On the 7th, there was a notable buzz in the air at the
Christina Parker Gallery as novelist Lisa Moore and (this time) poet Michael
Crummey teamed up for a double launch of their latest titles. Both uber-talented and celebrated and
both delightfully humble, they were generous in acknowledging each other's
accomplishments. Lisa said she had
approached Michael as she did not like "launching alone" and Michael
differed saying he was "riding on her coat tails". Either way, combining a launch of a
novel with a collection of poetry by two of our best made good business sense,
doubling their audience and avoiding cannabilizing each other's parties in a
city where the choice of cultural things to do outweighs the city's audience
size.
Our problem in St. John's is that we suffer from an
embarrassment of cultural riches.
For example this afternoon, there is a great strings concert on the go
with top caliber talent with the proceeds going to benefit Oxfam. And this evening there is a fundraiser
for Shakespeare By the Sea with traditional Newfoundland set dancing at The
Rocket Room. On the same evening
of the double-book launch the Anna Templeton Centre was hosting a major event
in the same time slot. A few days
prior Mary Dalton was launching her collection of poems Hooking at the LSPU
Hall. How many days a week do you
want to go out?
Pairing up seems to be the best strategic bet in winning the
war against limited resources of time and money. It worked for our latest dynamite duo in the visual arts
Peter Wilkins and Will Gill. They
were both there at the Friday launch still dizzy from their fresh success at
the Venice Biennale. Christina
Parker was still glowing and shared that the elite corps (my words) of mainland
curators all made it to Will and Peter's two man show and were suitably
impressed for all the right reasons.
Rather like poetry and prose, this visual arts pair have styles and
approaches that are completely different –complementary rather than competing.
Again similar but different, I noticed that when Kelly
shifted her Britainnia Teas from a physical storefront to an on-line business
she was next seen as a pop-up store feature at potter Alexis Templeton Studio
Craft Day May event.
In closing, I'll point out that Marlene Creates in her
visual arts practice has evolved a very intriguing version of multidisciplinary
pairings. I am thinking of her
Boreal Forest with its experiential focus on a complete sensory experience. This July and August Marlene has invited a series
of three different musicians to respond to the stimulus of natural
environment. At it's best, this
kind of inspired pairing reminds of accounts I've read about when Picasso,
Stein or Diaghliev would work together on projects.
Musicians in Concert with The Boreal Poetry Garden
3 walking and listening events in
2013
Join Marlene
Creates as she leads a walk
with readings of site-specific poems in The Boreal Poetry Garden — six acres of
boreal forest where she lives in Portugal Cove — with musical responses to
the site provided by 3 acoustic musicians. After the walk, we will gather
around a bonfire with some refreshments.
The events this summer
will focus on the audible. We will experience the boreal forest by listening to
its soundscape –– and its silences. Come hear the resonance of
words and wind, of wind instruments and woods, of percussion and ancient
volcanic rock, of river rhythms and phrases, of vibrating strings and stars, of
sparks from the bonfire and toasted marshmallows.
Wednesday July
17 at 7:30 pm
poetry by Marlene
Creates with Rob
Power, percussion
Tuesday July 23 at
7:30 pm
poetry by Marlene
Creates with Rozalind MacPhail, flute
Sunday August 4 at
2:00 pm
poetry by Marlene
Creates with Ilia
Nicoll, violin and viola
Limited
to 25 people. Advance registration required.
For
directions and to register:
or
phone 709.895.1020
$25 | $20 students &
seniors
If you are determined to succeed, it seems your best bet is
to find a kindred soul who can bring resources and goals to align with
yours. You've heard of divide and
conquer? Well, this seems a trend
of multiply and conquer.
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