on a branch. Another crazy film,  beautifully shot. You the viewer have to be happy not to understand the story line. Worth seeing because it is a film that creates discussion if nothing else. There is always room for the innovative.

Pablo Ganguli from Liberatum and Amanda Eliasch


Suffragette was goodish. I say goodish because truly we think of Emily Pankhurst and this film focused on poverty played honestly by Michelle Williams. but we women are happy we are allowed to wear mini skirts, drive and make love when we want? As Saudi has been made Head of Human rights for the UN, this film is even more necessary. Women are lashed, stoned and strung up in Middle Eastern countries for small misdemeanours.  We live in a world where the truth is in the whisperings and the conversations not had. Perhaps that is why the art world has a true following and a film like The Lobster gets made because however ridiculous the subject matter some small grain of truth may be said or thought about? The ego is huge and fragile I must remember. People were lying on the red carpet in protest for women round the world. With a stoic cast Michelle Wiliams, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep as Mrs Pankhurst,  you cannot go wrong.

Amanda Nevill, Amanda Eliasch and Henriett Tunyogi
The true gem this year at The London Film Festival, full of strong women's stories, is Carol about a woman who wishes to leave her husband for another woman, the conflicts within her, the loss of her child. Beautifully acted by Cate Blanchett, another winner for the awards. An amazing score by Carter Barwell that takes you through Carol's heartbreak and her final resolution within herself to deal with her sexuality. A sure winner. Brave and beautiful with ravishing costume changes designed yet again by Sandy Powell. The other costumes brilliant this year are in The Danish Girl by Paco Delgado, sensuous and tragic, beautiful and exquisite. Music is obviously my passion and this year the I love the scores from The Danish Girl by Desplat and  Carol by Carter Burwell, both are beautiful.
The BFI FF closed with a feisty performance by Michael Fassbender in the film about the outstanding work of  Steve Jobs. An insight to the world of technology and design which he mastered. More like a rock star he was charismatic and rude in equal portions. With a supporting cast including Kate Winslet you could not go wrong. At one moment I found myself crying it touched me when he would not speak to his daughter and said she was not his. Of course this happened to me a long time ago and I met my Father perhaps ten times in my life, actually I think much less. Girls without Fathers certainly suffer.
Photograph by Dave Bennett, here with Henriett Tunyogi  at the opening of Steve Jobs. I wore Saint Laurent with a Versace bag and Henriett wore a contrasting pink ensemble by Desquared2  that clung to her beautiful body and a bag by Vivienne Westwood.  Here in the The Mail.


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