Arts Within Our Lives: May 2011

Thursday 5 May 2011

Introduction

In this blog I will attempt to give you an insight in Arts in my Life as part of my University module 'Arts Within the Society'. This blog although small contains a broad spectrum of arts including Art, Dance, Music and Photography and most contain some links and videos which have been chosen carefully in conjunction with the topic. I have thoroughly enjoyed both attending the following events and reviewing/blogging about them and I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I did!

The Arts in our Lives

The arts play many different roles in our society, bringing people and cultures together and breaking down barriers such as language through music and dance. Art communicates on a much deeper level than the written word and can challenge and encourage critical thinking for example when studying a painting or listening to a piece of music that evokes unique emotion.

The arts are also important when promoting the emotional wellbeing and social inclusion of young people particularly in years when children and teens base their social grouping on what music they like, if they are musical, if they are drawn to art or drama and so on. It is important to realise that arts are accessible on any level whether you are listening to a CD in the comforts of your own home or dancing professionally in a large and well known theatre.

All throughout my life i have been heavily involved in music, playing in orchestras, chamber groups, singing in choirs and generally experiencing a high level of good quality music. I will be ever grateful for this opportunity as I have been able to experience the uplifting feeling that music can give you whether listening or playing. I truly believe that music can transport you to a different place and I only wish more people in today's society could also have this opportunity . “Researching the links between melody and the mind indicates that listening to and playing music actually can alter how our brains, and therefore our bodies, function” (Chordpiano, 2010, paragraph 2). It is important to remember that music also plays an important part in community through films and functions, concerts, gigs and accompaniment to plays, theatre productions, ballet and opera.

Throughout this course I have learnt alot about art and the fact that anyone can draw, another example of the ability to be involved in art even if you are not particularly good at it or aspiring to a professional level. I found the workshops where we talked about emotion and how quickly small lines on a face can change a whole expression fascinating and something I look closely at now when looking at paintings and art forms.
It is important to realise that art has the ability to make us feel a wide range of emotions. Before the workshops we as a class had with Sandra Ewing I would never have thought that viewing a photograph or painting could make me experience two very different emotions in such a short space of time.

I have also learnt alot about Multi Sensory Storytelling through our first workshop and through this have begun to realise that Multi Sensory - place like dynamic earth, the Glasgow Science Centre, Multi Sensory centres are a majorly important part of the arts. These places would have never crossed my mind as being involved in the arts however as pointed out in this workshop 'The Arts' involves our senses - seeing, touching, hearing, tasting, smelling, as without these appreciating all the different types of arts available to us in today's society would be impossible.

Chordpiano. (2010). How Does Music Impact Our Emotions? Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://www.chordpiano.com/articles-chord-piano/music-emotions-4.htm

Karkou, Vicky and Glasman, Judy (2004) Arts, education and society: the role of the arts in promoting the emotional wellbeing and social inclusion of young people. Support for Learning, 19 (2). pp. 57-64

Alice: Scottish Ballet - Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. 20th April 2010.

The ballet has been something I have always loved from when I was four and adamantly pursued ballet classes , even though my teacher said I had a 'Donald-Duck-Bum!' until now when I enjoy nothing more than being amazed at how the dancers move across the stage, find their characters with no words and manage to keep in time with every quaver, crotchet and upbeat!
Throughout the years I have experience Cinderella, Coppella, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and many more of the classic performances that people book far in advance to be able to see however when i saw the more modern look of the new trailer for Alice, I knew this was one I had to see!

Tickets for this touring performance range from £10 - £40 depending on where you go to see it - the more you pay, the better your seat is! As a student I decided that the dress circle might have to go a miss this time and opted for the under 26's option of paying a tenner on the day and sitting wherever is left! I was seated in the stalls in what i like to call the belly of the theatre, you may not get a brilliant view but you are close to the orchestra which without there would be no magic! The Festival theatre is the largest in Scotland and second in the UK and was packed with children (mostly girls) dressed in Alice dresses and tiaras, young couples on romantic dates, students such as myself looking to relight their Alice in Wonderland flame and many more ages as I find the ballet usually attracts.

As the curtain lifted you could feel the excitment in the air, the wonder of what was to come and for me the curiosity (as always with Alice in Wonderland) - What would the Mad Hatter look like? The props, costumes and sets that appeared infront of our eyes were vibrant and enchanting. We see Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole and performance takes off and takes a slighly darker turn than you would expect from a well known children's book. The dancers move gracefully across the stage however their surroundings create this feeling for example the scenery, unsettling lighting in places and the costumes:

This however did not in any way detract from the performace for myself. After our recent Worshop on Theatre and discussing how people need to find their character, explore and be able to become their character, I thought extensively about how this would have applied to the dancers portraying Kings and Queens, Cheshire Cats and Cards. This seemed like a change of roles for myself as I have been so used to just sitting back and enjoying the dancing. This added area to focus added greatly to my experience and I feel that because of the added fasination, I enjoyed the performance on a whole other level.

I could write atleast another 300 words on the production of Alice but my ultimate suggestion would be, buy and ticket and go to see it!

Further reading:

Styan, J. (1975). Drama, Stage and Audience. London: Cambridge University Press.

Marcus Adams - Royal Photographer The Queen’s Gallery, The Palace of Holyrood. 24th February 2010.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the private view of an exhibition of Photographs by Marcus Adams at the Queen’s Gallery, The Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh. The Queen’s Gallery is a purpose built exhibition area for displaying works of art from the Royal Collection and is a very beautiful gallery with a vaulted wooden roof. This exhibition was mounted by Lisa Heighway, who is the assistant curator of the Royal Photographic collection at Windsor Castle and will continue to run until the 5th of June.

This direct link will take you to the official site for the royal collection: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=37

Marcus Adams had a reputation as the best child photographer of the day in the 1920’s and he was appointed by George V1th and Queen Elizabeth to take pictures of the Royal children. The photographs were taken at Adam’s studio in Mayfair. Of the one hundred or so photographs, many are of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Some are of Elizabeth as a mother herself and her two eldest children, Charles and Ann. Marcus Adams took his first pictures of the Royals in 1926 and continued to do so until the fifties

Adams moved away from the tradition formal royal portraits and these photographs have a relaxed, informal feel. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/media/pdf/biography%20of%20marcus%20adams.pdf

This particular exhibition contains many unseen photographs of the little princesses and I was struck by the soft grained look of these photographs which almost looked like paintings. They are very beautifully done.

The pictures are hung chronologically. Particularily poignant are the photographs of Elizabeth taken as a baby, when her mother, the Queen, was on tour abroad. These pictures were sent to her to capture the changes in the baby over the months of their absence and include pictures of Elizabeth’s first tooth, with comments written by her nanny. These pictures really brought it home to me that it must have been very difficult for a young mother to be separated from her young baby at such a crucial time in her development.

The pictures of the young princesses are very happy, normal pictures but it is most remarkable that as the children grow, the young Elizabeth acquires a very serious look as if she is very aware of where her future duty will lie. In contrast, her sister Margaret maintains the happy go lucky look of someone who will not have to take on such an onerous responsibility.

This was a lovely exhibition and the photographs are well worth viewing not only for their historic content but also for the amazing expertise of the photographer.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: THE FINALE! feat. Looks Can Be Deceiving, Mono 6, Purpose Failed & UN7T - Lithium Lounge, 20 Rocks. 1st April 2010.

I had been searching for something to blog about that would be different from my normal musical ventures such as the opera, orchestral concerts and acoustic gigs so when a friend asked me to go along and support him at a Battle of the Bands in my local town, I jumped at the opportunity for something a bit different. The gig was taking place in a relatively newly opened venue in Falkirk, 20 Rocks http://www.20rocks.co.uk/ and it proudly boasts that it is the very first live music lounge to have opened.

Dubious as to what to expect being someone who appreciates the more low key musical areas, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with sounds of an acoustic folk artist playing in the downstairs bar. Here there seemed to be space to seat 50 people and provided live acts 7 nights a week free of charge and there were already a range of people of different ages gathering to listen to the singer/songwriter in the 'accoustic lounge'. This slightly threw me until I realised there was a large hall upstairs which by the time we managed get to was buzzing with excitement, apprehension and packed with people talking about the upcoming show!
The hall hosts 80 - 100 people as it is in fact a converted bar however even though for a rock orientated gig this may have seemed small, the intimate environment created more of a buzz as more and more people squeezed in to see their favourite band! The gig or should I say competition, was again free and considering the venue were handing out £500 prize money to the winners of the battle, I thought this was very generous.

The four bands that were playing are all well established on the Falkirk music scene and are beginning to showcase their talent in and around Scotland. Starting with UN7T who burst into older sounds of Thin Lizzy, Led Zepplin and yes, a bit of Queen. This stuff is right down my street and got me into the middle of the crowd, my head nodding to the beat. A well liked band, it got the crowd going to and was a great start to the night with interesting guitar solo's and funky bass lines.

Looks Can Be Decieving followed Mono Six and we were definitely into a more rock based territory. The band really got the crowd moving from people jumping, hands in the air at the front and people dancing quite happily at the back. A particular favourite of mine was their song 'Something to Believe In' which had the definite sound of more modern rock bands such as Yellowcard or Taking Back Sunday. The band were super energetic on stage a feeling that was infectious throughout the crowd and they played a really tight, engaging set. I did in fact go and 'Like them on Facebook'.

Followed by Mono Six who carried on that toe tapping feeling with a distinctly Indie sound which got the crowds moving. A step down from the previous band these guys were slower paced but still engaging. Their sound was catchy and quite reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes with a touch of Paul Simon.

Purpose: Failed were the last band of the evening and managed to hold the crowds fairly well! With a heavy, 'screamo' sounds they really tested the speakers at 20rocks as they blasted out their 5 songs. This band, I have to say, were not really my cup of tea as it was evident as they were influenced heavily by bands such as Metallica, Slipkont and Korn however I was impressed at their ability to play and energetic and what look like super tiring set!

In the video about you can hear them and see all the bands that were playing.

To finish off the night the winners were announced: Looks Can be Deceiving! This was the band I had been asked to go and support so it was celebration all round and a big squeezy cuddle from the 6ft 5 bassist! A brilliant night, with a brilliant ending. I will definitely be attending more of the same at 20 rocks!