Brisbane Blog

[Photo of Ranjit Hoskote by flickr user mshilman]

Griffith University’s Griffith Asia Institute is putting on a free seminar with Indian poet, writer and curator Ranjit Hoskote at the Gallery of Modern Art this Thursday, March 4th 2010 at 5.30pm.

Hoskote will be talking about what creative artists are doing in India right now, and how they are thinking about their art. Hoskote is an Indian poet and art critic who writes in English. He’s been critical of Western media and culture ignoring modern thought in the Islamic world:

The denial of contemporaneity to the Islamic world can sometimes proceed from the best intentions, as when invited experts cite and discuss the Holy Koran and the Sayings of the Prophet as the ultimate and armatural texts for present-day political choices. This approach creates the impression that Islamic civilisation has made no further contribution to the history of thought since the 7th century; it also negates the role of secular philosophies in the evolution of the Muslim or Arab political consciousness. For instance, this writer cannot recall a single reference, in mainstream-channel discussions during the last 17 months, to Ali Shariati, the political visionary and critic of consumption capitalism whose teachings provided the stimulus for the first, 1978 phase of the Iranian Revolution. Or to the historian of science and gnosis, Seyyed Hossein Nasr; or the Egyptian secular revolutionary, Gamal Abdel Nasser, or the Algerian socialists Ahmed Ben Bella and Houari Boumediene. The Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi is usually mentioned only in the context of the Lockerbie case or dismissed as a maverick; his contribution to post-colonial praxis goes unremarked. These and many other thinkers and political figures from the world of Islam have been consigned to oblivion by the global media; the modernities they symbolise, their conceptions of freedom, justice and the scope of human possibility, are rendered invisible.

Hoskote has also been strongly critical of attacks on cultural expression by religious mobs and bigoted police:

The outrageous arrest of Chandramohan, a final-year fine arts student at the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, on May 9, has confirmed that the only right that is taken seriously in India today is the right to take offence. The right to take offence is not a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, but all the same, it is the most easily enforced of all rights. All you need is a local demagogue with a taste for publicity, a few rampaging goons, policemen who favour the violent over the reasonable, and a lower judiciary that is reluctant to defy the mob.
Chandramohan, who was taken into custody by the Baroda police without a proper warrant, after he had been roughed up by a gang of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists, has been charged with public obscenity and an attempt to incite communal disharmony. The images to which such turbulent opposition has been mounted show a woman, perhaps a goddess, birthing a man (which is no more fearful than the Lajja-gouri of Hindu sacred art), and a crucifix with a penis (this, an obvious homage to Robert Mapplethorpe). Both images retrieve the passionate human dramas that lie at the core of sacred narratives. Both images insist upon the artist’s right to revisit inherited lore, to reinvent images and narratives, to integrate the sacred as an element of secular experience.

And also here:

The Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists who attacked the Garden Art Gallery in Surat, on January 29, appear to have taken destructive criticism to its extreme. Labouring under the delusion that the Hindu pantheon required defence against artistic blasphemy, these ruffians destroyed eight works by distinguished contemporary Indian painters including M. F. Husain, K. H. Ara and N.S. Bendre, and the younger Kolkata artist, Chittrovanu Mazumdar. This manifestation of a terrifyingly illiberal tendency, which has come to dominate our public life, flagrantly challenges the Constitutional right to the freedom of expression. Conversely, it champions the self-arrogated right to take violent offence at affronts, real or imagined, to belief or identity.

The Surat outrage follows the model set by the Sambhaji Brigade’s rampage through Pune’s Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute on January 5. Far from being aberrations, these incidents are continuous with a shameful series of violations of artistic and scholarly freedom in the recent past. These precedents include the vilification campaign launched by various Hindu-majoritarian organisations, during 1996, against Husain for his alleged portrayal of a nude Saraswati; the disruption of the Pakistani vocalist, Ghulam Ali’s Mumbai concert by the Shiv Sena, in 1998; the demonstrations by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) auxiliaries in Varanasi, which forced Deepa Mehta to stop work on her film, Water, in 2000; and the withdrawal of an exhibition by Pakistani artists at Mumbai’s Sakshi Gallery in 2001, under Sena pressure.

(Shiv Sena is a right-wing Indian political party allied with the Hindu-supremacist movements in India.)

In this interview with Clark Blaise of the University of Iowa, from 1995, Hoskote reads some of his poetry and discusses what it’s like to be an Indian poet writing in English when there’s pressure to not use this language:

Ranjit Hoskote interviewed by University of Iowa’s Clark Blaise 950101 by djackmanson

If you’d like to go to the seminar, email Natasha Vary at n.vary@griffith.edu.au. The Gallery of Modern Art is in the Cultural Centre at Southbank, and the seminar is in Cinema B. The best way to get there by public transport is to catch a bus to the Cultural Centre bus station or a train to South Brisbane train station and walk to the Gallery – click here for a Google Map. To check bus and train timetables, click here to use the Translink journey planner.

After the earthquake of the coast of Chile about 6 1/2 hours ago, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a tsunami warning for Queensland coasts from Point Danger to Double Island Point. This includes Brisbane’s coast. There is also a warning for New South Wales from Broken Bay to Double Island Point

Keep checking this warning site for updated warnings. You can also listen to ABC Radio Brisbane on 612AM for updates, and put the State Emergency Service number – 132 500 – in your phone.

The specific safety advice in the tsunami warning is:

Tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves, with the first wave not always the largest.

First tsunami effects are expected as follows:

Coolangatta after 08:15 am Sunday (Eastern Standard Time – NOT Daylight Savings Time)

Maroochydore after 09:00 am Sunday (Eastern Standard Time – NOT Daylight Savings Time)

Brisbane after 09:15 am Sunday (Eastern Standard Time – NOT Daylight Savings Time)

Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami. Check that your neighbours have received this advice.

Boats in harbours, estuaries or shallow coastal water should return to shore. Secure your boat and move away from the waterfront. Vessels already at sea should stay offshore in deep water until further advised.

Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami, as there is the possibility of dangerous, localised flooding of the immediate foreshore.

For emergency assistance, call EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT QUEENSLAND on 132 500

You’ve probably heard by now that the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is on at the Queensland Art Gallery‘s Gallery of Modern Art. Just in case you don’t know, there are guided tours of the free exhibition every day at 11am, 12 noon, 1pm and 2pm. The tours are free – just meet up at the information desk near the gallery entrance.

You can take photos of the exhibition: here’s a slideshow of some of the photos people have already taken:

If you can’t see the slideshow, click here to see the photos.

The Queensland Art Gallery’s Gallery of Modern Art is in the Cultural Centre in Southbank – click here for a Google Map. Public transport info is in the map – click here to use the Translink journey planner to find out public transport route and timetable info.

This Sunday, February 28 2010, the Queensland Police Museum has its free monthly lecture at 11am. This month’s lecture is called “The Sacred Ibis”, about Archibald Meston, best remembered for being the inspiration behind Queensland’s Aboriginals Protection And Restriction Of Sale Of Opium Act – you can download a pdf version of the Act by clicking here.

The Act did great damage to the rights of Aboriginal people – for a start it allowed bureaucrats to force Aboriginal people to live on reserves, even if they didn’t want to.

The lecture, by Dr James Lergessner, will also discuss Meston’s work in history and journalism. There’s an article about Dr Lergessner here at the ReadersVoice.com website.

The Queensland Police Museum is on the ground flooor of Queensland Police Headquarters, 200 Roma St, Brisbane City – click here for a Google Map. Public transport info is on the map, and you can click here to find bus or train timetables and routes using the Translink journey planner.

Soundwave was on last weekend at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane, and here are some of the videos that are showing up on YouTube:

Faith No More performing “Epic” and also “Just a Man” from their album “King for a Day…Fool for a Lifetime“, taken by PhilTovo.

Jane’s Addiction playing “Jane Says“, recorded by J450N24.

Placebo, doing their song “Infra-Red“, video taken by J450N24.

Paramore performing “Careful” from the album “Brand New Eyes“, shot by sjarhead1978

All Time Low with “Lost in Stereo” from their album “Nothing Personal”, videoed by mishymooo

Rolo Tomassi, recorded by hysteria1

Jimmy Eat World play “Bleed American/Salt Sweat Sugar“, taken by davidsauer.

Anvil with their song “Metal on Metal”, from the album of the same name, shot by lainemichelleallen.

Emarosa playing “Heads or Tails? Real or Not”, from their “Relativity” album, taken by hysteria1.

If you want to find more videos from Soundwave 2010 in Brisbane, click here to have a look on YouTube.

The first set of photos from Whitney Houston‘s concert last night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre have been posted, by Flickr user [J.Y.].

This photo was from the first half of the show

And these two photos were from the second half of the show.

If you want to see [J.Y.]‘s entire set of 18 photos of the concert, just click here.

You might also want to see the YouTube videos from the Whitney Houston Brisbane concert.

Brisbane YouTuber yenyongming took these two videos at the Whitney Houston concert last night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

The first video is of “I Love The Lord”:

and the second video is of the song “Nothing But Love”:

Another Brisbane YouTuber, katrinagunders, took this video of Houston singing “Greatest Love Of All” and was critical of her singing:

Has the diva lost her diva-ness? Watch this video and judge for yourself. I vote yes.

The Brisbane Anime Society is having a screening this Saturday February 20 at QUT Gardens Point campus. The screening starts at 4pm and goes to 8pm, and it costs $3 – only $2 if you’re a member of the BAS; you can sign up as a member at the screening for $10. The screening is in D Block – see below for a link to a Google Map showing how to get there.

This Saturday you’ll see the first Kochikame movie.

This is the opening of the TV series (not the movie), but it gives you an idea of the style of show it is.

Also showing this Saturday are episodes 5-8 of “11eyes”

You can follow the Brisbane Anime Society on Twitter, or join their Facebook group here.

The best way to get to QUT is to catch a City Cat to the QUT Gardens Point ferry terminal, then walk along Alice St, turn right past Parliament House then turn right when you get into the QUT grounds – click here for a Google Map. The other way is to catch a bus to Adelaide St in the City and walk down George St till you get to Parliament House and turn right to get to D block – you can also see that route on the Google Map. If you want to look up City Cat or bus timetables, click here to use the Translink journey planner.

The Brisbane Comedy Festival is on at the Brisbane Powerhouse from Tuesday February 23rd to Sunday March 21st 2010.

The full line-up features comedians from right around the country, but here we’ll focus on the Brisbane comedians appearing in the Festival.




Melinda Buttle – Sista Got Flow

Tuesday March 2nd – Sunday March 14th 2010, $15 – $17.

Twitter – MySpace – interview at thecomedians.com.au

Click here to hear Melinda Buttle debate Kelly Higgins-Devine on ABC Radio 612 Brisbaneon the topic “That people had more fun in the 70s”




Josh Thomas – Surprise!

Tue 2nd, thu 4th, Sat 6th March 2010, $24 – $39

Twitter – Website – MySpace – Facebook – subscribe to podcast in iTunes

Greg Sullivan – Antisexual

Tue Mar 2nd – Sun Mar 10th 2010, $20 – $22

Twitter - Myspace – Facebook

There’s plenty more interstate and overseas comedians appearing, including Peter Helliar, Wil Anderson, Adam Hills and Frank Woodley – click here to see the list of all the acts at the Brisbane Powerhouse website.

The Brisbane Powerhouse is at the end of Lamington St, New Farm – click here to see a Google Map. The map also shows the nearby CityCat terminal and the route 196 bus stop on Brunswick St, New Farm, which are the nearest public transport stops. Click here to use the Translink journey planner to find CityCat or bus timetables.