Category: Things to do

#TA09 Dance by Hiroaki Umeda

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

The Hague – City of Peace killing Free Speach?

The-Hague---International-City-of-Conflict

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.

Todays-Art-2009-Poster-Conflict

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…..

Todays-Art-2009-Poster-Conflict-Town-Hall

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.

Postcards from Scheveningen – A Plea to revive the Scheveningen High Back Beach Chair (Dutch Design 47)

Postcard of Scheveningen Beach dating before 1900
Postcard of Scheveningen Beach dating before 1900

Scheveningen is a suburb of The Hague and the main beach resort of The Netherlands.

1906 Postcard - Scheveningen beach with the Kurhaus
1906 Postcard - Scheveningen beach with the Kurhaus

Since we enjoy a wonderful summer here in the Hague, I’m remembering the typical good old cane High Back Scheveningen Beach Chair that used to be all over the Scheveningen beaches. These chairs disappeared completely from the Scheveningen Beach scene in the 70ies.

One problem was that they are very heavy. You need two persons to move them. The second problem is they were a bit unstable. With a bit of wind, they are easily blown over.

However, they had two huge advantages:

  1. Wind protection.
    By their design they already offered a nice protection against the wind. If you added a towel inside in the back the protection was complete.
  2. They offered you a nice feel of privacy: No strangers’ eyes burning in your back.

Dreamy Scheveningen Beach Postcard - Undated
Dreamy Scheveningen Beach Postcard - Undated

I’ve grabbed some historic postcard pictures from the internet to make my point while I was in search of modern equivalents for this wonderful beach chair, but couldn’t find a decent one. That is strange as the modern materials for outdoor chairs are so flexible. High Back beach chairs still do have a function as the following postcard fro a German Beach proves:
Postcard from a recent G8 Top
Postcard from a recent G8 Top

A recent G 8 top postcard with several World Leaders on a Northern German beach in its own model of a high back beach chair. It is much heavier, hence it is not feasible for Scheveningen where you have to adapt to the wind direction frequently, but a swiveling high back maybe?

So Chair designers out there: If the Germans can do this, why can’t the Dutch do this?

Feed People to the Pigs – A Mirror for the Pork Eaters among us!

Stroom AVL Foodmaster 01 by Eveline van Egdom

Joep van Lieshout of Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL) is “at it” again:

This summer Stroom organizes an exposition as part of a two year curriculum titled Foodprint in order to study the relation between food and the city. If you understand Dutch you can read more at Stroom’s blog Foodprint and here is their Dutch blog’s summary of the exhibition. The exhibition will run until August 23, 2009.

At the exhibition Joep, who recently sold some work – including his version of a pod hotel – to Brat Pitt at Art Basel, has reversed the “normal” slaughterhouse where pigs are slaughtered to feed the humans. He installed a slaughterhouse where humans are slaughtered to feed the pigs. A mirror for the pork eaters among us.

The photo is by Eveline van Egdom. I will certainly visit it to make some photos myself.

3 Reasons why you should visit Henley Royal Regatta once in your Lifetime

2008-Henley-Royal-Regatta-P1000218

Today is the start of the Henley Royal Regatta. If you have a chance you should visit it. Here are three reasons:

The first Reason:
Even if you are not a rowing type you should, once in your lifetime, visit the Henley Royal Regatta. It’s a real happening!

Last year I had the honor of attending this event on invitation. The invitation included access to all enclosures. Years earlier we had disappointed our friends enormously by arriving one day late for an earlier invitation, caused by too much last minute business. Only last year I understood that arriving one day late years earlier had been a very grave error on our side. It could have cost us our friendship. Off course this second invitation was extended very hesitantly and very early this time.

In the UK and world race rowing world Henley Royal Regatta is comparable with events as last week’s Royal Ascot in Horse racing or in tennis sitting in Centre Court during “Wimbledon” with strawberries, whipped cream, hats and all. It’s all about seeing and being seen.

The funny thing is you can watch every upper class Brit who once attended a boarding school or a university of some standing and had something to do with rowing walking around in his rowing club jacket. In itself the variety of all those colors and all those hats of the ladies are a spectacle in itself. My host in particular was very proud to walk around in a jacket that dated back to 1929 that a good relation had donated him shortly before. I was really amazed to see him so proud as a peacock walking around with this piece that belongs in a museum.

Henley Royal Regatta has a long history. You see race rowing here as it has been done for ages: Two crews competing against each other side by side. In modern race rowing you can hardly see what happens, because the courses are so wide as to accommodate 6 to 8 boats side by side. Here you can see it happening right under your nose. Even opposite the finish you can walk around freely. In addition to the races there is a real ongoing defilé of all sorts of little boats and punters.

2008-Henley-Royal-Regatta-view-on-the-course-form-the-bridge-in-Henley-RP1000231

The Second reason:
I have seldom seen a more idyllic scenery as in this part of the Thames Valley. The Thames is really narrow and shallow on this stretch and flows between idyllic hills. The stewards actually own large stretches of land including Temple Island, where the races start, just to keep it as it is. To keep the property developers away and to ensure that the main part of the race course is accessable by the public.

2008-Henley-Royal-Regatta-Picnic-P1000237A

The Third Reason:
You can attend it for free! You can pack your lunch packet and take some Pims, wine and/or beer with you and travel off. Although you may not be able to visit all enclosures that ask hefty fees or won’t admit you because you are not a member. There is plenty of public space around the race course that you can walk and have a picnic on. Only cars pay admittance fees for the car parks. You can see everybody picnicking in the car parks.

Even if you don’t like rowing and water at all you should take some picnic outfit and a cloth to sit on and marvel at the Aston Martins, the Jaguars, the Bentleys, and what not all unload their fully dressed owners, setting up their little pagode tents and spread out a full lunch under it.

Cheers!

Cheers!