November 08 - All Systems Go: Red Gallery Group Show (1/2) By Philip Wincolmlee-Barnes

(1/2), (2/2),

According to their publicity (and not counting numerous one-off live events and screenings) this is the gallery's 108th exhibition. This certainly shows my age, as I've been involved with the space in one capacity or another for over ten years now. Not that there appears to be much in the way of personal wear and tear over this time: I still get asked for ID in public houses and in off licences. (Perhaps my habit of bathing in virgin's blood - ok, red wine - is paying off? Or perhaps the arts really are as rejuvenating as their advocates so often claim them to be?) The artists in show 108 are the current committee members - Martyn Edwards, Ben Smith and Andrew Quinn (all white, all male: how deliciously un-PC...).

And it's good to see an artspace run by actual practising artists, and not merely by cappuccino-fuelled administrators.

The gallery's previous show, PortEst saw three Estonian artists tackle the theme of portraiture in different ways and by using different media. Group shows can run the risk of being somewhat 'bitty' and disconnected, and yet whilst this current exhibition had no proscriptive theme as such, a preoccupation for systems runs through all three of the artists' offerings.

Martyn Edwards presented visitors with a bold wall-length fresco of white, grey and black rectangles, which impressively engulfed and dominated the room. One visitor suggested that these tilting, alternating shapes might have been determined by the throw of a dice. I'm not certain about this, but there were clearly aspects of both chance and systematic determinism in evidence.

It had that crisp, 'cool' and (intentionally) monotonous effect akin to 1960's minimalist art - Frank Stella's geometric paintings sprang to mind, as did Carl Andre's obsessive arrangements of bricks (which still continue to confound, annoy and divide audiences to this day...). Edwards' mural also possessed, for me, a kind of 'retro interior design' aesthetic: it wouldn't have looked out of place as décor for a James Bond penthouse or on the set of a 1960's pop music show (although, no doubt, the artist would balk at the idea of having his work reduced to the function of decoration). This type of minimalist art - as with Daniel Buren's striped paintings or Rothko's gargantuan 'field-of-colour' works - is, arguably, either the high watermark or the dead end of modernist art. Seemingly devoid of transparent meaning, it doesn't appear to serve any tangible, utilitarian function (unlike, for example, the colours of army camouflage, whose visual effect isn't so different from that of abstract painting).

This type of art doesn't seem to 'do' anything. There is an absence of narrative: it is devoid of a moral impetus. It just is. In a previous article ( A Walk Through H ) I related an anecdote about a visitor struggling to discern female forms amid the swirling colours of paintings by a previous Red Gallery exhibitor. More amusing (or absurd) still was a claim, made during the Communist panics in 1950's America, that Jackson Pollack's works could actually be read as covert 'maps', exposing US fortifications.

Yet Abstract Expressionism, with its exuberant and freewheeling clash of colours, does seem 'warmer' than pure geometric minimalism; it will be forever associated with bebop jazz, nightclubs, cigarette smoke and boozy, beatnik, hipster shenanigans. Edwards' approach to the abstract in art, however, is calculating and sober, and lies somewhere between Zen-like contemplation and a kind of didactic rigidity. In a world of noisy chaos this kind of austerity can be most refreshing. (I could comfortably live with it in my bachelor pad, at any rate...)

Room 2 of the show was occupied by Ben Smith's playfully interactive installation, in which red snooker balls were despatched by visitors from a revolving disc down one of four chutes, travelling around the gallery walls via a series of tilting platforms. The balls subsequently return to the centre of the piece, and are ceremoniously jettisoned back into a receiving dish at the foot of the rotating apparatus.

It was rather like an outsized version of a pinball machine or, for those of a certain age, a giant game of 'Mouse Trap' (I think he should be commissioned to produce life size versions of Ker-Plunk and Buckeroo - that would sort out today's Asbo kids...)

There were obvious suggestions of playfulness here and, Ker-Plunk and Mouse Trap aside, the work was also reminiscent of other 'installation-as-environment' and pop art precedents; Warhol's gallery filled with silver helium balloons of 1966, Yayoi Kusama's Endless Love Room (a kind of precursor to today's night club 'chill out' zones) and David Medalla's kinetic works which filled their spaces with sand and foam.

The installation was a pleasing combination of Science Museum-meets-Fun Fair-meets-Fine Art.

Continued .... Next Page (2/2)

Reviews, Arts - From The Postmodern To The Pastoral: Two Recent Exhibitions in Hull By Philip Wincolmlee-Barnes PortEst Exhibition Photographs by Andrew Quinn
	PortEst (Red Gallery, Sept/Oct) was an exhibition by three Estonian artists - Jane Remm, Piret Peil and Minna Hint - in which the theme of portraiture was subjected to a variety of treatments in different media, making for a diverse and captivating presentation. Francis Bacon used to say (usually whilst somewhat addled) that he was trying to Read more...

Reviews, Arts - A Walk Through H: Some recent cultural musings around Kingston Upon Hull By Philip Wincolmlee-Barnes
	Contemporary Art: either you're 'out' or you're 'in'. Either you 'get' the somewhat jaundiced, laconically ironic stance of much of this work - you know, of how we're living in a post modern world bereft of a single 'grand narrative' - or you remain nonplussed at the often obtuse outpourings of these 'so-called artists'. And many of them don't even have proper jobs (whatever one of those might be...). Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Johnny Comes Home at St Columbas, Drypool By Richard Axford
	It's not usual to give the ending away when writing a theatre review, but in this case you will forgive such crassness. Credo Arts Community have produced an excellent follow up to their last drama, Ruth. After a piece based around death and loyalty, this time they explore the pangs of despair surrounding family breakdown, and the various responses to resolution of the problem. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Tuesday 3rd June 08 - Dolly at Hull New Theatre By Steve Rudd
	A Rockman Music production, this grand old celebration of the glamourous life and times of Country legend Dolly Parton pulls out all the stops to entertain. Even on the opening night of its debut UK tour, the show drew a huge crowd of Dolly fans who were in the mood for singing and clapping along to all her best-known hits. Read more...

Reviews, Books - Here, Bullet by Brian Turner Reviewed by Michelle Dee
	Here, Bullet is as startling as it is direct. The anthology of poems written by the multi award-winning U.S. war veteran Brian Turner uncovers the landscape of the war in Iraq with unswerving honesty and importantly he writes from a non-political viewpoint. Brian Turner saw active service for seven years which included leading an Infantry Team in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in November 2003. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Wednesday 19th March 08 - The Bat Trilogy at Hull New Theatre By Steve Rudd Photos by Matt Rudd
	Back in black and ready to rock the venue from the rafters to its foundations, Steve Steinman vaulted into an epic rendition of Life is A Lemon without delay, the incredible power of his vocal delivery reaching the row furthest from the stage with ease. I should know: that's where I was sat, yet the sights and sounds even from back there were to be savoured. Having mimicked Meatloaf for almost twenty years now, Steve Steinman's Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Saturday 2nd February 08 - Steve Steinman's Bat Trilogy at The Futurist Theatre, Scarborough By Steve Rudd
	Pulling out all the stops to put on an electrifying show, Steve Steinman and his hard-rocking entourage pulled into Scarborough on what was a freezing cold night. Fortunately, fans of Steve and his Bat Trilogy tour showed up in their droves, crowding into The Futurist to witness one of the first shows of his new tour... and with some scandalously talented Read more...

Reviews, Out of Town - Wednesday 6th February 08 - Open Mic Night at The Locomotive Inn, York By Michelle Dee
	A bit of a thisisUll gang night out this one, with Cilla Uberwebfuhrer, Jane Fozzy Foster and Michelle the scribe Dee. Representing Ull tonight Joe just got signed Hakim and Mike, mad as a bicycle Watts. Our trip out to York began with a vicious nasal assault, as we got stuck behind a fertilizer tractor just before Market Weighton. In the back of the car it smelt as though a rat Read more...

Reviews, Cinema - VUE HD Digital Cinema, Princes Quay By Dave Fox
	I feel a bit of a naughty writing this, considering my friend is running the new cinema in St Steven's Square (sorry Sal) but I am so impressed with Vue, the new cinema on the top deck of the Princes Quay. I've just recently got into the High Definition at home with Blue Ray and HD TV so I was buzzing when I heard about a brand Read more...

Reviews, Events - Wednesday 19th December 07 - Off The Road at The Adelphi By Michelle Dee
	Jane Foster opened the show by taking a traditional Christmas poem and bringing it right up to date. So 'Twas The Night Before Christmas was set on a decrepit council estate with characters more attuned to Christmas spirits rather than the spirit of Christmas. Jane delivered the five minute piece with a cool ease and her references to local Read more...

Reviews, Books - Pleading Guilty by Paul Genney (Dedalus Books) Reviewed by Nick Quantrill
	On the face of it, Henry Wallace, barrister in Hull's Whitebait Chambers, has it all. A well paying job and a comfortable life, but when solicitor's runner, Pauline Dawson, enters his life, everything changes. Overcome with the pressures of a changing work place and his growing lust, Wallace starts to overheat. Feeling guilty and angry, his relationship with Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Saturday 13th October 07 - Vampires Rock at Hull New Theatre By Steve Rudd
	It's safe to say that Steve Steinman is one of the hardest-working singers and performers in the UK. No sooner did he finish his Bat Trilogy tour on the brink of summer, and he was getting back to grips with his other great show - Vampires Rock - in anticipation for the current Autumn tour that's sweeping up and down the country in style. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Monday 15th October Disposable People A Croft Creative Production By Andrew Pearson and Thom Stridd At The Boatshed Hull Marina (show runs from 15th - 20th October) By Michelle Dee
	Monday evening, inside a cavernous boat shed on Hull marina, a tale of international importance and concern is unfolding. A terrible tale; a tale of modern day slavery, which the general public support, without a moment's thought, on a daily basis. That new leather bag you bought, those shoes, Read more...

Reviews - Thursday 20th September - Poetry And Music - ThisisUll At Babylon Bar, Cleethorpes By Michelle Dee
	Having missed so many of Joe Hakim's recent out of town dates (Harrogate, Camden, Southend) I was sure as hell not going to miss this one over the river in Cleethorpes. He was joined by Mike Watts who has recently been accompanying Joe on his excursions and flying the spoken word banner himself somewhat. Also supporting Joe on this rare Read more...

Reviews, Events - Wednesday 22nd August Off The Road Poetry Performance Music Adelphi Club
	Got in to this late due to being on the radio so first off apologies to all the acts I missed. I'm quite sure you were brilliant and zany in that order. To be honest I have it on good authority that performance poet Mike Watts who opened the show was indeed all that you can read more of his poems in the poetry section on this site. I also know having seen his zany act at Umber Gob Part 1, that Read more...

Reviews, Events - Sunday 19th August 07 - ThereplicagooseEgg support Chris Mayo at Durty Nellys
	Hull's brand new comedy sketch group ThereplicagooseEgg had just over a week to prepare for this, their first ever live show produced by Carnival 69 and they didn't disappoint a packed Durty Nellys. Even though not one of their 4 members had ever had any stand-up experience, their unique, clever, yet twisted approach to comedy carried them through, with a little help from Masked Dan. Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Lord Of The Rings The Musical By Andy Dykes
	Lord of the Rings the musical arrives on Drury Lane after a popular stint in Toronto. Riding on the coat tails of the Oscar winning trilogy of films and billed as a visual spectacular, the stage version is hotly anticipated by the London crowd. Tonight the Theatre Royal is packed with theatre-goers eager to see just how Tolkien's voluminous tale Read more...

Reviews, Books - Daniel Mayhew - Life and How to Live it (White Horse Publications) Reviewed By Nick Quantrill
	Writing successful novels about music or bands is a notoriously difficult thing to do, and something that rarely succeeds. Step forward Daniel Mayhew to prove the exception to the rule with his debut, which tells the tale of Serpico, the band formed by flatmates, Reilly and Jacob, and the adventure that ensues when Reilly takes a week off work sick, and binging Read more...

Reviews, Films - 300 By Lee Cassanell
	Due to the extreme cheapness of pirate DVDs it is often tempting to hand over a couple of sweaty coins to a council estate heavy at Walton Street market rather than pay six English pounds for a seat at your local cinema because that way you can smoke your lungs black, order a pizza, sit in your pants and not have to brave the uncomfortable chairs, Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler at Hull New Theatre By Becky Martin
	How The Vagina Monologues reflects wider anxieties and atrocities in modern society. Thank God for Eve Ensler! Finally a strong female figure with the tenacity to stand up for and work to protect women and young girls all over the world, initiated by her wonderfully comic and complex tales of women's experiences of their own sexuality Read more...