Beautiful Feet

The Garden of Earthly Delights, c. 1495-1505 Fascinating overview of the oft-mistaken character of the artist and his other-worldly works. The comparisons I found between him and William Kurelek were astounding. Both thoughtful but not insane prophets of their times and the messengers of the need for self-reflection and restraint in this life. As John Franklin wrote in the Fall 2016 Imago newsletter, "...artists have the capacity to see what is coming in a culture and their work indicates the mood and values of a society." {Quoted with permission.} The details shown in this broadcast allowed for viewing just not possible in a book, even with a magnifying glass. Weirdnesses like his frequent depictions naked bodies with birds flying out of bottoms (!) and of owls; the interviewed historians noted them as harbingers of something ominous but here is a more nuanced suggestion: Owl:  the owl has a double meaning: 1) the perfidious Jews who, preferring darkness to light, r...

Saw Carolina Eyck play the theremin at the Music Gallery. Guests Gregory Oh (piano and Hammond organ), James Mason (oboe) and composer D. Andrew Stewart (karlax) with the Penderecki Quartet! New pieces by Stewart and Omar Daniel. All ridiculously cool. No haunted house music here—I was amazed at its versatility. The karlax is about a hundred years older than the theremin. Da Fact makes the digital instrument that can reproduce recorded speech, sound effects and music that is affected by gesture. Very interesting development of this century's musical landscape.

While a musical, it is set for our times, with some nods to Hollywood of the past. There are some loose ends, but there's an interesting use of colour and treatment of light. I hope it will be a catalyst for more musicals. My only complaint is that there weren't more musical numbers in it. Good fun!