Ten years after his death, the work of Billy Wilder is alive and kicking. As proof, CINEMATEK brings you a complete retrospective with all 26 films he directed, and a selection of films for which he only wrote the screenplay. Well, even these films have Wilder written all over them even if they are directed by masters as Ernst Lubitsch en Howard Hawks.
Cinematek
Cinematek
He who does not know his name, does not have to feel ashamed. Top producer Irving Thalberg made more than 400 films during his short career without putting his name above the title. "Credit you give yourself, isn't worth having", said Thalberg, who is nonetheless responsible for some of the most interesting movies of Hollywood’s Golden Years and he turned Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford into world stars.
Program: Foolish wives, A woman of affairs, Billy the kid, Freaks, A night at the opera, Romeo and Julliet…
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
American rapper Wiz Khalifa is currently conquering the world in top gear. He already had two albums to his name when he signed to the Atlantic label on which his new ‘Rolling Papers’ was released. Wiz Khalifa's hit ‘Black and Yellow’ is not to knocked from the charts. He's currently filling venues worldwide and, after a surely scorching concert at Pukkelpop 2011, the new grandmaster of hip-hop will return to the AB in Brussels for a concert on Friday 18 November.
More info:
EN: http://www.abconcerts.be/en/concerts/p/detail/wiz-khalifa-18-11-2011
NL: http://www.abconcerts.be/nl/concerten/p/detail/wiz-khalifa-18-11-2011
FR: http://www.abconcerts.be/fr/concerts/p/detail/wiz-khalifa-18-11-2011
Botanique, Brussels
Innovators of the then-emerging ‘sadcore’ movement in indie rock in the 1990s, Chokebore are responsible for at least two indie rock masterpieces. The eclectic rock group consisted of guitarist Jonathan Kroll, drummer Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo, vocalist Troy von Balthazar and bassist James Kroll. They formed in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA in the early ’90s, where they were known as Dana Lynn. In 1992 the band moved to L.A. in hopes of getting better gigs, and took on the Chokebore name. Shortly after the move, they were signed to Amphetamine Reptile Records in 1993, based on a demo tape the band had submitted.
Chokebore released their debut single Nobody/Throats and their first full-length Motionless later that year. Their changing tempos and moody outbursts were unlike many other Amrep bands at the time, but their more furious and quicker paced moments aligned themselves just enough. They toured with Guzzard and Today Is the Day as well as with other more well-known likeminded bands, including the Butthole Surfers, Samiam, Girls Against Boys and Nirvana.
They earned a strong following in Europe, in support of 1995’s Anything Near Water and A Taste for Bitters, which were recorded and engineered in France. 1998s Black Black, was a portrait of the band’s darker side; lonliness, depression, death and sadness recurring themes. This LP is widely accepted in the rock underground to be a true masterpiece. The album was released on AmRep’s European Boomba Records, but wasn’t released stateside for another year, finally finding a home on Unwound’s Punk In My Vitamins label.
The band released It’s a Miracle in 2002, which saw the band slightly less concerned with strict-cohesion of the aethetics and some songs were looser than on past releases (i.e. Ciao L.A. is perhaps the most straightforward ‘rock’ track the band has ever put to tape). The live album A Part From Life was released in 2003 and the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2005. The singer/guitar player Troy recorded a solo album and it was released in early 2006.
Chokebore came together late 2009 after several years a part for a European tour early in 2010.
Official Website: http://www.chokebore.net
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/chokebore-05112011
Disclaimer: From Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text
Botanique, Brussels
General Elektriks is the brainchild of RV Salters. A French national and keen vintage keyboard player (check the RV Music section for records he’s played on at www.general-elektriks.com), he initiated GE just before moving to San Francisco. Using a computer, his oldschool keys and a SM-57 mike, he started sewing together loops, Funky keyboard licks, ethereal melodies and digital tweaking. GE became a musical journal that followed RV through his move to Seattle, then back down to the Bay Area, Berkeley, where he currently resides. There, he started laying keys down for the Quannum crew. Quannum’s own Lateef The Truth Speaker and Chief Xcel returned the favor by guesting on GE. Consisting of 12 songs from the journal, ‘Cliquety Kliqk’ was first released in France by Bleu Electric, then picked up by Compost for Europe and by Quannum for the US.
Aesthetically, GE is a project that refuses to land in a particular bin at the record store. A mix of vintage sounds, hip hop beats, noir riffs, dreamy vocals, cinematic arrangements and digital twinkle, ‘Cliquety Kliqk’ embraces all of RV’s musical addictions. Radically new yet strangely familiar, General Elektriks is like a friend that you meet for the first time but feel like you’ve known all your life.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/general-elektriks-03112011
Disclaimer: Text from Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Botanique, Brussels
Acoustic singer-songwriter Kina started playing shows at the age of 4 in front of her stuffed animals. Now she plays in front of people.
In 2007, Kina joined YouTube, made a music video and entered herself into a contest. A few months later, her video for "Message From Your Heart" aired during the Superbowl and its 97 million viewers (or 194 million eyeballs, depending on how you're keeping track) and she walked away with a record deal. Since then, Kina has regularly posted her songs on YouTube, amassing many millions of views, and toured throughout North America. She self-released her debut full-length Stairwells in February of 2010 debuting on Billboard's Top 200 and #5 on iTunes' Pop Chart. In April of 2011 Kina will re-release a remixed and remastered version of Stairwells, which will feature 4 brand new tracks.
Her music is both sweet and melancholy, but always filled with hope. She'd want you to know that she saves drowning honeybees from pools whenever she gets the chance.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/kina-grannis-18102011
Disclaimer- From Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Botanique, Brussels
Brad Cook, Joe Westerlund and Phil Cook originate from Eau Claire Wisconsin, formerly of Amateur Love and DeYarmond Edison, which included Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Now they reside in Durham, North Carolina where they make Appalachian influenced Experimental Rock.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/artist/megafaun
Disclaimer: From Last.fm. The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Mechelen
Both dates and curator for Contour 2011 are fixed. The 5th Biennial of Moving Image takes place from Saturday, August 27 till Sunday, October 30th.
Contour presents a wide range of compelling video and film artworks and in- stallations by international visual artists. They show newly commissioned as well as existing works in a variety of unique venues in the historical city centre of Mechelen (BEL).
With ‘Sound and Vision: Beyond Reason’, curator Anthony Kiendl (CAN) aims to examine the links between music, moving im- age and social change.
Kiendl: “Experiences of popular music constitute some of our most meaningful and widely shared cultural moments, encompassing both the sonic and the visual. The artists in ‘Sound and Vision: Beyond Reason’ explore the intersections of music and contemporary art, pushing the limits of cultural transformation to places where experience exceeds limits of the ratio- nal and of language itself. These resonant experiences amplify human agency in radicalising social practice.”
ARTISTS
– Cory Arcangel (USA)
– Pierre Bismuth (FRA)
– Chicks On Speed (AUS/DEU/USA)
– Edith Dekyndt (BEL)
– Gabriela Fridriksdottir & Lazyblood (ISL)
– Noam Gonick & Luis Jacob (CAN)
– Dan Graham (USA)
– Rodney Graham (CAN)
– Brion Gysin & Ian Sommerville (GBR)
– Joachim Koester (DNK) – Adam Pendleton (USA) – Postcommodity (USA) – Dennis Tyfus (BEL)
– Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven (BEL)
– Jennifer West (USA)
Cinematek
Screened on:
July the 6th, 7 pm
and
July the 13th, 5 pm
in CINEMATEK
Synopsis: During a hot and boring summer in Albuquerque, Flo and Trey go off the rails. Flo's budding infatuation for Marisa puts him in a difficult position. Will he succumb to group pressure or choose his own way? Realistic and visually powerful feature debut.
Press book quote: “People inevitably ask me what Bad posture is about. My canned line is that it is a "coming of age romance where no one comes of age and the romance is doomed from the start." Really though, it's a love letter to Albuquerque.” Malcom Murray
Cinematek
07.15 - 08.31: ACTORS STUDIO
http://www.cinematek.be/?node=10&event_id=100089300&lng=fr
Lee Strasbergs Method Actors at their best - think of Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Liz Taylor, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Steve McQueen, Carroll Baker, Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Sidney Poitier, Jane Fonda, Eli Wallach, Julie Harris, Jack Nicholson, Anne Bancroft, George Peppard, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel, Ben Gazzara, Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn, Andy Garcia! Click for more information about the screenings in Dutch or in French
The following movies will be shown at Cinematek:
Reflections in a Golden Eye
Taxi Driver
On The Waterfront
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Rebel Without A Cause
Somebody Up There Likes Me
The Wild One
Odds Against Tomorrow
The Missouri Breaks
East Of Eden
City For Conquest
Edge Of The City
The Last Tycoon
Bus Stop
The Godfather
The Godfather II
Member Of The Wedding
Papillon
Under My Skin
The Deer Hunter
The Godfather III
He Ran All The Way
The Getaway
Breakfast At Tiffany's
Blackboard Jungle
The Graduate
Lenny
Nuts
The Misfits
Reds
Barefoot in the Park
Mean Streets
Midnight Cowboy
Homeboy
The Conversation
At Close Range
Giant
Heat
Anatomy of a Murder
A Patch of Blue
Cinematek
Film Cyclus: Filmcities at Cinematek
More information on the screenings (time and location): Dutch | French
A series about cities in movies:
New York:
Taxi Driver
On the Town
Au Plus Pres du Paradis
Little Odessa
The French Connection
Do the Right Thing
Manhattan
Other movies about U.S. cities:
Vertigo
Milk
48 Hours
Zodiac
Dirty Harry
Bullitt
Cinematek
Screened on:
July the 6th, 7 pm
and
July the 13th, 5 pm
in CINEMATEK
Synopsis: During a hot and boring summer in Albuquerque, Flo and Trey go off the rails. Flo's budding infatuation for Marisa puts him in a difficult position. Will he succumb to group pressure or choose his own way? Realistic and visually powerful feature debut.
Press book quote: “People inevitably ask me what Bad posture is about. My canned line is that it is a "coming of age romance where no one comes of age and the romance is doomed from the start." Really though, it's a love letter to Albuquerque.” Malcom Murray
Cinematek
The forgiveness of blood (Joshua Marston, US-Albania-Denmark-Italy 2011)
Screened on:
July the 6th, 3 pm & July the 14th, 9 pm
in CINEMATEK
Synopsis: Nik is seventeen and wants to open an internet café. His sister Rudina also has a clear idea of what she wants : attending university. But then their father is accused of murder. The family has to rely on Rudina, who is obliged to take over her father’s affairs....
Press quote: “The contrasts between unspoiled countryside and urban development and the clash between rural intransigence and youthful impatience add depth to an accomplished and suspenseful drama.” Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter, 19.02.2011
Cinematek
CYCLYS W.C. FIELDS
July 2, 2011 - July 31, 2011
One of America’s most popular actors in the 1930s, W.C. Fields is the focus of a Cinematek film cyclus.
More information about the screenings (time and location): Dutch | French
The following movies will be screened:
Sally of the Sawdust
Million Dollar Legs
If I Had a Million
Tillie and Gus + The Barber Shop
Alice in Wonderland
Six of a Kind
You're Telling Me!
It's a Gift
David Copperfield
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Poppy
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
My Little Chikadee
The Bank Dick
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Botanique, Brussels
Alex Winston is a singer/songwriter/guitarist based out of Detroit. Though classically trained in opera, Little Richard, The Beach Boys and The Cardigans are some of her musical favorites. Alex’s sound is a mixture of something old, something new and something uniquely her own.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/alex-winston-23062011
Disclaimer: text from Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Botanique, Brussels
William Fitzsimmons’ songs quickly find their way into your heart, if not through your head then through each song’s subtle exposé of life’s emotional tribulations. Fitzsimmons is life-tuned to sensing the nuances that many people miss but whose telling truths are immediately evident in the first listen. Fans and most of his critics embrace his works for their expressive originality and courage.
William was raised in the outskirts of the steel city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the youngest child of two blind parents. Due to the family’s inability to communicate through normal visual means, William’s childhood home was filled with a myriad of sounds to replace what eyes could not see. The house was suffused with pianos, guitars, trombones, talking birds, classical records, family sing-a-longs, bedtime stories, and the bellowing of a pipe organ, which his father built into the house with his own hands.
When his father’s orchestral records were not resonating through the walls, his mother would educate him on the folk stylings of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. By the completion of his youth and schooling, Fitzsimmons had become well-versed at a variety of instruments, at the minor expense of social standing, interactional skills, and a knowledge of proper shaving technique.
Fitzsimmons’ path into music was likewise unusual, forsaking the hobby for many years to work with the mentally ill and pursue an education in the field of mental health. It was during his last semester of graduate school that William pooled money from past birthdays, holidays, and snow shoveling outings, and bought cheap home recording equipment to begin creating songs again (the first collection of which eventually became his debut album).
Tickets and info: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/william-fitzsimmons-20062011
Disclaimer: text from Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Botanique, Brussels
Papercuts are a soft indie pop project centered around Jason Robert Quever, who was brought up in a commune in Humboldt County, CA. He traveled up and down the West Coast, eventually settling in San Francisco. Quever’s work began when he used the apartment of a vacationing friend to record piano tracks for Cass McCombs. He has kept busy since, collaborating with such artists as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Skygreen Leopards, and Vetiver. Two Papercuts albums arrived in the early 2000s: Rejoicing Songs(Cassingle USA) and Mockingbird (Antenna Farm). Can’t Go Back was released in February 2007 through Gnomonsong, run by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic of Vetiver. In support of Can’t Go Back, Papercuts toured with Grizzly Bear.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/papercuts-17062011
Disclaimer: text from Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Botanique, Brussels
Tom Russell is an American singer-songwriter from California, currently living in El Paso, Texas. His music incorporates elements of folk, traditional country & western, border and cowboy music of the American West. Russell’s songs have been recorded by artists such as Johnny Cash,Ian Tyson, Nanci Griffith, Dave Alvin and others. In addition to his music, he is also an artist and published author.
In the 1980s Russell made four albums credited to the Tom Russell Band, which featured Andrew Hardin and accordionist Fats Kaplin. His latest album, Love and Fear, was released in March 2006 on Hightone Records.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/tom-russell-15062011
Disclaimer: text from Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
Botanique, Brussels
Armed with little more than an acoustic guitar and her fragile alto, San Francisco folk singer/songwriter Emily Jane White offers complex tales of melancholy and isolation. While comparisons to contemporaries like Cat Power and Hope Sandoval are frequent, Emily’s music owes a clear debt to classic female jazz and blues singers such as Billie Holiday.
Emily’s haunted blues quickly found a home on Oakland’s Double Negative Records with them only hearing her 4-track demo. Fooling around with music since pre-school, Emily started on piano around the same time she learned to read, eventually picking up the guitar during her college days.
After graduation Emily picked up and moved to Bordeaux, where she performed with a bevy of independent French artists further honing her songwriting skills. Upon returning stateside, she moved to SF and began recording 4-track demos formulating the songs that would ultimately become her debut album, Dark Undercoat.
More info and tickets: http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/emily-jane-white-scarlett-ohanna-06062011
Disclaimer: text from Last.fm // The U.S. Embassy to Belgium is not responsible for the content of this text.
MOMA, New York
Francis Alÿs (b. 1959, Antwerp, Belgium) uses poetic and allegorical methods to address political and social realities, such as national borders, localism and globalism, areas of conflict and community, and the benefits and detriments of progress.
Alÿs’s personal, ambulatory explorations of cities form the basis for his practice, through which he compiles extensive and varied documentation that reflects his ideas and process. As one of the foremost artists of his generation, Alÿs has produced a complex and diverse body of work that includes video, painting, performance, drawing, and photography.
This exhibition draws on the Museum’s unique and important collection of Alÿs’s work, highlighting three recent major acquisitions—Re-enactments (2001), When Faith Moves Mountains (2002), and Rehearsal I (Ensayo I) (1999–2001)—which include video installations, paintings, drawings, collages, photographs, and newspaper clippings. These works present an investigation of methods of social action, from rehearsals and re-enactments in urban environments that address the politics of public space to large-scale communal participation where the culmination of many small acts achieves mythic proportions. The exhibition, which is conceptually grouped around these three thematic bodies of work, also includes additional artworks that the artist has developed around the idea of rehearsal and re-enactment in relation to progress in art and everyday life.
The exhibition continues at MoMA PS1 with an in-depth look at Modern Procession (2002), a piece commissioned by MoMA to mark it's temporary relocation to Queens during the Museum's 2002–04 expansion project.
The exhibition is organized by Klaus Biesenbach, MoMA Chief Curator at Large and Director, MoMA PS1; and Cara Starke, Assistant Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art.
The exhibition is made possible by a partnership with Volkswagen of America.
Major support is provided by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation, Mr. Eugenio López Alonso, The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, and Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley.
Additional funding is provided by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art and by Flanders House, New York.
More info: http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1104
De Singel, Antwerpen
"I Don't Believe in Outer Space" by The Forsythe Company, De Singel, May 5-7, 2011
Since the beginning of the eighties, the choreographer William 'Bill' Forsythe has redefined and transformed classical ballet into a dynamic and vital dance form adapted to the twenty-first century. He has brought to deSingel all the large-scale dance productions created with and for Ballett Frankfurt, where he was artistic director. In 2004 this New York choreographer, who had already lived in Frankfurt for thirty years, founded a new company, The Forsythe Company. In this new, flexible structure he continued to creatively study the possibilities of movement, language and sound. As in 'I don't believe in outer space'. In a creative osmosis with his dancers, who are of the highest standard both technically and creatively, he shapes and transforms bodies, voices and facial expressions. The result is ironic, grotesque and radical. The choreographic ideas of Forsythe, who is now sixty, and his ensemble remain in the vanguard. Forsythe is undeniably a master of subtle, critical movement-theatre with a high performance content, nurtured by vision, imagination and know-how. A beacon of light for younger generations.
More information at: http://www.theforsythecompany.de
In concert at Ancienne Belgique (Brussels)
Alela Diane Menig (born April 20, 1983, Nevada City, California, USA) is an American singer and songwriter. She grew up singing with her musician parents and performing in the school choir. She taught herself guitar, and began writing songs which blend tense, trance-like arpeggios with warm vocals and meditative lyrics about family and nature. Her first recordings were self-released in 2003 as Forest Parade.
About this concert
It may well have taken more than three years for her much lauded album and debut ‘The Pirate’s Gospel’ to reach us here and establish a following but now she's taken off it just can't go wrong for folky singer songwriter Alela Diane. She's played twice to a full house (in ‘08 and ‘09) in – euh – this house, then also released the successful album ‘To Be Still’ and contributed to the project of New York producers duo Headless Heroes – on which she sang covers of the likes of Nick Cave, Daniel Johnston and The Jesus & Mary Chain. It seems to have been quiet around her for rather a long time now but nothing could be further from the truth. Alela moved from her birthplace Nevada City (see also: Joanna Newsom, Mariee Sioux, Alina Hardin) to Portland Oregon, she released a 10 inch with her friend Alina Hardin, could be heard on a track by Blitzentrapper and changed her ‘band name’ to Alela Diane & Wild Divine (with, aside from dear father, now also dear husband amongst the members). In early '11 she will release her latest and third album, which according to Alela “… is a bit of a jaunt down a new path. It’s the sound of me with a band – and is the first album I’ve made with the direction of a producer.” After her first enchanting visits to AB surely you don't want to miss this one either?
Support will be the 20 year old American singer-songwriter and label colleague Dylan Leblanc who earlier this year released his debut album 'Paupers Field' (via Rough Trade), "one of this year's biggest surprises" according to Kindamuzik.
AB Brussels
Kyuss is the influential American stoner-rock band that saw the light of day at the end of the 80's. In five years time the band made just as many albums, of which one under their original name Sons Of Kyuss and of which the last in line ‘… And The Circus Leaves Town’ achieved a legendary status here too. Also made a name for themselves with their ‘generator parties’, where they performed for a small audience in the middle of the Californian dessert. Following the split in October 1995 everyone went their own way and later became parts of the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Fu Manchu, Mondo Generator, Brant Bjork And The Bros, Eagles Of Death Metal and Hermano (source: AB).
De Singel, Antwerpen
New York in theater, performance, dance...
Een solo over broederliefde. Een duet over liefde. Een gezongen biografie. Een dansperformance met in de hoofdrol James Dean. Een choreografie die zoekt naar een nieuwe taal. Daarnaast ook teksttheater, nu eens puttend uit fictie, dan weer uit actualiteit.
Twee weken lang kan u zich onderdompelen in een New Yorkse mix van theater, performance en dans. Terwijl u kennismaakt met de meest vernieuwende New Yorkse makers duikt u tegelijk de undergroundscène in van deze intrigerende metropool.
Tijdens de eerste week presenteren we drie zeer recente voorstellingen, exclusief voor u in Belgische première. In de tweede week kan u vier succesnummers uit de voorbije jaren meemaken. Samen goed voor zeven maal de crème van de alternatieve New Yorkse podiumkunsten. In zijn totaliteit een caleidoscopisch programma, waarin een grote variëteit aan vormen en thema's opduikt. Doorheen deze verscheidenheid komt u vaak erfenissen tegen uit de Amerikaanse cultuur, met verwijzingen naar musical, sitcom, film en literatuur.
"It's up to you, New York, New York!"
Bozar (Brussels)
Belgian Premiere : Children of War by Bryan Single - Day of the Human Rights
in the presence of the director
Friday 10.12.2010 19:00
A civil war has been raging in Uganda for the past 20 years. 35,000 children have been kidnapped and forced to serve in the rebel army. In the North, a rehabilitation center takes child soldiers in and prepares them to return to their families. For three years, Bryan Single followed the emotional and spiritual journey of some of these children. In his film, the beauty of the images contrasts with the harshness of the testimonies. A splendid illustrated history of a country thirsting for forgiveness and hope. For the second year running Bozar Cinema is showing an engagé documentary on December 10th, which is International Human Rights Day.
Bryan Single was born and raised in Tennessee. His creative exploration began in still photography while trekking through foreign lands. After attending the California Institute of the Arts, in Los Angeles, Brian’s passion focused on documentary filmmaking. He worked as a cinematographer and camera operator on several documentary and television projects. Children of War, which he produced, directed and edited, is his first documentary feature.
AB Brussels
Mainly work from their first 3 albums: ‘Yo! Bum Rush The Show’(1987), ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ (1988) and ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ (1990)... expect a whirlwind of beats, propaganda, energy and inspiration.
Sportpaleis - Antwerp
Led by the legendary Carlos Santana, Latin rock Gods Santana famously played the original Woodstock Festival and delivered 1999's "Supernatural" which sold 15 million copies and won eight Grammys including Album of the Year. In concert, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers showcase Carlos Santana's jaw dropping guitar heroics.
Santana's star arrived in the era-defining late-1960s San Francisco Bay Area music scene with historic shows at the Fillmore and other venues. They emerged onto the global stage with an epic set at “Woodstock '69”, the same year that their self-titled debut LP came out. Introducing Santana's first Top 10 hit, "Evil Ways," the disc stayed on Billboard's album chart for 2 years, and was soon followed by two more classics — and Billboard #1 albums — Abraxas and Santana III.
Forty years and as many albums later, Santana has sold more than 100 million records and reached over 100 million fans at concerts around the globe. To date, Santana has won ten GRAMMY® Awards and three Latin GRAMMYs. 1999's Supernatural — which has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide — including 9 GRAMMYs including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Smooth;" it is the most honored record in GRAMMY history. In 1998, the group was ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; its web page notes, "Guitarist Carlos Santana is one of rock's true virtuosos and guiding lights." Among many other honors, Carlos Santana has also been cited by Rolling Stone as #15 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," and #90 on their 2005 survey of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
Concert and ticket info: www.sportpaleis.be
Official website: www.santana.com
Baron Hortastraat 9, 1000 Brussels
This season CINEMATEK honors JOHN FORD with an extraordinary series of films by America’s most famous director. Ford’s influence on cinema cannot be underestimated. He forged the visual and narrative achievements of early masters as Griffith and Murnau into a seemingly simple and mature style, which profoundly influenced other film makers.
Ford left an enormous legacy, which can only be honored with an extensive program, that spans several months. In September and October, CINEMATEK will focus on the themes FORD, THE IRISHMAN and FORD, THE HUMANIST. In later months, CINEMATEK will review his WESTERNS, his WAR FILMS, his COMEDIES, his ADVENTURE FILMS, and FORD’S view on the BIRTH OF AMERICA. During the series, CINEMATEK will not only screen the best of Ford’s work, but also invite national and international speakers, who will explore the presented themes.
27 september: Young Mr. Lincoln
29 september: The Shamrock Handicap
01 october: The Grapes of Wrath
03 october: How Green was my Valley
04 & 09 october: The Rising of the Moon
07 & 10 october: Hangman's House
08 & 14 october: The Sun Shines Bright
10 october: The Quiet Man
16 & 21 october: The Prisoner of Shark Island
16 & 19 october: Sergeant Rutledge
18 october: Cheyenne Autumn
20 october: Straight Shooting
23 october: The Informer
25 & 30 october: The Plough and the Stars
27 & 31 october: Just Pals
More info: CINEMATEK
Baron Hortastraat 9, 1000 Brussels
From september 8, 2010 until october 30, 2010, Cinematek will be showing several movies with Dennis Hopper.
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and artist.. Hopper's film career began in 1955 and continued over the next 55 years. In his career, Hopper appeared in over 150 films, including six which have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Hopper's filmography includes feature films, television films, short films, documentary films, television series, miniseries, and video games.
Program:
08.09 & 24.09 Rebel without a Cause
13.09 Night Tide
14.09 & 06.10 Easy Rider
16.09 The Last Movie
17.09 Der amerikanische Freund
19.09 & 20.09 Couleur chair
21.09 Apocalypse Now
26.09 & 29.09 Rumble Fish
29.09 The Osterman Weekend
30.09 The American Way
01.10 & 06.10 Black Widow
03.10 & 21.10 Blue Velvet
04.10 Colors
07.10 Chattahoochee
10.10 & 13.10 Paris Trout
16.10 The Hot Spot
17.10 The Indian Runner
24.10 True Romance
25.10 The Blackout
30.10 Land of the Dead
More info
Fakkeltheater Antwerpen
Greg Giraldo (born December 10, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, television personality, insult comic and former lawyer.
Click on the link to watch excerpts of his show.
Fotomuseum, Antwerp
America Documents presents - with the exception of Labor Anonymous by Walker Evans (1946) and a few images by Robert Frank from The Americans from the 1950s - a remarkable collection of photographs, made by Americans, from the 1970s to present. American Documents shows work by important artists such as Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, Lewis Baltz, Mitch Epstein, Lee Friedlander, Nan Goldin, Dan Graham, Mike Mandel, Nicolas Nixon, Martha Rosler, Judith Joy Ross, Stephen Shore, Larry Sultan, Jerry Thompson, Henry Wessel and Garry Winogrand. Walker Evans introduced the term 'documentary style' in 1935, which would have a great influence on the evolution of American Photography in the 20th century. This documentary style is characterized by formal inhibition, a seemingly neutral reproduction of everyday life and a tendency to work in series.
For the occasion of American Documents two recent series are exhibited for the first time in Belgium: Homeland by Larry Sultan and American Power by Mitch Epstein.
The exhibited works were selected from different museums, galleries and private collections.
More info: www.fotomuseum.be
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
Dinosaur Jr. and Built to Spill will be performing at the Ancienne Belgique on May 25, 2010. More info and tickets: www.abconcerts.be.
Dinosaur Jr.'s official website: http://www.dinosaurjr.com/
Built to Spill's official website: http://www.builttospill.com/
About Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. were largely responsible for returning lead guitar to indie rock and, along with their peers the Pixies, they injected late-'80s alternative rock with monumental levels of pure guitar noise. As the group's career progressed, it turned into a vehicle for J Mascis' songwriting and playing, which had the ultimate result of turning Dinosaur's albums into largely similar affairs. Over time, Mascis shed his hardcore punk roots and revealed himself to be a disciple of Neil Young, crafting simple songs that were delivered at a crushing volume and spiked with shards of feedback. Consequently, Dinosaur Jr.'s '90s albums -- when the group was essentially a front for Mascis -- don't sound particularly revolutionary, even with their subtle sonic innovations, yet their original '80s records for SST were a different matter. On their early records, Dinosaur lurched forward, taking weird detours into free-form noise and melodic soloing before the songs are brought back into relief by Mascis' laconic whine. Dinosaur's SST records laid the foundation for alternative rock's commercial breakthrough in the early '90s, and while the band's profile was raised substantially in the wake of Nirvana's success, they never really became much bigger than highly respected cult figures. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide.
About Built to Spill
Built to Spill were one of the most popular indie rock acts of the '90s, finding the middle ground between postmodern, Pavement-style pop and the loose, spacious jamming of Neil Young. From the outset, the band was a vehicle for singer/songwriter/guitarist Doug Martsch, who revived the concept of the indie guitar hero just as Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis — another important influence — was beginning to fade from the limelight. On record, Martsch the arranger crafted intricate, artfully knotted tangles of guitar; in concert, his rough-edged soloing heroics earned Built to Spill a reputation as an exciting and unpredictable live act. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide.
Sportpaleis, Antwerp
A nine-time Grammy winner whose first four albums each topped the Billboard charts, R&B superstar Alicia Keys combines a dizzying mastery of the piano with soulful singing and brilliant songwriting chops. Blessed with the ability to make the old school refreshingly new, Alicia Keys is a remarkable live artist who performs smash hits like "Fallin'" and "No One" with indefatigable high octane energy. Ticket info
Bozar (Brussels)
A Belgian premiere! The Infernal Comedy, a piece of music theatre in which the well-known actor John Malkovich plays the Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger. John Malkovich director, text - Michael Sturminger co-directed, text -Martin Haselböck concept musical, music director - Bernada Bobrosoprano - Aleksandra Zamojska soprano - Birgit Hutter costumes -Orchester Wiener Akademie. Music by Antonio Vivaldi, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Boccherini, Carl Maria von Weber.
Photo: John Malkovich © Brigite Lacombe
Ancienne Belgique - Brussels
Nathalie Merchant will be performing at the Ancienne Belgique on May 10, 2010. More info and tickets.
After 12 years of service, New York born Natalie Merchant parted company with alternative folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1993 to embark on a solo career. Merchant’s debut solo album, Tigerlily was a critical and commercial success; featuring lush vocals and sparse instrumentation, it would go on to sell over 5 million copies and spawn her first top-ten hit in the single Carnival. She has since produced a number of studio albums and performed alongside the likes of Tracy Chapman, Michael Stipe, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel. Her plaintive vocals and literate, socially conscious songs have established her among the preeminent female performers in contemporary pop.
Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant’s new album, Leave Your Sleep, on April 12. Leave Your Sleep is the culmination of six years of research and collaboration and is, in Merchant’s words, “The most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined.” It is her first studio album since 2003 and her first for Nonesuch. To coincide with the release, she has announced a European tour in May – her first in eight years – including a concert in Belgium.
Nathalie Merchant's official website: http://www.nataliemerchant.com/
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
Mark Lanegan (born November 25, 1964 in Ellensburg, Washington) is an American rock musician and songwriter. Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s. In 1985, he became the vocalist for grunge group Screaming Trees; the group broke up in 2000. Lanegan would start a low-key solo career, but in 2004 Lanegan released his big breakthrough album Bubblegum. In addition to leading the The Gutter Twins, Lanegan has also been involved in other musical projects, including hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age, longterm collaborations with Isobel Campbell; and undertaken some surprisingly eclectic collaborations, such as co-writing and providing vocals for Black River by the electronic outfit, Bomb the Bass.
Best known for his years spent as the lead singer for the Screaming Trees, Lanegan also collaborated with the Queens of the Stone Age on several of their albums and Soulsavers on their records “It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s How You Land” and “Broken”. His latest projects include a collaboration with the honey-voiced Isobel Campbell, as well as a long anticipated collaboration with Greg Dulli called Gutter Twins.
Mark Lanegan will be performing at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on May 5, 2010. More info and tickets: www.abconcerts.be
Galerie Champaka
Expo Miles Hyman at Galerie Champaka from April 30 until May 27, 2010.
27, rue Ernest Allard
B-1000 Brussels
www.galeriechampaka.com
***
Miles Hyman was born in Bennington, Vermont in 1962. After drawing for many years as a child, he went to Buxton School in Williamstown, MA where he began to paint. He went on to Wesleyan University where he studied printmaking with David Schorr. In 1985 he moved to Paris where he studied drawing at the renowned Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
After forays into music (five years performing and recording with the Choeur de l’Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboïm) and archaeology (assisted in the excavation of the Louvre’s Cour Napoleon where I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid now stands), Hyman chose to devote himself to drawing and painting and became a full-time visual artist.
His first books appeared with Paris-based Futuropolis, and included graphic adaptations of Dos Passos’ Manhattan Transfer and Conrad’s The Secret Agent. By the late 1980’s his drawings were appearing in children’s books for Gallimard, le Seuil and Hachette, as well as well-known French dailies such as Le Monde and Libération. His pastel paintings were featured in galleries in Paris (Galerie Rohwedder, Galerie Medicis), Geneva (Papiers-gras), Brussels (Sans-titre) and Barcelona (Galeria Maeght). In 1990 his works were featured in a solo show at the major Paris museum Le Palais de Tokyo and the graphic arts magazine Bàt singled him out as one of the 100 most significant artists of the coming decade.
Indeed by the early 1990’s his work began to appear in the United States as Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Hyperion and Chronicle Books became his first american publishers. Hyman’s art has appeared in The New Yorker Magazine, The Boston Globe and The New York Times amongst many others.
In 1994 Hyman decided to relocate to Los Angeles, where he lived thru 2002 in order to concentrate on his work for this growing number of U.S. clients. During that time, in addition to continued work in publishing, he created title sequences for the Odyssey network, the French program “Cinéma de Poche” and drop scenery for the Broadway production of Peter Pan at the Marriott Marquis Theatre featuring Cathy Rigby. He also began a long collaboration with the Vermont firm Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and has been their featured artist for packaging and promotion since 2001.
Returning to Paris in 2002 Hyman has managed to pursue a wide variety of projects on both sides of the Atlantic, working for a vast array of clients in publishing, editorial, advertising and the fine arts. His recent work in the United States includes C.D. Mannis’ Julia Morgan Built a Castle with Viking, a selection of illustrated O. Henry Stories published by Sterling and an upcoming picture book with Knopf, entitled Black Diamond by Deborah Blumenthal. Paris projects include Perrault’s famous tale Le Petit Poucet with Gallimard-jeunesse, a graphic-novel adaptation of Jim Thompson’s Savage Night with Casterman/Rivages, as well as solo shows of his drawings and paintings in Paris, Avignon and Geneva.
Lotto Arena, Antwerp
Grace Jones was born in Jamaica but moved to New York at 18 where she pursued a modeling career. Her musical breakthrough came in 1977 when she secured a record deal with Island Records. Forever the Iconic figure, Grace has not only changed the face of modern music but has also been a muse to Andy Warhol, influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 80’s and appeared in such film classics Conan the Destroyer and A View to a Kill. Her current album Hurricane was released in 2008 and she is currently touring – including a headline slot at the 2009 Latitude Festival. More info and tickets.
Botanique, Brussels
Band of Horses, known early in its life as simply Horses, is a folk-rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, United States by Ben Bridwell, Mat Brooke, Tim Meinig and Chris Early. Creighton Barret and Rob Hampton Later replaced Meinig and Early and in February 2006 Joe Arnone joined the troupe. They are currently signed to Sub Pop Records. The band often draws comparisons to the indie rock band My Morning Jacket largely due to the vocal similarities between Bridwell and My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James. Bridwell’s vocals have also been compared to Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, early Neil Young, and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips by All Music Guide.
Band of Horses was formed by Ben Bridwell (guitar, vocals) and Mat Brooke (guitar) in 2004 after the break-up of their previous band, Carissa’s Wierd. Rob and Creighton were formerly of the mathrock band The New Mexicans before joining Band of Horses. The group initially got attention from Sub Pop Records after opening for Iron & Wine in Seattle area shows. In 2005, the band released their debut EP, Band Of Horses Tour EP, which was sold exclusively at shows and on Sub Pop’s website. Their debut full-length, Everything All the Time was recorded in 2005 with producer Phil Ek and released on March 21, 2006 to generally good reviews.
Band of Horses will be performing at the Botanique in Brussels on April 9, 2010 at 8pm. Tickets will go on sale on Friday February 26 (at 10am).
More info and tickets: wwww.botanique.be
Band of Horses's official website
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
'El Turista', that’s the title of his latest, again seriously hyped, CD and, from Josh Rouse, you can take that title literally… or as autobiographical. We’d lost track of him a little, after many excellent AB excursions and fine albums like '1972', 'Nashville', 'Chester' (with Kurt Wagner)… But olé, what a relief: Josh Rouse turns out to still be one of our favourite Americans in Europe and he still makes brilliant songs from his new home in Valencia, Spain. Love drove this man from Nebraska USA into the arms of a Mediterranean muse and so his releases have carried titles like 'Subtitulo' (the previous one), 'Valencia' (the recent EP) or 'El Turista' (the new CD, that was then again recorded in Nashville!) ever since. He says himself: 'A Midwestern guy doing Brazilian songs in Spanish. I don't know if it fits, but I like the way it feels.' That’s what they thought over at Radio 1 too: CD of the week, right from the start!
Support-act will be Claudine Muno from Luxembourg. She teaches, writes books (successfully, apparently) and fortunately also sings fresh, bold songs (in English, French or Luxembourgish). She mainly sings with The Luna Boots but the CD 'Petites Chansons Méchantes' was already released two years ago under her own name, soon to be followed by the very promising 'Noctambul' (on the Green L.F. Ant label, see also: Monsoon and Superlux.) Claudine Muno’s voice is in any case a pleasure for those who also enjoy Laura Veirs, Neeka, Edie Brickell, Jewel... More info and tickets
Source: abconcerts.be
Botanique, Brussels
MGMT is a neo-psychedelic/alternative group which formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums) and Ben Goldwasser (vocals, keyboards, synths, drums), both alumni of Wesleyan University.
Their biggest hit is their 2008 single “Kids”, which was a Top 20 hit in the UK and hit #9 on the Billboard Alternative Tracks chart in early 2009. Their other most popular songs are “Time to Pretend” , which has been featured on the motion pictures “21” and “Sex Drive” and on the TV shows “Skins”, “Gossip Girl” & “90210”, (the music video has reached over 11,000,000 views on YouTube) and “Electric Feel”, their most purchased single on iTunes.
Electronic Indie Dance Rock began as a thesis project from music majors at Wesleyan University. They used to be known as “The Management” with songs about not quite growing up and a lot of nonsense. Despite this, ‘MGMT’ is pronounced by saying each letter.
The new album "Congratulations", is bringing MGMT back on a clubtour this spring. "Congratulations" contains pop, electro and psychedelic rock, which drifts you to their imaginary inspiring world. They will be playing at the Botanique in Brussels on March 27, 2010!
Tickets are available as from February 24th through this link: www.botanique.be
More info: MGMT's official website
Lotto Arena Antwerpen
Dave Matthews Band offers fans the best of both worlds, one of the greatest jam bands of all times and a fierce dedication to touring, producing timeless memories every summer. When you put the two together, their performance of hits such as the Grammy winning "So Much To Say" and "Crash" leave audience members begging for more. More info and tickets
Forest National, Brussels
Eminem's first discovery has turned out to be a US rapper of huge talent. Cent's smooth and melodic vocal style flows over some funky r'n'b backing tracks and has proven a hit both sides of the Atlantic. Ticket info
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
Pop/rocker Kelly Clarkson rose to fame by winning the first season of "American Idol," then went on to have a brilliant career no subsequent winner has been able to match. A two-time Grammy winner, Kelly Clarkson has scored eight top ten hits, including "Since U Been Gone" and "Never Again," with one of music's most amazing voices. Ticket info
Ancienne Belgique - Brussels
A concert of county rock and ballads performed at the Ancienne Belgique concert hall (Blvd Anspachlaan 10, B-1000 Brussels). For more information: visit the AB website or call 02/548 24 84
Wiels Gallery - Brussels
Wiels is a well-respected center for contemporary art near the Brussels Midi train station and is located in a nicely renovated former beer brewery. It organizes an exhibit featuring works of American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996). It will be on show from January 16-April 25, 2010.
Gonzalez-Torres was born in Cuba, grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to New York later on. He was known for his quiet, minimal installations and sculptures. Using materials such as strings of lightbulbs, clocks, stacks of paper, or packaged hard candies, his work is sometimes considered a reflection of his experience with Aids. Many of his installations invite the viewer to take a piece of the work with them (packaged candies, stacks of ultrathin sheets of clear plastic or unlimited edition prints). More information: www.wiels.org
Bozarsyndays - Brussels
The world turned upside down, a succession of blunders, and that unbeatable sax tune… Some of the best of the adventures of the Pink Panther, always so calm and unruffled, although irritable when his plans are upset. But he always succeeds in making the best of each situation and ends up with a smile on his lips, having thwarted once more the inspector who is constantly pursuing him.
This animated cartoon character first saw the light of day in the credits of the Blake Edwards police comedy The Pink Panther (in the film the Pink Panther was the name of the diamond that Inspector Clouseau was searching for).
Brussels
"The Way Forward in the Transatlantic Relationship." A conversation with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at
Cercle Gaulois, 5, Rue de la Loi, 1000 Brussels. Organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Bozar Brussels
Its not only Rock n Roll, Baby! Brings together for the first time a series of important works by musicians from the 1970s to our days, including Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Chicks on Speed, Fischerspooner, Devendra Banhart, Pete Doherty,... This exhibition, electrified by a unique collaboration with the Rock Werchter Festival, shows for the first time the other history of rock: the story of born musicians and artist in the world of art. Some twenty music icons are brought together for the first time, not to give a concert but to present their visual works. This is not about a movement, but about artists who have all followed individual roads, approaching art and music with an undivided soul. They show that these two means of expression are indivisible, despite their differences. Its not only Rock n Roll, Baby! or how the voice of rock emerged in the visual arts.
The artists:
Alan Vega, Antony, Bent van Looy (Das Pop), Bianca Casady (Cocorosie), Brian Eno, Chicks on Speed, David Byrne, Devendra Banhart, Fischerspooner, Jonsi Birgisson (Riceboy Sleeps), Kembra Pfahler, Kyle Field, Laurie Anderson, Miss Kittin, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Patti Smith, Pete Doherty, The Kills, The Residents and Yoko Ono!
Videos / music by : Doug Aitken / LCD Soundsystem, Dara Birnbaum / Rhys Chatham, Robert Breer & William Wegman / New Order, CocoRosie, Lucile Desamory & Kevin Blechdom, Peter Downsbrough / The Wallets, Robert Frank / Patti Smith, Damien Hirst / Blur, Camille Henrot / Principles of Geometry, Derek Jarman / The Smiths, Derek Jarman / Throbbing Gristle, Richard Kern / Sonic Youth, Kevin Meul / Das Pop, Paper Rad, Martin Parr / Pet Shop Boys, Rocky Schenck / Devo, Nicolas Soquette / Sun OK Papi KO, Wolfgang Tillmans / Pet Shop Boys, Fabien Verschaere / Liquid Architecture, Graeme Whifler / Renaldo & the Loaf, Wyldfile / The Gossip.
Curator: Jérôme Sans, ex-director Palais de Tokyo (Paris), director Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (Beijing).
Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi
Duane Michals ou le présent composé
Rares sont les portraits de René Magritte qui ressemblent autant au peintre que celui qu’en fit Duane Michals à Bruxelles en 1965 : son corps s’inscrit dans le rectangle d’une toile posée sur un chevalet, la silhouette au chapeau melon s’effaçant dans la lueur d’une fenêtre qui l’aspire jusqu’à la dissoudre ; sur la chaise, le coussin a gardé l’empreinte de son corps, mais il n’est déjà plus là, fantôme traversé d’objets. Derrière le chevalet, le décor se prolonge sans interrompre ses lignes, comme dans le tableau La condition humaine. Seul, à gauche, le miroir a conservé indemne l’image de Magritte regardant œuvrer le photographe, victime et témoin de sa propre disparition. Composé comme le tableau d’un primitif flamand, la photographie déroge ici à la fraction temporelle, à l’instant extrait autant qu’à la tradition classique du portrait : c’est un temps composé, concen- trant dans le décor d’une chambre divers moments reliés au personnage qui en est le sujet, à sa présence plus qu’à ses traits, un portrait démultiplié par les points de vue.
Un autre portrait d’un autre peintre surréaliste, Giorgio de Chirico, le montre assis dans un salon bourgeois lisant un journal tandis que son chien sommeille ; ici encore, le visage disparaît dans l’éclairage de la fenêtre qui l’encadre, le rendant à peine reconnaissable : la même scénographie est appliquée au sculpteur Joseph Cornell, se déplaçant à contre-jour, entre fenêtre et miroir, évoquant autant son portrait par Lee Miller qu’une sculpture longiforme de Giacometti, sa silhouette amenuisée par le mouvement.
L’intérêt porté à ces trois artistes – l’on pourrait ajouter les exemples de Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol ou Willem De Kooning – ne témoigne pas seulement de son admiration à leur endroit mais aussi d’une volonté de confronter ces praticiens des arts de la durée – la peinture, la sculpture – à la discipline de l’art de l’instant – la photographie –, celle-ci se fondant en celle-là, sans aller vers un mimétisme réducteur ou l’abandon d’une technique. Mieux que la volonté de représenter leurs traits, Duane Michals entreprend de photographier leur pensée, ce «portrait de l’âme» qu’évoquait Nadar, leur offrant une représentation inédite ; ils sont ce qu’ils sont, ce qu’ils ont été et déjà ce qu’ils deviendront, et le photographe même.
«L’intérêt pour la mort est chez moi obsessionnel, écrit Duane Michals1. D’une certaine façon, je me prépare à ma propre mort». L’on pourrait ici évoquer des personnages non tournés vers le spectateur ou le photographe, mais vers eux-mêmes, vers leur propre existence et leur destinée, tel François Truffaut se faisant face dans les miroirs d’une chambre d’hôtel à New York, trois mannequins hiératiques à la chevelure de grand duc.
Il s’agit donc pour Duane Michals d’étendre les possibilités de la photographie, en se gardant de l’influence directe de la peinture ou du cinéma, en s’échappant du photomontage comme du traditionnel roman-photo – souvent un film arrêté sur image – en se situant précisément entre toutes ces catégories. Montrer ce qui est derrière, ce qui est caché, ne pas se contenter d’une image unique, être ici et là, l’instant d’après et l’instant d’avant réunis au sein d’un même espace – l’atelier, le salon, la chambre – par la surimpression ou les reflets, par la séquence photographique dont Duane Michals s’est abondamment servi dès la fin des années soixante. Ces historiettes développent sur quatre, cinq, six ou huit images – lesquelles sont souvent redoublées par surimpressions – une continuité narrative qu’un texte calligraphié au bas parfois accompagne, comme la légende d’une illustration pour compléter l’image. L’espace est rarement clos : la fenêtre centrale est un puits de lumière plutôt qu’un balcon et le livre, le tableau, le miroir, disposés dans le champ sont autant d’échappées à l’image même, de perspectives pour s’y enfoncer ; l’image est aussi dans l’image, emmenant vers celle qui suit autant qu’en ses tréfonds, croisant les fantômes, les générations, en paraboles de l’âge aux accents mythologiques s’il n’y avait l’humour de Duane Michals, la beauté et la sensualité de ses modèles aux visages d’anges, égarés dans des décors quotidiens, tombés dans des chambres pour disparaître ensuite dans ce halo qui fait ailleurs des photographies voilées, mais pas chez Duane Michals.
Des contes éveillés, des rêves à faire peur, des histoires à ne pas dormir du tout dans des chambres étroites comme des maisons de poupées, avec ces fenêtres brûlées de jour, des anges dénudés navrés de ressembler autant aux humains, de succomber à leurs tentations, des esprits quittant leurs corps, des maisons que la mémoire restitue intactes, avec ceux qui les ont habitées, qui ne sont plus, ces proches et ces familiers dont les objets témoignent encore, si nets dans le souvenir comme au réveil d’un beau rêve qu’on croirait leur avoir parlé, les avoir touchés, avoir aboli la mort comme Peter Ibbetson retrouve Mimsey.
Duane Michals photographie le temps qui s’écoule comme les grains dans le sablier, comme pour déjouer la mort, pour se voir mort mais voir encore, une mort toujours au présent, en des photographies pour prolonger la photographie, un passeport pour dépasser le temps.
Xavier Canonne