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THIS WEEK: A SELECTIVE GUIDE

ALICE, BACON, OSCAR AND ENO | September 10th 2008

Our guide to what's on around the world, compiled by Ariel Ramchandani and Jessica Gallucci...

Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE

BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS

In the shadows of Ta Fantastika, a black-light theatre in Prague, Alice grows up. In "Aspects of Alice", a production inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", Alice enters a "hormone addled adolescence" in an atmosphere of haunting songs, floating figures, clowns and acrobatics. Expect a sensual, fanciful show of light and colour, with figures dressed in black moving around lurid representations of the city created by Emma Srncová, a renowned Czech artist. Although '"Aspects of Alice" has been performed in 30 countries, its home is surely the Ta Fantastika. Featuring Srncová's jewel-toned representations of St Vitu's Cathedral and the Jewish Cemetery, and classical music from the Má Vlast Symphony and the Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvorák, this is an artful celebration of Prague. ~ A.R.

"ASPECTS OF ALICE", Ta Fantastika, Prague

BRING ME YOUR HUDDLED BACONS

The subjects of Francis Bacon’s paintings always seem to be screaming, howling in darkness. They are distorted, nightmarish, with mouths made large and dark in yawning grief. Or they lie huddled, pooled in an inky corner, brooding, perhaps sobbing. “The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery,” Bacon once said. But the mystery his work seemed to address--particularly the landmark painting that made him famous, “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion” (1944)--was already deep: humanity’s traumatic bouts with inhumanity in the 20th century. “British masters don’t come greater than Bacon,” says Stephen Deuchar, director of Tate Britain. To celebrate the centenary of Bacon’s birth in Dublin in 1909, the Tate is staging a sweeping retrospective of his work. This is the first big show dedicated to the artist since 1985, and it was planned even before his canvases began selling for record-breaking millions at auction this year. Take time to see paintings that will head back to Iowa or Basel after the tour is over, such as the haunting “Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X” (1953), or the brutal triptych inspired by T.S. Eliot’s “Sweeney Agonistes” (1967). These tragic canvases evoke suffering on a grand scale, but also speak of Bacon’s own struggles with childhood illness, homosexuality when it was still illegal, and tumultuous romance. They earned him a distinguished career in his lifetime (he died in 1992), and a reputation as one of the most important artists of his generation. “I have left my mark,” he once said. “My work is hung in museums, but maybe one day the Tate or the other museums will banish me to the cellar.” Not likely. ~ EMILY BOBROW

FRANCIS BACON, through January 4th 2009, Tate Britain

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

The street-artist Swoon and the seven vessels that make up her boat/art installation "The Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea" have finally docked in Long Island City after a three-week journey down the Hudson. The intricate "floating sculptures" were carefully assembled from discarded wood, trash and basically any other junk she could get her hands on. The resulting journey, complete with a 40-member crew and performances, became a sailing hodge-podge of aesthetics and ideals. Critics can only resort to whimsical lists in their efforts to describe the work: "think Huck Finn rafts, Flying Neutrinos riverboats, and the theme-park props from Pirates of the Caribbean", writes Camille Dodero in the Village Voice. The New York Times's Julie Bloom proclaims it to be "part floating artwork, part performance, part mobile utopia and seemingly part summer camp for grown-up artsy kids." These descriptions should be enough to lure you to the open waters of the East River, but there is also a gallery show at Deitch, performances by Dark Dark Dark and a play written by Lisa D'Amour, featuring the crew and performed on the boats. Swoon was inspired to embark on an artistic river trip two years ago, after participating in the flotilla project the "Miss Rockaway Armada": "I wanted to make something which really had the freedom of artistic expression, sculptural and aesthetic and all that stuff" she told Ms Bloom. Come see the results. ~ A.R.

"THE SWIMMING CITIES OF SWITCHBACK SEA", through October 18th, Deitch Projects, Long Island City

STILL, THEY SHOULDN'T QUIT THEIR NIGHT JOBS

In 2002, when Brussels’
80-year-old arts centre began renovations, it was the Palais des Beaux-Arts. Scrubbed and restored, it has re-emerged with a name suitable for a science-fiction
beast--BOZAR. Since its rebirth, BOZAR has clambered to join the pack of
leading contemporary art institutions, armed with edgy new programming aimed at
young people. Among its latest exhibitions is “It’s Not Only Rock ‘N’ Roll, Baby!”, a
collection of artworks by musicians. Though visitors may have to sift through the
self-indulgent (Pete Dougherty’s blood-spattered self portrait, “Look What
They Done to the Boy”, pictured), the obvious (Nick Zinner’s snapshots of groupies and
bandmates) and the dull (The Kills’ video images of their own performances),
there are still plenty of minor amusements, and a smattering of good art. Fischerspooner's
room features panoramic video projections of dancers whose silhouettes are
coloured over with shifting digital patterns. Patti Smith’s black and white
photographs are fine work, too, and Brian Eno’s continuously evolving video
installation, “77 Million Paintings” (available on Amazon), animates his ambient music with a synaesthetic
effect. ~ J.G.

"IT'S NOT ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL, BABY!", through September 14th, BOZAR, Brussels

IN SEARCH OF LITTLE GOLD MEN

The Toronto Film Festival is the largest such event in North America. Given the time of year when it takes place, just as studios are releasing their stronger work, the festival is often the first big stop for films on their way to the Academy Awards. Alas, critics lament the slimmer pickings this year; most of the Oscar front-runners, such as the Baz Luhrmann epic "Australia" or Oliver Stone's long-awaited "W", are not yet ready for the big screen, according to the LA Times. "I haven't seen such an Oscar-less Toronto in a long time," one exec said to the Hollywood Reporter. This year's highlights are also more commercial than usual, such as "Burn After Reading", a spy-caper comedy from the Coen brothers. Starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt, the film inspired Roger Ebert to coo "if you want to make a comedy, hire good actors, not 'funny' ones." The festival's runaway success so far has been Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", a film set in India about a boy who aspires to be a millionaire on a television game show. ~ A.R.

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 08, through September 13th, Toronto

Picture credits: Ta Fantastika, Bozar