Brisbane Blog

Brisbane band Strange Attractors, who say they sound like “The voices in your head”, are giving away free CDs of their music when they play tonight, Wed Jan 14th 2009, at Rics in the Brunswick St Mall, Fortitude Valley – you can click here for a Google Map. The program says they’ll be on from 10.30pm.

The YouTube video above shows you Strange Attractors playing their song “Anenome/An Enemy”, and if you like it you can check out Strange Attractors’ YouTube channel if you click here, or click here to visit Strange Attractors’ MySpace page. You can also follow Strange Attractors on Twitter.

Game On from GameOn Slq on Vimeo.

Game On!, a video game exhibition from the UK that has been travelling the world, is at the State Library, Southbank at the moment. It’s on until February 15th. The exhibition includes displays about the history of videogaming, making and marketing videogames, sound, multiplayer games and future technology.

There’s over 100 games available to play for free, including Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Asteroids, Way of the Exploding Fist (he says, showing his age). a Halo 3 4-player LAN, Tomb Raider, The Sims, Guitar Hero 3 and Gran Turismo 4. There’s even a copy of the old Infocom text-based adventure version of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and all-time classic Final Fantasy VII (good luck finishing THAT in a day).

Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 concession/children, and under-fives are free. You can buy tickets at the door, or online at qtix, or by calling qtix on 136 246.

There’s also a report here by blogger MrPigeon who went the the Game On! exhibition and loved it.

I’ve gone and had a look at the “Someone’s Universe: The Art of Eugene Carchesio” exibition a couple of times. It’s at the Queensland Art Gallery in Southbank until February 1 2009.

I particularly enjoyed the bits of the exhibition that were inspired (according to the curator’s notes) by constructivism and futurism. Carchesio does a lot of work with simple things like matchboxes and small paper cones. The notes suggested that using matchboxes is a sign that anyone can do art: they are everywhere, easy to find, and cheap.

There was one big piece which was a yellow sheet of cardboard about 2 metres by 2 metres, covered with small yellow cardboard cones about 15cm away from, each other, called “Test Pattern for Hope” (several of Carchesio’s works have this title). According to the notes for the piece, Carchesio left this behind for the staff at a gallery he was allowed to work in while everyone else was away over a summer break. He thought he had a responsibility to leave something for the people in the gallery.

That makes me think of the constructivist’s idea that art should not just be for the benefit of the artist, or for “art”, but should be something that ordinary people can use and relate to and benefit from. The cones also remind me of the wedges used in Russian art just after the Bolshevik Revolution, such as the famous Civil War propaganda work “Beat The Whites with the Red Wedge“:




One piece I especially liked was called “10 Thoughts”. This was ten small devices made out of simple electronic components. Each one had a light that flashed on and off. I started loking at it because I thought it was cute, but then started pondering about what thought is. Part of what makes up our thoughts is electrical impulses flashing on and off in the neurons of our brains, which the piece reminded me of.


Technorati Tags: brisbane, queensland, australia, art, queensland art gallery, eugene carchesio

The Brisneyland community on LiveJournal has been featured in the “LJ Spotlight” group for January 12th 2009. LJ Spotlight features communities on LiveJournal which are using LiveJournal in a unique or compelling way.

I love the Brisneyland community. It’s full of helpful people – people in Brisbane have posted all sorts of strange requests for help or info, and it’s amazing just how much knowledge gets dug up. In just the last few days, people have found out where to get small film cannisters to use as cigarette butt bins, what to do about changing your name when you’ve just got married, where to buy tempeh, and I got help when I was trying to arrange a free meeting space at quite short notice.

If you’re in Brisbane, thinking of moving here, or just love the place, I really really think you should check out the great people at Brisneyland.

“War: The Prints of Otto Dix” is on at the Queensland Art Gallery at Southbank until February 1 2009. The print above, “Lens wird mit Bomben belget (Lens being bombed)” shows the sort of thing that’s in the show.

According to the exhibition’s website,

Dix (1891–1969) fought in World War One as a volunteer, serving as a
machine gunner for the German army on the Western Front in 1915. He was
at the Somme during the major allied offensive of 1916, and was wounded
several times, once almost fatally. Many of the images in Der Krieg are based on Dix’s diary sketches from this time.

Depicting scenes of the utmost savagery and devastation, Der Krieg
is a timeless reminder of the misery and suffering caused by war. It
reflects Dix’s fascination with the potential extremities of human
behaviour that war can induce, and his own horror at the ‘ghastly,
bottomless depths of life’ that were revealed to him while he was a
soldier.

The Otto Dix exhibition is on tour from the National Gallery of Australia. For more information about the show, click here.

Technorati Tags: brisbane, queensland, australia, art, exhibitions, queensland art gallery, otto dix, war

The most enormous second-hand book sale I’ve ever been to, the Lifeline Bookfest, is on again from January 17th to the 25th. It’s held in two huge halls at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at Merivale St, South Brisbane, and if you want to pick up some cheap books it’s the place to be.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of books on sale at the Bookfest. For details on opening hours and more, click here.

Click here for a Google Map showing where the convention centre is.

Technorati Tags: brisbane, queensland, australia, lifeline, bookfest, books, sale

PWA Queensland presents Valley Fight Night at the Fortitude Valley PCYC, 458 Wickham St, this Saturday, January 17th 2009. Doors open at 6.30pm. Highlights of the night include a 6-man Showdown, Seoul and Mason Childs fighting for the PWAQ Title (and the #1 contender’s spot for the PWA International Title), a grudge match between Sorrow and Phoenix, a 4 Woman showdown and a tag team match with a future title shot at stake.

Tickets are $10 – you can prebook here, or just turn up on the night. Click here for a Google Map showing where the Valley PCYC is.

The Beenleigh Theatre Group is putting on the Cole Porter/Arthur Kopit/Susan Birkenhead show “High Society” in April, and on Saturday January 25th 2009 the auditions are being held.

If you’re interested in auditioning, you’ll need to book: call the Production Secretary on 07 3287 2912 to make a booking, or if you have any questions.

Technorati Tags: brisbane, queensland, australia, theatre, beenleigh theatre group, auditions

The University of Queensland Art Museum re-opens today after its summer break, and the “New” exhibition is on until February 1st 2009.

The “New” exhibition shows off the artworks that the Museum has bought (or been given) over the last two years).

Brisbane artists included in the exhibition include Fiona Foley, Vernon Ah Kee, Tony Albert, and Richard Bell.

The UQ Art Museum is near the Great Court at the University’s St Lucia campus: click here for a Google Map.

Technorati Tags: brisbane, queensland, australia, art, exhibitions, university of queensland, uq

The Globe Theatre, which puts on all sorts of cult movies, is showing George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead 3 – Army of Darkness this Wednesday, January 14th at 7pm. The double feature costs $15 + booking fee – click here to book. You’ll need photo ID to get in, too – there’s a bar inside the Globe so you can drink there.

The Globe Theatre is at 220 Brunswick St in Fortitude Valley – if you catch a train to the Valley and walk out the mall where the train station is, turn right and walk about 100 metres up the road, towards the Valley Fiveways and away from the Valley Mall. Click here for a Google Map.




Technorati Tags: brisbane, queensland, australia, zombie, movies, globe, cinema