EDWARD BURNE-JONES: 'The Last Pre-Raphaelite'

THE new biography of Edward Burne-Jones was reasonably captivating. The biographer, Fiona MacCarthy, wrote a better book several years ago about Burne-Jones' close friend, William Morris.This is probably because William Morris was a more interesting, perhaps more complex person who delved in many things in his life, including Iceland, poetry, Socialism and the arts. I have no doubt that Burne-Jones was very complex too, yet it doesn't come across as captivating in print. Burne-Jones was a brilliant Victorian artist, in the late Pre-Raphaelite period, well known and eventually knighted for his exquisite paintings, stained glass amidst other creative forms. His personal life was complex in that he seems to have fallen out of love with his wife, Georgina Macdonald, at a fairly early period in their marriage, and spent an inordinate amount of time wooing and writing passionate letters to others, especially women much younger, even 'girls.' Some of the women in Burne-Jones sexual and romantic imagination appeared in his pictures, no doubt much to the chagrin of his wife. One of these was the Greek model, Maria Zambaco, probably an innocent liason which caused him a lot of private pain. There were others that Burne-Jones became very close friends with, like Frances Horner and May Gaskell.

Maria Zambaco

The best bits of the book for me were the references to many beautiful pictures, including one at the National Gallery of Victoria- Portrait of Baronne Madeleine Deslandes- and other more famous pictures like The Golden Stairs, Arthur Asleep at Avalon, King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid, The Wheel of Fortune and The Beguiling of Merlin, which I once saw at the Lady Lever Gallery near Liverpool, UK.



Burne-Jones also had in his association many interesting people, as in the aforementioned William Morris, Rudyard Kipling and family, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and of course painters like Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Burne-Jones was lucky enough to meet and get to know and travel with his greatest hero, art critic John Ruskin. Burne-Jones was obsessed with Italian life and Italian art, and the great cathedrals of the world in Italy and France. These bits make enjoyable reading.

Unlike Vincent Van Gogh, painting at a similar time in a different European country, Burne-Jones achieved fame and made money in his lifetime. Fair enough, too.

The Wheel of Fortune

The Golden Stairs

Bits....

I FINALLY saw ‘Hidden’ (French ‘Cache’) the other day. Great French actors- Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche, and great director- Michael Haneke. The film reminded me of 'The White Ribbon' in ways, although it was less grand, less epic in stature. Still, that really good idea that interests the director- it doesn’t really matter who it is committing the crimes, it is the idea of them being committed in the first place, and the reactions to the people that are being violated- these are the most important things- very unlike Hollywood and Agatha Christie, in this regard.



Haneke was commenting on the French psyche, elements of French history, and the way in which exterior events can turn the world of middle class families upside down. Something as simple as a video recording of the front of your house- left on your doorstep and running for two hours- is enough to make you scared, jumpy. When another video recording leads you back to a murky and uncomfortable incident from your childhood, then you really start asking questions, of yourself and in particular your past motives and actions.

David Stratton once said in a review of this film that you should see the film twice. I can understand that, because I missed something crucial at the end, in the film’s closing several minutes. It occurs on the steps of a school just before the end credits close in, and it’s telling, I think.

‘Hidden’ is a great title for the film- there are many layers to the ideas of ‘hidden’, including commentary on the main couple’s marriage. It reminded me of Hitchcock- I think the director owes a great debt to him- even though we don’t get the neatly tied up ending. Daniel Auteuil reminded me a lot of Gabriel Byrne, especially Gabriel Byrne in the role he plays in ‘Jindabyne.’ I could see the ‘Jindabyne’ role in this film- this man would have acted in similar ways.

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OVER the summer we heard a lot of Angus and Julia Stone and their 2010 album, ‘Down The Way.’ It was played in the car constantly. Even S and A really enjoyed parts of it, humming and singing the album’s single and catchiest tune, ‘Big Jet Plane.’ It’s a very commercial album in lots of ways and easy to get to know quickly. There are some strong songs and others are sweet but a bit too sweet- I think the expression is ‘saccharine’, or sentimental. Some people would find a lack of variance in the tone of each song frustrating. Others would say the songs aren’t demanding enough and are easily forgotten. I think there is some truth in this. Julia Stone sometimes inhabits a little teeny-weeny voice which can be annoying. I think Angus Stone is the stronger singer/ writer of the two. There is more variation in his work, it seems more multi-layered. Both seem to have trouble really letting go. None of the songs are belted out- I know it isn’t that sort of record- but sometimes the feeling seems repressed. There is one exception though, in perhaps the album’s strongest song. In the lyric near the end of ‘Draw Your Swords’ he is starting to let go, slightly reminiscent of Paul McCartney on ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’, but at the same time not quite there.

Lyrically the album isn’t terribly much, but the song ‘Santa Monica Dream’ has a nice sense of place:

‘Rob's in the kitchen making pizza

Somewhere down in Battery Park

I'm singing songs about the future

Wondering where you are

I could call you on the telephone

But do I really want to know?

You're making love now to the lady down the road

No I don't, I don't want to know



I'm somewhere, you're somewhere

I'm nowhere, you're nowhere

You're somewhere, you're somewhere

I could go there but I don’t.’


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I WENT to Toorak College to see ‘Fireman Sam.’ It is in Mount Eliza, it is huge, incredibly well resourced and costs in its senior years about $20,000 a year. A nice Year 10 student showed me around the VCE section. They have a huge student canteen and an even bigger staff one opposite, a bit more formal looking. I had such mixed feelings here. I could see what a great school it would be for the students- small class sizes and everyone around you intelligent and so on. But I couldn’t stop thinking about all the ordinary people in ordinary schools and how everyone here is probably the same, except for the student who showed me around who is much poorer and is on a scholarship. I haven’t been able to reconcile my feelings about this place at all.



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I am having awful trouble with my left calf. As a result I am riding a bike a lot more. I quite like it, and it can be tiring, but I don’t feel the way I do when I have finished a long run. And I don’t dare allow Van Morrison to blast through the iPod like I do when I’m running.

WOLF CREEK- mature horror

WOLF CREEK (2005) seems to me to be a superior ‘horror’ film because it is well written and intelligently directed. Many films of this genre buckle to the predictable formula that sees ‘horror’ surface in the first 5 minutes of the film. Filmmakers want to seduce audiences early and are perhaps too uncertain to make the audience wait. In Wolf Creek, the film is already half over before any real tension has surfaced.

There are many interesting contrasts in the script. It begins in a wonderfully relaxed mood. The beach, at Broome in WA, looks magical, and the unfortunate backpackers in the story seem to relish it. The two lead women, Liz and Kristy, are English, after all. The only Australian and only male of the trio, Ben, seems to be a genuinely lovely guy. It is true that he is hedonistic and far too cocky, but he is young and carefree and having the time of his life. His attitude, it seems, is that he lives in some sort of Paradise, and it is doubtful that anything could ever really go wrong. It turns out that he, and the two English women, are naïve in the extreme. They don’t really know Australia at all- certainly not the outback at least, with its thousands of lonely miles where it is unusual to see cars on the road, let alone people. It is the vastness and the isolation that will end up making them vulnerable, however in the first half of the film they drive closer and closer toward an unhinged and malevolent maniac who takes full advantage of their sweetness and their trust and their naivety.

One wonders if, when making the film, John Jarratt’s evil character placed a dampener on the trio’s sense of fun. It is only a film after all, that is true, but this situation isn’t farfetched. An equally memorable villain, played by Ben Kingsley, in the film ‘Sexy Beast’, created a lot of tension on the set when he was introduced into the film a good half hour after it started. So here are the trio, sitting in their car that ‘coincidentally’ won’t restart, and the seemingly good Samaritan, John Jarratt saunters up in dark with torchlight, ironically announcing ‘You scared the shit out of me!’ After a meal and a night’s sleep and some general fireside hilarity, that’s when the evil starts. The backpackers could not have been more vulnerable. The wonderful, warm vistas of Broome beach have given way to a murky and unsettling place of broken down cars, drums, corrugated iron, guns, rope, and various other junk which makes up the compound of the crazed killer.

One of the cleverest aspects of the script for Wolf Creek is the way in which the audience are given plenty of time to get to know and warm towards the backpackers. Ben sings corny serenades in the car on his guitar. Kristy and Liz kid around often but also sit quietly and have the authentic solemn look of trying to enjoy themselves despite the absence of creature comforts, like fresh clothes, warm showers and sheets and usable mobile phones. One of the most touching scenes in the film is when Ben finds Liz on her own sitting by some rocks, and awkwardly and bashfully kisses her. Afterwards they both laugh like gawky adolescents. It is great to see some moments of real charm in a film of this genre, and besides just one small tense moment that occurs in Emu Creek ten minutes earlier, Wolf Creek is almost half an hour old at this point and it looks for all the world like a rollicking road movie, a tame version of Thelma and Louise. We are enjoying the innocence and playfulness of Ben, Kristy and Liz. When unspeakable horrors occur to them later, we are therefore genuinely moved and shocked.

I’ve come back to Wolf Creek a few times since I saw it the first time at the beginning of January. It continues to grow on more as a mature film. I hear that the famous US film critic, Roger Ebert, walked out on it. We share a love for Mike Leigh and Paul Cox- but not, it seems, for Wolf Creek.

Nights In White Satin in Torquay

I AM all clogged up with work at the moment, after a long break of a mixture of anxiety and relaxation. The clogged up with work part feels a bit claustrophobic and hectic and not very liberating. But during this period of work I want to hold onto the memory of what it was like running full tilt with the lovely crisp wind at dusk along a beach in Torquay, a run I have done many times before. I ran what must have been 4 or 5 kilometres in no time at all, my feet feeling like they were gliding across the firm sand, my heart leaping in exaltation. What really drove my mood though was the music in my ears. I played some soulful tracks from 'What's Going On?' which then cut into The Moody Blues- 'The Story in Your Eyes' and 'Nights in White Satin.' The former felt like a great, great song, although it probably isn't, and the latter felt like a song of genius, which it probably is. On the return trip, tired now, and jogging into the driving wind, my mood was more dogged and mellow, and I played 'Streets of Arklow' from Veedon Fleece. I can't wait to go back later in the year and relive this feeling again.

jan juc, jan 2012- a sense of wonder

         
 
JAN JUC in the daytime in the summer is the superior beach along this section of the Great Ocean Road. It isn't overly crowded, there are some smooth white dunes, and the water is cool and choppy, and best of all the sand is white and comfortable to lie on. But even better than the day time, Jan Juc is glorious at dusk. I ran down to the beach from our rented house in Torquay. The tide was slowly coming in, but there was still a lot of exposed sand. The sky had the remains of a scarlet colored sun and the water was aqua in patches and a darker blue toward the horizon. The wet stretches of sand were best for walking on and there were few people about-some ambitious fisherman and children throwing a ball to their saturated dog. Even at 8:00 PM there were a few people in the water ducking gently soaring waves. The air was filled with quiet and a peaceful excitement. The whole time I was walking, my breath slowing from my run, I watched the grey line of the horizon, the choppy, aqua colored water, and the cold white foam of the waves, thinking how lucky I am to be living only an hour and a half from a setting that fills you with such a sense of wonder.

Two impressive personal websites

THE BLUE LANTERN

Arts Journalism for the Love of It
Jane Librizzi





EVERY now and then you stumble across a very impressive blog or two whilst trawling the internet during  moments in which you experience rare solitude and freedom. Tonight I have been absorbed for a good hour or two by this blog: www.thebluelantern.blogspot.com The writer is Jane Librizzi, a New Yorker, apparently a freelance journalist and a radio broadcaster, who I wouldn't know from a bar of soap- and yet, becoming absorbed in her thought-provoking blog, you can't help but feel you know her a little. She covers a wide range of subjects, mostly Art and Literature, and she does so comprehensively and professionally with acknowledgement of sources and detailed bibliographies. And you learn so much from her blog- or at least I did- because she covers some really interesting and esoteric subjects. At the moment, in 2012, she seems to be absorbed with Belgian art and Belgian photography. Then there is poetry by an Austrian, Ingeborg Bachmann, a fascinating study of the construction of stairs under the lovely heading 'Evanescence', a discussion of a Paul Signac painting under the equally beguiling heading, 'Luminance', and the professional relationship between Duncan Phillips (patron) and Augustus Vincent Tack (painter). Now I have only gone back in my discussion here to December 3, 2011, and Librizzi has been blogging since September 2005. So she has an incredible wealth of interesting blog entries over a number of years. She also includes a library of books read under a link at the bottom of her page called 'Library Thing.' Here once again I was introduced to the names of many writers and their books totally new to me.



THE other web address that has captured my attention of late has www.artgarfunkel.com Again, a fascinating wealth of information, and great insight into the lesser known of the Simon and Garfunkel coupling.



I have heard quite a lot of Art Garfunkel's solo career, and grew up listening to the 'Breakaway' album with its beautiful, dreamy rendition of 'I Only Have Eyes For You', and the even better 'Watermark' album filled with excellent Jimmy Webb tunes, like 'Mr Shuck 'n' Jive', one of my favourite songs. There is a lyric in Jimmy Webb's 'Wooden Planes' that seems made up and fanciful and dream-like:



Propeller's spinning in the
West Texas wind,
We ran behind
You know we laughed, we thought
our little flight would never end


You were my brother and I,
I knew you were my friend
I wish we
were chasing after wooden
airplanes....once again.

I love the nostagic feel, and it's a lovely song, and to my delight I read an interview with Jimmy Webb in which he talks about how his family did live in West Texas, and furthermore, his father used to buy he and his brother wooden planes to fly in the wind....

                   

 On the Garfunkel website, under the tab 'News', we get just that, with information about recent Art Garfunkel happenings, mentioning of new articles, the poem he read to Paul Simon at the latter's 70th birthday, etc, etc. Under 'the G' for Guest, we get biographical details, an introduction to Art Garfunkel's massive Euro wanderings on foot (including maps of his personal voyages), his acting credits, and most interestingly for me, his favourite 60 songs of all time, from Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash at the lower end, to The Rolling Stones and The Beatles at the top end. Many great songs, and somewhat modestly, 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' at No.4- yet I couldn't help but be disappointed he couldn't find room for anything by Joni Mitchell or Van Morrison. The tab 'Concerts' offers the reader insights into past performances and then there is 'Writings' (his own verse and prose) and 'Music', a detailed account of every Art Garfunkel performance on CD or vinyl. He has a 'books read over the years' section under the tab 'Library' which incredibly details every book he has read from 1968 until the present day. A very well read person evidently, and his favourites include 'Wuthering Heights' and 'War and Peace.'  The 'body of work' covers the solo period of 1973-2007, and interestingly, he has ranked his own material from 1-134 in terms of quality of  vocal performance and overall quality of the song.' I must say, I agree with most of his top ten. I must say, there seems to be quite a lot of navel gazing in this comprehensive website- what other artists rank their own songs and their own vocal performances so assiduously? Yet, it would offer his many fans quite a lot of enjoyment, and I only wish some of my other favourite artists did the same. I for one love lists, and it seems that Art Garfunkel does too.


So we can glean from his website, that Art Garfunkel adores not only music, but travel and literature as well. Perhaps this is (subconsciously or otherwise) him saying 'look at me, I'm not just someone who happens to have a great voice and be a good singer of Paul Simon classics, but I am an interesting and intelligent person in my own right.'



Top Songs by Art Garfunkel


60. Chuck Berry Rock & Roll Music


59. Johnny Cash I Walk the Line


58. Aretha Franklin Respect


57. Jimi Hendrix Foxey Lady


56. The Allman Brothers Band Ramblin Man


55. The Righteous Brothers You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'


54. The McCoys Hang on Sloopy


53. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers Why Do Fools Fall in Love


52. The Everly Brothers All I Have to Do Is Dream


51. 10cc I'm Not in Love


50. Jackson Browne Running On Empty


49. The Beatles Let It Be


48. The Beach Boys I Get Around


47. Jimmy Cliff The Harder They Come


46. Little Richard Good Golly, Miss Molly


45. The Police Every Breath You Take


44. Al Green Let's Stay Together


43. Roberta Flack Killing Me Softly With His Song


42. Ricky Nelson Travellin' Man


41. Foreigner I Wanna Know What Love Is


40. James Taylor You've Got a Friend


39. The Supremes Where Did Our Love Go


38. Prince Little Red Corvette


37. Bruce Hornsby The Way It Is


36. Dire Straits Money For Nothing


35. Marvin Gaye What's Goin' On


34. Carpenters Close to You


33. Bob Dylan Blowin' in the Wind


32. Bobby Freeman Do You Want to Dance


31. Fleetwood Mac Rhiannon


30. Sam Cooke You Send Me


29. The Beach Boys Help Me Rhonda


28. The Big Bopper Chantilly Lace


27. Linda Ronstadt & J.D. Souther Prisoner in Disguise


26. Barbra Streisand The Way We Were


25. Percy Sledge When a Man Loves a Woman


24. The Beatles Get Back


23. The Drifters Save the Last Dance for Me


22. Glen Campbell By the Time I Get to Phoenix


21. Bob Dylan Like a Rolling Stone


20. The Everly Brothers Let It Be Me


19. Fats Domino I'm Walkin'


18. Simon and Garfunkel The Sound of Silence


17. Buddy Holly/The Crickets Peggy Sue


16. The Doors Light My Fire


15. Elvis Presley All Shook Up


14. The Penguins Earth Angel


13. Ray Charles What'd I Say


12. Chuck Berry Johnny B. Goode


11. Jerry Lee Lewis Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On


10. Little Richard Tutti-Fruitti


09. Elvis Presley Don't Be Cruel


08. The Everly Brothers Bye Bye Love


07. The Beatles Yesterday


06. Frankie Ford Sea Cruise


05. The Beach Boys Good Vibrations


04. Simon and Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water


03. Ike & Tina Turner River Deep, Mountain High


02. The Rolling Stones Satisfaction


01. The Beatles Here, There, and Everywhere


© 2011 ARTGARFUNKEL.COM

Nasty with a capital 'N'

FOLLICULITIS is, according to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001826/
 'inflammation of one or more hair follicles. It can occur anywhere on the skin. Causes, incidence, and risk factors start when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing, blockage of the follicle, or shaving. In most cases of folliculitis, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph).'

And it is very nasty, very unpleasant. It stops the person from having the inclination to read or listen to music, or concentrate in general. And it makes the person feel like cutting the sections in which it is manifested away with a knife. Just ask my friend Harry.