The Happier the Hotelier, The Happier the Guest
Art worth to travel for or to travel to
Not planet Saturn, but Radish Ravioli
Not some new weapon or a couple of invading aliens, just Apple Pie Caramel with edible wrappers
Not an alien wedding party light years away, just an oyster with passion fruit and lavender
All these beautiful photos have in common that they were made by Dominique Davies in a series for the Big Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal of the famous Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, UK….Hm I still have an invitation for dinner there ….. once…
The Big Church of The Hague
Yesterday, like today, it was gorgeous weather. Around 06.00 PM I jumped on my bike (yes, sometimes I do bike) to visit the TodaysArt festival in The Hague City Center. From my bike I took this photo of the Big Church of The Hague and you can see how crisp the air was.
Maison de Bonneterie, A fashion temple right in the The Hague City Center shopping area.
I arrived at Spuiplein, the center of TodaysArt festival just before it taking off.
Spuiplein is the huge square next to The Hague Town Hall and in front of the music hall (the building with the red triangle) named after Anton Philips. The Lucent Dance Theater is adjacent to Anton Phillips Hall and to its right. The two buildings in the back are Dutch Government offices and the blue building to the right is the The Hague Mercure hotel.
Hiroaki Umeda is a pluridisciplinary artist: choreographer, dancer, sound, image and lighting designer with roots in hip-hop, classical dance and photography. He was born in 1977 and currently lives and works in Tokyo. In 2000 Hiroaki Umeda founded his own company “S20″ and since he has started making own pieces. His work is minimal and radical, subtle and violent, and is created to be ‘experienced’. He is now recognized more as a visual artist rather than a choreographer, a mover rather than a dancer. By using projections, Umeda becomes one with his environment, controlling sound and light with his movements.
Via Todays Art 09 Platform
Last week an anti terrorism squad lifted the director of the The Hague Todays Art festival from his bed with brutal violence and force. The reason was the posters the Todays Art Festival organization had spread over the town, just before the Dutch Queen addressing Dutch Parliament for the opening of the Dutch Parliamentary Year and just after remembering 09/11. I can understand that the Dutch anti terrorism persons are a bit itchy, especially after the 2009 Queens day attack by just another moron, but this action is a bit (to say the least) far fetched.
Here you see the Peace Palace against a lot of smoke.
A bit suggestive poster, yes off course, but that’s what art is about sometimes…get people thinking about their situation. A poster in blue….a bit suggestive no more than that. How worked up can you get when you claim that such poster invites terrorists to copy the outcome…..
Here you see a crater and some damage of the The Hague Town Hall.
This action of the Dutch police makes me think the repression by governments, their agencies and the politicians is going way too far again and we may need another 60ies movement to make people aware of the idiocies of repression. Luckily the director refused to take the posters down
This year’s Todays Art festival has as theme Conflict.
On Twitter they are known as @TodaysArt. I’m asking my readers for a bit support for them. Getting lifted from your bed and being interrogated by an anti terrorism squad is not nothing, if your only aim is to give the city a nice festival.
I’m looking forward to this fifth edition. Last year I enjoyed myself tremendously.
Not published much lately here due to some travel and a very busy hotel. Ah and you might find this blog unaccessible in the coming 24 hours as my hosting company decided to change server. I’m looking forward to it as I hope some glitches are evened out after the change.
Resuming with this nice photo of a Dutch painter Piet Mondrian inspired cake served at Moma and posted by managing Inhabitat editor Mike Chino on Twitpic.
Love this, as Piet Mondrian is tied very much into my The Hague where our museum of modern art has many of his paintings.